Jason duPont On AI in the Mortgage Industry

The Applied AI Podcast

Jason duPont, COO of NEXA Mortgage, reveals how AI transforms mortgage operations from 54-minute loan processing to autonomous underwriting systems. NEXA processes $10 billion annually through 3,300 loan officers and targets $15 billion using agentic AI partnerships.

This episode demonstrates practical AI implementation beyond chatbots. DuPont shares NEXA's partnership with Tidalwave, which handles the mortgage application process starting at the 1003 form submission. The platform conducts intelligent conversations with clients to gather missing information, routes loans to appropriate lenders based on overlays and requirements, and connects to credit services for automated qualification decisions.

KEY INSIGHTS:

• Tidalwave's front-end focus: Starting with point-of-sale, not back-office operations
• Building AI agent hierarchies that spawn additional agents autonomously
• Voice AI converting cold prospects into Thursday Zoom call attendees
• Personal AI experiments with n8n orchestration for health and crypto trading
• Achieving "one-touch close" through comprehensive upfront data collection
• Future vision: Loan officers become influencers while AI handles technical work

ENTERPRISE VALUE FOR DECISION-MAKERS: DuPont predicts loan officers will evolve into relationship managers and influencers, with AI handling income calculations, debt ratios, and document processing. This transformation model applies across industries where knowledge workers currently manage complex compliance and documentation. His approach to testing platforms while maintaining flexibility demonstrates practical AI adoption strategies.

The discussion covers how Tidalwave pulls back control of the entire process rather than relying on individual language models, building guardrails while maintaining agility. DuPont's personal experiments showcase enterprise concepts: agents building other agents, recursive feedback loops improving voice AI prompts, and hierarchical systems with built-in auditors.

TECHNICAL IMPLEMENTATION FROM THE TRANSCRIPT:

• Tidalwave handles applications from 1003 submission through qualification
• System determines optimal loan products (VA, FHA, conventional, non-QM)
• Intelligent routing based on lender overlays and income calculation methods
• Voice AI for recruitment and lead generation with recorded call analysis
• OCR and document categorization for comprehensive data processing
• Future roadmap includes full front-to-back loan lifecycle automation

BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION INSIGHTS: DuPont emphasizes speed: "We move very fast. The broker channel is faster than the IMB space." This agility enables rapid testing and iteration. His 54-minute submission-to-clear achievement with human processing sets the benchmark for AI automation targets.

Market dynamics will shift dramatically: "Those that don't embrace will just feed everyone else." Early adopters become evangelists while skills develop gradually. The loan officer who masters AI-driven lead generation and conversion will dominate market share.

ABOUT THE GUEST: Jason DuPont serves as COO and top recruiter at NEXA Mortgage. With industry experience since 1996, he drives NEXA's digital transformation through strategic partnerships and personal AI experimentation spanning health optimization, investment strategies, and autonomous agent development.

ABOUT THE HOST: Jacob Andra, CEO of Talbot West, leads AI enablement for mid-market companies, Fortune 500 enterprises, government agencies, and defense organizations. Talbot West's proprietary frameworks help organizations distinguish safe from unsafe AI applications while moving quickly toward comprehensive intelligence systems.