Charlotte, NC is ground zero for a great deal of banking, including a thriving mortgage industry. Introduce yourself to the next person in line at Starbucks, and you’ll likely find that he or she works for Bank of America.
To get a read on the industry in Charlotte, we sought out Marissa Boyle, Broker-in-Charge of the innovative Lodestone Real Estate. We wanted to get her thoughts on AccountChek, the award-winning asset verification solution by FormFree. Marissa doesn’t use AccountChek in her role as a broker, but she wishes more lenders did.
Everyone Wins
“It looks incredible, why wouldn’t you use it?”
– Marissa Boyle, Lodestone
Marissa works with both investors and homeowners, so she has a comprehensive perspective on the mortgage industry. From where she stands, AccountChek is leading the way toward big benefits for both lenders and borrowers. According to Marissa, it’s in everyone’s best interest if her clients can get approved faster and more easily, especially when the potential for fraud is diminished.
Her advice to agents? “Sit down for 3 seconds and learn the darn thing, and see immense immediate returns. You’d get out of the endless paper shuffle.”
Relentlessly Elegant & Mobile-Friendly
Marissa doesn’t just admire AccountChek’s utility. “It looks incredible, why wouldn’t you use it? The interface is easy to use and understand. Most mortgage systems used to collect the documentation to the lender are convoluted.”
Time Saving Productivity
Efficiency is hugely important when applying for a loan. Time is of the essence. The advantages for the borrower are myriad. “Rather than upload the last 3 years of tax returns, people don’t even know where they put them. AccountChek is a timesaver for everyone involved; it’s a win for everyone.”
Asked what part of the lending process causes the most delay, Marissa had a ready answer.
“Collection of the [financial] documents with respect to borrowers is #1, followed by verification and underwriting. If the borrower doesn’t qualify, we’ve lost the deal. But if closing is delayed, it’s a delay in that asset verification process.”
Fraud Reduction
There are clear advantages for lenders, too. “It’s so much more organized and black and white. Currently, there’s so much potential for fraud. With all due respect, why trust the borrower when you can go straight to the institutions?”
Marissa also spoke to a huge direct benefit of AccountChek for other brokers as well as real estate agents. “All agents have a default number. If you’re a broker and your default rate gets too high, you can lose your license. So when you have humans involved, mistakes and fraud can happen. And by preventing fraud you can reduce defaults, rates will go down and the market can pick up. So [AccountChek] is helpful for both the good guys and for [weeding out] the bad.”
AccountChek has already racked up over $250 million in verified assets, and an impressive list of client banks and reseller partnerships, including Equifax, UPF, Crosscountry Morgage, and Veri-Tax. FormFree was also recently featured in Mortgage Technology Magazine for winning the prestigious industry Fix-It Award for 2013.