As the mortgage industry evolves, originators must embrace a new role to evolve with it, says former NAMB president
The COVID-19 outbreak has forced many mortgage professionals to embrace the digital revolution. Originators have had to get used to remote work, digital closings and more. But one mortgage expert says that originators will have to change the way they do business if they want to keep pace with the evolution of the industry.
John G. Stevens, chief marketing officer for wholesale lender SRE Mortgage Alliance and former president of the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB), said that mortgage originators – and all real estate professionals – must embrace a new role if they want to be the humans in the “human-assisted e-commerce” that he sees as the natural evolution of the mortgage sector.
“This isn’t even the future anymore – it’s the current state of what the consumer is requiring in order for our industry is to progress,” Stevens told MPA. “They understand more than ever the importance of technology with the human touch.”
And the human touch is still important, Stevens said.
“It’s like receiving letters in the mail. People used to receive them all the time, and then we switched to email,” he said. “Then email almost became an instant message service, and we were inundated with it. Then came Amazon, and we were suddenly receiving packages again. And once again, you’re excited to receive mail.”
There’s a parallel in the home buying sector, Stevens said.
“For some time, if you wanted to buy a home you had to meet with someone, and that’s just the way it was. Then technology came along and allowed people to research homes around the world without leaving their desk,” he said. “Well, the pendulum has swung too far that way. A lot of the industry’s failing to recognize that customers are saying, ‘I need to have that human touch.’”
That’s where the new role for originators comes in, Stevens said. It’s a designation called Real Property Advisor (RPA). RPAs have the licensing to guide a prospective home buyer through every step of the process, from finding a home to closing on a mortgage.
“It’s someone who is trained, educated and licensed as a real estate agent – but they’re also trained, educated and licensed as an originator,” Stevens said.
That means the home buyer can maintain one point of contact throughout the home-purchase life cycle, rather than being handed off to a different person halfway through, Stevens said.
“A Real Property Advisor is someone who steps in and takes care of the whole transaction from start to finish,” he said.
Stevens said that he believes that as home buying becomes more and more digital, real estate professionals will increasingly need to wear both hats to guide the borrower through the process.
“Borrowers want to have e-commerce until they don’t – and then they want to have a human to speak to,” he said. “For many people this is the biggest purchase they’ll make in their life. They don’t want to trust that to a computer, and they don’t want to trust that to someone who doesn’t have the expertise. That’s why a Real Property Advisor is what people need right now, because they’ve been educated and have the required licenses to help them along the entire path – but they also have the necessary technology to make the process more fluid, more efficient, and quite simply easier for the consumer.”
Stevens said that SRE Mortgage Alliance can help originators through the process of becoming RPAs, which involves ensuring that they’re licensed as both an originator and hold a real estate license, or expect to receive a real estate license within three months. He said that originator reaction to the RPA model has been positive.
Follow these steps on how to get your real estate license in Texas in this article.
“Those who understand the industry are enthralled at the idea, and once they learn more about it, they realize that it’s necessary,” he said. “…Unfortunately, with the condensing of the market, there’s going to be a major shift in our industry. Those who want to survive need to adopt this model. It’s not ‘if’ – it’s when they do it.
“It’s also something that consumers love, because they aren’t bouncing around between people,” he added.” They have one point of contact, one trusted advisor. … I believe that those who want to stay relevant need to take a step forward into the future and be a Real Property Advisor. Those who don’t can get back into their carriages, keep sending their faxes, and light candles in their home at night.”
