Loan Factory founder Thuan Nguyen created moso.com to offer a simple platform that streamlines the mortgage process
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Five years ago, Loan Factory founder Thuan Nguyen had an enviable problem: his volume was so high that he could barely keep track of all his transactions. Nguyen – a top originator whose personal production hit $364 million in 2016 – decided to put his Silicone Valley background to use and design his own software for nearly a million dollars.
The result is moso.com, short for Mortgage Software, a platform that includes a pricing engine, point-of-sale system, rate alerts, online application generation, Cloud-based document management and customer relationship management.
Nguyen says moso.com has powered California-based Loan Factory’s rapid expansion to five branches in four states and received rave reviews from his employees.
A few months ago, he decided to offer the software to other originators for a low price -- $50 per month, plus $15 for each funded loan. Interest has been strong: 70 people signed up for moso.com at a single trade show, and Nguyen anticipates that number to grow to roughly 500 by the end of the year.
Power Originator recently chatted with Nguyen about how moso.com can help originators become more efficient, organized and customer-focused.
PO: Your background in Silicon Valley and the mortgage industry give you a unique position to create this software.
Nguyen: Yes, my major was management information systems, and I worked for a start-up in Silicon Valley before I opened my own brokerage business. As a mortgage professional, I know exactly what I want. Other software can be very hard to use. Most processors have to spend at least one or two full days to learn. With my software, it’s very intuitive. I’ve used it for myself for the past five years, and that’s how I have been able to grow so fast. All of my processors and originators are using it. My originators each have their own portal, so they can do their own marketing. It is customizable. That’s how I empower my originators.
PO: How does your software differ from the others that are currently available?
Nguyen: If you look at some of the software, it is very minimal. It’s been around for 20 years and there are no changes. There is also Loan Sifter, which helps originators compare lenders, but that’s all. Encompass is also good, but it is very expensive for brokers. So I built my own software that can do a lot of things. Let’s say a brand-new broker gets a license and wants to start his own business. When he signs up with my software, he can have a website that is dynamic and customizable, anything he wants. It is dynamic because it allows his customer to run rate quotes, and it is a pricing engine similar to Loan Sifter, but it is easier to use and that pricing engine is available to the broker, the originator and the consumer. The customer can come in, see the rate, create mortgage rate alerts. Then we have the content management, so that when the customer fills out an online application, they can upload the supporting documents. They go to the cloud, so the originator can use them to submit to the lender. It helps manage the initial document collection, plus the follow up.
PO: This sounds like a good way to save time and become more efficient.
Nguyen: Exactly. You have everything in one place. At any given time, I have at least 70 or 80 transactions, so if the client calls me to ask any questions, I can take a few seconds to look it up and find out what is happening with the loan. I don’t have to keep saying, can I call you back in five minutes? The key is to build a system where I allow everyone to see the transaction and see the rate and provide information to help me make sure the process is successful. In the past, I had to fill out the application for the borrower. Now the borrower fills it out themselves on the website. In the past, I had to keep checking the rate for the borrower. Now the pricing engine will email them the rate automatically. In the past, I either didn’t have time or didn’t know how to shop around for them. Now I have a pricing engine that can shop around. The borrower can go to my website and run pricing and find out the rate.
PO: What has the reaction been so far?
Nguyen: All the people we show it to love it. Right now, the broker is struggling to have trust from the consumers. We have so many brokers out there, so many choices for the consumer. How do you win the consumer’s trust? If the broker has software that does the communication with the borrower, it helps build the trust. The rate is available on the website 24/7; it is accurate; it is real time. That is the rate they will get. A lot of times, the borrower keeps asking ‘What rate do I get?’ They want it in writing because they don’t trust the broker, and they keep asking every day until they lock the rate. Sometimes, you start working for the loan, and then they leave you at the last minute because they find someone with a better rate or they trust more. It is a lot of time for the broker to win the consumer trust. With the portal, it is easy.
