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Blend Digital Mortgage Experience Study

Understand how homebuyers feel about digital mortgage applications, what frustrations they have with the lending process, and what would make them choose one lender platform over another.

Study Overview Updated Jan 28, 2026
Research question: How do homebuyers feel about digital mortgage applications, what frustrates them in lending, and what would make them choose one platform over another?
Group: 6 US homebuyers (ages 29–42) across rural and urban markets, including condo/HOA buyers, Spanish/bilingual and a non-citizen, with shift workers and professionals represented.
What they said: The process breaks on coordination and transparency-repeated document requests, slow/scattered responses, last‑minute conditions, and opaque fees-exacerbated by third‑party bottlenecks (appraisal, HOA) and flaky portals; they want a digital‑first flow completing ~90–95% online via a secure portal with e‑sign and status tracking, plus one accountable human reachable by text/WhatsApp/email, and they reject mandatory branch visits or phone trees. Main insights: Trust is driven by upfront, itemized fees that match closing, a single accountable contact, and proactive, plain‑English timelines; speed matters less than accuracy/predictability.
Segment nuances: Rural buyers prioritize property competence and low‑bandwidth resilience; Spanish/bilingual and non‑citizen buyers need bilingual comms and consent‑first credit/data handling; shift workers require asynchronous support and off‑hours updates.
Takeaways: Prioritize a digital‑first portal MVP (application, uploads, e‑sign, status, named contact), publish an all‑in fee sheet with a “no surprises” pledge, tighten doc checklists with expiry/grace rules and freeze non‑critical adds post‑conditional approval, and enable compliant SMS/WhatsApp with proactive status and rate‑lock countdowns.
Operational musts: Order appraisals/HOA early with SLAs and escalation; ship bilingual templates and underwriter comms; measure success via lower doc re‑requests, near‑zero LE→CD variance, responsive first‑reply times, and ≥90% digital task completion.
Participant Snapshots
6 profiles
Daniel Rodriguez
Daniel Rodriguez

Daniel Rodriguez, 41, married, lives in a Syracuse, NY apartment. A Spanish-at-home non-citizen with culinary training, currently not working, budget-savvy, community-minded volunteer; loves cooking, plant-forward meals, regional road trips, and practical,…

Tiffany Cardenas
Tiffany Cardenas

Tiffany Cardenas, 42, is a security supervisor and pragmatic, safety-focused buyer. Married with no kids, bilingual at home, she budgets tightly, favors durable, serviceable gear, enjoys DIY, hiking, and photography, and prefers direct, evidence-based commu…

Joshua Stark
Joshua Stark

Joshua Stark, Rural New Yorker, 40, single, caring for his widowed dad. Ex-tradesman, practical, Catholic-leaning, outdoorsy. Values durability, community, and straight talk. Tech-light, privacy-minded, garden-to-table cook, volunteer firefighter, Bills fan.

Raymond Romero
Raymond Romero

Menifee-based, Spanish-at-home 35-year-old single homeowner. Unemployed construction-cleanup pro building a small business. Family-first, faith-grounded, practical and value-driven. Loves soccer, carne asada, and tools that work as hard as he does.

Kourtney Shibuya
Kourtney Shibuya

1) Basic Demographics

Kourtney Shibuya is a 29-year-old Filipino American woman living in rural Illinois, USA. She’s a U.S. citizen, Roman Catholic, and speaks English at home (with the occasional Tagalog phrase slipping in during phone calls wit…

David Mickelsen
David Mickelsen

1) Basic Demographics

David Mickelsen is a 29-year-old White male living in rural North Carolina, USA. He was born in the United States and speaks English at home. He is single with no children. He rents a small two-bedroom place and has reliable…

Daniel Rodriguez
Daniel Rodriguez

Daniel Rodriguez, 41, married, lives in a Syracuse, NY apartment. A Spanish-at-home non-citizen with culinary training, currently not working, budget-savvy, community-minded volunteer; loves cooking, plant-forward meals, regional road trips, and practical,…

Tiffany Cardenas
Tiffany Cardenas

Tiffany Cardenas, 42, is a security supervisor and pragmatic, safety-focused buyer. Married with no kids, bilingual at home, she budgets tightly, favors durable, serviceable gear, enjoys DIY, hiking, and photography, and prefers direct, evidence-based commu…

Joshua Stark
Joshua Stark

Joshua Stark, Rural New Yorker, 40, single, caring for his widowed dad. Ex-tradesman, practical, Catholic-leaning, outdoorsy. Values durability, community, and straight talk. Tech-light, privacy-minded, garden-to-table cook, volunteer firefighter, Bills fan.

Raymond Romero
Raymond Romero

Menifee-based, Spanish-at-home 35-year-old single homeowner. Unemployed construction-cleanup pro building a small business. Family-first, faith-grounded, practical and value-driven. Loves soccer, carne asada, and tools that work as hard as he does.

Kourtney Shibuya
Kourtney Shibuya

1) Basic Demographics

Kourtney Shibuya is a 29-year-old Filipino American woman living in rural Illinois, USA. She’s a U.S. citizen, Roman Catholic, and speaks English at home (with the occasional Tagalog phrase slipping in during phone calls wit…

David Mickelsen
David Mickelsen

1) Basic Demographics

David Mickelsen is a 29-year-old White male living in rural North Carolina, USA. He was born in the United States and speaks English at home. He is single with no children. He rents a small two-bedroom place and has reliable…

Overview 0 participants
Sex / Gender
Race / Ethnicity
Locale (Top)
Occupations (Top)
Demographic Overview No agents selected
Age bucket Male count Female count
Participant locations No agents selected
Participant Incomes US benchmark scaled to group size
Income bucket Participants US households
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 ACS 1-year (Table B19001; >$200k evenly distributed for comparison)
Media Ingestion
Connections appear when personas follow many of the same sources, highlighting overlapping media diets.
Questions and Responses
3 questions
Response Summaries
3 questions
Word Cloud
Analyzing correlations…
Generating correlations…
Taking longer than usual
Persona Correlations
Analyzing correlations…

Overview

Respondents express a clear preference for a digital‑first mortgage workflow (application, uploads, e‑sign, status tracking) combined with operational reliability and a single accountable human to resolve exceptions. The primary friction points are document churn, last‑minute underwriting conditions, opaque/unnested fees, and third‑party bottlenecks (appraisals, HOAs, out‑of‑area appraisers). Demographic/contextual qualifiers shape what “digital first” means: rural buyers prioritize a local-savvy human and resilient low‑bandwidth tools; Spanish‑language and non‑citizen households demand bilingual communications, plain language and consent-first credit/document handling; condo/HOA owners suffer unique multi‑week stalls from third parties; shift workers need asynchronous mobile flows. These linkages drive lender selection more than superficial UX polish-borrowers weigh transparent, itemized all‑in costs and a named contact heavily when choosing a platform.
Total responses: 18

Key Segments

Segment Attributes Insight Supporting Agents
Rural / small‑town buyers
  • locale: rural or small town
  • property: acreage, older homes, outbuildings, wells/septic
  • connectivity: spotty internet or low bandwidth
  • preference: values local knowledge and single point of contact
 Willing to trade some digital polish for a local loan officer who owns exceptions and understands nonstandard property attributes; require portals that tolerate flaky connections and offline/asynchronous options. Joshua Stark, Kourtney Shibuya, David Mickelsen
Spanish‑language / Hispanic households & non‑citizen buyers
  • language: Spanish or bilingual household
  • citizenship sensitivity: documentation concerns for non‑citizens
  • communication preference: WhatsApp/text and plain‑language materials
 Demand bilingual materials and reps, early, plain explanations of extra documentation tied to immigration status, and explicit consent/notice before credit pulls or data sharing-surprise underwriting requests are a major trust breaker. Daniel Rodriguez, Raymond Romero, Tiffany Cardenas
Condo / HOA owners (urban/suburban townhome buyers)
  • property_type: condo, townhome, HOA‑governed
  • locale: urban/suburban markets
  • pain_point: third‑party HOA/management responsiveness
 Third‑party condo questionnaires and HOA processes cause outsized, lender‑independent delays; lenders that actively manage or preempt HOA/document workflows reduce time‑to‑close and perceived risk of abandonment. Tiffany Cardenas
Shift workers / irregular schedules
  • work_schedule: early shifts, night shifts, variable hours
  • preference: asynchronous, mobile‑first workflows
  • needs: ability to upload via phone, e‑sign, message off hours
 Require asynchronous channels and mobile UX to avoid mandatory branch hours; off‑hours support and notifications materially affect progress for these borrowers. Tiffany Cardenas, Kourtney Shibuya, David Mickelsen
Detail‑oriented professionals monitoring credit/DTI
  • occupation: professionals with numeracy (e.g., pharmacist, managers)
  • education: college/graduate
  • concern: precise underwriting rules (student loans, DTI, credit pulls)
 Place heavy weight on predictable underwriting interpretations, single pre‑notified credit pulls, and side‑by‑side all‑in cost comparison tools; inconsistent policy communication across lenders is a deal breaker. Kourtney Shibuya, David Mickelsen
Trust‑sensitive buyers averse to sales pressure
  • behavior: sensitive to perceived upsell or 'push to max'
  • status: renters or cautious buyers
  • preference: transparent, non‑aggressive guidance
 Sales pressure (e.g., pushing maximum borrowing) reduces trust and increases likelihood of pause/abandonment; these respondents prefer tools that demonstrate objective limits and rationale. David Mickelsen

Shared Mindsets

Trait Signal Agents
Digital‑first preference Most want to complete ~90–95% of the mortgage process online (application, uploads, e‑sign, status tracking). A usable mobile portal and clear progress indicators are baseline expectations. Daniel Rodriguez, Tiffany Cardenas, Joshua Stark, Raymond Romero, Kourtney Shibuya, David Mickelsen
Demand for transparent, itemized fees Line‑item disclosure (points, origination, PMI, escrow, third‑party fees) and an all‑in cost comparison are primary trust drivers; surprise fees at closing prompt abandonment. Daniel Rodriguez, Tiffany Cardenas, Joshua Stark, Raymond Romero, Kourtney Shibuya, David Mickelsen
Frustration with document churn Repeated requests for the same documents, inconsistent lists of conditions, and late underwriting asks create a sense of a scavenger hunt that stalls momentum. Daniel Rodriguez, Tiffany Cardenas, Joshua Stark, Raymond Romero, Kourtney Shibuya, David Mickelsen
Need for a single accountable human contact A named loan officer or rep reachable by text/WhatsApp/email who can own exceptions is critical to trust and to resolving nonstandard issues quickly. Daniel Rodriguez, Tiffany Cardenas, Joshua Stark, Raymond Romero, Kourtney Shibuya, David Mickelsen
Aversion to mandatory branch visits and call trees Borrowers reject forced, in‑person steps except for narrowly defined final actions; long call‑center holds and phone trees are widely disliked. Daniel Rodriguez, Tiffany Cardenas, Kourtney Shibuya, Raymond Romero, David Mickelsen, Joshua Stark
Sensitivity to third‑party bottlenecks Appraisals, HOA questionnaires and out‑of‑area appraisers are common, high‑impact delay sources; borrowers expect lenders to have explicit playbooks to manage these. Tiffany Cardenas, Joshua Stark, Kourtney Shibuya, Raymond Romero
Privacy & credit‑pull control Strong resistance to shotgun credit pulls and mandatory bank‑feeds; borrowers want prior notice and the ability to control when hard inquiries occur. Daniel Rodriguez, Kourtney Shibuya, Tiffany Cardenas, David Mickelsen

Divergences

Segment Contrast Agents
Rural buyers vs. urban digital enthusiasts Rural buyers prioritize a local, knowledgeable human and resilience to low bandwidth over interface polish; urban buyers emphasize seamless mobile UX and speed as long as underwriting is predictable. Joshua Stark, Kourtney Shibuya
Spanish‑language / non‑citizen buyers vs. general population Spanish‑language/non‑citizen households demand bilingual materials, immigration‑sensitive documentation handling and consent before credit pulls-requirements that go beyond the generic digital experience. Daniel Rodriguez, Raymond Romero, Tiffany Cardenas
Condo/HOA owners vs. single‑family buyers Condo/HOA buyers face external process delays (HOA questionnaires, management responsiveness) that are independent of lender UX; single‑family buyers report fewer third‑party stalls. Tiffany Cardenas
Detail‑oriented professionals vs. trust‑sensitive renters Professionals focus on precise underwriting rules (student loan DTI treatment, single credit pull) and cost modeling; trust‑sensitive renters are more influenced by perceived sales pressure and the presence of an unbiased advisor. Kourtney Shibuya, David Mickelsen
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Generating recommendations…
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Recommendations & Next Steps
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Overview

Build a digital-first mortgage MVP that eliminates document churn, enforces fee transparency and stability, and gives every borrower a single accountable human with asynchronous, bilingual support. Prioritize a clean portal (uploads, e‑sign, status), proactive timelines (rate‑lock countdowns, risk flags), and targeted fixes for rural and condo/HOA bottlenecks. Optimize for ROI by shipping low-effort process controls now while Engineering delivers the core portal within one quarter.

Quick Wins (next 2–4 weeks)

# Action Why Owner Effort Impact
1 Assign and display a single accountable contact Addresses the strongest trust driver: a named human reachable by text/email; reduces handoffs and last‑minute fire drills. Mortgage Ops + CX Low High
2 Publish an all‑in fee sheet and 'no surprises' pledge Directly maps to demand for itemized fees and stability; prevents late junk‑fee perception. Product (Pricing) + Compliance Med High
3 Tighten doc checklist and expiry rules Reduces repeat requests by de‑duping asks, adding a calendar‑flip grace period, and freezing non‑critical adds post‑conditional approval. Underwriting + Mortgage Ops Med High
4 Borrower status tracker email + rate‑lock countdown Fixes timing anxiety with proactive, plain‑English updates and lock timers; fewer Friday 4:45 p.m. surprises. Product + Design Med High
5 Bilingual templates and consent gate for credit pulls Closes Spanish/non‑citizen gaps and prevents shotgun credit distrust; adds explicit consent and paper trail. CX + Compliance Low High
6 Early order + escalation on HOA/appraisals Mitigates high‑impact third‑party delays (condo questionnaires, rural appraisers) with SLAs and named escalation contacts. Vendor Management + Mortgage Ops Low Med

Initiatives (30–90 days)

# Initiative Description Owner Timeline Dependencies
1 Digital Mortgage Portal MVP Mobile‑first portal for application, document uploads, e‑sign, status timeline, secure messaging, and named LO display. Includes low‑bandwidth mode, MFA, doc de‑dup, and audit trails. Product + Engineering 90 days to MVP; staged rollout by market/segment LOS integration, e‑sign vendor, Auth/MFA, Record retention/archiving
2 Transparent Pricing & Fee Stability Side‑by‑side, itemized all‑in cost views (rate, APR, points, cash‑to‑close) with change‑control: reason codes, borrower alerts, and LE→CD reconciliation checks. Product (Pricing) + Compliance 6–8 weeks Pricing engine integration, LOS fee mapping, Disclosure workflows
3 Asynchronous Messaging with Compliance Capture Enable SMS/WhatsApp/email in one thread with opt‑in, TCPA consent, bilingual templates, and automatic archiving into the loan file. Engineering + Compliance + CX 6–8 weeks Messaging provider (e.g., Twilio/WhatsApp Business), Consent management, Archiving/retention policy
4 Borrower Document Intelligence Rule‑based intake to prevent duplicate asks, show doc-age timers, apply calendar‑flip grace, and lock non‑critical conditions post‑conditional approval. Engineering + Underwriting 8–10 weeks LOS conditions API, Document classification/OCR (optional), Underwriting policy sign‑off
5 Third‑Party Orchestration (Appraisal/HOA) Expand rural appraiser panels, enforce SLAs, auto‑order early for condos, and surface third‑party timelines/status to borrowers. Vendor Management + Mortgage Ops 8–12 weeks AMC agreements, HOA questionnaire automation, Status data feeds
6 Rural & Non‑Citizen Playbooks Operational guides and templates for wells/septic/outbuildings and immigration documentation; ensure bilingual underwriter comms match phone/menu support. Mortgage Ops + Training 4–6 weeks Policy alignment with Underwriting, Template localization, QA review

KPIs to Track

# KPI Definition Target Frequency
1 Document Re‑request Rate Average number of times a borrower is asked to re‑submit the same document per loan file. <= 1 re‑request per loan by end of Q3 Monthly
2 LE→CD Variance Delta between initial Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure (total cash‑to‑close and rate/points), excluding documented third‑party changes. <= $50 cash delta and <= 0.05 pts rate delta Monthly audit
3 First Response Time (Borrower Messages) Median and 95th percentile time to first human response across SMS/WhatsApp/email. Median <= 2h (business), <= 12h (off‑hours); 95th <= 8h/24h Weekly
4 Digital Completion Rate Percent of required tasks (application, uploads, e‑signatures) completed via portal/mobile. >= 90% of tasks completed online Monthly
5 Third‑Party Delay Days Average days of delay attributable to appraisals and HOA/condo questionnaires per loan. Reduce by 30% vs baseline Monthly
6 Named Contact Coverage Percent of active loans with a visible, single accountable contact in portal and all borrower communications. 100% Weekly

Risks & Mitigations

# Risk Mitigation Owner
1 Non‑compliant texting/WhatsApp or inadequate record retention TCPA opt‑in flows, auto‑archiving, approved templates, and periodic compliance audits Compliance
2 Underwriter culture drives continued defensive doc requests Checklist governance committee, frozen condition policy post‑conditional approval, and QA with feedback loops Underwriting + Mortgage Ops
3 Fee changes late in process undermine trust Change‑control with reason codes, borrower alerting, and leadership review for variances >$50 Product (Pricing) + Compliance
4 Integration slippage for portal, e‑sign, and LOS Phased scope, sandbox testing, feature flags, and contingency manual workflows Engineering + Product
5 Data‑grab/Privacy backlash on bank‑feed connections Make bank feeds optional with clear alternatives (PDF uploads), granular consent, and transparent data usage notices Product + Legal
6 Third‑party vendors (AMCs/HOAs) fail SLAs Panel expansion, backup vendors, early ordering triggers, and escalation paths visible to borrowers Vendor Management

Timeline

0–30 days: Quick wins live (named contact, fee sheet, bilingual templates, credit consent), HOA/appraisal early‑order triggers, status emails with rate‑lock countdowns.

30–60 days: Messaging with consent/archiving, doc checklist/expiry rules, fee stability change‑control, rural/non‑citizen playbooks and training.

60–90 days: Portal MVP (application, uploads, e‑sign, status, named LO), low‑bandwidth mode, doc de‑dup. Begin limited market launch.

90–120 days: Third‑party orchestration (SLAs, rural panel expansion), broaden portal rollout, iterate KPIs and close gaps.
Research Study Narrative

Blend Digital Mortgage Experience Study - Executive Synthesis

Objective and context. We set out to understand how homebuyers feel about digital mortgage applications, what frustrates them in today’s lending process, and the levers that make them choose one lender platform over another.

What we heard across questions

  • Operational friction is the primary pain. The process breaks down in repeated document requests, scattered/slow communication, and last‑minute underwriting conditions that create real costs (missed locks, closing risk). Tiffany Cardenas noted sending the same income docs again after a calendar flip; Raymond Romero described “quiet all week, then boom, urgent stuff” after hours. Appraisals/third parties (rural properties, condos/HOAs) add outsized delays, and tech portals that time out or lose uploads compound frustration.
  • Digital‑first is table stakes-human accountability seals the deal. Respondents want to complete ~90–95% online (application, uploads, e‑sign, status tracker) and reject mandatory branches or phone trees. Equally, every borrower wants one named human reachable by text/WhatsApp/email to own exceptions. As Daniel Rodriguez put it: “Do 90% online… and have one real person I can text when stuff gets weird.”
  • Trust = itemized, stable fees + plain, proactive communication. The single strongest trust driver is an early line‑item estimate that matches closing. David Mickelsen: “Show me every cost up front… don’t move the goalposts.” A close second is a single accountable contact who explains the step‑by‑step timeline and risks in plain English; speed ranks below accuracy and predictability.
  • Privacy and consent matter. Buyers resist forced bank‑feed connections and “shotgun” credit pulls. Spanish‑speaking/non‑citizen borrowers want bilingual materials and explicit consent before credit runs or data sharing.
  • Competence with edge cases wins segments. Rural properties (wells/septic, barns, odd comps) and condos/HOAs require specialized playbooks to avoid delays and rework.

Persona correlations and segment nuances

  • Rural/small‑town buyers: Trade UX polish for a local‑savvy human who understands wells/septic and odd comps; need low‑bandwidth tolerance. (Joshua Stark, David Mickelsen)
  • Spanish‑language/non‑citizen households: Require bilingual reps, plain‑language materials, and consent‑first credit/document handling. (Daniel Rodriguez, Raymond Romero)
  • Condo/HOA buyers: Disproportionately stalled by HOA questionnaires; value lenders who orchestrate third‑party timelines. (Tiffany Cardenas)
  • Shift workers: Depend on asynchronous messaging and mobile flows; branch hours are a barrier. (Tiffany Cardenas)
  • Detail‑oriented professionals: Prioritize predictable underwriting rules (e.g., student loan DTI), single pre‑notified credit pulls, and side‑by‑side all‑in cost comparisons. (Kourtney Shibuya)

Recommendations

  • Ship a Digital Mortgage Portal MVP (90 days): Mobile‑first application, uploads, e‑sign, real‑time status timeline, secure messaging, and named LO display. Include doc de‑dup, doc‑age timers, low‑bandwidth mode, MFA.
  • Assign and display a single accountable contact day one: Enable SMS/WhatsApp/email with consent and archiving so borrowers can reach a real person asynchronously.
  • Publish an all‑in fee sheet with a “no surprises” pledge: Line‑item APR, points, cash‑to‑close; change‑control with reason codes and proactive alerts to guard LE→CD variance.
  • Kill document churn: Tighten checklists and expiry rules (calendar‑flip grace), lock non‑critical conditions post‑conditional approval, and prevent duplicate asks.
  • Proactive status and lock anxiety controls: Automated plain‑English updates with rate‑lock countdowns and early risk flags for appraisals/HOAs.
  • Segment playbooks: Bilingual templates and staffing; rural appraisal panel expansion and SLA enforcement; auto‑order condo questionnaires with visibility.

Risks and guardrails

  • Texting compliance: Mitigate with TCPA opt‑ins, approved templates, and auto‑archiving into the loan file.
  • Underwriter over‑asking: Establish checklist governance and freeze non‑critical adds post‑conditional approval with QA feedback loops.
  • Late fee changes: Require variance reason codes, borrower notifications, and leadership review for >$50 deltas.
  • Integration slippage: Phase scope with feature flags, sandbox testing, and manual contingencies.
  • Privacy backlash: Make bank feeds optional with PDF alternatives and granular consent.

Next steps and measurement

0–30 days: Launch named‑contact routing, publish fee sheet/pledge, bilingual templates, explicit credit‑pull consent, status emails with lock countdowns.
30–60 days: Turn on compliant SMS/WhatsApp, doc expiry/grace rules, fee change‑control, rural/condo playbooks.
60–90 days: Release portal MVP (application, uploads, e‑sign, status, named LO), low‑bandwidth mode; pilot in select markets.
90–120 days: Expand appraisal panels and HOA orchestration; scale rollout and iterate.

  • KPIs: Document Re‑request Rate (target ≤1 per loan); LE→CD Variance (≤$50 cash delta; ≤0.05 pts rate delta); First Response Time to borrower messages (≤2h business median, ≤12h off‑hours); Digital Completion Rate (≥90% tasks online); Third‑Party Delay Days (−30% vs baseline).

Success looks like fewer repeat asks, stable fees at closing, faster human responses, high digital completion, and visible reductions in appraisal/HOA delays-directly addressing the pains and preferences voiced by Tiffany, Daniel, Raymond, Kourtney, Joshua, and David.

Recommended Follow-up Questions Updated Jan 28, 2026
  1. Which digital mortgage features would most influence your choice of lender? Consider items like: real-time status tracker, e-sign for all docs, single named contact in-app, upfront itemized closing costs, closing cost guarantee, in-app messaging/text support, document checklist with due dates, automatic income/asset verification via account linking, low-bandwidth/offline upload options, bilingual (English/Spanish) support, rate-lock deadline reminders, and self-serve preapproval letter generator...
    maxdiff Prioritize MVP features that drive lender selection and focus product/messaging on what matters most.
  2. What is the maximum interest rate premium (in basis points) you would accept to get a closing cost guarantee (your estimated closing costs will not increase at closing)?
    numeric Quantifies willingness to pay for cost certainty to inform pricing and guarantee economics.
  3. Which communication channels do you prefer for routine status updates from your lender?
    multi select Guides channel investment and default notification settings for routine communications.
  4. For urgent issues (e.g., a problem jeopardizing closing), what is the maximum acceptable response time from your primary contact during business hours? Please answer in hours.
    numeric Sets concrete SLA targets for support staffing and escalation design.
  5. Which third-party tasks do you expect the lender to coordinate end-to-end on your behalf? (e.g., appraisal scheduling, HOA/condo questionnaire, title/escrow coordination, homeowner’s insurance verification, employment/income verification, wire/funds coordination for closing, IRS tax transcript retrieval)
    multi select Defines scope for third-party orchestration within the platform and staffing.
  6. How comfortable are you with linking your bank or payroll accounts to automatically verify income and assets during the application?
    likert Informs data-integration strategy, consent UX, and availability of manual alternatives.
Ensure MaxDiff feature list uses clear, borrower-friendly labels and show 4–5 items per set to avoid fatigue.
Study Overview Updated Jan 28, 2026
Research question: How do homebuyers feel about digital mortgage applications, what frustrates them in lending, and what would make them choose one platform over another?
Group: 6 US homebuyers (ages 29–42) across rural and urban markets, including condo/HOA buyers, Spanish/bilingual and a non-citizen, with shift workers and professionals represented.
What they said: The process breaks on coordination and transparency-repeated document requests, slow/scattered responses, last‑minute conditions, and opaque fees-exacerbated by third‑party bottlenecks (appraisal, HOA) and flaky portals; they want a digital‑first flow completing ~90–95% online via a secure portal with e‑sign and status tracking, plus one accountable human reachable by text/WhatsApp/email, and they reject mandatory branch visits or phone trees. Main insights: Trust is driven by upfront, itemized fees that match closing, a single accountable contact, and proactive, plain‑English timelines; speed matters less than accuracy/predictability.
Segment nuances: Rural buyers prioritize property competence and low‑bandwidth resilience; Spanish/bilingual and non‑citizen buyers need bilingual comms and consent‑first credit/data handling; shift workers require asynchronous support and off‑hours updates.
Takeaways: Prioritize a digital‑first portal MVP (application, uploads, e‑sign, status, named contact), publish an all‑in fee sheet with a “no surprises” pledge, tighten doc checklists with expiry/grace rules and freeze non‑critical adds post‑conditional approval, and enable compliant SMS/WhatsApp with proactive status and rate‑lock countdowns.
Operational musts: Order appraisals/HOA early with SLAs and escalation; ship bilingual templates and underwriter comms; measure success via lower doc re‑requests, near‑zero LE→CD variance, responsive first‑reply times, and ≥90% digital task completion.