## MyHome Aims To Transform Real Estate Through Digital Integration
**Key Takeaways**
– MyHome, the technology subsidiary of WFG, aims to leverage technology to serve not just its direct customers and consumers but also the broader industry including agents, brokerages, and title agents.
– The company is taking a lifecycle approach to digital integration, extending its services beyond closing with tools that help consumers manage their homes, stay informed about changes in the neighborhood, and maintain relationships with their agents and lenders.
– MyHome is making significant investments in artificial intelligence (AI) to automate processes, enhance search results, and create a more efficient and valuable customer experience.
**MyHome Brings the Parties Together**
MyHome, the technology arm of WFG, is focused on transforming the real estate experience with innovative, digital tools and solutions. The company was founded on the vision of creating a platform that brought together all the key parties involved in a real estate transaction – including consumers, Realtors, and lenders – and MyHome’s President Marty Frame believes they are well on their way to fulfilling that vision.
“WFG was really, I think, the first to create, and for a very long time, the only to create a product that put Realtors and lenders and consumers together in a transaction and created a space for them to collaborate,” Frame said in a recent podcast interview.
**A Focus on Efficiency & Convenience**
Frame describes MyHome’s approach to digital integration as a “lifecycle” model that extends beyond the closing to help consumers manage their homes, stay informed about changes in the neighborhood, and maintain relationships with their agents and lenders. This focus on the complete real estate journey is designed to foster brand loyalty and create ongoing value for MyHome’s clients.
“We’ve really focused on extending that over the years,” Frame said, referring to the company’s early efforts to connect the consumer experience to their transaction. “What was in the, I’d call it the TRID days, you know, a notifications portal right…has become a space where you know, you can do things right and not just know things, where you can, you know, review and sign documents, where you can initiate and make payments,” he explained.
**Leveraging AI for Enhanced Efficiency**
MyHome is also investing heavily in AI to drive automation, efficiency, and streamline processes. Frame identifies four key areas where the company is actively leveraging AI: document AI, process automation, marketing, and sales and training.
Document AI uses machine learning to automate the process of extracting information from documents and then organizing and deploying that information in the most useful way. MyHome leverages this technology in a variety of areas including, title, underwriting, closing, and marketing.
AI is also being used by MyHome to automate repetitive processes. By analyzing workflows and identifying opportunities for automation, MyHome is able to free up time for their team to focus on higher-level tasks.
Another key area where AI is making a difference is in marketing. MyHome uses generative models to create personalized marketing content for Realtors and lenders. This AI-powered approach helps to ensure that marketing materials are relevant, engaging, and effective.
Finally, AI is also playing a role in MyHome’s sales and training efforts. The company uses AI to gather insights into its customers’ needs and preferences and provide its sales team with real-time actionable intelligence. The company also leverages AI-powered tools and platforms to develop targeted training programs for its employees.
Frame said the key to success in AI is not just understanding the technology, but understanding how the AI-powered tools can be leveraged to solve real-world problems that help streamline processes, deliver a better customer experience, and improve profitability for MyHome’s clients.
“My goal is to be able to turn those technologies you know, sort of inside out if you will and offer them to agents and brokerages, and title agents and lenders, you know, all the constituents we serve,” Frame said.
**A New Era in Real Estate**
AI is just one of the many emerging technologies that Frame sees having a major impact on the real estate industry in the coming years. He also believes that the way data is collected, analyzed and used will undergo significant changes as the industry moves towards a more data-driven approach.
“The way we deal with data will only become more powerful because there is so much more data available to us than we currently use, and there are ways of using it that are so much more powerful than most of what we are doing as an industry,” Frame said. “What we can be is adaptive,” he continued. “Have a vision for how you are going to pull in and use data more efficiently as part of your search and exam process.”
**The User Experience is Key:**
Frame also emphasized the importance of focusing on user experience and adapting to the changing expectations of consumers, particularly those of younger generations.
“Most people don’t really feel like they chose their title company,” Frame said. “They just kind of get thrown into the process and there’s a lot of paperwork, and it’s obscure and intimidating. … We really do think that for most people they’re benchmarking that experience against other experiences they have,” he explained. “Is your technology the same as the technology I use on the internet all day long? You know, that’s my benchmark.”
**The Future of Real Estate Platforms**
The recent settlements in the lawsuit against Zillow and other real estate platforms have generated a lot of speculation about the future of the industry. Frame shares that while everyone is looking to see how the landscape will change he doesn’t believe that the settlement is the only factor influencing the future of the platforms.
“If you look at the numbers of people going to Zillow and realtor.com and homes.com and Trulia, you know, and Redfin and other destinations sort of below that, it’s in the hundreds of millions of unique users a month,” Frame said. “So the cost of acquiring those eyeballs, as they call them, is high and the cost of reacquiring them is even higher if you don’t offer a great experience once you get to that portal.”
Frame sees change in the real estate industry driven by a range of factors including regulation, market conditions, and the evolution of consumer expectations. While it is still too early to tell for certain what the future holds, he believes that the platforms that invest in high-quality content, a positive user experience, and innovative tools will be best positioned to succeed.
**Final Thoughts**
“From a technology perspective, you’ve gotta I think people have a challenge you know wanting to try to figure out what technologies they should implement, you know, and you know maybe being a little anxious that they’re behind the curve, or you know, not doing what they should be doing,” Frame said.
His advice to title professionals and other industry leaders is to be informed and educated about the latest trends and technologies, but to avoid jumping on every new innovation.
“The most important thing you can do is to be informed about what’s really what’s really out there in production — what’s sort of burned in enough that it’s not hype right, and it’s not new and it’s not a first-mouse type situation right,” Frame explained, referencing Pat Stone’s favorite quote, “The second mouse gets the cheese.”