Mortgage lender sentiment survey: 2 key takeaways for title agents from the recent survey

Senior executives from the mortgage industry share their impressions in this quarterly survey

The quarterly Mortgage Lender Sentiment Survey^® (MLSS) for Q3 2019 is out and reducing time to close is the top-most priority for lenders so that they can improve customer experience.

The MLSS is a quarterly survey of senior executives of Fannie Mae’s lending institution customers. It tracks insights and provides a benchmark for current and future mortgage lending activities & practices. You can check out the entire survey report by clicking here.

Although the survey covers mortgage lending activities, 2 key findings immediately pop out that directly affect title insurance agents and their operations.

Take away 1: Lenders are increasingly focused on reducing turn times, and this affects title insurance agents

65% of lenders believe reducing the amount of time taken to close a loan has a direct impact on improving borrower experience

Source: MLSS- Special Topics Report Q3 2019

For lenders to close quickly, they need to make sure their suppliers, including title agents, provide them all the information and reports quickly and accurately to avoid issues in closing.

Interestingly, an Ellie Mae Origination Insight Report strengthens these survey findings. According to that survey, the average time to close new loans has come down from 45 days to 43 days as of September. Source: EllieMae

The question is - is your title insurance operations agile enough to meet the increasing demand of faster turn times?

Whether you have in-house staff to handle title searches, or outsource it to a third party provider, turn times is one of the first things you need to consider, as it can make or break a deal. To be able to handle lender needs, if you do the searches in-house, you may need a major investment to have the right technology platform and to develop the appropriate state or country wide online database and a network of abstractors. The simpler option would be to leverage a vendor partner who has the technology platform readily available along with nationwide presence. Vendors like Coforge BPS already have presence in all 50 states, backed up by a robust network of online databases and abstractors, and they combine this with best-in-class technology platforms to reduce turn times for title agents by as much as 70%. Click to know more about Coforge BPS’s products and solutions for the title insurance industry.

Take away 2: Lenders are focused on reducing costs while bringing in operational efficiency

Source: MLSS- Special Topics Report Q3 2019

24% of lenders want effective co-ordination with providers – e.g. title agents, appraisers, real estate agents, while 19% rank reduced costs as a prime factor for increasing borrower satisfaction.

Lenders want their providers to work seamlessly with them. This requires some amount of technology – integration with system, ability to check status easily, ability to access information online, etc. For title agents who have an in-house search team, there may be need to invest in technology to keep up with the lender client requirements. One easier option is to start using platform solutions like SmartProp® from Coforge BPS, as these platforms are already integrated with all major title operations platforms like Resware, EPN, Exchange etc. These platforms also provide online access to check the status of orders, and ability to access the final search reports via a secure web portal. This not only saves on investments that may be needed in technology, but also brings in the operational efficiency which lenders want from their vendor partners, and reduces cost of the overall process.

Also, while turn times, effective co-ordination and cost continue to remain some of the critical factors which title agents have to consider, there are aspects like data security, being SOC I and SOC II certified and ensuring complete accuracy that are also factors that are important in becoming the ideal supplier partner to a lender.

Do let us know what you think of the blog by leaving your comments below. Reach out to us to know more about our SmartProp® property search solution and SmarTrak® property tax reporting solutions by sending an email to CoforgeBPS@coforge.com