The Covid-19 pandemic took the world by storm in 2020, its effects were truly unprecedented, and it has brought society a wholesome time to recover; in fact, some countries are still not out of the woods. The pandemic crippled businesses across every industry, but human beings are nothing if not resilient. Companies have gradually adjusted, and we slowly move back to a semblance of normalcy.
Old vs. New
As businesses adjust, technology has played a vital role in helping us navigate through our new normal. Let us look at the mortgage industry, for example. Recent changes in market demand and customer expectations have made digital mortgage systems necessary for any business in this industry. Fintech lenders have been leveraging the power of technology in the mortgage industry for some time now, so the adjustment has not been as difficult for them. Still, old-fashioned mortgage lenders have had a steep learning curve to overcome
The Market Booms! A Rise of Mortgage Fraud
Mortgage rates in 2020 hit an all-time low, causing demand to rise faster than most industries could keep up with, at least without technology. Fintech makes processing mortgage payments quicker and far more efficient, but these low mortgage rates also attract those terrible actors looking to defraud people. The number of scams documented rose by 1316 every month in 2020. Software solutions also offer more significant security protocols in the mortgage industry.
Widespread frauds in the industry include occupancy fraud, straw buyers, and air loan fraud. The rising frequency of swindles makes it more necessary than ever for mortgage lenders to verify people’s identities and confirm the authenticity of their desired property purchase before giving them a mortgage loan. Modern technology can verify that mortgage applications are legitimate faster and more accurately than any human could.
The Solutions
Big data
Predictive analytics and other such technologies are making data collection faster than ever. Businesses now have the technology to compile more robust data on their customers and the rest of the market, opening entirely new possibilities that were utterly unachievable until now.
Big data has made several practices within the mortgage industry more efficient than ever before, including underwriting, account servicing, regulatory reporting, and identifying fraud and other risks.
In the mortgage industry, who is and is not eligible for a loan is determined using credit scores and other such financial analytics; big data can help process such calculations faster and may even discover benchmarks for loan eligibility that most people would have overlooked. Thanks to big data, more millennials and marginalized groups such as immigrants can avail of mortgage loans because modern data analysis methods can consider factors such as rent, utility, digital services, and telecom payments.
Artificial intelligence
As we know, artificial intelligence is still a very new industry standard, but it is already making waves in automation and productivity across different industries. In the mortgage industry, AI is helping to improve efficiency and accuracy in the lending process, allowing lenders more excellent opportunities for scalability.
How Does Modern Technology Benefit Lenders?
Those who choose to take out a mortgage loan are not the only ones benefiting from industry technology; lenders are also helping. Technology has already successfully eliminated paper-intensive processes, meaning lenders can position their businesses as more environmentally conscious.
Implementing technology into the mortgage industry also allows businesses to cut costs by eliminating redundancies, reducing the need for human intervention, and performing tasks involved in the lending process faster than ever before.
Lenders looking to integrate technology into their business should first assess their company’s unique needs and goals. They should pinpoint specific redundancies and other issues in the overall business process and decide what technology solutions will benefit their business.
Where Do We Go From Here?
The COVID-19 pandemic changed how businesses operate and affected people’s market demands across various market segments. We can expect unprecedented innovations as the tech industry rises to meet these new needs and expectations.
It is difficult to say where precisely the mortgage industry will go from here. As the boom settles, we should see the market gradually stabilize; what will be the role of modern technology as this happens? Will technology continue to benefit the disenfranchised? Homelessness is a grave issue, and there is no end in sight for now. Many questions are yet to be answered, but we must wait and see.
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