ProLink Solutions and DocuSign Provide a Platform for Mortgage Relief
The financial difficulty that many US renters and homeowners have faced since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic has made national headlines. For renters who have fallen behind on rent payments, many states have been rushing to push out funding via the Emergency Rental Assistance Program. For homeowners, relief is just starting to become available to help families who are either behind on their mortgage payments or facing foreclosure.
In March 2021, the federal government established the Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, making nearly $10 billion available nationwide to assist homeowners experiencing financial hardships associated with COVID-19.
States are currently waiting on the US Treasury to approve their HAF plans, which describe in detail the needs of homeowners in their states and how states plan to deploy the fund. Some states have already been allocated 10% of their funding to run pilot programs. Once states begin fully approving plans to allocate 100% of funds, there will likely be huge demand and urgency to get funds out.
As such, fast to deploy and easy to use technology solutions are critical to help states effectively distribute the HAF dollars to homeowners in need. According to the NASCIO 2021 State CIO Survey, digital government services and the digital citizen experience were the top priorities for business process changes for state CIOs.
Creating a platform to apply for mortgage relief
As a primary technology player in the affordable housing industry, ProLink Solutions has been supporting State Housing Finance Agencies (HFAs) over two decades. HFAs are state government agencies tasked with meeting the housing needs of the residents of their states. The process of building affordable housing is a complex one that involves government oversight as well as complex funding structures that enable the private sector to finance, build and deliver much-needed housing stocks. ProLink Solutions’ technology platform simplifies this process not only for the HFAs but also for the private sector participants including financial institutions.
ProLink+, ProLink Solutions’ technology solution to help state housing agencies in their HAF deployment, includes a public-facing portal for homeowners where they can easily apply for financial assistance. In the homeowner portal, homeowners can check eligibility, submit applications, upload supporting documents, and return anytime to review the approval status. Ease-of-use and an intuitive user interface are key in the design of the homeowner portal in order not to create any unnecessary roadblocks in the funding application process for the public.
In that spirit, it became a priority to integrate an electronic signature solution within the portal to enhance the user’s experience of completing and submitting the applications. With DocuSign eSignature, applicants can effectively verify their identities all digitally and won’t have to worry about dealing with any inconvenience that comes with paper-based signatures.
With DocuSign eSignature, states benefit from speeding up the application process, enhancing digital security and creating an easier workflow for reviewing and approving the applications. Once a homeowner submits a completed application via the homeowner portal, the state agency is notified and is tasked with processing the application immediately without having to worry about the identity of the applicant. So far, ProLink+ is being piloted for mortgage relief funding in Tennessee and Arkansas.
DocuSign supports and champions our partners with creating innovation solutions that digitally transform business processes to deliver public services faster. Learn more about how DocuSign eSignature can streamline case management, enhance citizen engagement and enable self-service by connecting with your existing processes.