Home and Design
PRnewsiwre | August 10, 2023
Weidner Apartment Homes, a real estate investment and property management company, recently joined the Anchorage Affordable Housing and Land Trust (AAHLT) to aid the organization in its mission to expand and preserve year-round housing rental opportunities that are affordable to low and very low-income households.
In March 2023, Dean Weidner, Weidner's Chairman and Founder, matched the Rasmuson Foundation's $250,000 donation to AAHLT to provide initial working capital for the Trust to begin operations. One of the first projects undertaken by the Trust is a renovation project that will convert The Lake House, a downtown hotel in Anchorage, AK, into a 45-unit multifamily property for low and very low-income citizens. The Lake House is an older, well-maintained hotel purchased by the AAHLT in 2023 using ARPA funds granted by the Municipality of Anchorage.
"Dean Weidner invests in these projects because he believes we all have a responsibility to be involved in our communities and give back however we can. As a housing provider, we are connected to those who are unhoused, and it's a natural issue for us to gravitate towards and bring some focused expertise to the process." Said Greg Cerbana, Weidner's VP. of Government Affairs.
Weidner has been a multifamily rental housing provider in Anchorage since 1981 and owns 5,696 units across six cities in Alaska. Through the company's long-standing relationships with various Alaska-based housing providers, they have partnered with several nonprofits to significantly improve the region's housing instability issues.
"Since Weidner is a market-rate housing provider, our investments in various affordable housing projects allows us to fund a different need of the area's housing market. Every sector in the industry needs to be healthy for it to thrive, and our recent involvement with AAHLT enables us to support the industry outside of our primary line of work." Said Cerbana.
"Anchorage is uniquely positioned to find workable solutions for the challenges associated with homelessness. The city has a history of cooperation between its businesses, nonprofits, and public sectors. I encourage everyone to come together and prioritize fulfilling the needs of the most vulnerable in our society." Said Weidner.
As of August 2023, Weidner has committed over $10 million to fund solutions for homelessness in Anchorage. Weidner is excited to expand its efforts to support the full continuum of Anchorage's housing market by joining the AAHLT to provide much-needed housing for low and very low-income citizens.
About Weidner Apartment Homes
Founded by W. Dean Weidner in 1977, Weidner Apartment Homes is a multi-faceted real estate investment, and management company recognized industry-wide as an efficient provider of quality rental homes and a creative developer of new housing. The vision of the Weidner Company is to distinguish ourselves as the apartment industry leader in each of our markets, which includes Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Colorado, Minnesota, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Canada. We can only achieve that vision by having the best apartment managers, leasing consultants, maintenance managers, and service technicians in the business.
Read More
Real Estate Technology, Mortgage and Lending
PRnewswire | July 21, 2023
FirstClose, Inc., a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, announced today that its home equity origination platform—FirstClose Equity— is now integrated with Encompass® by ICE Mortgage Technology®, part of ICE, a global data, technology and market infrastructure company that designs, builds and operates digital networks to connect people to opportunity.
Through the new integration, Encompass users can seamlessly originate home equity lines of credit (HELOCs) and home equity loans (HELs) within their LOS and complete the application through closing process in as few as 10 days versus the industry average of 45 to 60 days. Encompass will continue to be the system of record because all data is secured through the LOS and stored there. Each call to action initiates a data map and an audit trail to Encompass.
FirstClose's one-of-a-kind home equity solution reduces operational touchpoints to elevate the overall customer experience for borrowers. The solution also enables lenders to automate data collection, verification, and continue to order settlement services through FirstClose's existing order management module.
"Home equity lending has become a go-to option for millions of homeowners and is expected to be a significant growth opportunity for the foreseeable future," said Tedd Smith, Chief Executive Officer at FirstClose. "Our integration with ICE Mortgage's platform will give Encompass users a simple, efficient way to either enter this market or to differentiate themselves by significantly improving the customer experience that they are offering."
The end-to-end platform was built modularly so lenders can implement one, two or all modules based on the approach that's right for their organization.
Point of Sale (POS): A private-label borrower-facing point-of-sale solution with a unique borrower experience – single sign on, workflow, and customized branding including domain that gives consumers instant online feedback on their home valuation, available home equity, loan options and delivers credit decisions in minutes. (Borrower eligibility is determined by the credit score and CLTV.)
Borrower Portal: A borrower portal that lets consumers provide consents, upload needed documents, interact with originators, select loan terms, and draw amounts. In parallel, the portal's backend is iframed into Encompass, so loan originators never leave their LOS and are rewarded with a consistent process and streamlined functionality including title decisioning via the lenders' business rules and a credit decision that leverages EPPS and Encompass' Dynamic Data Management (DDM) to deliver findings in minutes.
Order Management: Automated workflows, including triggers enable the ordering of settlement services such as flood, title, valuation and more.
Closing: An option to support hybrid closings and recordings that are compliant with state regulations and lender guidelines.
"Our best-of-breed technology dramatically accelerates decision-making and connects lenders to a broad network of preferred providers with one contract, one bill and one support team," said Craig Austin, Executive Vice President at FirstClose. "Lenders currently originating home equity products can onboard in as fast as 30 days; while new entrants can onboard in as fast as 60 days enabling lenders to pivot and capitalize on the current market which is a bright spot for our industry."
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.
About ICE Mortgage Technology
ICE Mortgage Technology® is part of ICE, a global data, technology and market infrastructure company that designs, builds and operates digital networks to connect people to opportunity. Backed by ICE's global resources, we offer a truly differentiated digital platform that provides straight-through processing for a more comprehensive end-to-end workflow than any other provider in the market. We reach almost every mortgage in the U.S. by combining the native automation of Encompass® with the e-collaboration and e-recording capabilities of Simplifile®, along with the national electronic registry for nearly 90% of the U.S. mortgage market in MERS®. Ultimately, our technology enables people across the industry to focus on personal connections when they need it most, and support borrowers for a better journey of homeownership.
About Intercontinental Exchange
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. is a Fortune 500 company that designs, builds and operates digital networks to connect people to opportunity. We provide financial technology and data services across major asset classes that offer our customers access to mission-critical workflow tools that increase transparency and operational efficiencies. We operate exchanges, including the New York Stock Exchange, and clearing houses that help people invest, raise capital and manage risk across multiple asset classes. Our comprehensive fixed income data services and execution capabilities provide information, analytics and platforms that help our customers capitalize on opportunities and operate more efficiently. At ICE Mortgage Technology, we are transforming and digitizing the U.S. residential mortgage process, from consumer engagement through loan registration. Together, we transform, streamline and automate industries to connect our customers to opportunity.
Read More
Agent, Real Estate Investment
Businesswire | August 03, 2023
SmartRent, Inc. (“SmartRent” or the “Company”), the leading provider of smart home and property operations solutions for the rental housing industry, has expanded its product line to include the innovative Smart Package Room® system — a true smart package management solution — that transforms package visibility, reduces labor demands, optimizes storage space and enhances resident satisfaction.
Smart Package Room® complements SmartRent’s smart home line, expands the Company’s product offerings and solves a long-standing pain point for rental housing operators. Using patented, proprietary advanced package tracking technologies, the comprehensive Smart Package Room® solution guides couriers through the package log-in process and automatically directs residents to their packages, relieving the package burden from on-site associates.
“Smart Package Room is the logical next addition to SmartRent’s ecosystem of smart home and operations solutions, and is enhanced by existing SmartRent products like Alloy Access and Work Management,” said SmartRent CEO Lucas Haldeman. “The rental housing industry has long been searching for a response to the increasing package volume and scale arriving at properties on a daily basis. Smart Package Room solves for many of the package issues facing the industry while modernizing the renter experience. With this offering, we continue to drive meaningful change for the industry.”
SmartRent has entered into a preferred reseller partnership with Position Imaging, the creator of Smart Package Room®, to bring this new package management innovation to the rental housing industry at scale. “We chose SmartRent to partner with because of their vision for how smart technology can transform the rental housing industry,” said Position Imaging CEO Ned Hill. “Our Smart Package Room solution fits perfectly with their focus and product line and we are thrilled to have them as a reseller and partner.”
As part of this partnership, Position Imaging’s Senior Vice President Sales, Matt Haynes, and two members of his sales team at Position Imaging are joining SmartRent to lead Smart Package Room® sales. A seasoned sales veteran, Haynes brings more than two decades of multifamily experience to the team. Prior to his role at Position Imaging, he served as vice president of sales at Parcel Pending and, earlier in his career, was vice president of sales for Rentlytics.
About SmartRent
Founded in 2017, SmartRent, Inc. is a leading provider of smart home and smart property solutions for the multifamily industry. The company’s unmatched platform, comprised of smart hardware and cloud-based SaaS solutions, gives operators seamless visibility and control over real estate assets, empowering them to simplify operations, automate workflows, benefit from additional revenue opportunities and deliver exceptional site team and resident experiences. SmartRent serves 15 of the top 20 multifamily owners and operators, and its solutions enable millions of users to live smarter every day.
About Position Imaging
Founded in 2006, Position Imaging is a tracking technology pioneer, having developed some of the world’s most advanced innovations focused on improving package and product fulfillment throughout the first and last mile delivery chain. The company created the Smart Package Room® system to take the friction out of package management for multi-family residences and corporate campuses and today it is recognized as the most efficient, intuitive self-service package fulfillment platform in the world.
Read More