When you are buying a home, are you willing to drag yourself to a traditional bank branch and meet with a mortgage specialist, or do everything by phone or computer? You might prefer to get a mortgage online, which is one of the reasons online mortgage lenders such as Better.com, SoFi, and Reali have changed the mortgage landscape. Especially considering how many online lenders offer the best mortgage rates, lower fees and easier qualification, more and more homeowners are choosing online lenders from traditional banks.

“Some of these online lenders can interact more effectively with technology, and sometimes I don’t care about making a phone call or meeting someone in person,” said Craig Martin, head of wealth and investment. Provided a loan to JD Power. “They are ahead of the curve in many ways and rely on traditional methods or mechanisms, but with the experience of their customers, they are more flexible.”

But J.D. Power’s 2019 customer satisfaction study shows that digital tools in mortgages are not synchronized with other digital tools in retail banking. Although 60% of customers are using lenders’ websites to access their information, only 31% of customers are accessing this information on their mobile devices. Nevertheless, customers using digital self-service channels have the highest overall satisfaction with mortgages.

The real estate brokerage firm Reali controls vertical home purchases and loans through its mortgage and custodian agencies, Reali Loans and Reali Escrow. With these products, Reali can act as a one-stop shop for home buyers. Reali Loans CEO Jason van den Brand explained the benefits that vertical integration brings to the company. “We bundle all these services together to provide value and convenience to our customers,” he said.

However, with fierce competition among online mortgage service providers, some new homeowners, even those seeking refinancing, may find higher interest rates and lower transaction costs. In addition, due to the lack of physical branches and offices, overhead costs have been reduced, so online lenders have greater profit margins.

“If we think of home ownership as a holistic experience, it’s not just a loan, it’s looking for a home. To this end, what app do you use to find your dream home, and what agent when you find your dream home “People represent you, and when they represent you, you need to pay for the slice,” Vanden Brand said. “So we as a whole offer you real estate, escrow services, simple, stress-free and affordable mortgages. And we do this by participating in every part of the transaction, not just mortgages.”

Just like the transition from letter to phone to text message, it is entirely possible that traditional mortgage service providers must adapt to online-only applications and even integrate home shopping to stay in the game.

This is not to say that traditional physical routes are completely outdated. Just as some people still prefer touchscreen devices over touchscreen devices, traditional mortgages always have an audience. Martin added: “It’s a high-pressure transaction and a high-pressure experience, so people need hand-held, educated, and verified.” “For online lenders, the traditional level of trust or confidence is to build Bigger challenges. Face-to-face contact allows you to do it … when they face to face, they can determine if someone is worried, worried or in doubt or confused. ”

Reali Loans also addresses this aspect of home buying transactions for its clients through dedicated licensed mortgage lenders. Even if new home buyers, who make up about 35% of their customer base, have questions or need help, they can quickly connect with experts, and the process is still included in the online portal. Van den Brand explained: “We take a hybrid approach, and even if you do talk to a loan officer, most people feel comfortable, so it’s best to make it faster Wherever I go, I go online. ”

It’s not just convenience and customer service capabilities that can make traditional lenders sweat. Interest rates are indeed competitive, and mortgages usually come with some monetary bonus. For example, the customer down payment for a mortgage loan provided by SoFi need only be reduced by 10%. Better.com does not advertise any commissions or founding fees for borrowers, effectively reducing home purchase costs by 6% to 10%, while reducing the effective annual interest rate to less than 4%. Reali Loans will send cheques to customers within 10 days of the deadline, and will provide customers with cash quotes if they are concerned about being beaten by other competitive quotes.

Digital lenders like this will drive the industry further into the digital age and help lenders better cater to consumer demand-we should expect to see