The customer
Chapin Industries partnered with Brimit to create a crowdfunding platform for CMG Financial to generate financial support for mortgage down payments.
CMG Financial is a well-capitalized, privately held mortgage-banking firm founded in 1993. The company is widely known for responsible lending practices, industry and consumer advocacy, product innovation, and operational efficiency.
Chapin Industries is a technology company that is focused on partnering with clients to deliver exceptional solutions. With many years of experience in the technology industry, the company specializes in designing, implementing, and maintaining critical systems as well as providing on-site engagement.
The need
In order to be effective, HomeFundIt needed to be integrated seamlessly into CMG’s range of services for home buyers. It had to stand on its own as a convenient, viable option for financing mortgages, and it also had to be a robust, fully functional crowdfunding platform.
Crowdfunding is all about the power of storytelling; therefore, it was necessary to integrate the product with as many social networks as possible so that users could spread the word about their crowdfunding campaigns. The data from the home buyers’ social profiles—e.g., friend lists—was needed in order to broaden the audience that could potentially crowdfund a project. As such, the interaction with social networks had to be two-way.
The options for sending funds to the home buyers had to require almost no effort so that the campaigns could be funded by as many people as possible. HomeFundIt also had to be integrated with most popular payment gateways as well as a reliable tool to sign documents electronically.
The solution
Chapin Industries and Brimit created the HomeFundIt site using the Sitecore Helix pattern and also developed a HomeFundIt app for iOS and Android. As a mortgage solution, HomeFundIt easily connects with CMG’s loan management system. As a crowdfunding platform, HomeFundIt users can link their campaigns to their social media accounts, including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
The cross-platform HomeFundMe app was developed using the Xamarin framework and is compatible with both iOS and Android. Xamarin—the ideal choice for a framework—provides an efficient set of tools for cross-platform mobile development.
The app is not just a supplement to HomeFundIt, but also another way to access the platform. The app is integrated seamlessly into the existing HomeFundMe web backend, allowing users to manage all aspects of a campaign from any location. HomeFundMe users can:
- prequalify for a mortgage
- start a campaign from the app
- connect their accounts to Apple Pay
- add photos or embed videos from YouTube or Vimeo to their campaign pages
- shoot a video, upload it to a video streaming platform, and add it to their campaign page within minutes
- synchronize campaign updates with Facebook to alert Facebook friends
The results
CMG expanded their client base by helping customers raise money for mortgage down payments and become qualified for a mortgage. For some of the home buyers, HomeFundMe helped raise larger down payments in order to enjoy a better selection of options—which, for CMG, means larger mortgages. The solution developed by Chapin Industries and Brimit has helped homeowners across America to realize their dreams.
