Over the last nine months, COVID-19 has upended the world. Title companies are no exception. With interest rates at record lows, people are buying homes like hotcakes, and never mind the pandemic.
Title companies have traditionally stayed in the background during a closing. Now, they’re in the forefront, and their mission is to execute a safe loan closing process while providing buyers with a world-class experience.
Enhanced Home Buying Experience
Title companies are exploring all the ways they can make the home buying experience more enjoyable. One Minnesota title company offers customized loan closings based on what customers want most.
Home buyers can choose how much social distancing they want and how much protective gear they want to wear. Closings can take place indoors or out. The agency even has plexiglass stations that can be modified to surround customers with a protective barrier.
Party favors include prepackaged snacks and goodie bags stuffed with small gifts. The front office Christmas tree is decorated with hanging masks and hand sanitizer.
Although the ultimate objective is to fully digitalize the loan closing process, states and lenders will be the ones to determine how long it will take.
Title companies are already pushing state governments and lenders to grant them the ability to offer customers a completely digitalized closing experience. They don’t plan to stop anytime soon.
That’s what customers want, and title companies are determined to give it to them. In the meantime, the partially digitalized closing is king.
Innovative Strategies
COVID-19 has made working from home increasingly common. One title company vice president says that over 90 percent of his people now work from home. He adds that there’s been a surprise increase in productivity with a corresponding decrease in production costs.
Working from home has become a national trend. This is true for title companies as well as related industries. Most title company insiders now see working from home as the new normal.
The pandemic has challenged title companies to develop and implement new and innovative solutions. They’ve had to find new ways of doing things and reconsider potential solutions that had previously been left by the wayside.
With so many loan closings taking place around the country, it is undeniably clear that changes must be made to manage the workload.
Digital closing technology has been around for years. Up until now, it has mostly spent time on the shelf. However, when COVID-19 struck, title companies started to experiment with digital solutions. One industry insider called it “trial by fire.”
Whether at the legislative level or the operational level, the title company industry has had to push hard to keep things going. Along the way, they’ve been forced to improvise and play it by ear.
Enhanced Communication
Before the virus struck, title companies were silent partners in the background of the loan closing process. Real estate agents gave them no time in the spotlight.
These days, title companies need social media strategies, Google My Business pages, the ability to communicate with clients via text and websites with frequent updates.
This is all good news for title companies, but what about consumers? Ultimately, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a renewed focus on the home buyer.
Title companies today are asking how innovation and technology can help them deliver a closing experience that offers consumers more of what they want.
The virus can’t make people stop buying and selling houses. When title and escrow companies are focused on the consumer, they become an unstoppable force that even a raging virus can’t contain.
Need an Expert Signing Agent?
Since 2008, BNN Services has been trusted by title agencies, mortgage lenders, servicers, and consumers to perform loan and document signings in multiple languages across the country.
Unlike other signing services, BNN Services “touches” each file 8 or 9 times to ensure the process moves forward free of delays. That’s why we’ve completed over 250,000 signings in all 51 jurisdictions and maintained a closing ratio of 96 percent.
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