How United Federal Credit Union improved collaboration and reduced draw and inspection turnaround times with Built.
Meet United Federal Credit Union, a leading credit union with over 194,000 members. With construction loans in Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina, Nevada, Arkansas, and Pennsylvania, the United team runs a busy operation. Thankfully, they have a great mortgage operations group on their side.
Emily, Gianna, and Shantelle work together on the mortgage operations team to streamline operations and deliver first-class member and builder experiences. By partnering with Built, the team modernized their construction loan administration process allowing collaboration among all key stakeholders.
The Challenge: A Fragmented Process
Before Built, “the construction loan management process was very manual,” shares Emily.
Like many lenders, Emily and her team relied on spreadsheets and manual data entry to track
their construction projects. This manual process carried over to draw requests received via
email, fax, or by phone and inspection requests that were placed in a Loan Origination System
and completed by appraisers. Disparate systems posed a challenge for all parties to have
real-time visibility into their projects, leading to many phone calls for the Mortgage Operations
Team.
With an average inspection turnaround time of 5-7 days and an average draw turnaround
time of 6-8 days, United identified an opportunity to automate their processes and streamline
their member interactions by partnering with Built.
The Solution: A Collaborative Platform for All Stakeholders
Today, the United team invites all members and builders into the Built platform post-close
with a welcome email detailing their expectations of the draws process and including Built
training resources.
Once registered in the platform, all parties have visibility into their projects and their budgets.
Previously, members emailed or called Gianna inquiring about remaining funds and draw and
inspection statuses. Now, borrowers have project details at their fingertips. They can see
real-time updates, access inspection photos, and communicate with the United team.
Having one platform to see all things construction has really been a game changer.
If there are any questions, members and builders can utilize Built’s Comment functionality to
chat with project stakeholders and get answers quickly. This level of communication keeps
everyone aligned and saves the United team time, so they don’t have to field constant calls
and emails.
Phone contact has gone down significantly because of commenting in Built.
With better communication between all parties, the United team has expedited draw and inspection turnaround times.
The Results: Visibility and Transparency Lead to Faster Draws and Inspections
The United team finds verified and professional inspectors using Built’s nationwide inspector network. Then, they digitally request inspections in Built in just a few clicks.
“With Built, it’s so much easier to order inspections.” – Gianna, Servicing Specialist
Once inspections are underway, the United team, their members, and their builders can view inspection status, photos, and updates directly in the Built platform. This level of transparency enables the team to quickly communicate and avoid project delays.
Inspection Turnaround Times
Improving the inspection process reduced the average inspection turnaround time from 5-7 days to 1.5 days.
Inspection Turnaround Times
Using Built, the United team has also cut their draw times in half. “We have saved so much time not having to prepare a document,” shares Gianna. Rather than preparing a physical borrower authorization document, the team now obtains borrower authorization through e-signature in the system.
With increased transparency and faster draw and inspection times, the United team delivers a standout member experience.
United Keeps Members at the Core of Everything They Do
In less than two years as a Built customer, the United team has drastically transformed their construction loan administration process and, as a result, reduced inspection and draw turnaround times. And they’re not done yet. The team is always looking for ways to improve their internal processes and deliver a five-star member and builder experience.
Ready to Learn More?
Click here to chat with one of our experts about streamlining your draw and inspection processes. Or, explore our website to see all the ways Built can help you reduce risk and improve the efficiency of your workflows.