New app helps both developers and homebuyers move through the preapproval process much faster, and with greater accuracy
VersaBank, the world’s first branchless financial institution, has begun beta-testing its newly developed mortgage software.
The app is called Direct-Connect, and it’s meant to preapprove homebuyers instantly when shopping for homes and condominiums. The app was designed to facilitate and significantly reduce the length of time it can take for homebuyers to get a mortgage financing approval, particularly when visiting pre-construction sales offices for houses and condominiums.
“We have built a very successful and growing business providing our partners with convenient ‘point-of-sale’ financing for the purchase of a variety of items and our new Direct-Connect software app will expand this business to include financing houses and condominiums,” said David Taylor, president and CEO of VersaBank. “It will simplify the entire sales and finance approval process for buyers by significantly reducing the friction between the decision to buy and the time it takes to be approved for financing, while providing a valuable tool to the sales forces of Canada’s residential developers.”
On the other side of the table, Direct-Connect is designed to assist builders with their pre-sales process, and the testing partner is the Cortel Group, one of Canada’s largest home builders. Cortel Group sales offices will be given a device that’s pre-loaded with the Direct-Connect software app. Buyers using the app will know within moments if they are pre-approved for financing and if so, the amount for which they’re preapproved. for what amount. The app was designed to transform the entire sales cycle to be much smoother and more time-efficient for sales centres and purchasers, making for a more pleasant buying experience.
“Innovation is vital to the ever-changing and dynamic housing and development industry. A key driver for future growth is the financial sector’s ability to provide consumer-based services which facilitate financial transactions in a more friendly and accessible manner. The Cortel Group is a willing partner in the research and development of new applications which enhance customer experience,” said Mario Cortellucci, president and CEO of the Cortel Group.
VersaBank adopted an electronic branchless model in 1993. It holds a Canadian Schedule I chartered bank license and obtains its deposits, and the majority of its loans and leases, electronically.
“We are proud that the Cortel Group, one of the country’s largest real estate developers, has agreed to work with us on the Beta-testing and we look forward to enabling their salespeople to be more competitive in their industry, and their sales centres to be more inviting to home and condo buyers,” Taylor said.
