This month I would like to introduce to you a company that will help you close loans. Credit Plus is an all-in-one credit services company that has many exciting features to help you do your job and make you shine in your clients eyes. In this difficult market where your borrowers credit scores could make or break your deal, even by one point, there is no better time than to team up with a company such as Credit Plus Inc., if you haven’t already.
Allen Johnson, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Credit Plus Inc., has graciously sat down with The Niche Report to educate us about all that they offer.
How are your products and services helping mortgage professionals in today’s market?
In today’s sluggish mortgage market, mortgage professionals are facing many challenges in the quest to maintain business and stay competitive. Many of our clients are searching for ways to provide better service and added value for their customers. At Credit Plus, Inc. we have always made a commitment to offering the products, services and technology that can help accomplish this. That includes a one-stop shop approach that offers mortgage professionals some of the most reliable, robust credit reporting platforms on the market. In addition, we recently introduced Ariston, a Credit Plus, Inc. company that provides comprehensive title and settlement/closing solutions nationwide.
Tell us some history and background information on Credit Plus.
Credit Plus has been a leader in providing cutting-edge credit information services for 80 years. Our company has always been dedicated to helping mortgage professionals achieve their business goals through technology-based mortgage information solutions. In fact, we helped pioneer web-based credit reporting in the mortgage industry and continue to look for new technology and products that can help our clients achieve success.
Credit Plus is privately held, with headquarters inSalisbury,Maryland. Our philosophy of liberal staffing to handle rapidly increasing and changing business has helped us maintain extremely high client-retention rates.
Describe your key Credit Plus products.
Credit Plus offers a wide variety of credit-related products, including merged credit bureau reports, supplemental and business credit reports, and non-traditional credit reports that provide an alternative score for borrowers with little or no credit history.
The Credit Plus ScoreWizard is a web-based credit advisory tool that allows mortgage professionals to help borrowers reach their target credit scores. It gives mortgage brokers, bankers and lenders the ability to guide clients in improving their score and overall financial health. ScoreWizard consists of several key components:
- Analyzer looks at the positive and negative factors influencing the borrower’s credit score.
- Advisor suggests how to maximize and improve the score.
- What-If Simulator allows the broker to predict the results of specific actions by demonstrating the impact that activities such as adding/removing accounts and correcting errors will have on the score.
- Score Plus updates and rescores credit files in as little as 72 hours after the borrower has taken the recommended actions and the supporting documents have been forwarded.
- A new feature analyzes the effect of authorized user accounts (e.g., when a spouse or child is included on a credit card) on the borrower’s credit score by looking at the impact that removing those accounts would have on the score.
PRBC® Reports through Credit Plus/non-traditional credit reports utilize trade line data and payment history on recurring bills, such as rent, mortgage, utility, phone, insurance and childcare to create a Bill Payment Score (BPS). The BPS can be used on its own or in conjunction with a traditional credit score. It can be merged with in-file credit report information from the major credit bureaus for a comprehensive risk assessment of an applicant. PRBC reports provide a resource for people with poor or no credit to build a credit history.
We also offer tenant screening service that helps landlords and property managers/owners evaluate potential renters, tax return verification reports that verify a borrower’s tax information to reduce occurrences of mortgage fraud, and a comprehensive lead generation program that offers mortgage professionals a strategic method for generating business.
What steps are you taking to educate mortgage professionals on maximizing their business?
Education is a major focus for us right now because it’s such a competitive marketplace and everyone wants to find an edge. We created Credit Plus University (CPU) more than a year ago to provide free online training programs for mortgage professionals to help them work more efficiently with Credit Plus’ products that can help them close more loans. We’ve had very positive feedback on the classes (available at www.creditplus.com), such as ScoreWizard, which provides recommendations on how a consumer can improve his or her score, and our overview of how PRBC Reports/non-traditional credit reports help borrowers qualify for a mortgage.
Tell us about the strengths that Ariston adds.
Ariston offers appraisal, title and settlement closing services. The name Ariston comes from a Greek word meaning “the best,” and an important part of the Ariston philosophy is to always provide the best in service levels, turn times, technology and solutions. For instance, every customer solution is customizable. That’s not just a buzz word at Ariston – there’s a real focus on matching each customer’s unique business needs, workflow and processes so the solution works for them.
The company offers a full suite of products designed to simplify the closing process for lenders of all sizes. That includes totally integrated title, settlement/closing, collateral assessment and flood products. Title services encompass full title, refinance and home equity products, as well as property reports, legal and vesting reports. Settlement/closing services include pre-closing preparation, scheduling, HUD document preparation, post-closing review and disbursement. Traditional, alternative and warranted valuations cover full, drive-by and review appraisals, and automated valuation models, to name a few.
What can you tell us about the future for Credit Plus and Ariston?
Credit Plus will continue to develop new products and services as well as strengthening our current offerings. As always, we will work closely with our customers to ensure that our technology provides what each one needs to succeed. In addition, we are exploring adding loss mitigation products in 2008.
Ariston had a successful launch in 2007 and will continue to provide the best in service and solutions.
Both companies go forward with the commitment to provide superior products and technology, along with outstanding customer service. Our Beyond Bundled program, for example, combines bundling of essential settlement and title services with superb customer service through the Credit Plus Customer Relationship Management program and Ariston products.
