Introducing Blend Close

Update: Because of increased demand due to COVID-19, we accelerated the development of Blend Close and released the product in May 2020. See what our eClose product can offer your team.

At Blend, we believe lenders will truly meet consumer expectations only when a borrower can complete all of the steps related to buying or financing a home — from understanding buying power, to shopping for real estate, to applying for a loan, to closing a mortgage — on their phone and in their pajamas.

We’ve made a lot of progress over the past few years enabling consumers to get pre-approved in one-tap, apply for loans, sign disclosures, and complete follow-ups from any device at any time. Actually closing a mortgage, however, remains a singularly unpleasant event. Designed for everyone except the consumer, the old-fashioned mortgage closing is the fitting end to the old-fashioned mortgage application. At best, it’s a bother for the consumer, and at worst, it’s the most stressful part of the whole process.

So as we work to completely remake homebuying and lending journeys, it’s essential that we reimagine the closing experience.

That’s why we’re announcing Blend Close.

With Blend Close, consumers will be given the option to close how they want. Whether it’s an old-fashioned in-person paper closing or a remote online closing, we’ll surface the best possible closing experience for that loan while providing lenders with new levels of simplicity, efficiency, and ROI.

The Blend approach to closing

Progress towards fully electronic closing has been painfully slow and incremental. Too many consumers have been forced to accept hybrid closing as the best option available, even when many would prefer a completely digital option and the technology exists to power that experience.

And while several vendors have improved key parts of the closing process, Blend is undertaking the difficult work of synthesizing the activities of the many participants, the varying and ever-changing legal requirements, and the many technology solutions currently available in the market into one seamless experience for the consumer and lender.

It’s time for a change.

Blend Close will offer a single, integrated experience with all of the necessary functionality for eSign, Remote Online Notarization or an in-person notary, generation and signing of eNote, and integration to an eVault.

So many of these terms have an “e” in front of them because of the paper-based history of mortgages. But if loan closing were designed from the ground up today, it would serve the customer how they want to be served — in person, on the phone, or online. Just as Schwab now simply refers to their electronic trading capabilities as “Trading at Schwab,” we’ve decided to call our product Blend Close without the “e.” It’s time to leave the “e” behind.

It’s also time to leave complexity behind and empower the consumer to be in control. Blend Close will automatically recommend the best possible experience for each loan while giving your customers the ability to choose the closing option they want. And as new laws come into effect, Blend Close will automatically stay up to date, so lenders will be able to immediately offer the latest technology to their customers without any additional integration.

“With all the progress we’ve made to provide a better mortgage application experience for consumers, enhancing the closing process is the next critical step in giving customers the experience they deserve when financing the home of their dreams. Our partnership with Blend allows us to continue to offer a holistic home experience – one that offers a powerful combination of technology and personal relationships and advances our mission of sustainable homeownership, resulting in trust and loyalty.”

Tom Wind
Executive Vice President, Consumer Lending, U.S. Bank

The many-sided benefits of a better closing

Consumers will benefit from having a consistent digital experience that extends from application all the way through close. They will be able to preview documents before closing appointments and get their questions answered via the educational resources in Blend’s informative interface. And when additional help is needed, Blend’s Co-pilot experience will enable lenders to jump in and provide direct support.

For lenders, the numerous benefits will include new levels of efficiency. In addition to reducing the time from application to close, by using an eNote, lenders will have the opportunity to substantially decrease the delivery time to the secondary market (including Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) and expedite capital replenishment for a healthier balance sheet.

“We are always looking to make the entire process more convenient for our customers as we know they are busy, and traveling to a bank branch or title company may be inconvenient. Partnering with Blend will enable us to be on the forefront and continue our track record of innovation.”

Eric Somers
VP of Digital Lending, BMO Harris Bank

The next step towards end-to-end digital loans

At Blend, we are committed to developing comprehensive end-to-end digital experiences for mortgages and consumer loans that delight lenders and consumers alike. Blend Close is the next step, and we couldn’t be more excited to get it into your hands.

We are actively working with several lending partners including U.S. Bank and BMO Harris Bank to ensure Blend Close delivers.