The ability to do things online in this day and age is pretty standard. You can video chat with long distance friends, check the balance of your bank account, you can even grocery shop online and have the items delivered to you same day! The Internet is where you can do nearly everything, and has surpassed being a convenience to becoming a necessity. It’s the one-stop-shop for anything you could possibly imagine—even mortgages.
You’ve probably seen the advertisements of new companies allowing you to get a mortgage completely online, without even one stop into the lender’s location. The lender providing you with your loan may not even have a location near you, or any locations at all. This is an entirely new concept, surpassing the general practice of submitting an online application before meeting with your lender to help expedite the process while still giving you time with a mortgage professional.
Think about it, would you work with a realtor that wasn’t based locally to help find your dream home? Would you even feel comfortable never being able to meet in person to discuss this life-changing decision?
Probably not. While it’s convenient to be able to connect online and chat about certain items, it’s also important to be able to meet face-to-face to discuss more complicated matters. Prequalifying for a loan or asking small questions online can help to streamline the process, but with a mortgage being such a large commitment, it’s easy to assume that people may have more complicated questions they would like to meet to discuss.
Most people only buy a few homes in their lifetime so it isn’t a process they are familiar with, nor is it the same in each situation. These factors all lead to confusion that mortgage professionals have the experience and knowledge to alleviate. A seasoned mortgage professional is familiar with each aspect of the process and can help shed invaluable light for the consumer.
With the entire mortgage process online, who do you reach out to with those questions? There’s no doubt these companies and applications provide support, but how knowledgeable are the support people that you would speak with? You will very likely end up depending on a call center, not a mortgage professional. It’s the biggest purchase you will make in your lifetime—do you really want to leave it up to a voice on the other end of the line?
The Internet makes almost everything in life easier but, when it comes to mortgages, it’s best to steer clear of a completely online process and rely on the mortgage professionals in your area.
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