LENEXA, Kan. – Credit unions involved with mortgage lending have seen this scenario happen too often – they pre-approve a member for a mortgage, only to lose that member's mortgage when they go to a realtor to find their perfect home and they're steered to another lender. TruHome Solutions LLC wants to be able to offer credit unions more opportunity to control the mortgage lending relationship with members. The multi-owned mortgage CUSO owned by CU Holding Company and CommunityAmerica CUSO One, is in the process of adding two more mortgage pieces to its mortgage offerings. The company estimates that by March or April it will have the services of a title company and realty company to offer to credit unions. Those will be in addition to the origination, processing, underwriting, closing and mortgage servicing components it already provides. "It's all about credit unions being able to control their relationships with their members," said Lisa Renner, president/CEO of CU Holding Company. The realty company portion of TruHome's new offering will be a result of a partnership with CU Realty which is partially owned by Members Gateway. On the title side, the company is in the process of finalizing a partnership with an existing local title company in which TruHome will be the majority owner with rights to buy out. `More CUSOs are trying to offer end-to-end solutions as a way to build their relationships with their members and keep them. By providing a title company and realty company, we will be offering credit unions two more touch points for our credit union clients to have with their members," said Renner. "New and existing home sales are still strong and exceed our expectations, but the question still remains how long it will continue to be strong. We don't want to miss that business," she added, noting that the refinance boom will happen again at some point, "and we don't want to miss that piece either." Jeff Kline, president, Community America CUSO One and a member of the Members Gateway Board, stressed that partnerships are important whether it be with realtors on the mortgage side or with auto dealerships in indirect lending. But there's a major difference between the two – with indirect lending, he offered, "the economic model is such that it's hard to control that unless credit unions were selling the vehicles." In comparison, he continued to explain, "with the economic model in the realty business, the margins are such and the CU Realty business model is structured in such a way that we can help those realtors that want to work with us avoid having to spend time prospecting and instead spend more time with credit union members looking to buy or sell their home. It's a way for them to increase their volume and decrease their prospecting expenses. The part of their commissions they give up that go towards the member rebates is a small price for them to pay." An end-to-end mortgage solution like the one TruHome will be able to offer with its latest expansion, makes sense for credit unions because it allows credit unions to leverage their reputation for looking out for members' best interest and delivering quality service, he says. "By being in the realty business, it helps credit unions get the loan because we're out there helping the member sell and find their new home and keep the loan with the credit union," said Kline. On the title side, he said credit unions want to be in that business for the member service reason. "The title person is the last person the member sees, so service quality makes a lasting impression. If you outsource that part of your mortgage business you're taking a bigger chance than if you control it yourself." CU Realty currently does business with credit unions in 14 states, and Kline said the title model is something he sees that could be replicated in other cities and even potentially expanded nationwide. -

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