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.
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MORTGAGE AND LENDING, BUYING/SELLING
PRnewswire | April 28, 2023
Best Egg, a financial platform that offers simple solutions to help people with limited savings confidently navigate their everyday financial life, has announced a strategic partnership with AppFolio, Inc., a leading provider of cloud business management solutions for the real estate industry.
Best Egg, which is owned by Marlette Holdings, Inc. will be integrating its Flexible Rent solution into the AppFolio Property Manager resident portal. This integration will provide more than seven million renters across the U.S. with a flexible and personalized rent payment option without the need to leave their resident portal.
"Our partnership with AppFolio is a critical step in making Flexible Rent available to more renters throughout the U.S.," said David Sullivan, Managing Director of Flexible Rent at Best Egg. "With this partnership, Best Egg and AppFolio are paving the way for a more flexible and personalized future of rent payments, making it easier for renters to manage their finances and live with greater financial confidence."
Starting in the second quarter of this year, residents whose property manager uses AppFolio Property Manager can choose Best Egg Flexible Rent as a payment option directly from the resident portal.
Flexible Rent enhances both the renter and the property manager experience. At no additional cost to property managers, Flexible Rent gives property managers peace of mind that rents are received on time. Additionally, Flexible Rent offers property managers an innovative and diversified approach to receiving rents that is appealing to renters valuing financial flexibility.
This convenient payment solution provides renters with the flexibility to divide their rental payments into smaller, more manageable amounts that can be paid throughout the month. With this option, renters can easily take charge of their finances and reduce the financial strain associated with paying one of their most significant recurring expenses.
"We are excited to partner with an outstanding team of accomplished innovators at AppFolio to offer renters and multifamily property managers a seamless and innovative payment solution," said Brady Nolan, Chief Business Officer of Flexible Rent at Best Egg. "AppFolio and Best Egg share a commitment to leading the industry forward. Together, we expect to revolutionize the rent payment experience for millions of renters, promoting greater financial balance each month."
About Best Egg
Owned by Marlette Holdings, Inc., Best Egg is the leading financial confidence platform that provides flexible solutions to help people with limited savings confidently navigate their everyday financial lives. Best Egg supports customers through a growing suite of personal loan, credit card, flexible rent, and financial health tools. Leveraging real-time customer insights and data engineering, Best Egg gives more people access to the resources they need to be money confident. For more information, visit www.bestegg.com.
About AppFolio, Inc.
AppFolio, Inc. is a leading provider of cloud business management solutions for the real estate industry. Our solutions enable our customers to digitally transform their businesses, address critical business operations and deliver a better customer experience. For more information about AppFolio, visit www.appfolioinc.com.
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MARKET OUTLOOK, REAL ESTATE TECHNOLOGY
PRnewswire | May 04, 2023
Zillow announced today the launch of the Zillow ChatGPT plugin, which gives users a new way to discover real estate listings.
Users who enable the plugin can use conversational language to ask about specific property listings or share the types of for-sale and rental homes they are interested in, including location, price range, and bedroom and bathroom count. The Zillow plugin then retrieves relevant information from Zillow's extensive database of real estate listings.
The plugin will be accessible to a select number of ChatGPT users today, with broader access anticipated in the future.
"Generative AI is changing the way people search for information. At Zillow, we've been embracing AI and machine learning starting with the Zestimate® in 2006, and later introducing personalized recommendations and natural language search – which means we're well-equipped to help customers search and find homes in this new way," said David Beitel, chief technology officer at Zillow Group. "As the first major residential real estate marketplace to bring advanced, AI-powered search to the home-shopping experience, we understand its immense potential, and we look forward to developing more tech innovations with OpenAI technology in the future."
Zillow is building a housing super app that offers customers a seamless, connected experience across all their real estate needs: buying, selling, financing and renting. It launched natural language search queries on its apps and sites in January, and this ChatGPT plugin is the latest example of how Zillow is using technology to make it easier for customers to find and get into their next home. AI capabilities show up throughout Zillow's products and services, most recently in advancements in the neural Zestimate, computer-vision-powered rich media experiences and AI-generated immersive floor plans.
The Zillow ChatGPT plugin is currently in its alpha phase, providing an opportunity for Zillow to refine and enhance the experience based on user interactions. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, has implemented safeguards to minimize inaccuracies and prevent inappropriate responses, but users should keep in mind that at times the experience might not work exactly as expected.
About Zillow Group
Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG) is reimagining real estate to make home a reality for more and more people. As the most visited real estate website in the United States, Zillow and its affiliates help people find and get the home they want by connecting them with digital solutions, great partners, and easier buying, selling, financing and renting experiences.
Zillow Group's affiliates, subsidiaries and brands include Zillow®; Zillow Premier Agent®; Zillow Home Loans℠; Zillow Closing Services℠; Trulia®; Out East®; StreetEasy®; HotPads®; and ShowingTime+℠, which includes ShowingTime®, Bridge Interactive®, and dotloop®.
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