Creating a future where homeownership is equitable for all
Through a partnership with Land Gorilla, New America Funding (NAF) moved beyond a manual, frustrating system to a highly efficient and streamlined process. This improvement means builders and borrowers now benefit from faster draw disbursements and convenient access to project details, directly contributing to NAF’s expansion and its positive impact on communities.
Alicia Norwood,
Construction & Renovation Vice President , New American Funding
Video Transcript:
My name is Alicia Norwood. I am the Vice President of our Construction and Renovation division at New America Funding. Our mission, our goal, our promise is to create a future where homeownership is equitable for all. For over two decades, the company has been committed to doing things a little differently for their customers, underserved communities, and, of course, even our team and employees at NAF.
As far as adding the construction and renovation, that was just huge. In essence, I’ve been able to again tackle a lot of the issues and the initiatives that we have in our communities, our underserved communities. Being able to give customers additional options on purchasing a home, whether that is building a new home, their dream home, or they’re a first time homebuyer building their first home, and also when a market is struggling to have actual inventory.
When I came to New American Funding, everything was manual. I think the biggest part is not having information imported into Encompass. So, just a lot of frustration. For me, it was just to be able to actually do our job right, to have a streamlined process. I mean, in order to do that, you’re going to need a support system to be able to grow and be where we are today.
We were able to process draws a lot quicker. Draw turn times instead of 5 to 7 business days are now 3 to 5 business days. So that saves us a lot of time. You know, not doing all the back and forth with emails, losing emails, trying to keep track of documents, and being able to check the status of the inspection without having to send an email or make a phone call.
A lot of things that are really manual are no longer necessary because we are able to use Land Gorilla’s software, their OneSite portal, and of course, their pre-close services, and their draw support team. I feel like the builders like it because of being able to order a remote inspection. Being able to log into a portal and see all of their projects, being able to select the project, and then already having their budget and draw schedule in the system in the portal is very easy.
The fact that it’s available on their phone, their tablet, and their laptop is just huge. Meaning they can do a lot of this out in the field. They don’t have to go into the office to request draws. I think, of course, that’s just a huge win for everyone across the board. The actual services of the inspections are huge, because we’re able to inspect the water prior to disbursing funds to the builder, and also gives the borrower an eye into what’s being built or renovated.
They can see the actual inspections as well if needed. I feel like it’s a streamlined process of having the remote inspections versus an onsite inspection. Giving both options, especially for more rural areas that we’re building in or renovating in. The remote inspections have come in extremely handy. Instead of having to wait to find an inspector to come out to the site, you know that works with the builder’s schedule.
So I feel like there are a lot of benefits, and what we’ve been able to do. We have not only just support and resources, but we also have a partnership. And I think that’s key. When you are into construction and renovation, it’s amazing how I feel like we’ve been able to do that with Land Gorilla and continue to grow our business as well.
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