Once you’ve made the decision to outsource your mortgage processing, it’s time to begin researching your options to determine the right company for you.
Experience
Since the outsourced mortgage industry has grown in several countries, and particularly India, you can capitalize on past training and processing by working with an experienced company. Ask your potential outsourcing group about their past involvement with not only similar companies but also their level of comfort at working with your concepts, workflows, and communication processes. The more aligned the outsourcing group is to the way you already complete business; the smoother transactions will be once you begin using their services.
Provisions for Dealing with Problems
Like any business operation, it’s expected that you will experience snags and growing pains when outsourcing part of your mortgage processing. Ask important questions about whether they have an established support system and method for processing trouble tickets, as well as their average turnaround time for responding to issues.
A company should be prepared to talk about how they handle challenges rather than promising you a perfect world. The more procedures they have in place to limit issues, the more prepared they are to respond to issues when they arise.
Bottom Line Costs
Compare what you’ll be getting from an outsourcing company and compare it with the cost. The most common reason for outsourcing mortgage loan processing is the significant savings a business owner can have when shifting some of the work responsibility elsewhere.
Look at the entire package- how much time and money are you saving on behalf of your in-house staff? Will you still be able to meet your deadlines and maintain the level of service you have previously provided? Make sure that the cost savings are valuable in more ways than your budget. Carefully evaluate beforehand which tasks should be completed in-house and which would make the most sense to be performed elsewhere. Employees may have a preference, so don’t completely exclude their input.
Performance
If the mortgage processing outsourcing company is already overloaded handling the work of numerous banks and lenders, their “standard” workflow processing might be only a few hours or days but in reality it’s longer. Get a sense of how busy the current staff is; the ideal company is one with experience but that hasn’t grown too quickly.
Expectations
Have a conversation with the team leader about what the expectations are for both parties. Some processing companies like to handle the work largely on their own and simply return necessary documents or communication with little oversight. Some companies prefer to have a constant stream of communication throughout the process.
Having a conversation about how each company operates will be helpful in setting and managing your expectations for quality, communication, and workflow. Ultimately, this will lead to less miscommunications and disagreements between all the parties involved.
Choosing an outsourcing mortgage processing company is not a decision to take lightly. Evaluate your own needs, measure them against the company you’re considering working with, and develop expectations so that everyone is clear on their role.
When managed properly, mortgage outsourcing is an excellent way to save on time and money.