Just when you thought you had enough to do with generating leads, pre-qualifying borrowers, processing loans, and retaining those customers, you get to repeat one of the tasks on your list.
Low inventory continues to be a major challenge nationwide. Two-thirds of home buyers searched for more than 3 months before going under contract on a home, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Finding a home at an affordable price was the reason cited by 42% of homebuyers, and 34% couldn’t find a home in their desired neighborhood. As home prices continue to increase, finding an affordable home in a suitable neighborhood is likely to take even longer for more consumers.
I’ve been hearing more frequently that mortgage originators are receiving multiple requests to update pre-qualification letters for the same borrower before they can find a home and have their offer accepted. In high-priced competitive markets, buyers often ask for a pre-approval letter to reassure their real estate agent and home sellers they have approved financing to support their offer.
Re-evaluating a homebuyer’s loan eligibility after their pre-qualification letter has expired usually requires going through the same time-consuming process. Getting the borrower to provide their latest paystubs, bank statements, credit information, asset, and debt documents is inconvenient but necessary for both parties.
FinLocker streamlines the pre-qualification and pre-approval process for the originator because FinLocker refreshes the consumer’s assets and debt data in their FinLocker account each business day. Their credit score and credit report are updated each month. In preparation for their RESPA application, consumers can be advised to get in the habit of uploading a copy of each paystub to their Documents folder so they’ll always have the latest version ready to submit.
The convenience to the consumer to have their data and documents in one secure platform, which can be shared with their originator and transferred to their LOS, is the seamless borrower experience that millennials expect and turns all borrowers into raving fans.
