Mortgage document collection by Email – What you Should Know?

With the digital revolution in full swing, everyone is looking for an efficient way to move information quickly and securely. Mortgage lenders are no exception. The mortgage process is sensitive and timely. Without the proper steps, a mortgage closing could be delayed, which could hurt an entire channel of people involved in the process. Today, most loan processes take place over the phone or online. The days of meeting clients in their homes or at the local coffee shop are behind us.

But that leaves mortgage companies with a serious problem – document collection. You need documents fast to get the process rolling. There is emerging document collection technology that allows them to streamline the process of obtaining needed documents from borrowers.

By leveraging technology and security protocols designed specifically to share sensitive data digitally, getting paperwork into the right hands has never been easier or more secure. Let’s explore how mortgage companies can make use of this groundbreaking option today.

Document collection process: is it good to collect documents by email?

Email is fast and convenient. Most mortgage professionals ask clients to email their chasing required documents over so they get them faster and can process their loans in a timely manner without any delays.

There’s one problem. It’s insecure.

Email hacks happen all the time and when you’re dealing with collecting documents
that are sensitive information like mortgage-required documents, that’s a big problem. You could be putting your clients at risk of identity theft.

Collecting Documents: What are the Risks?

Sending mortgage documents in an email poses many risks including:

  • Accidentally sending the documents to the wrong email address. All it takes is one wrong letter or a number and your client’s personal information ends up in the hands of a stranger.
  • Lenders could accidentally send information meant for a specific borrower to another. It’s never intentional, but with the steadfastness of the mortgage industry right now, everyone is working at warp speeds, which increases the chances of serious mistakes.
  • Emails get lost in the shuffle. If you receive hundreds of emails daily, it’s easy to overlook an important email from a client containing important mortgage-required documents. Without the documents, the mortgage processing remains delayed, which turns the whole process upside down.
  • Emails aren’t encrypted. Anytime consumers do business with a financial institution, it should only be over an encrypted network to reduce the risk of identity theft.

Phishing is a Serious Concern

Phishing emails are one of the highest concerns of any mortgage company. Hackers know which companies or industries to target and real estate is one of them. They know that consumers are vulnerable when it comes to real estate transactions. They are worried about the transaction going through so they wait on pins and needles for an answer from the mortgage company.

Hackers use this to their advantage.

How many times have you received an email that looked legit only upon further examination did you see spelling errors or a slight difference in the email address?

Not everyone looks at emails with a fine-toothed comb. They assume the email is from who it says, which could put your clients at risk of identity theft because they emailed their mortgage required documents to you.

That’s how hackers use this to their advantage. They make themselves look like you or any other mortgage company. They write with a sense of urgency, but with a few changes in the title or email address. Clients often don’t realize it and before they know it, they send their sensitive information off to hackers.

Emails are Saved on Many Servers

Every time a client sends an email, it’s not as direct as they think. In their eyes, the email leaves their computer and ends up on the loan officer or underwriter’s computer and that’s it.

The truth is, the average email hits 10 – 15 servers. That means the hacking risks increase 10 to 15 times per email.

First, the email sits on the sender’s server. Unless the client deletes the email he/she sent, it sits in their sent folder, which means on their server. If the client backs up his/her computer, the email is likely part of it, which means that’s yet another server it’s stored on.

Next, emails go through a variety of other filters and servers including:

  • The email program’s spam filter. This is what sends emails to your spam folder or focused folder. Many filters store a copy of your email on their server and are not encrypted.
  • The sending mail server. This server sends the email to the intended recipient.
  • The receiving mail server. This is the server the recipient (you) has to hold the emails.
  • Any other servers you may open the email on including a phone, tablet, or any other device. If each device has a backup server, it’s stored there too.

Alternative to use email in a secure way to get client documents required.

  • Make sure emails containing private financial information are safe and encrypted.
  • Reduce the amount of human error that happens when gathering, storing, and sending documents directly.
  • To avoid having to request extra documents you forgot to ask for, make sure you request all necessary documents the first time.

The lender responsibilitys in the documentary collection process.

Navigating the documentary collection procedure can be a struggle for both lenders and borrowers (It can be a moneylender, a company specializing in loans, or a collecting bank) alike. From setting up timelines to ensuring all parties involved are fulfilling their responsibility, it is important that everyone understands their role during the documentary collections process

A trustworthy lender will do their research.

Although it may seem like your lender is asking for too many or highly personal documents, to grant you a credit, the lender must determine that you can afford to repay it. You also gain from this process because giving accurate information now ensures that you can keep your house in the future.

Your responsibility to ensure the lender security in the documentary collections process.

It is important to recognize your responsibility as a participant in the documentary collections process and ensure the lender’s security at all times. This means paying close attention to the entire chain of documents, from the applicable rules laid down by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) to the transit risks involved, and taking necessary steps that mitigate or eliminate these concerns.

You must also keep an eye while you are chasing documents for any fraudulent activity or incorrect information present in drafts, requests, and other documents used in this documentary collection process. Taking these utmost precautions ensures transparency and depicts professional conduct that assures lenders that their interests are being well looked after in the documentary collections process.

A Mortgage Document Email Contains Vital Information

The bottom line is any mortgage document email contains sensitive information so the documentary collections process should be the safest. The loan application is a summary of the person’s financial life and includes social security numbers, birth dates, bank statements, and credit statements.

Any supporting documents the borrower sends also contain sensitive information such as a bank or investment account numbers, income information, IDs, or even asset information.

If anyone intercepts the email, they’ll know too much about a borrower in just a few minutes, so you are legally obligated to find the best and most secure way to collect documents and any additional resources.

Why is Document Collection Software the best for my documentary collection process?

Document Collection Software, is an effective way to streamline and expedite documentary collections processes. It allows companies to easily access documents related to a transaction from multiple parties, as well as to track and share documents with internal teams or external customers.

With the right document collection software solution in place, you’ll have effortless visibility into organizational records while keeping complex workflows organized and efficient.

File Request Pro Can Help with your documentary collections processes.

If you’re worried about putting your client’s information at risk while you are in the documentary collections processes. File Request Pro is here to help. It’s a Document Collection Software where you can do a fully secure and branded mortgage portal, you can safely send and receive mortgage documents and avoid the risks emails cause.

Spend less time on paperwork and more time closing transactions. Instead of having them scattered throughout your inbox, organize bank statements, ID papers, and pay stubs directly in your cloud storage.

An efficient procedure that makes it clear what they must do will encourage customers to upload files quickly. Both single-page and multi-page applications can be used. No client registration or login is necessary.

Through its intuitive interface, File Request Pro simplifies the document collection process for users by consolidating multiple requests into one convenient place, providing real-time notifications when documents are sent and received, and offering an array of customizable options for creating rules and alerts relevant to the task at hand. Ultimately, this software makes it easier than ever before to manage and gather the documents you need to meet your objectives

It’s just as easy as uploading documents to an email, but your client’s information will be much more secure. The only emails that exchange hands are emails that alert your client or you to check the portal for an updated and secure message.

You have access to private and sensitive material from clients. They have a right to anticipate that you will protect their personal information when you are doing documentary collection and use it just as long as necessary. We already have established that Email that isn’t encrypted is not safe. It is susceptible to human error and phishing.

Client data is safely protected and transmitted straight to your cloud account or dashboard, you could even create a folder “collecting bank receives payment”, “collecting bank contacts”, and “advance payment” and with dynamic file organization, everything will be in its proper place. Also with File Request Pro only the people who have a link are permitted to upload files.

You can even create a password, though we don’t make that the default choice because it makes things more difficult for users. We put a lot of effort into providing people with the easiest means of sending you files while also upholding bank-level security.

Don’t Take Chances with Mortgage Documents in Email.

It’s time to take your mortgage documents’ security seriously. Clients are catching on to the riskiness of sending such private information to an unsecured server.

Even if they use an email program that offers encryption on both sides (sending and receiving), nothing is protecting the information in the interim – all the servers the information hits in between.

Help your clients protect their information while getting mortgages processed and closed quickly. To learn more about File Request Pro and how it can help keep your client’s information secure, contact us today.