Check Under the Hood Lately?
By: Bill Dolan, CMB.
When Was the Last Time You Checked Under the Hood?
The need for regular maintenance on your automobile is key to its longevity and sustainability. You know what the signs are when your car is in dire need of a tune-up:
Those unusual noises?
Your engine misfiring
Feeling those unusual vibrations
Stalling out at traffic lights (remember it well)
Poor fuel mileage
Well the same holds true for your Loan Origination System (LOS) or possibly your Product & Pricing Engine (PPE).
Challenges arise each and every day when it comes to accurately measuring the performance of your loan manufacturing plant. If your organization doesn’t have the proper loan origination software implemented, along with ironclad quality checks throughout each phase of your process (Application through Loan Delivery), you will fail and fall short of your company’s performance expectations.
Setup and implementation of your LOS system is the cornerstone and foundation for a productive and profitable mortgage department. The majority of mortgage departments do not have their LOS systems set up properly, many times right from the get-go. How do we know? By the number of calls SCA receives post-implementation advising us that they are having system and workflow issues and need our help. Like any other mortgage department, operations are far too busy being reactive trying to close the next loan, only to put off and avoid the reality of addressing and resolving the back-ups along with the redundancy of the same loans being passed back and forth three and four times between the MLO, Processor and Underwriter, back to the MLO. After a while, it becomes “who has the hot potato?” Do you have rules set up within your system for each phase in the loan process? More importantly, are they set up correctly? Do they need to be created or do you need to adjust them accordingly? Have you planned to set them up but time just doesn’t allow you to get around to it? Business rules make it simple and far less complicated for the employee working in the LOS system, and indicates what functions/actions need to be performed when business rules are set up properly. Your LOS system should also have the capability to develop the proper reports necessary to measure your departments key performance indicators (KPIs) and Best Practices.
The same hold true for your Product and Pricing Engine (PPE). Your PPE is the tool used to enhance your lending strategy and operations. Utilizing the PPE should be assisting you with both product eligibility information and pricing to best meet the needs of your borrowers while improving profitability.
Is your set-up of the PPE allowing you to shave valuable time off the loan process? Are you providing your MLOs with the necessary tools to compare rates across various Investors and Conduits? It also should allow your LOs to view their company’s preferred Investors and pricing quotes within your PPE.
If it doesn’t, contact Spillane Consulting Associates and schedule a two-day on-site Systems Technology and Workflow Analysis Review .
Let SCA look under the hood to get your LOS and PPE systems humming the way that they were meant to…. firing on all engines. Our Residential Lending & Technology Consultants are ready to provide your company with the necessary maintenance. If you are contemplating purchasing a new LOS or PPE system, let us provide the necessary workflow services and blueprint required to build out these new systems.
For more information on this and other services SCA provides, please contact Bill Dolan, CMB, Director at (781) 356-2772 or email Bill at wdolan@scapartnering.com