REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT, ASSET MANAGEMENT
Businesswire | May 31, 2023
Closinglock, a leading provider of fraud prevention solutions for the real estate industry, today announced the availability of a new identity verification solution that helps title agencies and real estate firms combat the growing amount of fraud.
Seller impersonation fraud is one such area of fraud that is on the rise. This type of fraud primarily involves identity theft to sell vacant land, second homes, and vacation and rental properties all across the country.
Closinglock’s latest solution includes the ability to identify fake driver's licenses, which is the most common method used by fraudsters in seller impersonation fraud.
This new solution is a significant improvement over antiquated methods like knowledge-based authentication (KBA). According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), “the ease with which an attacker can discover the answers to many KBA questions … cause KBA to have an unacceptably high risk of successful use by an attacker.”
"As KBA is obsoleted in this new digital market due to targeted spoofing, AI, and web and social media scraping, our team engineered a solution that quickly and easily verifies identity using modern technologies," noted Closinglock’s CEO and Cofounder, Andy White, PhD.
Since Closinglock closely follows the NIST guidelines, it worked to utilize more stringent methods to fight fraud. The new solution from Closinglock is more secure than KBA because it uses a variety of methods to verify the identity of a user which makes it much more difficult for scammers to bypass the verification process.
“We believe that this new solution is a game-changer for the real estate industry,” said White. “It will help to protect our customers from fraud and ensure that their transactions are safe and secure.”
About Closinglock
Closinglock is a leading provider of fraud prevention solutions for the real estate industry. Closinglock’s platform protects payments, payoffs, and all related communications with strict security protocols and offers seamless integrations with closing and title company software. The company currently protects billions of dollars each month with its software, and is trusted by thousands of settlement companies, title agents, law firms, attorneys, lenders, real estate agents, home buyers and sellers and others. Learn more at closinglock.com.
Read More
REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY, REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT
Globenewswire | May 16, 2023
Ohmyhome Ltd. (NASDAQ: OMH, “Ohmyhome”, “the Company”) and Ohmyhome Property Inc. (“Ohmyhome Philippines”) are pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) of a strategic investment by Ohmyhome Ltd. into Ohmyhome Property Inc.’s Philippines operations, marking Ohmyhome’s plan of expanding in the large and growing Philippines market.
“Philippines has always been a great market for property transactions. The quality of developers and their projects have improved significantly over the decades, and the country’s economy has seen a strong rebound from COVID with a flourishing digital economy,” said Rhonda Wong, Chief Executive Officer “Many companies have set up their Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) and technology teams here, creating job opportunities and income for families. The growing Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) have also been a strong pillar of growth of the real estate industry. We believe that there are ample opportunities for a data-driven technology platform like us to help homebuyers, home sellers, and developers transact their properties.” added Ms. Wong.
Philippines as a Southeast Asia Growth Opportunity
The company’s move into the Philippines market provides robust business growth opportunities. With a record pace of 7.6% in 2022, Philippines is amongst the world's fastest growing emerging markets according to S&P Global. The population growth remains one of the strongest in Southeast Asia with a fertility rate of 2.78 in 2020, and the median age of 25.3 years as compared to 41.8 of Singapore and 38.1 of United States. The Philippines is also a country with one of the highest English-speaking populations in Southeast Asia, making it ripe for international businesses.
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) are also increasingly contributing to the economy and the housing market in the Philippines. The total number of OFWs was estimated at 1.83 million in 2021, up by 3% compared to 2020. Total personal cash remittances grew 3.6% to USD 36.14 billion in 2022, accounting for 8.9% of the Philippines’ gross domestic product. The robust inward remittances reflected the increasing demand for OFWs amid the reopening of economies, and also presents great opportunities for families to upgrade their homes back in the Philippines.
“Ohmyhome’s vision is to be the most trusted and comprehensive property solution for everyone, and the Philippines currently lacks a platform that provides exceptional customer service that Ohmyhome is providing to our customers in the Singapore market,” said Herzon Garland, Founder of Ohmyhome Property Inc. “We believe that with this collaboration, we will be able to provide first class service to our customer base and bring the best Philippines properties to Filipinos here and around the globe.”
Strategic Partnership Provides Synergies
The core component of the collaboration and integration between Ohmyhome and Ohmyhome Philippines, will bring core technologies of Ohmyhome in closing transactions and its MATCH algorithm to complement Ohmyhome Philippines operations in property transactions. Additionally, the partnership will provide resources on both sides to allow for the ease of cross-border property transactions.
The integration of Ohmyhome Philippines’ huge portfolio of properties and units will allow interested buyers and investors of Philippines properties to select from a wide range of units that fit their needs and will be serviced by a dedicated team that works across Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines. myElite.pro, an exclusive members-only property network developed by Ohmyhome Philippines for salespersons and referral partners in the Philippines and beyond, could also potentially be deployed in other geographies to partner with trustworthy licensed salespersons and referral partners to serve both homebuyers and sellers who can access all information and services from a single platform on their fingertips.
“This MOU further solidifies our position as the go-to platform for property seekers and sellers to come. We hope to be able to bring our solutions to the millions of families in Southeast Asia, and bring speed, ease, and reliability to property related services in the region.” commented Race Wong, Chief Operating Officer.
The agreement will allow the Company to service the thousands of homeowners and homebuyers across Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines as a united team and a dedicated platform that ensures quality services and acts in the best interest of customers.
About Ohmyhome Property Inc.
Originally established by a few business partners who believed in similar visions of the founders of the Company, Ohmyhome Property Inc. was established to expand Ohmyhome’s branding and building partnerships in the Philippines and was provided with Ohmyhome’s branding and the support of web and mobile platforms.
Within a short span of 3 years since its inception, Ohmyhome Philippines has grown the brand into one of the leading property platforms in the Philippines. The business team has also secured partnerships with more than 150 developers with over 80,000 properties for customers to choose from. Ohmyhome Philippines has since become the platform with the largest and most comprehensive property inventory in the nation.
Separately, to leverage on the strong social networks of Filipinos across the country and globally, Ohmyhome Philippines has developed and launched in 2022 myElite.pro with close to 5,000 verified members. myElite.pro is a members-only property network where verified referral partners and salespersons are able to access the most comprehensive property inventory in the Philippines and refer buyers to the network and earn incentives upon successful close. This taps onto the informal network of Filipinos across the country and the world and allows clients to be served by verified partnering salespersons everywhere without incurring additional headcount.
About Ohmyhome
Ohmyhome is a one-stop-shop property technology platform in Singapore that provides end-to-end property solutions and services for buying, selling, renting, and renovating homes. Since its launch in 2016, Ohmyhome has transacted over 13,100 properties. It is also the highest rated property transaction platform with more than 8,000 genuine reviews with an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars.
Today, Ohmyhome is the first Singaporean company listed in the US in 2023 and the first women-only founded Proptech company listed in the US.
Ohmyhome is dedicated to bringing speed, ease, and reliability to the property-related services, and to become the most trusted and comprehensive property solution for everyone.
Read More
REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY, REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT
PRnewswire | May 10, 2023
FirstClose, Inc., a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, announced today that America First Credit Union selected its FirstClose Equity™ solution to provide members access to a digital end-to-end home equity product that delivers a best-in-class experience and dramatically cuts down loan application approval times.
Industry analysis shows U.S. homeowners with mortgages have seen their equity increase by a total of $1 trillion since the fourth quarter of 2021, a gain of 7.3% year over year. While home equity lending is experiencing rapid growth, it continues to be a friction-filled process driving demand for a solution.
America First is a Utah-based credit union with 120 branches across Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Idaho, and New Mexico, serving more than 1.3 million members, making it the 5th largest credit union in the country in terms of membership. Using FirstClose Equity, America First will be able to reduce the time to close from initial inquiry to as little as one week, versus the industry average of 45 to 60 days.
"Our focus is always on our members, and our partnership with FirstClose supports our goal of delivering the best member and processor experience possible," said Austin Coleman, Senior Vice President of Mortgage Lending at America First Credit Union.
FirstClose Equity makes home equity a low-friction lending experience that consumers have come to expect. Consumers have one experience via a private labeled POS and borrower portal. The application process itself is extremely streamlined. With the member's consent, FirstClose Equity collects and verifies asset and employment information. Even the few pieces of information that the member is required to provide can be uploaded through the platform. The decisioning engine delivers a firm decision on CLTV and pricing in approximately 5 to 7 minutes.
"Because we absorb many of the fees for our members, efficiency at every stage of the origination process takes on greater importance, and automation on both sides of the transaction is key," said Coleman. "Through our integration with FirstClose, loan officers, underwriters, and processors never have to leave their LOS, which greatly increases our efficiency with home equity lending."
Founded in 2000, FirstClose offers lenders a user-friendly home equity technology solution to lend more efficiently, faster, and at scale. "We are thrilled to be trusted with such an important role of helping fulfill America First Credit Union's mission to provide their members with a simple and streamlined home equity experience," said Tedd Smith, Chief Executive Officer of FirstClose. "We are the category leader and are committed to advancing our technology so our customers, like America First, can focus on what matters most - their member's experience and improving their bottom line."
About America First Credit Union
Founded in 1939, and with a long-standing history of exceptional member service, America First Credit Union has become one of the largest, most stable, and most progressive credit unions in the country, and has remained a member-owned, not-for-profit cooperative financial institution. Today, America First has 120 locations, and is the eighth largest credit union in assets in the United States with over $17 billion, and the fifth largest credit union in membership in America with more than 1.3 million members. For more information, visit americafirst.com.
About FirstClose
Headquartered in Austin, Texas, FirstClose, Inc. provides fintech solutions to HELOC and mortgage lenders nationwide. The company's mission is to increase profitability and reduce cost for mortgage lenders. FirstClose makes this possible through offering systems and relationships that enable lenders to assist the lender's borrowers more effectively, reduce closing costs, and ultimately shorten closing times. For more information, visit firstclose.com.
Read More