Description:
This is an overview to the Chat feature for Team Members and how it appears for Loan Officer Assistants (LOAs) and other Team Members. This is a feature that must be turned on for a user. If you are interested in turning this on, please reach out to your company's Admin or CSM.
Process:
Chat is a feature designed to optimize communication between Loan Officers and their Borrowers by providing an in-app chat service that can be used as an alternative to calling or emailing. Team Members can be added to the Loan Team to assist Loan Officers in communicating with borrowers via chat as well. Team members are required to include a loan officer when contacting a borrower. A Team Member also can only view chats that they are a member of. Having loan access to a loan officer does not guarantee them access to all chats.
Web:
After logging into the Web Dashboard, a Team Member with chat turned on will see a "Chat" menu option from the left navigation bar.
A "Chat Disclaimer" will appear for the first time the feature is accessed. Once a user clicks on the "Okay" button it will close and not appear again.
Once the Chat menu opens, the screen will be split up into 3 main sections: the standard side menu, a list of chat conversations to select, and an area to display the selected conversation. At the top of the screen, there is an icon to the right of Chat that is used to start a new message. Below this icon is the search bar. The search bar is used to search for existing conversations. Above the list of chat conversations, a "Mark all as read" link is available to remove all new message notifications. Unread message indicators show to the left of unread messages.
To start a new conversation if you are not selected in an existing chat, click on the 'Borrower:' line to the right which will then pull down a menu of the borrowers on loans that you can access in order to select who to include in the new chat. Multiple borrowers can be included in one chat, given that they share a loan file. Click on the pen and paper icon next to chat to create a chat if you are currently in an existing conversation.
An LO must be included in conversations with borrowers. An error will populate if you try to send a message without one attached.
Click on the "Add others to the conversation" area to add LOs or other team members to the chat.
Attachments can be added to the chat by clicking the paperclip at the bottom of the chat window. At this time, only images are supported as attachments. A window will open to select the file to attach.
Once the Image is uploaded, a preview will show above the message box. You can add a message to go with the image or just send it on its own using the paper plane icon. If you decide to not send the image, you can click the "x" in the upper right of the image to remove it.
Clicking on the three dot menu in the chat will give you access to the detailed list of included parties, the ability to mark the conversation as unread and mute notifications from that conversation, and the chat disclaimer that all users see when first accessing chat.
Mobile:
The mobile experience for Team Members is a recent addition and allows for a very similar chat experience when compared to the web chat.
The "Chat" option is in the bottom menu of the app. Clicking this will show a list of all chats that are in progress where you are included.
The first time that a user accesses the chat function in the app, a disclaimer will popup. Tapping on "I Understand" will close out the window.
Unread messages will be marked with a dot to the left of the chat. The red number on the Chat icon at the bottom is how many unread chats you have. Messages can be marked as read by tapping the "Mark all as read" option above the list of conversations. A new conversation can be created by tapping on the "pencil and paper" icon in the top right section of the screen. The search bar is used to search for an existing conversation.
After selecting any existing conversation, or starting a new one, you will be directed to a screen showing the conversation history. Tap in the text field at the bottom of the screen to enter a message. Clicking the paper airplane icon sends the message.
When creating a new chat, click the area next to "Borrower:" to add a borrower to the chat. Choosing the "Loan Team" option will add everyone on the loan file to the chat, including the LO and other team members. You can type in the Borrower box to search for a specific borrower or loan team.
A message can only be sent to a borrower if an LO is included in the chat. Otherwise the following error will popup.
Click in "Add others:" to add the LO or other Team Members to the chat, if you did not select the Loan Team option. This can be searched, just like the borrower area.
In addition to text, there is an attachment icon to the left of the text screen to include image attachments. Clicking the paperclip will allow you to choose an image to upload from your phone. Once it is uploaded, it will show in the message box to either send on it's own or with a message. Clicking the "x" on the image will remove it from the message.
Additional options can be accessed on a per conversation level by selecting the "i" information option in the top right corner of the screen.
Solution:
The chat feature can be extremely helpful in keeping a borrower connected with their loan team. With the team member chat, the Loan Officer isn't the only one that bears the weight of this communication. Instead, a Team Member can help manage these chats to help relieve the pressure from the Loan Officer.
Additional resources:
- Mortgage Chat - Team Members
- Mortgage Chat - Loan Officers/Partners
- Mortgage Chat: Borrowers
- Mortgage Chat
- Borrower Chat
- Loan Officer and Agent Chat
- Team Members