Clients need to understand their employment history is a piece of the mortgage application puzzle.
In a fast-paced industry like ours, you have to keep up with the best to be successful — especially when demand is high and mortgage rates are low. But as a mortgage loan originator (MLO), you’ll have to contend with some stiff competition if you want to land more business. Learning how to close a mortgage quickly takes time, but as you gain more experience as an MLO, you may learn some techniques to put you ahead of the competition. Here are a few tips to help you keep moving efficiently from one mortgage loan to the next.
1. Simplify the Documentation Process
Put yourself in the borrower’s shoes—applying for a mortgage loan can be intimidating, not least because of all the documentation they must provide to be approved. You can’t close a loan until you have all of the required documentation, so why not make it easier for them?
Let them know exactly what they need to submit as soon as possible and provide them with a quick, easy, and secure submission method. The sooner they know, the faster they can start getting it ready.
Share this free, downloadable Home Loan Checklist with your borrower to help them feel more prepared as you begin to collect the necessary information.
2. Be Upfront
People won’t give you something if you don’t ask for it first; it’s critical to get the closing process moving as quickly as possible.
Sometimes, your prospect won’t be ready to commit when you ask for the sale, and that’s okay. Just make sure that you give them a reason to call you first when they are ready.
3. Always Be Communicating
In sales, knowing your ABCs usually means Always Be Closing, but if you want to close faster, you also need to Always Be Communicating with the borrower. As you know, mortgage applications often require a lot of back and forth between the borrower, the processor, the underwriter, and you, the mortgage loan originator.
If you are not on top of your communications, your time to close is likely going to suffer. And if you’re working with third-party loan processors, communication is even more important.
Be transparent about the loan process and everyone involved. From day one, introduce the loan processor as a member of the team. Everyone is working towards the same goal — getting the borrower(s) into the home of their dreams — so you want it to go as smoothly as possible.
4. Don’t React, Act!
Know where your prospective borrower is in their buying or refinancing journey and tailor your communications to suit their needs. Follow-up when necessary and consider creating a series of emails with helpful information that you can set to automatically send to your mailing list. This is called an email drip campaign and it can be an easy way to engage and connect with your current and potential customers.
When you start to think ahead and offer value to your prospects, you can react less and start taking action to potentially gain more business.
5. Qualify Your Leads
One way to stop reacting so that you can get your client nearer to closing is to pre-qualify your leads at the beginning stage of the loan application process.
6. Rethink Your System
An easy-to-use system is essential. For example, wemlo’s digital platform offers a secure borrower portal that makes everything clear and trackable. The brokerage dashboard allows mortgage loan originators to access client information, see the status of any loans, upload documents, and more — all with a few clicks. Add to that a team of loan processors who are experts at staying on top of the details and you have a streamlined process that can help you close faster and have more time to bring in new business.
Want to see for yourself how wemlo can help you work more efficiently? Book a 30-minute demo today.
