"Is there anything I need to do?": The borrower-first approach to mortgage technology
Seventy per cent (70%) of mortgage professionals believe that vendors are creating valuable technology solutions, according to research from Arizent. While AI continues to change the face of the real estate market for some professionals, the real success of innovative tech is in client relations. Gareth Borcherds (pictured), managing director at Jaro, believes the power of technology lives in improving the borrower experience.
“The most important thing to understand is that technology is meant to be a tool for us to speed up and take away a lot of the extra processes and things that we may have to do,” he told MPA.
For Borcherds, the digital tools available to loan officers should be configured with a focus on customer usability, especially in key areas like point-of-sale (POS) systems and appraisal management. With well-designed tech interfaces, borrowers gain a clear understanding of their role in the process. “Do I have anything that I need to do as a part of this process?” Borcherds points out as an essential question borrowers should be able to answer intuitively.
Integrating advanced analytics, especially for appraisals, is another technological shift Borcherds sees as crucial for the industry. By using AI to break down complex appraisal data, lenders can present information in borrower-friendly terms, enhancing transparency and reducing confusion.
“If you focus on making sure the borrower knows what they need to do… then using technology to give them information and condense the information into things they can understand, that creates the best borrower experience,” Borcherds said.
As for technology’s role in optimizing operations, advanced analytics and automated appraisal review can save valuable time for loan officers.
“Appraisals continue to get focus from the GSEs, Fannie and Freddie, especially from a quality perspective,” Borcherds noted, stressing that advanced property analytics and pre-emptive appraisal review can streamline origination processes. These tools can also help loan officers identify and resolve issues, such as bias or inaccurate appraisal data, which can affect credibility. In a data-driven industry, the right systems not only speed up processes but also empower lenders to quickly adapt to GSE policies like the new reconsideration of value requirements (ROV). For Borcherds, integrating these tools enables “loan officers [to] avoid spinning their wheels” on unnecessary steps.
Despite the promise of technology, Borcherds acknowledges the hesitation some mortgage professionals have about digital tools. They worry that automated processes might dilute the personal connection with clients.
However, he argues, “as we get more Gen Z and Millennial buyers, more expect more of a digital experience, they don’t see digital as a negative… so long as they know they can pick up the phone or send a text message, ‘hey, I need some help here’.”
Borcherds believes loan officers can reserve their personal touch for moments when it’s most needed, such as addressing issues that deviate from the expected, or “happy path”, as he calls it. He sees technology as a way to automate the routine while keeping human interaction central for critical moments.
Looking ahead, Borcherds is clear that loan officers need to familiarize themselves with AI to stay competitive. “The advent of AI isn’t that this… is a new technology. It’s just that it’s easier to obtain the results that you want without as much investment,” he explained. He encourages mortgage professionals to experiment with AI on smaller, simpler tasks to understand its possibilities firsthand. Borcherds emphasized that, rather than a top-down approach, the AI tools should be put “in the hands of end users” so they can learn and apply technology in real-time, using it to enhance the borrower experience directly.
The days of technology being a “big corporate function” are fading, he said, as end users are increasingly empowered to make decisions and drive value independently.
