Basics and Benefits of Mortgage Automation

For many decades, mortgages and their related services required huge amounts of paperwork and manual data entry. This began to change with the advent of computers, and has continued to evolve as the internet and other resources have become more and more common.

At Altius Mortgage and our partners at Mortgage Ogden, automation is a big part of our services. From our online application our pre-qualification calculator and much more in between, technology is a huge part of what we do. Let’s look at some of the recent steps that have been taken by many lenders in this area, plus how automation benefits both you as a buyer and the lender you’re potentially borrowing from.

Automation Steps

There are several areas where lenders have begun to develop advanced automation practices:

• Application: The online application is one of the simplest examples of automation in the industry. Clients can securely apply for any mortgage, including uploading documents required.
• Account linking: This allows lenders to validate assets and collect important financial data directly from the sources of this data, such as credit bureaus.
• Underwriting: Many lenders have algorithms that allow them to underwrite potential borrowers in real time. This lets them offer feedback and advice to the borrower before they even submit their application.

Lender Benefits

The primary benefit of automation to lenders is speed. Automation turns many functions that used to be manual into computerized areas that take a fraction of the time to complete. This leads to the ability to close on mortgages much faster in some cases.

Automation has also been huge for transparency – by helping create standard practices across every loan situation, technology has helped assure that all potential borrowers are treated fairly.

Homebuyer Benefits

There are several areas of automation that benefit actual buyers themselves. Here are a few:

• Certainty: As we noted above, automation is big for transparency. Homebuyers who have received approval through automated systems can be certain they will receive their financing, with no risk of human error.
• Reasoning: In many manual cases, an underwriter or another party will ask for additional documentation – but won’t give a reason for needing it. Automation allows for the flagging and explanation of specific application issues to the borrower, which makes the process simpler and faster.
• Savings: The speed we noted above is very important for both buyer and lender savings. The ability to close faster often allows you to capitalize on a great interest rate that might have gone away before you had the chance in the past, for instance. Faster closing can lead to better pricing and lower fees.

For more on how automation in the mortgage world benefits you, or to learn about any of our mortgage loan services, speak to the staff at Altius Mortgage today.