The Problem
Getting a mortgage is hard. The experience is overwhelming, not intuitive, confusing, difficult, long, boring, and the list of negative adjectives goes on. Mortgages are a trillion dollar industry. They still uses technology from 20+ years ago. It is one of the largest purchases a person can make. Yet, there has been little effort to change all that. Did you know that...
The average time it takes to close a loan is 45 days.Over 50 people will touch the loan. Lenders still make people fax documents.
Over 68% of adults in the U.S. own a smartphone and not one of them can go through the entire mortgage process on one, but they can order cookies on-demand.
User Research
Myself and my co-worker interviewed a variety of people in person getting insight into their thoughts on the mortgage process and how a mobile app could be beneficial. We used job stories to better identify features based on motivations.
- When I'm looking for a rate, I want to be able to compare multiple options, so I can find the one that works best for me.
- When I'm learning about getting a mortgage, I want to get unbiased advice, so I can purchase with confidence.
- When I'm getting a mortgage, I want to be able to see the progress anywhere and anytime, so I can stay up to date.
- When I'm getting a mortgage, I want a checklist of things I need to do, so I can keep track.
The Solution
Creating an app that allows people to get a mortgage is just one of the many things it takes to reinvent the mortgage process. There needs to be a fundamental change in how lenders work, the technology, the customer experience, and much more. If you want to see how I helped improve the customer experience internally check out the Salesforce CRM Project.
