You've likely seen it before: One company comes out with an idea and others rush to add the new feature or service to their offering. Sometimes the idea is price related and isn't complicated. Every gas station lowering their prices in response to the leader in the area is an example of this.
Value Connect provided several industry firsts that others are trying to copy. Here are some of the innovations that sets us apart from the competition:
The greatest pet peeve our founder had when he was in mortgage sales was constantly getting fee change requests, missed deadlines and out-of-area appraisers completing reports. He made a commitment to originators everywhere that this wouldn't happen, or they'd get their money-back. Others have tried to mimic this with little consistency or effectiveness. The truth is, when your strategy is to beat the suppliers (appraisers) down on their fees, the result is a constant stream of fee change requests.
One-price-fits-all pricing doesn't work either: You need a comprehensive region-based pricing schedule to account for market differences. For instance, telling a lender or mortgage rep appraisal costs will be $300 for any house worth less than $1.5 million in Alberta isn't realistic. Look at how many homes sell for more than $1 million in Grande Prairie and you'll see why this simply doesn't work. That's why we take a regional approach to pricing. Imagine the breath of fresh air that comes with no more fee change requests.
Mortgage underwriters and sales professionals have been re-keying data multiple times for decades. It's a complete waste of time and leads to data entry errors. Those errors increase turn around times and decrease customer satisfaction.
It's absurd that mortgage sales professionals re-key data they've already inputted into a mortgage application. It's even more absurd some lenders re-key information into an underwriting system, and re-key it again into their banking system after the deal funds. They also have to re-key the same information into an appraisal order. Companies should look for integration opportunities to take this friction out of the process.
Value Connect was the first to offer a true integration for the mortgage broker industry so they can order appraisal reports easily from the software they regularly use to get their deals funded. We're not talking about a re-direct to another website ... it's a true integration. Not sure who the lender is yet? No problem, we've got that covered for sales professionals who have multiple sources of funds and aren't 100% sure who the lender is, but need a report.
Does Sales ever complain Underwriting isn't getting back to people? Underwriting teams are stretched and bogged down by manual processes. Increase their productivity by automating and integrating wherever possible.
Implementing technology allows companies to increase sales, decrease risk, and improve operational efficiency. People and businesses are looking for innovative ways to do things in less time and with less friction. Innovative companies constantly re-imagine workflows. Their desire is to improve the lives of all their stakeholders and increase customer satisfaction. That's why many of our customers come to us.
We're please to have been selected as a Finalist for the Mortgage Awards of Excellence for the 3rd year in a row. We're the only company in our industry that's ever been nominated, which speaks to our leadership and innovative position. Ask yourself: would you rather deal with the leader or the follower? Contact us if you'd like to work with the leaders, and give your teams a new or additional option for appraisals and appraisal quality control & compliance.
Christopher Bisson holds an MBA from the University of Notre Dame. He worked as a top-producing mortgage broker for 17 years before starting Value Connect. He can be contacted toll-free: 844-383-2473 x4250.