Common settlement agent challenges — and how to fix them

Despite advances in digital tools and platforms, the last stop on the buyer’s journey — the closing process — remains one of the most complex, especially for the settlement agents who make it all happen on closing day.

As the glue that pulls the transaction together by working to ensure a smooth process for all, settlement agents can face many challenges:

• Communication: managing and coordinating between all parties involved
• Scheduling: responding to scheduling needs and coordinating dates
• Password overload: keeping track of different logins and information that comes from working between many disparate systems
• Fraud: working in multiple portals, sifting through the borrower’s many points of contact, and trying to ensure everything is executed safely and securely

Which leads us to the following question: can a digital mortgage truly be end-to-end without a dedicated space for settlement agents?

Blend’s Settlement Agent Workspace offers solutions to all of the common challenges settlement agents face as they strive to make everyone happy on closing day.

Blend’s Settlement Agent Workspace consolidates all relevant information to facilitate more efficient communication. Settlement agents can receive notifications when documents have been uploaded and can see updates directly in the portal when something has been signed. Lenders can also share the most up-to-date documents, reassuring settlement agents that they have what they need leading up to a closing.

Scheduling closing appointments is often a time-consuming process that requires much coordination, which inevitably results in less time for settlement agents to focus on other important tasks. Blend’s Settlement Agent Workspace makes it possible for borrowers to share their closing appointment preferences with their settlement agent. The appointment can then be confirmed in the workspace. The manual back-and-forth process via email or phone is reduced and all parties can easily be kept in the loop.

Have you ever found yourself completely overwhelmed with the number of passwords you’re required to remember for, well, virtually everything? With Blend’s Settlement Agent Workspace, everything you need (documents, tasks, scheduling etc.) is conveniently located in just one workspace.

With Blend’s Settlement Agent Workspace, borrowers can continually log into the same experience they’ve used from the very beginning. They don’t have to send documents via email or log into a different experience at closing — it’s all done in the same familiar workspace.

For settlement agents, working in a dedicated workspace ensures that all of the documents are being sent and communication is being effectuated in a safe and secure portal.

Settlement agents have demanding jobs. But given the myriad technological advancements in the financial services industry, there’s just no reason to keep manual tasks around — especially when you can have everything you need at your fingertips. It’s time to start spending more time focusing on your clients and lending partners instead of pushing papers and playing phone tag.