With the advancement of technology, our everyday life has become easier than ever. The technological revolution has made the process of doing and getting things hassle-free, and home buying is no exception.
Like all other industries, the real estate industry has also incorporated technology-led innovations, and now provides a more simplified array of procedures so as to facilitate home buyers.
Everyone wants to save his or her time and money. The archaic process of home buying has always been stressful for people to an unbearable extent, and often posed as a great hurdle to overcome for new buyers. And the new appliances of modern technology have made it easier for us, providing value to our time and money.
Now, the real estate industry is huge and complex, and thus it leaves opportunities for improvements in many areas. So, the efforts of technologists in this industry have brought about some stand-out improvements that not only serve the home buyers’ expectations but also make the whole ecosystem of the process stabilized.
Let’s learn about three of the major areas that have been improved and how they have simplified our home buying.
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Digital Lending
One of the outstanding improvements is that the mortgage lending and refinancing procedure has been simplified with digitalized and consumer-centric offerings. Consumers are no longer required to make an appointment at a bank during office hours for mortgage preapproval.
They can take care of that right away, anytime and anywhere, through your mobile applications. The experience has become more efficient and convenient for the consumers with the speeding and automation of underwriting process, the uploading of necessary documents, integrated credit checks, etc.
In addition, consumers can easily research current rates. They can also calculate their numbers with mortgage calculators and receive an array of offers from competing lending companies.
Adaptation of these streamlined online services has made the timeline of the mortgage lending process shorter. There are fintech companies that are working hard to let the industry go digital. Two examples of such companies are Blend and Roostify.
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Embedded Homeowners Insurance
Many companies are now working to integrate all the fragmented parts of the home buying process. Improvisations are occurring in various areas like removal of the likelihood of error with applications, cutting of the unnecessary transfer of information, and automation rather than the manual process in data gathering.
For instance, thinking from the perspectives of both the buyers and agents, you can imagine how much of hassle it would be to turn to different institutions for different processes like a mortgage and home insurance.
With the integration of all these parts into one platform, a buyer or seller can resort to a single institution and have his or her process taken care of.
The previously mentioned companies are also paving the way to the embedded insurance system. And the blend has introduced its own insurance subsidiary called Blend Insurance Agency, whereas Roostify has partnered with Matic, a digital insurance agency.
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IBuying
Ibuying is the new big thing in the real estate industry. Now with the help of companies like Zillow providing you a full-fledged online tour, you can sit at your home and choose the best one for yourself without having to go through hassles.
You will not have to pay a visit to the estate in person, make appointments, or meet the real estate agents to find your best pick. These online services will feature numbers of color photos of the place, sometimes even provide you 360-degree views.
Also, you can virtually step into every room and get a better view of the place, just like you’d do by attending in person.
Making a deal is also easier than ever with companies like Opendoor and Zillow. They also offer you already bought homes from their inventory, and you can pick any from there, fast and simple.