TheMReport — News and strategies for the evolving mortgage marketplace.
Issue link: http://digital.themreport.com/i/579595
TH E M R EP O RT | 35 FEATURE there is more to going digital than being able to access your LOS from a smartphone. If, as a lender, you are pulling paper and wet signatures into the process for any reason other than the one-off re- quirements of a particular investor, then it doesn't matter what device you are using. You are not operat- ing in a truly digital environment. Furthermore, a millennial homebuyer may be initially impressed that they can fill out their 1003 mortgage loan applica- tion on a tablet in a coffee shop, but that feeling is going to fade quickly when that homebuyer has to show up at the closing agent's office and spend hours signing a stack of documents the size of a small novel. Adopting digital origination strategies like eSigna - tures and eClosings will enable already tech-savvy lenders to tap into millennials' predilections for technology and provide a point of differentiation in the mass of other companies scrabbling for their share of this demographic. On a final note, digital origi- nation strategies may also help lenders attract younger generations to the mortgage industry. Pew Research Center has determined that millennials are now the largest generation in the overall workforce, surpassing Generation X with 53.5 million workers v. 52.7 million. Yet, the Mortgage Bankers Association reports that the average age of a mortgage loan officer is 54. This industry is not only missing out on millennial employees, but it has skipped over Generation X-er's entirely. It's time for the mortgage industry to get an image overhaul, and the best way to do that is through innovation. As the subprime crisis illustrated all too well, innovation in terms of mortgage products is a dicey endeavor. As such, the best place for the mortgage industry to begin its quest for innovation is with the sales and manufacturing process. Mortgages in the U.S. have been originated the same way, more or less, for decades using manually- intensive, paper-based processes. This does not bode well for attracting employees or custom - ers whose entire generation has been characterized by innovation through technology. A digital origination environment that encompasses electronic document delivery, exchange, and signatures with eClosing functionality could be the first in a series of steps to both revolutionize and revitalize the mortgage industry. Welcome to the digital age, indeed. P re p a re d & R e a d y t o R u n idsDoc is fully prepared to keep you in compliance with TRID. With idsDoc you can: Track and manage the LE & CD through E-Sign. Track and show investors/auditors compliance with the TRID eConsent and eDisclosure process. » » Learn more at idsDoc.com/More MARK MACKEY is CEO of International Document Services (IDS), a mortgage document preparation vendor for initial disclosures and closing documents. He can be reached at mark@idsdoc.com. MARK MCELROY is the president and CEO of Pavaso, Inc., a provider of digital closing technology for the entire real estate lifecycle. He can be reached at mmcelroy@pavaso.com.