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A credit union that has been ranked the best in Georgia for several years by Forbes is taking steps to improve its member experience on home-equity transactions.
Sixty-five-year-old Georgia United Credit Union reports $2 billion in assets and more than 150,000 members, making it “one of the state’s largest credit unions.” The financial institution says it made Forbes’ Best-In-State Credit Unions list for four consecutive years.
Last year, employee count was 326. The full-service credit union, which is based in Duluth, Georgia, near Atlanta, has a dozen branches throughout the state.
An announcement Monday indicated that Georgia United has implemented a new end-to-end digital home-equity platform: FirstClose Equity.
Andrew Woodman, SVP of mortgage lending & loan trading, Georgia United
“Our members deserve an elegant, streamlined front-end vehicle to apply for a home-equity transaction and achieve transparency,” Andrew Woodman, senior VP of mortgage lending and loan trading at Georgia United, stated in the news release. “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.”
According to the news statement, the platform uses automated workflows to reduce operational touch points and cut the time to close — providing members with “an exceptional experience” on home-equity transactions. The entire process, from application through closing, can be completed in as few as ten days.
Austin, Texas-based FirstClose noted that feedback is provided to prospective borrowers on their home valuation, available equity, and pre-qualification through a built-in point-of-sale system. Applicants can submit for a loan and receive a conditional approval within minutes.
Loan processors access settlement services directly from the loan origination system.
Tedd Smith, CEO, 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 game changer,” said Tedd Smith, chief executive officer of FirstClose, in the statement.
Georgia United is among four credit unions to recently implement the FirstClose platform, including America First Credit Union, Truliant Federal Credit Union and WEOKIE Federal Credit Union.
FirstClose is a HELN advertiser.
