The materials available in this article are for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact your own advisors with questions regarding the mortgage LOS implementation content herein. The opinions expressed in this article are the opinions of the individual authors and may not reflect the opinions of MeridianLink, Inc.
It’s a common question asked by those looking for a new mortgage loan origination system, or LOS: How long will the transition process take?
The answer is also more variable than you may expect. But don’t stress — we’re here to demystify this process.
Watch the MeridianLink® team break down the mortgage LOS implementation process in an on-demand webinar with the American Credit Union Mortgage Association (ACUMA). Check it out here.
Firstly, Remember To Take Your Time
It’s imperative to keep one thing in mind throughout the process: When it comes to upgrading to a new, modern mortgage LOS, there’s no such thing as too much time. A rushed transition can lead to a cascade of challenges from unprepared staff to needless bottlenecks.
Additionally, be certain you ask your new vendor when you’ll lose access to your previous system to plan for time to move all accounts through that system’s pipeline. (Plan to complete new LOS rollout at least 30 to 60 days before sunsetting your previous system.) You’ll also want to confirm there are no conflicting priorities within your organization that could slow down or complicate the transition, from campaigns to production volume.
Your mortgage operation —and certainly your current and potential borrowers — deserve the best, so be sure to plan for ample training and testing time and save the speed for once your new LOS is up and running at 100%.
Plan, Select, Implement, Deploy
A successful mortgage LOS implementation follows a simple guiding strategy:
- Examining your current system and determining future goals.
- Performing due diligence during the LOS selection process.
- Implementing, testing, and deploying your new LOS.
As you can probably guess, the details of this strategy are sometimes a bit less simple. Let’s break it down with a rough timeline to help you familiarize yourself with the process.
Step One: Audit and Plan
+12 Months Before Go-Live
Before you can choose a new mortgage LOS, you must first examine your current system thoroughly and document your pain points and limitations, future goals, contract terms, and additional vendors integrated with that system.
It’s important to note here that sometimes the upgrade you need is as simple as enabling a function you were unaware your current system supported. This deep dive can also highlight any useful features that may have been previously overlooked that could benefit your operation.
Upon deciding to move forward with a new mortgage LOS, you need to determine what you want in a new platform, including and especially focusing on the hard questions: Is cloud-native important? What’s the underlying tech stack? Do I care if it requires a custom VPN for connectivity? What do I expect support-wise?
Focus on questions that reveal how the system can help you:
- Gain efficiency
- Encourage mortgage loan production and portfolio growth
- Lower the cost of producing mortgage loans with time-saving automation and tech
Step Two: Due Diligence and Selection
11 – 7 Months Before Go-Live
To make shopping for your new LOS as smooth as possible, you need to clearly understand your organization’s buying process. Determine the required sign-offs, fintech reviews and audits, and board approval—being sure to budget time to receive those approvals, too.
Once you clear the pre-shopping steps, it’s time to search, keeping in mind your needs and goals collected in the audit step of the process.
Step Three: Implement, Test, Deploy
7 Months – Go-Live
The last step is the largest — but also the most rewarding! This step is broken down into phases.
Phase One: Addressing the Pre-Requisites
Having selected a new technology, it’s time to assemble your mortgage LOS implementation team and dedicated project lead who will work closely with the vendor to support success.
As your team ramps up with the new vendor, take the time to respond to them and understand their go-live methodology. After all, they’re there to support the smoothest implementation possible and can offer expert advice on configurations and features that can enhance your mortgage lending experience.
Phase Two: Configuration
As you navigate your mortgage LOS configuration options, it is critical to remember to stick to your strategy and keep your implementation process organized to avoid unnecessary slowdowns.
“Analysis paralysis” is a common challenge at this point in the process. Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress this early in adoption — you can always test and tweak as you go. Leveraging your vendor’s recommendations can help you stay focused and efficient.
Resistance to change is also common in the configuration phase. Strong buy-in from leadership and staff, as well as an openness to how the new technology can grow your business, are key to a smooth transition.
Phase Three: Testing
The test phase is where you refine, refine, refine! Be strategic about the staff and scenarios you test the loan functions within, too. This can help you more easily optimize your mortgage lending operation.
A few key areas to test include:
- Documentation vendor document packages: Validate your disclosures and closing packages.
- Pricing and eligibility results: Be sure that your products are priced out properly, eligible when they should be, and have built-in profit margins.
- Loan Lifecycle: Confirm that all staff have surmounted the learning curve and can readily perform their roles in the new system.
Phase Four: Go-Live
At this stage, you’re almost there! But before you go live, have a rollout strategy in place. Will all staff go live at once or will it be a phased migration? Consider which method is right for your organization’s circumstances.
Within that rollout strategy, determine if any server migrations are needed and if so, how much retesting work and additional time should be planned.
And with that, you’re ready to go live! As you can see, mortgage LOS implementation is a multifaceted process involving support from many teams, vendors, and leadership. But with a clear strategy, organizational buy-in, and a few rounds of testing, you’ll be well on your way to your modern mortgage lending experience!
Want To Learn More?
In a MeridianLink-sponsored webinar with ACUMA, we detail how to choose and implement the right mortgage LOS for your needs. Watch the on-demand today and begin your journey to a modern mortgage lending experience.
