1st Priority Mortgage Makes Affiliate Relationship with RealtyUSA its First Priority With Help From Mortgage Builder Software

Growing upstate New York mortgage banker uses top service levels to keep critical relationship with real estate leader in top shape in a year when mortgage volume is expected to plummet

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Southfield, MI, March 7, 2011 – As a mortgage executive responsible for providing world class service for the customers of New York State‟s largest independent real estate company, Brooke Anderson-Tompkins knows she has a good thing going. As president of 1st Priority Mortgage, Inc., she also knows that her company‟s affiliated status with RealtyUSA, the nation‟s 6th largest Realtor in addition to being her state‟s largest independent real estate firm, is tested with each and every loan. Keeping their affiliate realty partner, the source of 70 percent of their FHA and conventional volume, consistently happy means making certain each transaction goes smoothly and quickly, and for that complex part of the lending process, 1st Priority Mortgage turns to Mortgage Builder, one of the industry‟s leading providers of loan origination software (LOS) systems.

“When you have a real estate affiliation like ours, the expectations for service and response are much higher than the Realtor might have for another lender,” Anderson-Tompkins says. “It‟s the nature of the relationship to hold an affiliate partner to a higher standard, and living up to it means we have to have the best possible people and the best possible technology.” 1st Priority Mortgage deliberated long and hard when it realized it needed to upgrade its LOS capabilities. The company is a member of the Lenders One consortium, the national alliance of over 175 mortgage bankers based in St. Louis, Missouri, and collectively representing the nation‟s third largest originator of mortgages. In 2008, Mortgage Builder was in attendance at a Lenders One conference as the cooperative‟s sole approved LOS vendor partner, and met with Anderson-Tompkins to demonstrate their platform. “Brooke told me she‟d been doing her homework and that Mortgage Builder had made their „short list‟,” recalls Bill Mitchell, Mortgage Builder‟s vice president of sales. “1st Priority liked what they saw with the demo, then performed one of the most exhaustive due diligence processes we‟ve seen before deciding to go with Mortgage Builder,” Mitchell says. “And that included a trip to our corporate office in Michigan to see the inner workings of our company first hand.”

Anderson-Tompkins had owned her own mortgage brokerage company in the Buffalo, New York area for 20 years prior to joining 1st Priority Mortgage, Inc. She knew exactly what to look for in a LOS system that would enable her to maximize the company‟s relationship with RealtyUSA. “I wanted to see the company up close and in person,” Anderson-Tompkins says. “We met with Keven Smith (Mortgage Builder‟s president) and many others. It was well worth the drive.” The 500-mile round trip drive saved significant time in their implementation process, as it worked out. Mortgage Builder‟s consultative approach, what Smith and Mitchell call their “trusted advisor” role in the client‟s due diligence process, pays off when Mortgage Builder‟s award winning support staff gets to know individuals like Pat Cleary, 1st Priority Mortgage, Inc. vice president of operations. “Pat was able to spend time with the same technical and service folks she‟d be working with as we implemented, and that truly helps make the process smoother for everyone,” Mitchell says.

1st Priority Mortgage has been live with Mortgage Builder since the summer of 2010, after more than a year of research and comparison with other LOS systems on the market and an intentional pause due to RESPA implementation. According to Anderson-Tompkins, Mortgage Builder‟s „everything‟s integrated‟ approach won them over, in addition to the company‟s reputation for customer service and technical support. “Mortgage Builder‟s acceptance by Lenders One was a great factor in helping us narrow the field,” she notes, “but the thoroughness of our due diligence really showed Mortgage Builder as the right choice to provide the service levels we demand.” Anderson-Tompkins observes that over 80 percent of their production comes from purchase transactions, and despite the reduced market size predicted for 2011, the company is expecting significant increases in origination volume. “We intend to do that while keeping our department efficient and limiting FTE growth by leveraging Mortgage Builder,” she says. “Their platform helps us keep both the quality of the loan and the quality of the loan experience high for borrowers, from the prequalification through the entire process, including closing and delivery. And that is the key to keeping our Realtor partner happy.”

About Mortgage Builder
Southfield, Michigan-based Mortgage Builder Software, Inc. has been providing industry-leading loan origination software (LOS) to mortgage banks, community banks, credit unions and other financial institutions since 1997. Mortgage Builder was the first LOS to provide its full capabilities in Application Service Provider (ASP) form, as Software as a Service (SaaS), and in the traditional licensed, server-based configuration, providing complete flexibility to suit all clients‟ business models. Mortgage Builder is an end-to-end, “everything‟s integrated” lending solution for both retail and wholesale mortgage production channels, automating origination, closing, post-closing, delivery, tracking and reporting functions. Essential enhancements like pricing and product eligibility (PPE), electronic document management (EDM) and electronic loan delivery functionality are built-in and available on demand, while compliant loan documents are provided at no additional cost. The company has been named by Mortgage Technology Magazine as one of the industry‟s Top 50 Service Providers for the fourth consecutive year, and was the winner of the magazine‟s prestigious 2008/2009 Help Desk Award for outstanding customer service and the industry‟s best technical support. Mortgage Builder is also a proud member of the Lenders One cooperative, the nation‟s third largest retail mortgage originator, and is the cooperative‟s sole LOS vendor partner. For more information, visit www.MortgageBuilder.com.