Seeking to improve member services and increase mortgage closing rates, Affinity Federal Credit Union turned to HomeAdvantage®, a turnkey real estate program from CU Realty Services. This is the first New Jersey-based credit union partner for CU Realty Services, the largest real estate credit union service organization (CUSO) in the U.S.
After evaluating other options for its mortgage program, the $3 billion credit union determined that HomeAdvantage offered the benefits and training that would best serve its organization. “Affinity is dedicated to helping our members reach their dreams of home ownership,” said Carolyn Morganbesser, mortgage originations manager. “After speaking to other credit unions using HomeAdvantage, we knew it was a great fit for us and our members.”
HomeAdvantage provides credit union members with online access to valuable real estate tools and connects them to qualified and vetted real estate agents. Members who buy or sell their home using an agent in the program qualify to earn HomeAdvantage Cash Rewards at closing, an average of $1,570 in savings per transaction.
Headquartered in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, with more than 20 branches in the tristate area, Affinity FCU serves more than 150,000 members and services mortgages nationwide. Affinity believes that HomeAdvantage offers a significant enhancement to its member services. “Since members can apply their Cash Rewards toward closing costs, they don’t need to save as much money upfront, which gives them the opportunity to get into their homes faster,” said Morganbesser. “Additionally, the HomeAdvantage training excited the entire Affinity team as it’s another free and valuable benefit to offer our members.”
David Lehmkuhl, an Affinity member for 30 years, was the credit union’s first member to close on a home using HomeAdvantage. He learned about the program on Affinity’s website. Intrigued by the Cash Rewards opportunity, Lehmkuhl signed up and found a house right away. Within an hour, a HomeAdvantage agent was in contact with him.
“The process was very different than when I bought a house 19 years ago through another lender,” said Lehmkuhl. “This time, everyone was so helpful in walking me through the entire process. I can’t say enough about my HomeAdvantage real estate agent and my Affinity mortgage loan officer.”
“We are off to a great start,” said Morganbesser. “We launched HomeAdvantage in what is not traditionally the home buying season, but we anticipate bigger and better things thisspring.”
“The launch at Affinity marks our first venture in New Jersey,” said Tina Powers, chief operating officer at CU Realty Services. “Because credit unions using HomeAdvantage see much higher pull-through rates, we are confident that this program is going to transform the credit union mortgage outlook in the Garden State.”