Quicken Loans Takes The E-Mortgage One Step Further

Quicken Loans has launched an online mortgage solution that lets users apply for a mortgage and get conditional approval in under 10 minutes.

The new application solution, called Rocket Mortgage, took more than three years to develop, the company says in a release. It walks users through the process of applying for either refinances or purchases and has reportedly been in beta with several lenders for months.

Basically, Rocket Mortgage is the first mortgage solution to bring together e-document, e-signature, automated income/asset verification and automated underwriting for just about any type of loan and with a greater degree of user flexibility. The platform also accounts for federal and state regulations and can generate a fully compliant loan regardless of jurisdiction, the company claims.

Quicken says it ‘is the cleanest, easiest and quickest mortgage application ever created.’ The new platform comes in a mobile version, thus allowing home shoppers to quickly apply for mortgages using their mobile devices.

Users can visually compare and customize interest rate, mortgage term, monthly payment and fees based on individualized financial information and goals and current underwriting guidelines for numerous products, Quicken says in its release.

Unlike similar platforms, Rocket Mortgage delivers real-time pricing of mortgage products, the company claims.

In addition, users can view their individualized three-bureau credit report, analysis and score in a format that is concise, understandable and digestible.

Obviously, automated verification of information such as income is a critical element in being able to approve borrowers in such a short time frame. Quicken says its new application platform integrates with numerous partners and databases throughout the country, thus eliminating the need for consumers to provide supporting loan documents manually.

Users can receive full approval in minutes on conventional, Federal Housing Administration or Veterans Affairs mortgage products, Quicken says. Automated underwriting for agency-backed mortgages is handled through direct integration with agency underwriting engines.

The new platform is also one of the first to allow applicants to self-lock their interest rates. Once a user gets all of his information uploaded, the system presents a breakdown of fees, the interest rate and the applicant's monthly mortgage payment. Users, however, can play with the fees and interest rate to get the results they want. For example, if an applicant wants a better interest rate, he can adjust it and see how that action might impact the fees and the monthly payment.

‘Rocket Mortgage simplifies the largest, most complex and important financial transaction most consumers experience in their lifetime,’ says Linglong He, chief information officer of Quicken Loans. ‘Our team at QL Labs has worked tirelessly to ensure that Rocket Mortgage users have the same award-winning experience that has made Quicken Loans an eight-time J.D. Power top-rated mortgage lender for client satisfaction.’

‘This is one of the biggest breakthroughs in financial technology history, born and built in downtown Detroit,’ adds He. ‘The team effort to get this off the ground was extraordinary.’