Lower rates are often good news for fee income, as it spurs new home buying and a wave of refinancing. However, this time it’s different: lending standards are tighter, the branch network is not operating at full capacity, and MLO teams are working remotely. With nowhere to go, new customers are crashing the contact center and experiencing inordinately long wait times, and current customers can’t get a call back from their favorite loan officer. All of this has turned a great market for lending into a real source of customer dissatisfaction and attrition.

With historically low rates, MLO’s and team members are struggling to prioritize customers and focus their efforts on those opportunities that are most likely to apply and fund. More than one lender has shared with us that their quoting platforms have seized up, unable to handle the sheer volume of rate inquiries and their MLO’s are spending time on too many deals that do not close. Overnight, efficiently handling inbound demand has risen to become a top priority for lenders.

The best way to ensure your lending resources are applied to the highest quality loan deals is to provide digital self-service tools that allow customers to self-service and self-select into the full application process. First time buyers should be able to quickly determine on their own if they are likely to qualify and what it would mean to their financial picture. Customers looking to refinance should be able to easily explore their options through multiple refinancing scenarios.

Leadfusion’s CUSTOMERfirst solution set puts powerful tools in your hands to manage the tsunami of inbound demand with comprehensive self-service digital tools that use your current rates and lending rules – all with full ADA compliance and Spanish language support. Our customers’ impressive results tell the story, reporting efficiency improvements of between 300% and 500%. Simply put, customers that evaluate their options first are more likely to apply, more likely to qualify, and have a higher funding rate.

The digital experience is more important than ever. We welcome the opportunity to work with you to improve the efficiency of your mortgage process and keep your MLOs focused on high quality borrowers.