5 Best CRMs for Mortgage Loan Officers: Which One to Choose

December 18, 2024
10 min

Mortgage CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a software or platform specifically designed for mortgage brokers, loan officers, and mortgage lending firms to manage and streamline their interactions with clients and prospects, automate tasks, track leads, manage communications, and ultimately close more deals.

This article has gathered a list of the best CRMs for mortgage loan officers with different needs and budgets. The overview is formed based on publicly available reviews and promotional materials.

Key takeaways:

  • Salesforce is the best CRM for mortgage loan officers thanks to its flexibility and agility.
  • Surefire is the best mortgage loan CRM for personalized marketing automation.
  • Creatio mortgage CRM is the best for no-code workflow automation.
  • BNToch mortgage CRM is perfect for individual mortgage brokers or small teams.
  • Shape mortgage CRM for loan officers who are exploring their needs in advanced functionality.

Comparison of Top 5 Mortgage CRMs

Get the comparison chart of the best CRMs for mortgage loan officers with a detailed overview of each option.

Full Name
Work Email

The Best CRMs for Mortgage Loan Officers Overview

Salesforce
SurefireCreatioBNTouchShape
Price
$25/ month per user + add-ons$150/month per user$25/ month per user + modules$165/ month per user$119/ month per user + hidden costs
LOS
Compatible with all LOS and POSCompatible with all LOS and POSIntegration is available, but hardly ever troublesomeCompatible with all LOS and POSThrough Integrations
Compliance
Through integrationsBuilt-inBuilt-in basic solutions and more advanced options are available through integrationsThrough integrationsThrough integrations
Underwriting
Can be integrated or built on top of the platformThrough integrationsBuilt-in basic solutions and more advanced options are available through integrationsThrough integrationsBuilt-in
E-Signature
Through integrationsBuilt-inBuilt-inThrough integrationsBuilt-in
Borrower Portal
Can be custom-builtNot includedNot includedBuilt-inBuilt-in
Drawbacks
Needs basic customizationsPoor customer support and analytics capabilitiesPrice increases rapidly as your needs growA basic set of features, a steep learning curveHidden costs, buggy, poor customer support.

Salesforce – The Best CRM for Mortgage Loan Officers

Price: starts at $25/ month per user + add-ons

 
Salesforce is the #1 CRM in the world. Over 150K companies trust this system with their customer data, marketing automation, custom portal creation, and many other things that used to be scattered across multiple applications.

Salesforce is the best CRM for Mortgage Brokers

Salesforce Mortgage CRM | Source: Salesforce

Key benefits of Salesforce Mortgage CRM:

  • Centralized data storage and management: All mortgage data is organized in one place, eliminating data chaos and enhancing client experience.
  • Accurate loan forecasting: AI-powered data analytics provide insights into future loan opportunities, risks, and income, enabling proactive actions.
  • Seamless collaboration and secure data sharing: Team members across locations and devices can collaborate effectively with secure data access and sharing.
  • Top-notch platform security: Multi-level security protocols protect sensitive client and financial data.
  • Personalized client interactions: Tailored interactions based on individual needs and milestones enhance client satisfaction and retention.
  • In-depth analytics and data visualization: Gain valuable insights into client behavior, market trends, operational performance, and more.
  • Automation and AI-powered assistance: Automate routine tasks like sending follow-ups or reminders and receive personalized recommendations like what properties should be suggested for the specific group of contacts.
  • Platform customization and scalability: Adapt Salesforce to your specific needs with point-and-click configuration tools.
  • Platform agility and versatility: Find a suitable product in the vast ecosystem or create your own custom solution on top of Salesforce like branded borrower portals or underwriting engines.
  • Seamless integration with third-party solutions: Enhance CRM capabilities with add-on products from AppExchange and other third-party tools like LOS and POS.

Salesforce Mortgage CRM Pros & Cons

Salesforce is a solid-standing leader among the CRMs for mortgage brokers. Top-standard security, intelligent automation, a variety of products that can cover all your needs, customization capabilities, efficient customer support, extensive community, and many other benefits make Salesforce the best CRM for mortgage loan officers.

Talking about disadvantages, Salesforce is not a mortgage CRM out of the box. It means it requires customizations. Enterprises might buy Financial Services Cloud, but customization is advised as a more future-proof solution for smaller mortgage lending companies.

With an experienced Salesforce partner, customization and configuration take a few months and pay off very quickly. As a result, you get custom functionality that meets your needs and don’t have to pay for it monthly but just for a Salesforce license.

In conclusion, the advantages definitely outweigh the downsides, and with the knowledgeable Salesforce consultant and partner, mortgage loan officers can customize it to their liking and use it to the fullest.

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Surefire – Marketing Engine for Mortgage Brokers

Price: starts at $150/user/month

 
Surefire is one of the best CRM for mortgage loan officers focused on marketing and personalized customer outreach. It’s another great CRM for mortgage brokers owned by ICE Mortgage Technology and therefore perfectly compatible with their other solutions like Velocify for sales automation.

Surefire Mortgage CRM interface screenshot

Surefire Mortgage CRM | Source: Surefire

The list of features is rather extensive, and you can definitely find anything there. With intuitive, set-it-and-forget-it workflows and versatile content creation tools, mortgage loan officers can maintain and deepen their connections with borrowers, brokers, and financial facilities through one robust platform. In addition to typical mortgage loan CRM functionality, Surefire offers:

Compliance:

  • RESPA, TCPA, CCPA ready
  • Audit assistance and reporting

Integrations:

  • Salesforce
  • LOS (Encompass, Calyx, LendingPad, etc.) and POS (Blend, Floify, etc.)
  • Pricing engines and sales tools (MortgageCoach, MBS Highway, MonitorBase, and Sales Boomerang)
  • Social media
  • Zapier
  • Open API

Customer engagement:

  • Referral tracking
  • Gamification
  • Feedback management
  • Video support
  • Self-service
  • Personalized content
  • Branded portals and landing pages
  • Open House Intelligence
  • Closing gifts suggestions
  • Loan servicing

Lean Management:

  • Lead scoring & segmentation
  • Automated lead nurturing campaigns
  • Predictive analytics and prospecting
  • Multi-channel data collection

Surefire Mortgage Loan CRM Pros & Cons

The ultimate advantage of Surefire mortgage loan CRM is a quality guarantee by associating with ICE Mortgage Technology and a wide variety of features. Surefire is compatible with most LOS and POS on the market, has regulatory compliance features, and efficiently handles not only the online part of mortgage lending but open houses, too.

According to numerous reviews, there are still a few disadvantages like non-compatibility with Arive LOS, lack of customization and visibility when it comes to analytics, contact filtering issues, and especially customer support delays. Also, there are no automated underwriting features and some customers reported difficulties integrating it with necessary underwriting software. Finally, Surefire has no e-signature capabilities.

In conclusion, Surefire is a great mortgage loan officer CRM with robust client engagement features, but its inflexibility hinders integration with some tools.

Creatio – No-Code Platform for Custom Workflows

Price: starts at $25/ month per user + $15 for each module + fees + $150 for AI

 
Creation is a no-code platform that serves as a robust CRM for mortgage loan officers. Creation seems to thrive to become a competitor to Salesforce with similar products and features distribution. For example, it has three separate modules for sales, marketing, and service which are similar to corresponding Salesforce Clouds.

Features that make Creation one of the best CRMs for mortgage loan officers:

  • Loan application management
  • Loan origination
  • Loan servicing
  • Loan recovery
  • Underwriting
  • Compliance
  • Document management
  • Escrow account management
  • Mortgage portfolio management
  • Over 750 integrations

All those processes are enabled by no-code workflows and checklists. For example, for underwriting, the system first uses the checklist to identify missing documents. Then Creatio mortgage loan CRM puts the received data through a decision tree to suggest a final decision of denying or approving.

Creatio Mortgage CRM

Creatio Mortgage CRM | Source: Creatio

No-code approach and robust fundamental set of features made Creatio mortgage loan officer CRM recognized by Forbes Advisor, Gartner, and Forrester as a core CRM for mortgage brokers and a modern marketing automation solution.

Creatio Mortgage Loan CRM Pros & Cons

Creation is very user-friendly with a visually appealing interface and numerous educational resources. Creatio Academy has a different concept from Salesforce Trailhead and is a great basis to get to know the platform.

Creatio Marketplace (similar to AppEchange) offers over 750 integrations with different tools, including Salesforce Marketing Cloud, DocuSign for e-signature capabilities, data lakes and warehouses, collaboration tools, and many others.

The main disadvantage of this mortgage loan officer CRM is that Creatio’s monthly price can easily skyrocket to up to $300 for a team of 5. If you want to engage AI, add a $150 one-time purchase.

Another disadvantage is occasional difficulties with LOS and POS integrations. Creatio has its own workflows dedicated to those processes, but for loan officers who are used to working with other systems, it can be a significant downside.

 

 

BNTouch CRM for Mortgage Loan Officers and Small Teams

Price: starts at $165 / month for the Individual plan an activation fee of $125

 
BNTouch mortgage loan CRM is one of the most trusted ones in the industry. It offers a suite of tools that integrate customer relationship management (CRM), marketing, and point-of-sale (POS) functionalities in one platform.

BNTouch CRM for Mortgage Brokers

BNTouch Mortgage CRM | Source: BNTouch

Key features of BNTouch mortgage loan CRM:

  • Loan servicing
  • Integration with LOS, Outlook, Zapier, and Others
  • Borrower-friendly digital loan platform
  • E-Signature and intelligent document routing
  • Efficient lead distribution
  • Email marketing and drip campaigns
  • Online application forms
  • Document management
  • Ready-to-use marketing materials
  • Website manager
  • AI mortgage assistant
  • SMS updates and outreach

BNTouch Mortgage Loan CRM Pros & Cons

BNTouch CRM for mortgage brokers conquers hearts and minds with its feature set simplicity. Not all mortgage lending firms need a marketing engine or their own built-from-scratch regulatory compliance software and BNTouch offers the basis for such companies with the ability to integrate everything necessary.

Meanwhile, BNTouch mortgage loan CRM has features that go beyond the out-of-the-box set of typical CRMs for mortgage brokers like AI mortgage assistant, built-in e-signature, intelligent document routing, and SMS updates and outreach.

When it comes to disadvantages, there are few. For example, you can customize everything with BNTouch except loan mortgage CRM itself like interface, objects, tabs, and other elements.

Many reviews mention a steep learning curve and unfortunately very few educational materials. Tutorial videos are a good introduction, but to get to grips with BNTouch mortgage loan officers need time and make a few mistakes along the way.

In conclusion, BNTouch is a robust mortgage loan CRM for covering basic needs, integration capabilities, understandable and laconic interface, fast customer support, and mortgage industry recognition as one of the best CRMs for mortgage loan officers.

Shape CRM for Mortgage Brokers Who Don’t Know Where to Start

Price: starts at $119/ month per user (annually charged)

 
Shape positioned itself as “a better alternative to Surefire” and the interface is surely similar, but the functionality is less impressive, but still covers the basic needs and a bit more. Shape CRM for mortgage brokers is a way to try out features like a borrower portal, marketing automation, and integrated dialer without overpaying for mortgage loan CRMs that have those features in higher pricing plans or enabled by integrations.

Shape CRM for Mortgage Brokers

Shape Mortgage CRM | Source: Shape Software

Features that make Shape one of the best CRMs for mortgage loan officers:

  • LOS integrations (Encompass, LendingPad, Calyx, and LendingDox)
  • ShapeIQ for mortgage leads scoring
  • Integrated dialer for email, text, and phone calls with intelligent call routing
  • Underwriting thanks to automated credit pulling and decision tree
  • Referral management
  • Marketing automation, pre-built marketing templates, drip campaigns
  • Personalized content creation (video messages, )
  • Landing pages with A/B testing and heat map capabilities
  • Borrower Portal
  • E-Signature

Shape Mortgage Loan CRM Pros & Cons

Shape mortgage loan CRM has many advanced features that are not offered by its competitors out of the box. For example, a borrower portal is a whole other piece of work for platforms like Salesforce. At the same time, borrower portals created with Salesforce Experience Cloud are more custom, branded, and feature-rich.

Also, it offers AI assistance at many stages like mortgage lead scoring and intelligent call routing. Many users claimed improvements in analytics, prospecting, and an increase in sales over 26%.

Negative feedback to consider before choosing Shape mortgage loan CRM. Many reviews mention glitching of e-signature, some bugs in the system, and too slow and unprofessional company staff in both sales and customer support departments.

Also, Shape CRM for mortgage brokers is not very customizable. If with Salesforce, you can shape it as you need, with Shape mortgage loan CRM, you are limited to 20 custom fields and they are hidden in a separate tab.

The price. Shape is not necessarily a better alternative to Surefire, but definitely a cheaper option for small teams. However, there are many hidden costs like storage costs, API costs, etc. Meanwhile, mortgage loan officers pay for using API, this capability is very limited both in its functionality and the low daily/hourly rate limits.

In conclusion, Shape mortgage loan CRM is worth trying when you do not exactly know what advanced features you really need since here they are right out of the box. A user-friendly interface will make your acquaintance with modern mortgage loan officer CRM less stressful. Be careful with hidden costs.

If you need to go beyond the limited customization capabilities of Shape mortgage loan CRM, consider moving to Salesforce – it has greater flexibility and customization variety.

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Final Thought

If you are struggling to choose a mortgage loan CRM, contact Ascendix. We’ve been in CRM consulting for real estate since 1996. We’ll help you spot the gaps in your current CRM system, optimize it, move to a new CRM platform, or develop a custom solution to solve your business challenges.

Also, we’ve already had fruitful cooperation with mortgage lending firms that chose to shift to Salesforce as the best CRM for mortgage loan officers for its flexibility, security, and rich functionality. We’ve developed an application on top of Salesforce mortgage loan CRM with an underwriting engine, credit report checker, document generation, borrower portal, and custom security model.

We provide professional Salesforce consulting for Financial Services Institutions, including those in mortgage lending.

Also, we can help with:

Common Questions

What Is a Mortgage CRM?

A mortgage CRM (customer relationship management) is software designed to help loan officers and mortgage professionals effectively manage, track, and nurture relationships with leads, clients, and referral partners. This centralized system allows for streamlined communication, organization of customer data, and optimization of the entire mortgage lifecycle.

What Is the Best CRM For Mortgage Brokers?

Salesforce is the best CRM for mortgage brokers because it offers a variety of features and products that can cover all needs of mortgage brokers, customization capabilities, compatibility with mortgage-specific third-party tools, over 7K native integrations, efficient customer support and robust system security, extensive community, and many other benefits.

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