Digital mortgages

The deal adds to the burgeoning technology stack at the Houston-based title underwriter, which added NotaryCam in December.

While COVID-19 pushed digitization to the forefront of lending, a majority of borrowers still want some degree of human interaction, according to a survey by ICE Mortgage Technology.

The move formalizes the use of the Rocket Mortgage moniker, which has been a major part of the company’s branding since 2016.

The incident points to a risk mortgage companies should be aware of as they shift to digital servicing strategies.

The lender will expand certain mortgage products, like its HomeRun program, which requires lower down payments and removes mortgage-insurance requirements for lower-income borrowers.

The mortgage real estate investment trust has been a first-mover regarding innovations in the private securitized market, and others tend to follow its lead.

In the nonstop deluge of loan volume, last year’ highest producing loan officers leaned on tech — though sometimes reluctantly — to adapt in the digital marketplace.

Lenders largely took a piecemeal strategy to technology adoption, gravitating towards a hybrid e-closing process as the latest industry “innovation,” yet this process is anything but, Rick Triola of NotaryCam writes.

New entrants in the market may believe: “We’re doing everything right. Fraud isn’t a problem, and we have a fraud alert tool in place anyway.” This, of course, is exactly when fraud risk grows, warns Paul Harris of First American Data & Analytics.