Written by Scott Sambucci, as originally published in The Reverse Review.

According to the CFPB’s January report, “Consumers’ Mortgage Shopping Experience,” about 77 percent of borrowers only applied to one lender. With increasing pressure on HECM lenders, originators need to prove proper disclosure and borrower education or risk scrutiny from regulators.

This week, I called a housing counseling service provided by the CFPB housing counselor hotline. I told the agent that I was doing some research for my parents, who were considering a reverse mortgage. She said that with them on the line, she could transfer me to a housing counselor to review the details of a reverse mortgage and to determine if the loan would be a sound financial decision for their circumstances.

When I said I’d call back, she replied, “Call back any time. We’re available 24/7.” This is a free service paid for by the U.S. Department of Treasury, available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It was that easy to get a trained counselor on the phone.

This got me thinking: Should this phone call be required as part of the final steps of the HECM origination process? Or better yet, what if the industry employed technology to create a mandatory video that borrowers must view in the final stages prior to closing—a last-minute recap of sorts that reviews the obligations of the loan?

There are about 5,000 HECM loans originated per month, or about 250 loans per day. Could the industry find a way to support a mandatory video review with each new borrower just before they reach the closing table?

Ideally, the videos would be produced and hosted by HUD and the CFPB to ensure objectivity and uniformity. The content would review the potential pitfalls, challenges and obligations of loan, with several versions created to specifically address different types of HECMs (i.e., tenure, term, line of credit). An electronic questionnaire would automatically cue upon the video’s completion, prompting borrowers to respond to a series of important questions about the loan’s terms. A system could be set in place that would pause the process and flag the originator if a borrower failed to respond accurately to the post-video questionnaire. Originators would be alerted when their borrower has successfully completed this mandatory step, allowing an automatic release of disclosure documents for review and signature.

Tracking the viewing of these videos is a well-established technology built into any modern software platform. By deploying this technology for borrower education, monitoring clicks would provide verification to the lender that the borrower has been given a final opportunity to confirm their agreement with the terms of the loan. This would also provide visibility and analytics to oversight bodies as they could review data on borrower responses. It might create a red-flag system, drawing attention to lenders that are pushing their borrowers through the process.

From a regulatory and compliance standpoint, this process could relieve lenders from many of the burdens that require them to prove borrower disclosure and education about terms, fees, and outcomes.

Finally, by requiring this video at the end of the origination process, lenders are then given an incentive to appropriately educate borrowers during the origination proceedings, else risk extending the time-to-close or even losing a potential borrower. In the best case for the industry, a segment of would-be borrowers might disqualify themselves by failing this final test.

Would that be such a bad thing for everyone?