With the United States’ mortgage rates rising from under 3% in 2021 to over 7% in 2024, mortgage companies have faced their fair share of challenges. Between the volatility of the housing market and the seemingly never-ending threat of inflation, there have been genuine concerns about the mortgage industry’s future. Besides these external factors, the mortgage industry’s biggest challenge has come from its delays in implementing cutting-edge technology—specifically, the use of AI in mortgage industry settings.
No mortgage company can take advantage of powerful artificial intelligence tools if it hasn’t embraced them yet. In fact, one Fannie Mae survey found that only 7% of all mortgage companies had incorporated AI into the mix. Fortunately, about 22% of mortgage companies did say that they’ve begun implementing some AI on a trial basis, and 29% will roll out AI tools within the next two years.
Still, those numbers sound low when you consider how AI could potentially reshape the mortgage industry and help it overcome all its latest hurdles. Read on to discover how mortgage companies can benefit from AI if they’re willing to take the leap.
How AI Could Help Your Mortgage Company Master Lead Management
According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, nearly 4,500 financial institutions specialize in mortgage lending to Americans looking to buy homes, including:
- Banks
- Credit unions
- Mortgage companies
In the past, mortgage companies had no choice but to manage leads manually by fielding phone calls and email inquiries from potential customers. They also had to handle lead qualification on their own by evaluating how much interest leads had in working with their companies. These tasks took up a lot of time and sometimes led to missed opportunities when mortgage companies weren’t able to get back to new leads fast enough.
However, with so many financial institutions competing, it’s become more important than ever before for mortgage companies to optimize their lead management practices. Fortunately, using AI in mortgage industry applications can help with this very thing.
Enter Conversational Voice AI For Mortgage Companies
Conversational Voice AI has proven to be a game changer in finding, engaging with, and assessing potential mortgage applicants, like enthusiastic homebuyers. This type of AI refers to voice-based interactions between humans and computers, and it has made life easier for many people in the mortgage industry.
Artificial intelligence applications can assist human employees with jobs like:
- Engaging with people within 60 seconds of them clicking onto a site or social media.
- Providing instant soft qualifications, which means identifying people interested in taking up a mortgage company’s services
- Collecting important information from potential customers
- Letting people know about the company’s eligibility criteria for mortgage borrowers
- Giving people a general idea of mortgage rates or answering their questions
There’s no doubt that Conversational Voice AI has taken lead management to the next level by optimizing engagement. Quick responses that personalize the interaction for your potential customers will increase the chances they’ll hire your particular mortgage company. Some companies see an increase in qualified leads within months of investing in tools like 2X Solutions’ platform, which includes Conversational Voice AI.
Customer Engagement and Experience For Potential Mortgage Holders Leads Go a Long Way
A 2022 Realtor Magazine report revealed the most popular time for people to shop for homes online is on a Tuesday at about 8 p.m. While that’s in progress, it isn’t uncommon for them to also explore the idea of trying to obtain a mortgage online. Can your mortgage company deliver 24/7/365 service to avoid missing the chance to engage with Tuesday night’s website visitors?
It’s almost impossible for mortgage companies to connect with these leads after business hours if they’re operating as they did three decades ago. However, the development of chatbots and virtual assistants, alongside the rise of Conversational Voice AI, has changed everything.
How Conversational Voice AI Can Help a Mortgage Company Engage Better
When someone inquires about mortgage rates on a mortgage company’s website day or night, Conversational Voice AI in mortgage loan companies can engage them. Quick responses provide an excellent customer service experience. Conversational Voice AI can also tackle tasks like the following with ease:
- Quick, accurate responses to frequently asked questions
- Finding out how much the person would like to borrow from the mortgage company
- Other meaningful conversations to gather data from these potential customers
A tool like 2X Solutions’ platform also integrates Conversational Voice AI into the customer relationship management software that mortgage companies use. Conversational Voice AI can take any qualified leads it gathers and send them to the sales team at a mortgage company so that they can follow up.
Mortgage companies love this because they’re able to connect with people about their products more effectively. Leads love it because it makes them feel like the mortgage company cares about what they need, even when they’re not officially open for business.
Operational Efficiency Improvement For Faster Home Loans and More
The mortgage approval process typically takes anywhere from 30 to 60 days. From asking borrowers to fill out applications and making important underwriting decisions to revealing whether borrowers have a mortgage approved, the process is time-consuming. Conversational Voice AI can’t eliminate all these steps, but it can cut down repetitive tasks, such as document processing and verification.
Mortgage companies can also utilize AI analytics as part of the decision-making process. That way, the company makes better decisions about who it should lend money to. As a result, those mortgage companies can scale back the time spent approving lenders looking to buy homes.
Conversational Voice AI can make the mortgage industry more efficient overall. That also means the future could be less stressful for everyone entering the mortgage application process.
Compliance and Quality Assurance in Mortgage AI Deals
The many steps lining the mortgage approval process aren’t the only things that stretch it over many weeks or, sometimes, months. The Truth in Lending Act and the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act regulate mortgage company activities and processes. There’s also constant compliance with the many rules and regulations governing the industry, which brings the mortgage application process to a grinding halt at times.
This is yet another area in which 2X Solutions’ platform and Conversational Voice AI can help the various mortgage industry players. In fact, countless mortgage companies that have adopted AI have now put AI-driven compliance monitoring tools in place. They ensure mortgage companies adhere to the necessary rules and regulations as they do business, night and day.
AI in mortgage companies’ systems can also keep the personal data of any borrowers safe and secure. They should be able to protect it from falling into the wrong hands by finding the right AI-driven solutions. They can even make sure quality assurance processes are followed properly by having AI monitoring and analysis on the go.
Mortgage companies can use Conversational Voice AI and similar technologies to engage potential mortgage borrowers while staying within the limits of the law. The voice capabilities are already hugely helpful to big and small mortgage companies nationwide.
Driving Innovation and Future Growth For Mortgage Lenders
With mortgage rates rising like they have over the last few years, much uncertainty surrounds the industry. There is no telling exactly where the mortgage industry and the companies that operate within it are heading. However, it would appear as though things are in good hands as more mortgage companies wrap their arms around AI and everything it has to offer.
AI is already playing a part in mortgage underwriting and risk assessment, and this is only going to increase. Many mortgage industry experts also believe AI can provide mortgage companies with predictive analysis that can help managers and anyone else at the company stay up to date on the latest real estate trends. With easy access to this kind of information, it can help mortgage companies to do things like:
- Generate more useful content for their websites and establish greater trust with potential homebuyers.
- Engage in better conversations with potential mortgage applicants and provide more accurate information on mortgage rates or complicated payment terms.
- Make quicker decisions on which applicants are the most qualified to take out mortgages and repay them.
Homebuyers will also enjoy better experiences with mortgage companies utilizing artificial intelligence systems, so everybody wins.
Get in Touch With Us to See How AI Can Benefit Your Mortgage Company’s Reach, Administration, and More
Industry experts cannot overstate the important role that AI will soon be playing in all mortgage companies that want to move forward and stay competitive. AI has already started to reshape the mortgage industry in many ways. Since there aren’t that many mortgage companies using it yet, those benefits are only going to become more evident as time goes on.
If your company hasn’t got AI in mortgage and verification tasks, you’re missing out on an investment that could pay back in spades. Contact 2X Solutions to see how you can make the most of the platform or Conversational Voice AI today!
