Educating borrowers about changes or risks over time will burgeon your reputation and reduce the likelihood of conflict
Five-star mortgage servicing goes far beyond closing a deal. A smart broker will be client-focused, educating them on how costs like property taxes can shift over time. Failure to provide a more rounded service beyond getting their signature will likely result in the servicing department handling fallout that could’ve been avoided.
In Michigan, Ian Ashton’s team at OneTrust Home Loans started seeing tax bills rise by thousands, particularly on properties that had been under long-term ownership. Escrow analysis didn’t always keep up, and the resulting payment spikes were hitting borrowers hard.
“If somebody was already at 50% DTI (debt-to-income ratio) or 55% DTI, that puts them way over their comfort level,” he said. “So, in servicing, having the flexibility to amortize that over a longer period, to get the escrow account whole, I think it’s been very valuable.”
On the origination side, Ashton’s strategy is to show buyers projected taxes upfront - even if that costs them a deal.
“That stinks if you don’t get that deal,” he said. “But ultimately, if they’re not buying a house that they can’t afford down the road, that’s better for the community, for the industry, and for them.”
But the barriers aren’t just educational, they’re also systemic. Ashton sees significant friction caused by the industry’s inability to communicate value market flooded with national messaging. “If people are like, ‘Oh, I saw ‘ABC Mortgage’ on TV,’ whether it’s the best way or not, if the customer believes it, that’s the direction they’re going to go.”
Operational strategy becomes even more critical as the pressure from regulators and shrinking margins intensifies. Ashton doesn’t sugarcoat it - servicing operations are wildly inconsistent, and the customer experience suffers when staffing or systems fall short.
“If I have a customer call about an escrow question, and they’re on hold for 47 minutes before somebody picks up, that makes it really hard to get excited to deliver business to them continually,” he said.
Having adequate servicing support, clear protocols, and accessible technology isn't just nice to have, it's central to the reputation and retention of a lender’s book of business.
“Ultimately, it reflects poorly on us, even though it’s not my company servicing it,” Ashton explained. “If I can save them the call and be able to answer the question because I’ve got the data easily accessible, that’s huge for us.”
Part of the solution, Ashton believes, is tech standardization - something the industry has yet to deliver. Statements, terminology, and interfaces vary wildly between servicers, and when loans are sold multiple times, borrowers are left confused.
“The first company that comes out with the AI-powered servicing system that just makes everything right there and easy to follow, [that’s] going to be a home run,” he said.
The real value is still in relationships and understanding - not just automation. Even as automation becomes more common, Ashton doesn’t believe it should replace core responsibilities, it should support them. He manages a high pipeline volume thanks to AI-backed systems but is careful not to let efficiency come at the cost of borrower clarity.
“I think you can also really get down in the weeds and lose focus of what you’re supposed to be doing, which, if you’re a loan officer, is helping your client, helping them understand the documents that they’re about to sign,” he said.
Even regulation itself, Ashton argues, needs overhaul. He favours consistent, clearly defined standards, not shifting interpretations or politically influenced enforcement patterns. “The mortgage industry can’t be an ATM for settlements,” he said. “As soon as you can get a regulatory framework in place that’s set, and it’s not up to one administration or the other to kind of go after lenders or not, you start to see servicing values improve.”
From regulatory overreach to credit trigger spam and lobbying roadblocks, Ashton sees the balance of power skewed - and it’s not benefiting the borrower. “It would be cool to see our industry become more about, from a regulatory standpoint, serving the client than about serving the interests of the stakeholders,” he said.
