Bridge Loan Network, a loan origination software for private lenders in the real estate investment industry, is steadfast in using the power of technology to empower not just lenders but brokers as well. The company provides a centralized platform for submitting deals — bridging the user directly to the Private Lending Industry.
The team behind Bridge Loan Network, which operates out of its headquarters in South Windsor, Connecticut, is dedicated to creating a streamlined process and equipping both lenders and brokers with the tools they need to succeed and prosper. Business Development Specialist, Jacob Therrien, sat down with Originate Report to discuss the company’s one-of-a-kind software and how the technology it wields can elevate its clients’ success to new heights.
Brand Boost
When Bridge Loan Network first came onto the playing field in 2012, they were strictly a loan origination system (LOS) without any bells or whistles. It was built by lenders, for lenders, and it got the necessary job done. This was a great beginning for the company, but it wouldn’t be the ending. Using the strong foundation that their lending experience platform provided them, Bridge Loan Network broke free from being a simple loan origination system and evolved into the leading lending software it is today. It accomplished this by adding unique features to its platform and reinforcing its brand image through enthusiastic marketing efforts.
In 2018, Bridge Loan Network brought on Jacob Therrien as a Business Development Specialist to expand their brand awareness and build more partnerships with leading companies in the industry.
“When I first started going to conferences, it was a lot of explaining who our company was, what exactly it was we did there, and how we can be of service to lenders and brokers,” Therrien explained. “Nowadays, when we attend conferences, everybody recognizes us; they recognize our brand, they recognize me and my team on a personal level…it’s been such a pleasure to see the brand grow.”
Jacob Therrien was hired fresh out of college, having earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Management Information Systems and a minor in Marketing from Curry College. The shining potential that Bridge Loan Network saw in Therrien was immediately recognized by AAPL (American Association of Private Lenders) because they honored him in 2019 with the Rising Star award. He is proud to be one of many fresh young faces to have joined the company in recent years, breathing life into the private lending industry, which in many ways still happens to be in its infancy. With passionate young voices like Jacob Therrien, the future of the industry is in good hands.
As the brand grew through dedicated marketing and sales efforts, so did its number of clients. To meet the needs and desires of their clients, they needed to further expand their team. Bridge Loan Network has tripled the number of employees they have since Therrien arrived.
No Need to Reinvent the Wheel
When Bridge Loan Network entered the scene, they were simply an LOS for lenders in the real estate investment space. The company’s original tagline was “A Loan Origination System built by lenders for lenders”. Since their inception, however, the company and the tagline have evolved. The original founders were experienced private money lenders who understood the key components of a successful deal and saw how software could greatly enhance the process and the
lender’s experience.
The platform that Bridge Loan Network originally partnered with back in 2013 laid a rock-solid foundation for the company: it offered a place to store leads, add documents, and track a deal from beginning to end. Since then, they have upgraded the software, added new features, and incorporated impressive integrations and partnerships to make it the most streamlined web portal a lender could imagine. To keep up with the company’s immense growth and constant innovations, they added technologies to the preexisting platform to better their overall product and better the solution for
their clients.
“So, over the last four or five years, we’ve really made a big push to make more partnerships, more integrations,” Therrien says, “We firmly believe that if somebody has already designed something that works really well, we tend not to try to reinvent the wheel.” Instead of reinventing the wheel, they upgraded it. Today, the software looks more robust with greater opportunities to integrate with outside third-party companies.
Under one umbrella software, Bridge Loan Network offers three incredible products:
- The first is the Loan Origination System. After collecting all borrower documents and property information, this software fully integrates with the client’s website. The cloud-based loan origination software is easy to navigate, boasts a modern user interface, and utilizes an open Application Programme Interface with integration capabilities. Within just a few days of implementing this software and diligent training by their dedicated salespeople, Bridge Loan Network will have your digital origination system up, running, and cutting loan application times in half. This service gives the user the ability to track loans from intake to closing with ease and helps the lender’s business grow exponentially through technology.
- The second product is the Loan Management System. Introduced by the company in 2017, this service is specifically designed for mortgage brokers. Within the same digital platform, the client can order credit and background reports, collect required documentation, and gain access to an elite Referral Portal made up of qualified lenders. Bridge Loan Network has partnered with credit/background reporting companies and appraisal management companies so that their clients can do everything they need to and more in one centralized location. The Loan Management System is the largest growing sector of their company, fueled by an ever-growing need for brokers to be operating in the same space as lenders. As Jacob Therrien says, “Everything starts with the borrowers and brokers and then everybody else prospers from
their success”. - The third product, which is thrillingly unique, is the Referral Marketplace, an elite database serving as a centralized location for loan officers, mortgage brokers, real estate agents, contractors, Real Estate Owned agents, and other members of the real estate industry that all want to find financing for their clients. Let’s say a novice broker is unable to find lending for a project. With Referral Marketplace, they are introduced to a list of potential lenders, powered by Private Lender Link.
“Our company works with a lot of brokers that are brand new into the industry. One of the toughest parts, when you’re entering the industry, is actually finding lenders to partner with, and know who does what, what type of loans can they fund? What States do they fund? We’re offering a solution for brokers, specifically new brokers. People that haven’t been in the industry a long time. The opportunity to enter in a few credentials about the scenario they’re working on. Is it a fix and flip? Is it a ground-up construction project? Where is it located? Roughly how much money is the individual looking for from there? We can actually use this partnership with Private Lender Link to find lenders that are posted on the Private Lender Links website that could potentially fund that given scenario. It’s all really automated directly through the software. The broker just has to input the deal in Bridge Loan Network from there. Essentially, we pass the information through an algorithm. It then kicks back the suggestions for the broker to start to reach out to.”
Time is Money
Bridge Loan Network uses technology as a means to save their clients, whether lenders or brokers, precious time. Their exclusive lending portal provides an efficient application so that brokers and lenders can process deals faster. A big way to save money and time was to have multiple third-party resources under one giant platform. The company’s software slashes through many inconvenient and tedious tasks such as credit and background appraisals and title requests. It allows the loan officer or whoever happens to be working on the scenario to not have to leave the platform to re-enter information into a different platform. Without Bridge Loan Network’s platform, the user would, after ordering an appraisal, take all the information from their LOS, go over to the appraisal management company’s portal, and plug in the same information in order to place the order.
In Bridge Loan Network’s platform, you can do everything and more in one centralized location, potentially saving time on each deal. But over time, or with high-producing loan officers, this time-save is crucial to their success because when you save time, you save money.
Another way that this platform greatly increases a company or individual’s efficiency is its ability to eliminate human error. For example, say the lender requires X number of documents. The software will tell you that you actually only uploaded 13 of the 15 needed documents. The software will also tell you which of these documents is missing. It will allow the user to get deals done right the first time.
Big Things on the Horizon
Bridge Loan Network isn’t finished evolving. The company sees big things on the horizon; more partnerships, revolutionary integrations, and ferocious upgrades.
“We are currently working on the opportunity to integrate with Customer Relationship Management systems and other outside marketing tools, some of which could be like Constant Contact and things of that nature. We’re trying to make sure that our lenders can use our platform and touch their clients in any way that they need to, whether they’re actually working on a loan or they’re trying to get new business, whether that be through a marketing campaign where you’re sending out email blasts or even text messages.”
Reflecting on their remarkable growth since not just the company’s inception but a global pandemic as well, the future looks bright and promising for Bridge Loan Network.
“This last year, the company went to a record number of conferences, and we had a record amount of new hires. We also had a record amount of new clients. It’s just been a record-setting year for us overall. So, I want to first stop and acknowledge all the great work that we’ve done not only this year but also in the years prior. I’ve been here for just a little under four years at this point, and I think we’ve done a lot of hard work that’s really starting to come [to fruition for us].”
Next up for Bridge Loan Network will be to start pushing further into the broker sector. While they already have a firm grasp on this area of the industry, they are planning on upgrading the overall functionality of their lender portal, which in turn will make things all the more efficient. The goal is always to earn loan officers more time, which will allow them to reach out more to their clients, resulting in long-lasting relationships.
Business Development Specialist Jacob Therrien and his incredible team at Bridge Loan Network are creating big waves in the loan origination space. They are proudly creating educational content, building long-lasting relationships with partners, and helping lenders and brokers grow through technology. At industry events such as the AAPL Annual Conference, you can find Therrien and his colleagues spreading the word, with youthful vigor, about Bridge Loan Network and its ability to hand its clients back control of the lending process through digitization. If you are looking for a cutting-edge product for all aspects of loan origination and completion, look no further than Bridge Loan Network.
