Headquartered in Dallas, TX, Neighborhood Credit Union has 14 branches throughout Texas serving more than 50,000 members. Last year, the credit union launched their home equity lending department and in just 12 months has originated over $1.3 million in home equity transactions. For this relatively new product category, home equity is quickly gaining traction as a reliable contributor to their total mortgage business.

By using FirstClose’s settlement services ordering technology, Neighborhood Credit Union has been able to significantly reduce turn times and increase loan officer productivity while providing exceptional member experience. The integration with MeridianLink Consumer has shifted processors’ time from heavy administrative tasks to building member relationships by reviewing only items requiring attention.

“Last year we officially opened the doors to our home equity department in order to better serve our members who want to access the equity in their homes. FirstClose has been our home equity ordering platform since day one and it’s been a complete game-changer,” said Jacqueline Montanez, Residential Lending Manager at Neighborhood Credit Union. “It’s become our one-stop-shop for everything home equity and has been able to help us expedite our origination process and provide a seamless, end-to-end experience for our members.”

FirstClose Equity is a one-of-a-kind home equity origination solution that reduces operational touchpoints and improves the overall customer experience for borrowers, processors, and underwriters. Automated workflows, including the ordering of settlement services, enable lenders to complete the application through closing process in five to ten days versus the industry average of 45 to 60 days.

“We’re excited to be powering Neighborhood Credit Union’s new home equity business,” said Tedd Smith, Chief Executive Officer at FirstClose. “Our Equity solution will help Neighborhood Credit Union reduce costs and increase efficiency by providing one-click access to order all the necessary property information and services needed to originate home equity loans and HELOCs.”

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iQ Credit Union serves more than 100,000 members with 16 branches in Southwest Washington and Portland. Last year, the organization experienced nearly 25% increase in overall member growth and expects 30% growth in home equity this year.

The credit union has used FirstClose Equity as its settlement services order management platform since 2018. Using this solution, iQ Credit Union has digitized their back-office and vendor management processes to significantly reduce turn times and take cost out of the process all while providing an exceptional member experience.

“At a time when origination costs have reached new highs, no one can afford inefficiencies that further compress margins, especially credit unions in the home equity space,” said John Hapke, Vice President of Consumer Lending, from iQ Credit Union. “Knowing that FirstClose easily integrates with our vendors and offers a full suite of competitive products is helping us reduce cost while simultaneously growing our home equity offerings.”

FirstClose Equity has built in workflows that streamline processes and builds efficiencies. The solution provides a single source for critical ordering settlement services such as credit, flood, valuation, title and recording.  In just a few clicks, LO’s can create an order “on demand” and connect to all parties involved in the ordering process while reducing phone calls and emails. Automation enables faster decisioning, making communications with members faster, more transparent and accurate.

“Credit unions, like iQ Credit Union, are looking for better ways to help their members reach their financial goals by tapping the $28 trillion home equity market,” said Tedd Smith, Chief Executive Officer at FirstClose. “Whether our clients are using the end-to-end solution or just one of the components, like ordering, the technology is designed to reduce errors, mitigate risk and become a centralized resource for home equity origination.  We are pleased to have iQ Credit Union as a client and look forward to helping them capitalize on this growing market.”

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