Black Knight introduced a new app to speed up applications for home equity lines of credit, the company announced.
The app, Validate, allows borrowers to include photos of their property as part of their application. The photos are then analyzed with AI to calculate the home’s condition in real-time, speeding up the approval process.
Borrowers complete a questionnaire to verify public record data and list any necessary repairs after submitting photos, Black Knight said.
Photos are time-stamped and GPS verified to ensure current property condition and location are accurate. The address is then scored based on comparable properties to create a condition-adjusted valuation model.
Lenders receive the property value and available equity immediately via API or PDF, saving time and money for both parties.
“Validate streamlines HELOC and home loan applications by providing a collateral valuation and property-condition report much earlier in the loan process,” said Ben Graboske, president of Black Knight Data & Analytics.
“Since actual photographs and AI extrapolations are used, the accuracy of the AVM is more attuned to the property’s unique condition. Homeowners create their own verifiable property condition report – in a lender-accepted format – that is combined with other tools, such as Black Knight’s AVMs and Complexity Profiler, to greatly accelerate the HELOC decision-making process.”
Graboske noted that time is of the essence in today’s oversaturated HELOC market. HELOC originations reached their highest level since 2010 in 2022 and remain popular in 2023.
Homeowners have historically high equity built up and many are taking advantage, especially as home sales remain suppressed.
“Homebuying activity is slowing down dramatically,” Rick Sharga, ATTOM executive vice president of Market Intelligence told Bankrate. “With more homeowners deciding to stay in place, there will probably be more home improvement projects being done, and HELOCs are a relatively affordable way to pay for those projects.”
Better.com, Movement Mortgage, and Homepoint have also introduced new HELOC products in response to increased demand.