The 2024 Connections Award Winners Are …

In this very challenging market, the companies that are thinking strategically, will win the day. How? By making the right connections. And we at PROGRESS in Lending believe that those connections deserve recognition. Every day companies are embarking on groundbreaking partnerships, integrations, and acquisitions to improve this space, but they are going unrecognized until now.  The 2024 Connections Award Winners in alphabetical order are:

Ardley Technologies & Bilt Rewards

Ardley is partnering with Bilt Rewards, the payments and rewards platform that finally makes rent rewarding and puts renters on a path to homeownership. Bilt allows every member to report their rental payments to all three credit bureaus for free so they can build their credit profile. Also, Bilt Points, which can be earned by paying rent and neighborhood spend, can be redeemed toward a down payment. (Bilt Rewards worked with FHA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac to update their guidelines so loyalty points are a viable source of cash to close.) Finally, Bilt provides tools and content that empower renters looking to buy their first home. Bilt Rewards’ programs, which include point transfers to travel loyalty programs, travel booking and shopping on Amazon.com, among others, also include redeeming credits towards rent or a downpayment on a future home. Bilt’s partnership with Ardley enables the Bilt Rewards’ platform to offer the first personalized home shopping experience designed for renters. When members access the app, they immediately see homes they could buy today, in their current area, with a monthly payment the same as their current rent payment. They can change the monthly payment, increase their downpayment (from minimum to 20%), and filter homes. Each time they update their search, they see homes they can buy based on their monthly payment amount, including principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and HOA fees. Ardley tackles a huge amount of complexity behind the scenes to make the in-app experience effortless for renters. Buying a home shouldn’t be more complicated than renting – where there’s a monthly payment (your mortgage) and a security deposit (your down payment) – and Ardley’s technology assures it isn’t. Ardley determines the monthly payment for every home based on the renter’s profile (FICO and DTI), the down payment option selected, and the vest potential loan execution. Ardley also ranks home listings according to their likelihood to appeal to the user. They see the most compelling homes first, so they’re enticed to explore. The partnership makes for an all-new experience. The industry is rife with calculators that use confusing terms and require many inputs. That’s why most first-time home buyers feel lost when they start their journey. This new tool, developed by Bilt and Ardley, places the home in the forefront and the mortgage jargon in the trash can. This doesn’t merely enhance the user experience, it actually draws renters in and keeps them in the first-time homeownership game. Bilt members who buy homes and earn 1 Bilt Point for every $2 of home they buy. A $500,000 home earns 250,000 Bilt Points they can use to buy home goods on Amazon or take the family to Europe. Renters in over four million units nationwide can earn Bilt Points by paying rent. Owners benefit from increased resident loyalty and cost savings. Bilt Rewards makes purchasing a home rewarding. Ardley makes it accessible and easy for renters to comprehend. A perfect pairing that deserves recognition.

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Clarifire & First American Mortgage Solutions, LLC

CLARIFIRE, a workflow automation provider has a strategic integration that automates orders of First American Mortgage Solution’s loss mitigation products and services suite for CLARIFIRE technology users. Loss mitigation document generation, title reports, partial claims and lien priority insurance are easily ordered and delivered directly from CLARIFIRE user dashboards–eliminating most manual input from the process. The two organizations are part of each other’s shared ecosystem, offering a mutually beneficial offering to its clients. The seamless integration allows lenders and servicers to efficiently process loss mitigation options for borrowers. Utilizing the CLARIFIRE workflow automation, First American’s products align with servicing processing teams’ loss mitigation workflows to help reduce costs, increase compliance, improve data integrity and quality, and reduce turn times, while improving the overall borrower experience. This is a win-win for all parties.

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Corporate Settlement Solutions & GridBase

Corporate Settlement Solutions (CSS), a full-suite provider of commercial and residential real estate settlement solutions, and GridBase, the universal Application Program Interface (API) for lender and title collaboration, have recently expanded their integration to significantly improve the home equity lending process. This advanced integration enables lenders to seamlessly order CSS property reports, flood zone determinations, and recordings directly within their LOS platform. By eliminating the need for manual order entry, this integration not only reduces processing time but also enhances delivery speed. This expansion builds on the long-standing partnership between CSS and GridBase, further elevating the comprehensive services offered by CSS. The direct delivery of property reports into a lender’s system of record loan file ensures a streamlined home equity origination process, ultimately reducing overall loan production costs. This strategic partnership exemplifies innovation in mortgage lending, enhancing operational efficiency and providing lenders with a robust tool to serve their clients in the rapidly growing home equity market.

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Dark Matter Technologies & Patelco Credit Union

Patelco Credit Union recently announced its selection and implementation of the Empower loan origination system (LOS) from Dark Matter Technologies as well as Dark Matter’s point-of-sale (POS) portals for loan officers and borrowers. Patelco CU is California’s fourth-largest credit union mortgage lender by loan volume, serving more than 500,000 members and the employees of over 1,100 businesses across the United States. Its 214 loan officers will use the Empower LOS to originate retail home loans, home-equity loans and home-equity lines of credit. (HELOCs). Patelco expects the implementation of the Empower LOS to make the loan process up to 20% more efficient for Pateco’s members and mortgage team, who will leverage the system’s lights-out automation and exception-based processing to eliminate manual tasks and reduce origination timelines. Patelco’s expectations are well in line with typical results observed by Dark Matter customers. One top-10 lender using Empower and Dark Matter’s AI virtual assistants (AIVA) recently reported a close loans per FTE ration of 18:1, which is more than 4X the industry average as reported in the MBA’s Quarterly Mortgage Bankers Performance Report. That same lender reported 20-day average clear-to-close cycle time, which is more than 20 days faster than the industry norm as reported by ICE.

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FirstClose & MeridianLink

Through its integration with the MeridianLink One platform, FirstClose is enabling MeridianLink lenders to streamline and optimize their home equity lending capabilities. FirstClose’s solution reduces operational touchpoints and improves the overall customer experience for borrowers. The end-to-end platform includes a borrower facing digital loan application solution that gives consumers instant online feedback on their home valuation, available home equity, loan options and delivers credit decisions in minutes. Automated workflows, including the ordering of settlement services, enables lenders to complete the application through closing process in five to ten days versus the industry average of 45 to 60 days. Home equity lending remains one of the few bright spots on the lending landscape and lenders are either looking to get into the category or looking for ways to up their game. FirstClose Equity is the first and only point of sale, order management platform specifically built for home equity. Lenders using FirstClose’s Equity solution have experienced overall time savings as high as 77%, 35% increase in online applications and 25% improvements in pull through.

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Mortgage Connect

For the past 40 years, Adfitech has been a leading provider of quality control, due diligence, fulfillment, and document management services for the mortgage industry. Well-established and staffed by a team of respected and seasoned mortgage experts, the Oklahoma-based company had long been an industry go-to, servicing more than half of the top 10 mortgage lenders, several high-profile Wall Street firms, and numerous banks and independent mortgage companies. But in 2022, the company took a major leap by inking a deal that would take it to new heights, solidifying a merger with Mortgage Connect for an all-cash transaction that was valued at approximately $29 million. In February of this year, Mortgage Connect announced that industry veteran Kim Hoffman CMB, AMP, would take the reins as President of Adfitech. Hoffman, whose extensive resume includes leadership positions at RBC, Nationstar, Morgan Stanley, Sutherland Mortgage Services, Envoy Mortgage and, most recently, SoFi Bank, was tasked with refining Adfitech’s core offerings and furthering its development as a technology-forward company. And this June, Mortgage Connect will take the final step to solidify its move into the third-party due diligence market by officially rebranding Adfitech as Mortgage Connect Risk Solutions. It’s a move that secures Mortgage Connect’s undeniable presence as a powerhouse in the mortgage services industry, supporting lenders, servicers and institutional investors by providing solutions for the entire mortgage lifecycle, from application to pay-off.

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MortgageFlex & Usherpa

Usherpa and MortgageFlex have enjoyed a business relationship for many years. Like most of the connections between technology providers in the mortgage industry, it was largely about providing seamless integration between the systems for the benefit of users of both Usherpa’s Smart CRM and the MortgageFlexONE loan origination system. Recently, the two companies made enhancements their strategic partnership. The Usherpa Smart CRM is now the exclusive marketing automation and Relationship Engagement technology to be connected to the recently updated and re-architected MortgageFlex Loan Origination System (LOS). Additionally, all MortgageFlex users who join Usherpa will receive an added benefit of discounted Preferred Partner pricing on implementation and monthly dues. MortgageFlexONE is an advanced loan origination system that offers a flexible design to allow lenders to tailor their solutions to meet their unique requirements for data consistency and accuracy. With built-in, rules-driven compliance, MortgageFlexONE users can expect high-quality loan originations that increase their profitability and reduce their risks, regardless of the partners they choose to work with. Lender studies have shown that Usherpa users double their production, converting 46% more prospects and increasing repeat business by 57% year over year. In addition, the company’s SmartScore AI technology finds past customers in LO portfolios that have a 360% greater likelihood of refinancing and a 297% greater chance of applying for a new purchase mortgage. Beyond that, Usherpa’s platform includes powerful in-process marketing tools that serve to keep borrowers engaged during the origination process, reducing loan fallout significantly.

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MyHome, a Williston Financial Group Company & Volly

Williston Financial Group’s (WFG) technology company, MyHome, recently acquired Volly, a leading provider of marketing solutions that supports more than one-third of the nation’s top 30 lenders. Through this acquisition, WFG Enterprise Solutions is able to provide lenders with sophisticated customer acquisition, retention, and marketing services. Volly’s robust, flexible platform seamlessly integrates with customers’ existing technology stacks through modern, open APIs. Two integrations, in particular, have significantly enhanced the mortgage lending process for many of Volly’s lender clients. A direct integration into SalesForce ensures loan officers can continue to work in their existing CRM and production environments, while seamlessly accessing Volly’s print, direct mail, collateral customization, and distribution capabilities, ensuring lenders deliver their borrowers and partners compliant, timely, and engaging materials to enhance their experiences. Volly’s full integration with Velocify means lenders can more efficiently drive sales, communicate with borrowers, and close loans faster, keeping teams organized and focused on activities that drive more business. Volly provides a range of solutions, from digital and print marketing to CRM, to marketing strategy and support, with a track record of more than 15 years helping the nation’s leading lenders to acquire and retain their customers.