At the Notarize Rewired event Wednesday on the panel, Home Buying After COVID, four experts talked about some of the largest pain points in the title industry. When asked if they could change one thing, or “wave a magic wand,” about the housing industry’s journey toward digital mortgage adoption, the panelists were clear: integration.
The trend toward a fully digital mortgage continues to grow. In fact, volume on the Notarize platform has increased 600% since April, and the company is now processing more than $7 billion in real estate closings every month. But despite this increase, full digital adoption could still be a long way from being achieved.
“We see kind of coupling of technologies: people are really specific with what they’re good at, and the services they’re offering,” said Tyler Thompson, Second Century Ventures and REACH managing partner. “So I think we need better integration from real estate, mortgage to title; remote online notarization is a huge part of that.
“I think that those processes and experiences are so disjointed, there’s no communication, this isn’t a smooth process,” Thompson said. “So really, with my magic wand, I would love to see companies work better together across that spectrum.”
Other panelists agreed that integration is critical for any kind of meaningful change toward a fully digital mortgage experience.
“The world of integrations is where we have to be,” said Marnie Blanco, Dotloop vice president of industry relations. “The old thought that somebody can have a complete stack these days, from soup to nuts, is kind of gone out the window. Everybody specializes, and they do it well. And so they have to integrate the full experience 100%.
“And we’re not there,” Blanco continued. “I mean, the whole mortgage and title are missing pieces right now. And so, we get there and we get so close, but then you don’t get your dessert at the end of the meal. And then you feel let down. So we have to be there. That’s exactly where we go.”
Panelist Don Evans, Realogy Title Group senior vice president of east region, agreed that integration is critical to digital mortgage, but added that a higher focus on the consumer would also be necessary to the industry’s success.
“I think focusing on the consumer is something that isn’t done in our industry enough, and actually providing a way for agents and consumers to have a better experience together through this thing,” Evans said. “The consumer kind of gets shuffled around.”
