DMS makes loan modifications easy by making the lending process less strenuous, and here’s how.
The Making Homes Affordable (MHA) program was established to give homeowners a chance to modify their mortgage payments and help them to stay in their homes. While this program can greatly benefit homeowners, it is a long process that requires a lot of paperwork and time-consuming processes that obfuscate and add complexity to file routing processes that could be made much simpler.
The modification process can be made much easier if banks utilize proper document management software to help their customers modify their home loans. Here are 4 ways that document management software can make loan modifications easy for banks and customers alike.
Keep Documents Updated: Why DMS Makes Loan Modifications Easy
Documents for the MHA program must be updated regularly. This includes bank statements that must be updated monthly, pay stubs that must be updated every pay period, and other documents and forms that expire at various times.
Keeping these forms updated can be a tedious and tiring task for both bank employees and customers, and modifications are often pushed out of the review stages due to outdated documents, causing the modification process to drag on indefinitely and with a significant negative impact on the bottom line.
With document management software like eFileCabinet, you can set retention guidelines so that you know when a document needs to be replaced and can remind your clients who are in review for modification.
Staying ahead of these documents keeps the modification application in review so that it can be completed more quickly. Loan modifications are complex processes, and can often lead to formal complaints if not handled with the professionalism and care expected from credit unions and lending institutions.
Get Signatures Quickly and Easily
When forms need to be updated and signatures are required, it can often take a long time to get the documents that you need to continue with the modification, even under optimal circumstances.
Many customers don’t have the means in their own homes to scan or fax documents back to your institution. Most lending institutions, credit unions, and banks do not leverage digital signature technology despite the operating expenses it can reduce. Additionally, the ROI one can expect to gain from leveraging digital signatures practically makes not using them inexcusable.
That means they need to find the time to go to a location where they can pay to use a scanner or fax machine, or else send the signed forms via traditional mail. Either process can take a long time—and throughout that time period, their modification review is not making any progress.
The right document management software will integrate with electronic signature software, meaning that your clients can easily provide a digital signature right on their computers and send the updated forms back to you.
And, when your DMS has a secure client portal, you can immediately be notified that the documents have been returned, so the modification can be put back into review as quickly as possible.
Fast Communication between Departments and Better Document Turnaround
Your customer isn’t the only person that you need to communicate with throughout the modification process to understand how DMS makes loan modifications easy. Every modification is handled by multiple people within your institution, from processors to underwriters and everything in between.
Sometimes, internal communication can become bottle-necked, or important messages may become lost while being passed back and forth, delaying the review process and potentially even losing review information in the onslaught of concomitant processes surrounding loan modification and lending practices.
DMS allows fast and easy collaboration. You can view modification documents and see who last worked on the file and when, and they can leave notes regarding the status of the review. Not only does this ensure better collaboration, it speeds up repetitive workflow processes.
This way, when a client calls for an update on their modification, you can quickly tell them what stage of the review they are in and whether or not any updated files are needed to proceed. Communication is instantaneous, and you’ll never have to sort through old emails to find the most recent status update again.
Most email content may appear organized, but the limited search functionality and collaboration components make it difficult to sift through the information to find relevant content and messages.
Although every great document management system will have an Outlook integration, this should be used only to ween workers off of email for internal communications until they’ve familiarized with the document management system. In terms of long-term use, the demand for email integration with external communications will hinge largely upon adoption of content management and document management systems.
Better Results, Happier Customers
If you want to see how DMS makes loan modifications easy, the final step is the most crucial of them all, and as expected, it’s the one worth working for most: The final result of implementing DMS to process loan modifications will be better results and much more satisfied customers.
Instead of sifting through thousands of documents and sifting through forms manually to identify pertinent information within documents, you’ll be able to summon the information you need in a concise and protracted manner.
When your customers are able to get their modifications done quickly and feel that they are being kept informed throughout the process, the bond of trust between them and your institution will be strengthened significantly.
They will feel that your bank is doing everything within its power to modify their home loan and improve their financial outlook. In the end, by making the modification process easier on yourself, you make it easier on your customers, and they walk away happier, with a more affordable home payment, and your lending institution with an understanding of how DMS makes loan modifications easy for the long haul.
Implementing DMS at your financial institution is simple and easy, but it can make a world of difference for your bank, your employees, and all of your customers.
If you would like to learn more about how a DMS like eFileCabinet can make loan modifications simpler and easier, contact one of our business efficiency experts using the form on this page. Or you can visit our buyers guide for further information on document management systems and their post-implementation capabilities.