Informative Research’s AccountChek Boosts Loan Processing Efficiency For ALCOVA Mortgage

About ALCOVA Mortgage

ALCOVA Mortgage’s origin story is one of entrepreneurial spirit and innovation. Rooted in the friendship of three high school friends, the company began over two decades ago. After attending college together, Bobby Nicely, one of the founders, who majored in business, identified inefficiencies in the mortgage industry and sought to create a better way to originate home loans. He proposed starting their own mortgage company to his friends, which sparked the creation of ALCOVA Mortgage. 

The company has grown significantly over the past 21 years, emphasizing leveraging technology to simplify the mortgage process. With over 100 branch offices and a diverse team of loan officers, ALCOVA prides itself on offering its clients a personalized and streamlined mortgage experience. The company’s commitment to innovation and customer service has driven its continuous search for better tools and technologies to enhance its operations.

The Challenge

Before integrating AccountChek, ALCOVA faced significant challenges in its mortgage processing operations. The traditional methods of asset verification were not only time-consuming but also prone to errors and delays. Loan officers had to manually collect bank statements from borrowers, often resulting in incomplete or outdated information. 

This manual process also required additional follow-ups, which often took several days, further delaying the verification process. The delays frustrated borrowers and affected ALCOVA’s ability to close loans promptly. Additionally, larger banks started charging fees for processing VODs, adding to the operational costs.

The Solution

In 2014, ALCOVA recognized the need to automate the asset verification process, as traditional methods were becoming increasingly cumbersome. This realization marked a significant shift in their mortgage processing approach, leading ALCOVA to explore alternative solutions. Eventually, ALCOVA selected AccountChek’s digital verification platform to streamline the asset verification process, reduce errors and speed up loan approval.

After utilizing AccountChek for several years, a series of changes to ALCOVA’s tech stack compelled the lender to use other asset verification systems. When the opportunity to re-implement AccountChek arose in October 2023, ALCOVA’s executives and loan officers were eager to make the switch, given their familiarity with AccountChek’s interface and the platform’s ease of use and robust customer support. The switch restored ALCOVA’s operational efficiency and bolstered customer confidence in the lender’s ability to deliver a streamlined mortgage experience.

Results

The adoption of AccountChek brought several immediate benefits to ALCOVA. Not only did the asset verification process become significantly faster, but loan officers could now obtain verified bank statements within minutes, compared to the several days it took with traditional methods. This speed allowed ALCOVA to process loans more quickly, enhancing customer satisfaction.

“Our processing waterfall starts with confirming AccountChek. This approach not only saves time for borrowers by providing clarity on their financial standing early in the process but also reduces costs associated with additional income verification because we can document the two biggest pieces of the credit decision with one AccountChek report,” says Kelly Good, Director of Strategic Initiatives for ALCOVA Mortgage. “When we use AccountChek up front in the process, we’ve found that more than 15% of the time, we’re able to satisfy both income and employment verification, leading to significant cost savings. Embracing this technology, especially with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae both allowing the use of bank data to satisfy verification of income and employment, has been a significant game changer for us this year.”

Beyond operational benefits, ALOCOVA’s partnership with Informative Research enabled the lender to stay at the forefront of tech-driven initiatives in the mortgage industry, such as Freddie Mac’s Asset and Income Modeler (AIM) and Fannie Mae’s single-source validation for assets, income and employment, further enhancing ALCOVA’s processing speed and accuracy.

“Processors, and to some extent loan officers, have generally been taught their whole careers that less is more when it comes to connecting bank accounts to verify assets,” Good notes. "One of the biggest things we did was to throw that line of thinking out the window and have them connect every account where the borrower receives a direct deposit, even if it just has a small balance, because it can bolster the approval.” 

As ALCOVA’s leadership engaged with various branches and some of the more prominent skeptics, success stories began to emerge. Loans initially stuck at a refer status flipped to approved once staff connected all of the borrower’s deposit accounts in AccountChek, which also unlocked special pricing incentives in some cases.

“With every branch that found a loan AccountChek saved, you could see the light bulb go off, and then they would immediately say, ‘Oh, let’s do it again,’” Good explains. “Adoption took off after we demonstrated not only how straightforward the technology is but also how a single AccountChek report can get a loan nearly to approval before it even hits underwriting or the borrower has identified a property.”

Overall, the partnership with Informative Research has been transformative for ALCOVA Mortgage. By embracing digital asset verification, the company has overcome significant challenges in its mortgage processing operations. Furthermore, the speed, accuracy and efficiency gains have not only improved the bottom line but also enhanced the overall customer experience. As ALCOVA continues to grow and innovate, the collaboration with AccountChek remains a cornerstone of its success.

About Informative Research 

Informative Research, a Stewart company, is a leading technology platform that delivers data-driven solutions to the lending community. The solutions provider currently serves mortgage companies, banks, and lenders throughout the United States. The company is recognized for streamlining the loan process with its straightforward service model, progressive solutions, and cutting-edge technology. Informative Research’s four key pillars are: Customer Acquisition, Risk and Retention, Upsell/Cross-sell and Custom Data Analytics, which underscores their commitment to excellence and leadership in the data solution space. To learn more, visit https://www.informativeresearch.com.