Building Communities, Empowering Entrepreneurs:
Backflip’s Tech-Fueled Approach to Construction Finance
Introduction
Backflip, a proptech and fintech company, is modernizing the construction lending industry through a technology-driven approach. Cory Petersen, Director of Loan Operations at Backflip, shares that the housing crisis, marked by an insufficient supply of suitable homes, set the stage for Backflip’s inception. With around 24 million underdeveloped homes nationwide, Backflip aimed to empower local entrepreneurs— people deeply invested in their communities— with the tools, support, and resources to participate and thrive within the housing market.
Traditionally construction lending has been a complex process with manual tasks and slow, cumbersome transaction times. This cumbersome approach often leaves borrowers frustrated and lenders struggling to scale efficiently.
Recognizing the need for a modernized approach, Backflip began seeking best-in-class technology solutions to streamline construction loan management. They envisioned an experience where construction finance could be agile, transparent, and user-friendly – where technology could bridge the gaps between stakeholders and propel the industry forward.
According to Petersen, “Technology is something that we value not only in what we do internally and the solutions we provide our entrepreneurs but also something that we look for in third parties and who we partner with and ensure our partners are aligned regarding technology.”
Goals:
- Transparency for borrowers
- User-friendly draw experience
- Scalable process
Solutions:
- Draw management software
- OneSite web & mobile apps
- Automated inspection process
Results:
- 400+ active loans
- Average of 65 new loans per month
- 160+ draw requests per month
- 95% client adoption of OneSite
Land Gorilla makes construction finance agile, transparent, and user-friendly.
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“Finding the right partner from the beginning was important for us. Land Gorilla allowed us to accelerate and experience immediate success.”
Cory Petersen
Director of Loan Operations, Backflip
A Strategic Partnership Begins
Early in their journey, Backflip found that Land Gorilla offers leading technology for lenders to manage construction loans, including fix and flip loans. With Land Gorilla, Backflip recognized it could automate many of its processes, significantly easing the draw management experience and allowing for scalability amidst growing transaction volumes.
Petersen shares, “We partnered with Land Gorilla in our early stages. It’s a technology solution that we didn’t have built out internally. Finding the right partner from the beginning was important for us. Land Gorilla allowed us to accelerate and experience immediate success.”
Onboarding with Land Gorilla was a great experience. Petersen shared, “The support was fantastic, especially as we were learning the platform and completed training for our team. This allowed us to get up and running very quickly and feel confident. Land Gorilla fits seamlessly in our operation and processes, making any new addition to our workflow a lot easier.”
Streamlined Draw Management
Petersen states, “The Land Gorilla platform has simplified the management of draws and ensured scalability as transaction volumes grow. The simplicity of the user interface for our team and clients allows everyone to navigate financial information easily, making it straightforward for new users to adapt quickly.”
“Simplicity is paramount,” continues Petersen. “The Land Gorilla platform puts all critical project information at your fingertips – build status, remaining draws, budget overview – all on a single screen. This streamlined design eliminates the need for constant toggling, enhancing user experience and efficiency.”
“The Land Gorilla plaform puts all critical information at your fingertips – build status, remaining draws, budget overview – all on a single screen.”
Cory Petersen
Director of Loan Opeations, Backflip
Notifications in the Land Gorilla platform is a seemingly simple feature that Petersen highlights as crucial to their success. Managing a high volume of draws requires meticulous attention to detail at each milestone. Every stage of a draw request has unique requirements and checklists, and timely notifications automated from the platform have revolutionized their ability to streamline operations.
“While notifications might seem simple, they’re absolutely vital,” Petersen emphasizes. “They give us deep visibility into every step of the draw process – from submissions and inspections to completion. This eliminates confusion and delays, ensuring everyone involved has a smooth, transparent experience.”
With Land Gorilla, Backflip has achieved desired growth goals:
400+ active
loans
160+ draw requests per month.
This level of transparency and efficiency is paramount in maintaining trust and satisfaction among entrepreneurs who rely on swift, reliable access to funds. Petersen notes that without these notifications, delays would be inevitable, and the team would lack a comprehensive understanding of each draw’s progress.
With the Land Gorilla platform and its robust features, Backflip has been able to achieve its growth goals. They quickly reached over 400 active loans, averaging about 65 new loans per month and processing over 160 draw requests per month. Petersen shared that Backflip’s objective was to sustain an average draw turn time of under 4 days.
Backflip achieved and consistently maintained the targeted draw turn times with Land Gorilla’s efficient platform.
OneSite: Empowering Borrowers with a User-Friendly Experience
Backflip prioritizes borrower experience, a focus reflected in their choice of Land Gorilla’s OneSite mobile and web application for borrowers and builders. This sophisticated yet userfriendly app boasts a 95% adoption rate among Backflip’s clients.
When evaluating construction loan management solutions, Backflip emphasized portal design, ease of draw requests, and file accessibility. Petersen explains, “We wanted borrowers to track their progress effortlessly. Land Gorilla’s OneSite delivers a seamless experience and a userfriendly interface that empowers borrowers to navigate the platform independently.”
“The borrower portal must be easy to operate,” Petersen emphasizes. “The portal’s appearance, ease of draw requests, visibility of new files, and overall progress tracking are all crucial. Land Gorilla’s OneSite successfully addresses our client needs with its transparent design and selfservice capabilities.”
“Land Gorilla’s automated ordering capability for inspections have significantly accelerated our ability to process large volumes of draw requests.”
Cory Petersen
Director of Loan Operations, Backflip
Leveraging Automation for Inspections
Backflip uses Land Gorilla’s integrated inspection services, including remote and on-site inspections, to streamline their draw process. Additionally, Backflip uses the Land Gorilla platform to automate orders for inspections when their borrowers request a draw through OneSite. This completely eliminates the time and effort previously spent on manual ordering.
“Prompt inspection reports are essential to our workflow,” Petersen explains. “Even with the best platform and borrower portal, timely inspections are critical. Land Gorilla’s automated ordering capability for inspections have significantly accelerated our ability to process large volumes of draw requests.”
In addition to speed, the detailed inspection reports provided by Land Gorilla offer valuable insights into the progress of each build. This comprehensive information empowers Backflip to make informed decisions and ensure projects stay on track.
Backflip’s Vision for Continued Growth and Innovation
Looking ahead, Petersen envisions a future where Backflip’s operations are even more tightly integrated with Land Gorilla’s platform. He anticipates leveraging Land Gorilla’s APIs to create seamless interactions between their proprietary applications, resulting in a smoother, more cohesive experience for both Backflip and its clients. This integration would be especially beneficial during complex projects that demand frequent and precise financial oversight.
Backflip’s innovative model, a unique blend of cutting-edge technology and a deep-rooted commitment to community empowerment, addresses a crucial market gap. They’ve created a blueprint for how technology can revolutionize finance and real estate, offering the tools and support needed to transform potential into tangible progress.
“It’s about equipping entrepreneurs with the right resources,” Petersen emphasizes. “The right tools, technology, and community support to turn their dreams into reality.”
Every project Backflip finances fuels local economic growth, community development, and the cultivation of entrepreneurship. Their model exemplifies how thoughtfully integrated technology can create a ripple effect of positive change, benefiting real estate entrepreneurs and the communities they serve.
“It’s about equipping entrepreneurs with the right resources, the right tools, technology and community support to turn their dreams into reality.”
Cory Petersen
Director of Loan Operations, Backflip