With so many stakeholders and countless moving parts, construction lending is an inherently risky business. In fact, construction lending is perceived to be so risky that some lenders choose to avoid construction loans altogether. Construction risk mitigation frameworks were created in a world without the internet, and “best practices” have long been defined by manual processes, duplicative data input, and lack of transparency. When performed manually, basic risk mitigation tasks, like managing contractor acceptance criteria or monitoring for involuntary liens, can put a serious burden on loan administration teams–pulling them away from other duties and adding unnecessary stress. In addition, if contractor or lien issues aren’t identified quickly, they can result in costly delays and friction between the lender, the borrower, and the builder.
Fortunately, construction finance is evolving. With the right digital solution, lenders can grow their construction business without exposing their overall loan portfolio to unnecessary risk or burdening their staff with increased workloads.
What is Project Pro?
Built has set out to redefine construction risk best practices with Project Pro–a revolutionary digital solution that empowers lenders to mitigate risk on their construction projects through automated risk monitoring, robust contractor management, and best-in-class project visibility.
Today, Project Pro consists of three main pillars: Contractor Management, Project Monitoring, and the Project Pro Dashboard. Each component has been carefully designed to enhance lenders’ existing construction loan administration (CLA) workflows and proactively mitigate risk at each stage of the project lifecycle. These elements come together as a whole to form the most innovative and holistic approach to construction risk mitigation in the industry today.
What Issues Does Project Pro Solve?
When developing Project Pro, Built worked closely with dozens of the nation’s top lenders to analyze key industry data and create solutions for some of the biggest challenges associated with construction financial risk today:
|
Challenge |
Solution |
|
Risk mitigation processes are currently done in siloes using fragmented, manual workflows. It can be very challenging for lenders to piece together a cohesive picture of a loan or share information with others involved with the loan. |
Project Pro gives lenders easy, centralized access to all of the data and documentation needed for a given project, including contractor statuses, compliance documentation, liens, and overall project health. This information is presented clearly for all key stakeholders, allowing for unprecedented visibility and reduced back-and-forth. |
|
It’s important to finish construction projects on time and within budget, but it can be challenging for lenders to proactively identify red flags like involuntary liens and contractor issues. Unfortunately, if these issues are not caught early, they can be very costly and cause serious delays. |
Project Pro streamlines risk mitigation with automated risk monitoring for the life of the project–providing a safety net for lenders. With Project Pro’s direct integrations with title data providers, credit, and risk reporting agencies, lenders receive proactive risk alerts for common red flags–helping them quickly identify and resolve issues before they escalate. |
|
It can be difficult to determine the trustworthiness of contractors who don’t have a proven track record. Firing contractors can be very costly, as they are unlikely to refund any money they’ve already been paid. In addition, any unsatisfactory work that has already been completed may need to be redone. |
With Project Pro, lenders are able to determine contractor eligibility in minutes based on specific contractor acceptance criteria–making it much easier to register reputable contractors for the job. Contractors are also monitored for the life of the project and can be easily managed from a user-friendly dashboard. Project Pro also allows contractors to upload documentation directly into the system for easy access and compliance tracking. |
|
Most modern risk mitigation software bills lenders every time a specific action is performed. This can add up quickly and compound the time spent managing invoices. |
Project Pro simplifies the billing structure by consolidating services into one flat fee per active project for full risk mitigation. |
How Does Project Pro Fit Into the Built Ecosystem?
Today, Project Pro lives as a standalone product within Built’s Marketplace. Lenders can take full advantage of everything Project Pro has to offer, even if they aren’t using Built’s construction loan administration (CLA) technology.
