Even though the pool of potential borrowers is bigger than the ocean and is growing by 10,000 every day, the reverse mortgage industry is highly competitive. One of the main reasons for this paradox is that you are all essentially trying to sell the same loan program; other than the niche jumbo product, a HECM is a HECM is a HECM.

So, how do you differentiate from the competition? You essentially have two competitive levers: price and service.

Typically, these two factors move in the same direction. The better the service, the higher the price. The cheaper the product, the worse the service. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

By leveraging the technical integration of services, you can actually reduce your operating costs while improving your customer service.

Case Study: Streamlining Appraisal Services

Let’s take a moment to think about the current inefficiencies you run into when it comes to dealing with an appraisal.

Most lenders have one (or more) appraisal management companies (AMCs) that they are approved to work with. When a loan gets to a certain stage, a processor orders an appraisal by logging into the AMC’s website and manually keying in data about the subject property.

Then the waiting and checking for updates begins. Some AMCs will send an email as the appraiser schedules the appointment, completes the inspection and submits their report. Then the AMC may take some time reviewing the appraisal and approving it before submitting it to you.

Once you receive the appraisal, not only do you have to attach it to the loan record in your origination system, but you also need to manually key in critical data elements from the report that will be used for FHA reporting purposes.

There are a couple of problems with this workflow. For one, manual data entry into multiple systems is a gateway for errors. It is too easy for someone to transpose numbers when typing or spell something incorrectly, with a result that could range from an appraiser going to the wrong address to reporting false information to FHA. Errors cost you money, either directly (fines) or indirectly (time wasted correcting mistakes).

The second issue is the position you end up in by not being able to provide great customer service to your borrowers. The lending process is big and scary to most of your clients, and the faster you can answer their questions and the easier you can keep them in the loop, the better. And because the appraisal is such a big part of the loan process, many people are on pins and needles while waiting to hear how much money they can pull out of their house.

But how often does the borrower call the loan officer for an update, only to have the loan officer call the processor, so that the processor can call the AMC (or log into their website) to get a status, who then has to call the LO back, who is then finally able to circle back to the borrower? Yuck. Customer service like that is not the type of competitive differentiation you need.

A Better Workflow

By leveraging today’s integrated technology, however, you can both reduce your costs and increase the quality of your customer service.

For example, from within ReverseVision’s RV Exchange, you can get set up with an integrated AMC and then simply click a button to place your order. Behind the scenes, the system validates that all of the required data is in the loan record and it sends the request to the AMC. The AMC immediately responds with an order number that instantly shows up on the screen so that you know the order was a success.

Then, as each task of the appraisal process is completed, RV Exchange is automatically updated, so your loan officer or processor can simply open the loan record and see exactly when the inspection was scheduled, completed, reviewed, etc. And when the appraisal is completed, it is automatically attached to the loan record and all of the key data needed by FHA is populated in the system. No manual data entry. No chasing down answers to basic questions. You save time, reduce costs and improve customer service.

Adoption

When it comes to integrated services, the biggest issue facing lenders today is getting their staff to use it. Leveraging an integrated system may require you to change vendors (groan), and it will most certainly require you to change your business process (ugh). But the upside to making a change could be the catalyst that sets you apart from your competitors.