2015 Trailblazers: Mason-McDuffie Mortgage Corp.
A relationship-based model means solutions designed to fit customer needs
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Mason-McDuffie Mortgage takes a holistic approach to its business, going beyond a simple transactional relationship with its customers to develop real connections. The company starts by listening to its clients to discover what they need most, and then creates solutions that combine technology with the firm’s impressive human capital to meet those needs.
“The mortgage process is still relationship driven and what we want to do is enhance that with creativity, innovation, and by using new technologies,” said Jason Frazier, chief information officer.
“What we don’t want is to replace the human element with technology end to end. We feel that we can provide great service, great products, and a digital process without sacrificing the relationship part of this business.”
Mason-McDuffie utilizes the Kaizen philosophy of continuous improvement, which places a high value on each employee and empowers them to spot and eliminate waste. From a practical standpoint, it means that the company’s collaborative structure is focused on making changes, monitoring results and adjusting accordingly.
“We are a creative mortgage lender who is built on the Kaizen practice of continuous improvement. We don’t want to be better than our competition, we want to be different,” said Jason Frazier, chief information officer.
In business since 1887, Mason-McDuffie’s mission is to work with homebuyers to fulfill the dream of homeownership. The company offers traditional products, including conforming, non-conforming, conventional and government loans to first-time homebuyers, move-up buyers and investors.
The company’s experienced staff of in-house FHA DE underwriters makes it possible for the company to make prompt decisions that lead to quick closings — usually 30 days or less, even under TRID regulations.
The added layer of regulation does add to the burden on lenders, Frazier said, and will prove to be a differentiator in the coming year.
“We expect that the greatest challenge for 2016 will be getting used to TRID and the eventual changes and ‘fixes’ to the TRID process,” Frazier said.
“As much as the CFPB would like to think they are clear and precise, that just isn’t the case. Trying to color within blurred regulatory lines will be the challenge.”
Increased regulation requires efficiency and innovation to do more with less, which Mason-McDuffie sees as an excellent opportunity.
“We’ll meet this challenge by leveraging the ideas and hard work of the talented people that make up our company. The creativity of our people is what sets us apart and is what will allow us to continue to be successful,” Frazier said.
In fact, the company’s approach to regulatory challenges reflects the company’s broader innovative outlook. Mason-McDuffie has a robust online presence that makes it easy for the company to offer consumers education and resources for the whole mortgage process, walking potential homeowners through each step of the loan. They can also find loan officers and apply online.
“Instead of fighting all the regulatory problems and old ways of thinking, we can embrace change and continue to build a different type of lending that the new generation of consumer is looking for,” Frazier said.
Building a new mortgage model is a continual process that Mason-McDuffie is uniquely designed to handle.
“Customer service, education, and a seamless mortgage process is at the heart of what we strive for every day,” Frazier said. “What we are working on, as a whole, is a new way to better serve our clients via an innovative and technology-based mortgage process.”
