Chase Home Finance?s Joint Venture Mortgage Program Helps Streamline Services

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The Power of Partnership: Chase Home Finance?s Joint Venture Mortgage Program Helps Streamline Services

By Beth Bresnahan

Streamlining the real estate process is one of brokers? top priorities today. Large brokers especially are responding to consumers? one-stop-shopping demands to better serve their clients? needs and build new profit centers. RE/MAX The Woodlands & Spring, whose market covers the exclusive Woodlands? community north of Houston, has responded to this trend through its new mortgage partnership with Chase Home Finance.

?We like the arrangement because it gives more depth to our company,? says Rocky Del Papa, co-owner of RE/MAX The Woodlands & Spring. ?We?re growing every month, and the agents find being able to offer an in-house mortgage service to their clients very beneficial.?

The new mortgage business titled Priority One Mortgage, officially opened this past fall. Del Papa and co-owner Debbie Bates report that in the months since aligning with Chase, their seasoned agents have adapted quickly and easily to the program and newer agents are beginning to form relationships using Priority One.

?They have been great partners with us,? says Jim Maguire, account manager with Chase Home Finance who oversees The Woodlands? relationship. ?The relationship is starting to build momentum. They have a strong pipeline and they?re starting to get the word out to the community through advertising and personal referrals.?

RE/MAX The Woodlands & Spring closed more than $504 million in sales in 2004 and operates one of the largest market shares in this affluent suburb of Houston. As the industry continues to consolidate, they believe strongly in Chase as a trusted brand.

?Working with Chase gives our agents an extra advantage,? says Debbie Bates, who oversees three offices and 80 agents. ?We look forward to having a very long lasting relationship.?

In the last few years Chase also has expanded their joint venture proposition to the home building industry. Lynn Giuffre, a longtime account manager with Chase, recently began overseeing Haven Mortgage, the mortgage venture allied with home builders Haven Properties in Atlanta.

?Builder relationships are a huge focus for us,? says Giuffre. ?They tend to be very loyal because their primary relationship is with the customer. With Haven we provide the loan officers the depth and breadth of Chase?s resources to truly provide a one-stop shop.?

?In the home building business, it?s really nice having Chase as our joint venture mortgage partner because it helps us to be more knowledgeable about the status of our clients? transactions,? says Mike Baptist, president of Haven Properties. ?Now we know if the customer has been qualified for a loan and what?s happening, simply because as partners we communicate with each other more.?

Baptist has been in the home building business since 1993 and is a second generation home builder in Atlanta. His company builds in planned communities and uses their idea homes to showcase options. About 80% of their homes are sold by co-op Realtors. The ?EarthCraft? and EnergyStar homes they build employ the latest resource and energy-efficient construction.

Haven Mortgage is one of Chase?s three home builder joint ventures, Guiffre says, adding it?s an important area of expansion for the lending giant.

?What struck me about Haven is the culture of their business,? says Giuffre. ?We are a reflection of one another and we both hope we can leverage each other?s strengths in term of technology and products as their needs change.?

Baptist also appreciates the on-time closings and additional revenue stream that Haven Mortgage provides. ?Chase is a great partner,? he adds. ?They provide additional revenue, but more important is the control and feedback we get.?

For more information on Chase joint ventures, visit www.chasehomefinance.com.