How AI can help brokers ditch agent cold calls and help them compete with megalenders
Artificial intelligence is a conflicting topic in the mortgage broker space. On the one hand, everyone knows that technology is spreading, and using it can give you an edge over your competition. On the other hand, there are concerns about just how far it will go in the mortgage space.
Hunter Bolling (pictured top), loan officer with Edge Home Finance, is doing his part to help mortgage brokers leverage the technology to their advantage. He will be discussing the topic at the upcoming Association of Independent Mortgage Experts (AIME) Fuse event in Nashville next month.
Bolling's goal in using AI was simple: to automate tasks that help drive business, which gives him more time to focus on making human connections and growing those new relationships.
Part of his automation involves using AI to contact real estate agents, rather than relying on cold calls to generate new business.
“I think the thing with AI that is so nice right now is everyone's using AI as a tool,” Bolling told Mortgage Professional America. “For me and our business, it's been relationship over transaction, but AI can still be used to create the relationship. Instead of cold calling and doing certain things, it's saying, ‘How can you bring value to their business through AI?’ It's something we've done very dramatically since May of 2024, and our business has been transformed from it.”
Adapt and build
For Bolling, the AI revolution wasn’t just about utilizing existing technology, but about building his own. Bots he has created, which he offers for free, allow other brokers to take advantage of the work he has put into their development.
“I think the biggest piece there was, I don't like cold calling agents,” Bolling said. “The honest truth is, I don't know very many loan officers who do, and if they do, they're probably crazy. I've built two AI bots. And it's free to them. We don't charge anything. It’s an opportunity for me to say, ‘I have built a bot specifically for you. It is free, it is through ChatGPT, and all you do is click the link. It's now yours, and it's built for your business.”
It's part of this rapid increase in technology in the mortgage industry. Bolling said it is vital for mortgage brokers and loan originators to adopt the technology that enables them to compete with the largest mortgage companies in the industry.
“It's transforming, and it's only getting better,” he said. “I told our owners, we have three things to do as a company. We either adapt and build technology-wise, we sell, or we die. Which one do you want to do? We're building something really cool. It doesn't matter if you're a broker or if you're in retail. Your biggest competitor is Rocket Mortgage, especially with the acquisition of Mr. Cooper.
“I was with Mr. Cooper for 4 ½ years, and I know how that works. I knew what they were built to do. You’re friends with people, that doesn't mean that you're not competitors. And in Rocket Mortgage, they're a data company, Rocket Money, the app, the credit card, it's nonstop. If you're not going to compete on that level, you have to compete on a relational level. And that still does include AI.”
Transforming a community
Bolling is excited to return to Fuse because it presents an opportunity for him to network with others in the industry and learn about their strategies for success.
“It's just transformed the entire outlook of creating what community is,” he said. “I was in retail before. I never once felt like I was really friends with somebody outside of my organization. I think on the wholesale side, there is a lot of competition, but when you go to an event like Fuse, you can talk to the person across from you and say, ‘What are you doing that's making your business successful? And people are sharing that information.’”
Melissa Rifai reveals how embracing community support and confronting your fears can skyrocket your success.https://t.co/cn2WamAFog
— Mortgage Professional America Magazine (@MPAMagazineUS) September 19, 2025
He praised AIME for helping to build relationships across all parts of the mortgage industry. He credits CEO Jonathon Haddad for helping to grow that community.
“I think that's the thing that the AIME does such a good job of is giving opportunity for a community to come together,” Bolling said. “The heartbeat behind it is on the right path. And I solely believe that's because of Jonathon Haddad. I will take that to my grave.”
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