Rocket Mortgage's partnership channel is bringing out an artificial intelligence tool that will let mortgage brokers update approval letters on the go, the company announced at a live event Monday.
For now, the technology is dubbed VAL Update Hotline, Mike Fawaz, executive vice president of Rocket Pro TPO, said at the Ignite Live event. The tool should be available to brokers sometime in the first quarter and will be renamed before launch.
"This generative voice system will help brokers outside of business hours or even if they're on the run because you don't need to speak to a human being to be able to change the loan amounts in a verified approval letter, or make an update," Fawaz noted Tuesday. "The generative assistant will ask [for some information like] a loan number, a name, and within less than a minute, you'll have an updated verified approval letter."
More AI tools are currently in development for the broker community, though Fawaz wouldn't give further details. This announcement coincides with Rocket Companies overall push to
"We are very focused on making sure that AI technology is going to be the driving force for us in 2024 because we believe in providing efficiency, we believe that it provides certainty," the Rocket executive said. "And in a world like today, you have to lean into these things, and really lean hard and deliver to the broker community tools that will help them work."
Broker partners will also have access to MMI data in mid-January, as Rocket Pro TPO has struck a deal with the data company to give brokers a subscription for $100 a month, the Rocket executive said.
"This was an ask from the broker community that they want to be able to receive data on real estate agents and loan officers," Fawaz said. "We were able to negotiate a deal with them to be able to deliver it to the broker community, I believe a very cheap solution and access to a ton of data can help [brokers] grow."
Rocket's wholesale channel is likely to be propped up to an even greater state of importance, as all signs point to 2024 being a predominately purchase forward market, despite a
A recent report by Bose George, analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, pointed out that Rocket's main source of purchase business stems from its wholesale channel. George also questioned whether Rocket
Fawaz said he plans to continue building out the wholesale channel by "earning broker partnerships."
"We are very focused on being in the trenches with our broker partners, we want to earn the partnership every single day," he said. " If you're doing business with us, we want to earn the partnership when you call us and ask us about a loan or when you call us and ask us about a loan scenario. We believe that earning our broker partners partnership is a privilege and it's an honor for us to serve."
The Ignite Live event also marked one year since Rocket Pro TPO announced the roll-out of
Fawaz noted a number of broker partners have turned to Rocket and "asked for [protection] through the bully shield." The company executive declined to mention what brokers turned to them for help.
"Forget the bully shield, or forget us going out there telling the brokers we need to protect them, I think the main thing here is why do we even need to be in a world where broker partners are strained by any wholesale lender or by anyone? I believe in the free market. I believe in freedom. I believe in doing what you need to do," he said.
