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Since the introduction of the first iPad in 2010 — and the tablet craze that's ensued ever since — the idea that loan officers and brokers could one day have the ability to take mortgage applications with mobile technology has been a concept that's held much promise. But it's also mired in a belief that widespread use of tablets is a distant evolution for an industry that's notoriously slow at adopting new innovations.
Now, on the heels of the much-anticipated release of Apple's third-generated iPad, an Austin, Texas-based mortgage technology upstart believes the impending launch of its iPad application will be the catalyst for tablet adoption by loan originators.
The MobileLO iPad app is a point of sale application that allows loan officers and brokers to enter the data fields of a Uniform Residential Loan Application (Form 1003), generate a Good Faith Estimate and other federal and state-specific disclosure documents, pull the applicant's credit report and collect electronic signatures.
The app's developer, On The Go Technology, submitted the app for approval and expects it to hit the Apple App Store next week, according to the company's owner, Andrew WeissMalik. With the free app download and registration, users can generate the Form 1003 and export the information in a Fannie Mae 3.2 data file.
"We want market share. It's not about squeezing every dime we can out of every originator out there," WeissMalik said. "We want the app of the future and right now, we're giving it away."
On The Go Technology will also offer a $29.95 per month subscription for premium services, which includes the disclosures, e-signature capability and integration with 50 different credit reporting vendors. The compliance checks and disclosure docs are provided through a partnership with Draper, Utah-based vendor International Document Services. The monthly subscription includes unlimited disclosure sets and credit pulls, but the user is still responsible for paying for the credit report.
In a demonstration of MobileLO, WeissMalik showed Mortgage Technology how the app works. The 10 sections of the 1003 are broken down into individual tabs, including loan type, borrower information, employment and income and expenses. To avoid having to scroll up and down through a particular section, boxes that require additional information (like address fields) expand and collapse at the push of a button. The GFE is split into two tabs, one for the loan summary and important dates, another for the fee sheet. There is also a quick application function to gather the basic data needed to pull a borrower's credit and follow up later.
Borrowers use their finger to e-sign the disclosures and acknowledgements. Once the signature is captured and saved, it is embedded into the documents.
"You are actually taking an application on the device, you're pulling credit right then and there and then you can thumb through it with your finger," WeissMalik said. "It's the neatest feeling to be doing mortgage on a tablet."
WeissMalik, the chief operating officer of Austin-based wholesale lender 360 Mortgage Group, started On The Go Technology as a separate venture last year after a friend's experience with another mortgage lender.
As WeissMalik explains it, the friend responded to an advertisement from the lender that offered competitive refinance mortgage rates. The friend wanted WeissMalik to compare his rate quote with other options.
"I told him to send me the Good Faith Estimate and I'd see if he was getting a good deal," WeissMalik said. "When he sent it over to me, it was yellow, handwritten carbon paper."
Surprised, WeissMalik asked his friend how the application process was handled. The friend explained that the loan officer came to his house with a clipboard and a mortgage application on carbon paper. The application, including the GFE, was handwritten. When it was complete, the loan officer gave him the carbon copy.
