A perennial panel discussion topic at retail financial services conferences is whether or not you can sell a home loan online. The usual consensus is that consumers like to shop for a home loan by visiting a number of websites but when it comes to making an application they want to be face-to-face with the lender. Marie Mortimer believes many borrowers choose not to make their applications online because they have to deal with call centre staff regarding queries about documents, verification and so on. At this point the service level falls below the customer's expectations.Mortimer is the managing director of loan.com.au, the online division of mortgage lender FirstMac. The business was launched in June and from the outset its approach has been to assign a manager to each applicant and have that manager take the applicant through to settlement.Mortimer said: "We keep it personal. We use Skype, so the customer can see their manager when they are talking."We modelled it on banks' premium banking services, where high net worth customers are given a relationship manager. The feedback we are getting tells us customers see it as a premium service."Mortimer said document-handling was not as much of a bugbear as some lenders think. "You need a signed loan document; everything else can be scanned."Applicants scan in their supporting documents and then email them to us. We outsource verification to Veda."Loans.com.au was launched with two mortgage managers. Over the past six months it has built up to a headcount of 45 (sales figures are not available).The business has distinguished itself by choosing pink livery for its website and offering rates that have given it prominent placement on comparison sites.Mortimer said the most popular loan in the range is Dream Loan Express, a fully featured mortgage priced at a variable rate of 6.29 per cent. A feature that borrowers like is that the rate will track changes in the cash rate for the first three years of the loan.Mortimer said: "Banks can't commit to that, so it is a real point of difference."[The] rate is certainly important in drawing people to the site but borrowers are also aware of service issues like turnaround time."Most of loans.com.au's borrowers are in their 30s and 40s. "They spend a lot of time online and they are comfortable shopping there. They have good income - our average loan-to-valuation ratio is 60 per cent."Mortimer's priority for 2012 is further development of the website. One improvement will be a feature that allows customers to track the progress of their application through the system.