Real Estate Technology, Real Estate Investment
PRnewswire | June 27, 2023
FirstClose, Inc., a leading fintech provider of data and workflow solutions for mortgage and home equity lenders nationwide, announced today that Georgia United Credit Union, one of the largest and strongest credit unions in Georgia, has chosen FirstClose Equity as its end-to-end digital home equity platform to meet the demands of its more than 150,000 credit union members.
Serving Georgia since 1958, Georgia United Credit Union is a full-service credit union with a dozen branches across the Atlanta metropolitan area, as well as Athens, Dalton, and Dublin. The organization's purpose-driven commitment in service is the reason Georgia United stands out from other financial institutions and has been recognized by Forbes as a Best-In-State Credit Union for four years in a row.
Using FirstClose Equity, Georgia United Credit Union will be able to reduce its time to close and provide an exceptional member experience for home equity transactions. Borrowers can get feedback on their home valuation, available equity, get prequalified, submit for a loan and receive a conditional approval all within minutes. With this solution, processors have one solution for ordering all required settlement services while never leaving their loan origination system (LOS), eliminating the need for manual data entry.
"Operational efficiency is key to sustainable, long-term member satisfaction," said Andrew Woodman, Senior Vice President of Mortgage Lending and Loan Trading with Georgia United Credit Union. "Our members deserve an elegant, streamlined front-end vehicle to apply for a home equity transaction and achieve transparency. We want members to spend more quality time building relationships with their Home Loan Consultant and ultimately close loans faster which is why we selected FirstClose Equity. It puts us in a better position for those challenges and demands for future success."
FirstClose Equity is a one-of-a-kind home equity origination solution that reduces operational touchpoints and improves the overall customer experience for borrowers. The end-to-end platform includes a borrower-facing point-of-sale 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, enable lenders to complete the application through closing process in as little as ten days versus the industry average of 45 to 60 days.
"We're excited to power an enhanced home equity experience at Georgia United," said Tedd Smith, Chief Executive Officer of FirstClose. "Providing technology to help their members keep their existing low mortgage rate and tap into their equity at a faster pace, will be a gamechanger."
About Georgia United Credit Union
Georgia United Credit Union is an award-winning financial leader and partner in education. Headquartered in Duluth, Georgia United is ranked as one of the state's largest credit unions with $2 billion in assets and over 150,000 members. As a full-service financial institution, they offer competitive products and services for every stage of life. Visit gucu.org to learn more.
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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Real Estate Technology
PRnewswire | August 18, 2023
Mohr Partners, Inc., a top-three global corporate real estate advisory & outsourcing services firm, is continuing its United States expansion with the recruitment of Jean Jensen and Emily Carden to open a new office in Phoenix, Arizona.
Jensen will serve as Mohr Partners' market leader and broker of record for Arizona, while Carden will continue her partnership with Jensen as a Senior Associate. Both previously worked with Coldwell Banker Commercial.
"Mohr Partners has built a best-in-class corporate real estate advisory platform," Jensen said. "That will allow my occupier clients to make better strategic decisions around site selection by incorporating labor, logistics, incentives in addition to real estate to optimize their owned and leased real estate portfolios."
"Many of our national global corporate services clients have existing operations in the Greater Phoenix area or are looking at relocating their businesses to Arizona," Robert Shibuya, Mohr Partners Chairman & CEO said. "Consequently, we decided it was important to recruit a top local team and establish a corporately owned office to meet this demand."
Earlier this year, Mohr Partners announced new offices in Reno, Nevada, and Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. Those expansions, together with Phoenix, are part of a planned U.S. expansion plan that will continue in 2023 and beyond.
About Mohr Partners, Inc.:
Mohr Partners, Inc. is a global corporate real estate advisory & outsourcing company, providing corporate occupiers with an integrated set of portfolio services including strategic planning, business intelligence, lease administration & accounting, research and site selection, labor analytics, project and construction management, comprehensive demographics analysis, economic incentives negotiations, transaction management and facility services. Since 1986, Mohr Partners has been managing real estate portfolios for corporations, and each year completes transactions for its clients in all 50 U.S. states, all provinces of Canada and locations around the world. Mohr Partners seamlessly provides corporate real estate services globally through its strategic alliance partners in Canada, Mexico/Latin America, EMEA and Asia Pacific.
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Real Estate Technology, Real Estate Investment
PRnewswire | June 26, 2023
NexPoint, a multibillion-dollar alternative investment platform, today announced the acquisition of four multi-tenant small bay properties in Central Florida. The acquisition consists of 13 buildings totaling 419,946 square feet of multi-tenant warehousing and industrial space. These types of facilities are typically smaller in size and are commonly referred to as "small bay properties." The properties were indirectly acquired by NexPoint Small Bay I DST, a Delaware statutory trust seeking to raise $59.5 million in equity from accredited investors via a private placement offering.
The properties, which are located in Orlando and Tampa, are comprised of:
Presidents Plaza, a 44,269 square-foot, two-building, multi-tenant complex in Tampa;
Brandywine Business Center, a 79,124 square-foot, two-building, multi-tenant complex in Tampa;
Corporex Plaza, a 100,265 square-foot, three-building, multi-tenant complex in Tampa; and
Orlando International Business Center, a 196,288 square-foot, six-building, multi-tenant complex in Orlando.
The addition of these small bay properties builds on NexPoint's existing portfolio of industrial multi-use commercial real estate in markets that are experiencing significant demand for this sub-sector, driven by low supply, high occupancy rates and flexible use cases for tenants that may need smaller units with logistical loading and receiving bays.
"We continue to witness increasing demand for prime industrial properties located in growing markets where companies and small businesses are looking for flexible space to better serve local customers," said Taylor Colbert, Director of Real Estate for NexPoint Real Estate Advisors. "We believe there are significant tailwinds to support further growth, and we are committed to scaling our footprint in this notable sector."
NexPoint currently owns 1.6 million net rentable square feet of industrial real estate across Texas and Florida and is partnering with a privately held and vertically integrated real estate owner and operator, Basis Industrial, to manage the newly acquired properties.
"We are thrilled with our expanding partnership with NexPoint and are looking forward to implementing our hands-on management approach to optimize the performance of this prime industrial portfolio," said Dan Weinstein, CEO of Basis Industrial. "These assets have strong fundamentals, and we are excited to add them to our growing portfolio of owned and managed assets." Basis uses its subsidiary management company, WMG Small Bay Management, LLC d/b/a/ BaySpace, to manage the company's industrial assets.
About NexPoint
NexPoint is a multibillion-dollar alternative investment firm comprised of a group of investment advisers and sponsors, a broker-dealer, and a suite of related investment vehicles. NexPoint provides differentiated access to alternatives through a range of investment solutions, including public and private real estate investment trusts, tax-advantaged real estate vehicles, merger arbitrage and event-driven strategies, other private real estate investments, closed-end funds, interval funds, and a business development company. NexPoint is based in Dallas, Texas and is part of a network of affiliates with expertise across the asset management and financial services spaces. For more information, visit nexpoint.com.
About Basis Industrial
Basis Industrial is a vertically integrated real estate owner and operator formed by industry veterans and sponsors Jay Massirman, Stephen Garchik and Daniel Weinstein. Basis currently owns over 2.5 million square feet of self-storage and industrial real estate and is scheduled to close on another one million square feet in 2023. Active markets for Basis include South Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Texas, Boston, Los Angeles and select urban markets nationwide. BaySpace is the property management arm of Basis. For more information, visit www.basisindustrial.com or www.bayspace.com.
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