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Online forms can make a world of difference for program staff, as well as the families that purchase homes in the program. If you are tired of  handing  out, organizing and processing  paper applications, it’s time for a  better way of doing business.

The Paper Problem

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Many homeownership groups are spending a lot of time trying to manage a paper process with their homeownership program applications. Each application contains a great quantity of information that needs to be entered into HomeKeeper, a spreadsheet or custom database. To get the data into a reportable  format, program staff have to hand enter applicant paperwork, a time-consuming process and a significant drain on resources.

Once all costs were factored in, one program was spending about $2,000 per application, even though  75 percent of the applications received were declined.   Some  programs cope by only tracking information on those who end up purchasing through the program.  Unfortunately, when you only track data on those in your program, you may not fully understand who you aren’t  serving. For programs looking to run efficient and effective programs, these challenges are real.

The Online Application

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Since so many programs  are still using paper applications, we’ve  partnered with solutions  architect Franklin Joyce to build a suite of online program application forms powered by FormAssembly.  FormAssembly is a web-based service that allows you to build any type of web form–from simple contact forms to complex surveys–in just a few minutes. FormAssembly’s robust Salesforce integration and flexibility  makes it an  ideal tool for programs.

Together with a tenacious  group of current HomeKeeper members, we designed, tested and built a universal online application template anyone can use and created a streamlined setup process that can be customized for each homeownership program. As part of the process, we  also  created a very short online screening  form, so program applicants don’t have to waste their time applying if they aren’t eligible in the first place.

The result? A powerful form that can connect  to HomeKeeper, cuts costs, and makes life  easier for you  and the buyers you work with. The data from the online form feeds directly into HomeKeeper, eliminating the need for manual entry by program staff. It’s easy to use, even for non-technical people, and can be embedded into  your website.  Overall, it’s  a better way of doing business for everyone involved.

And because we’ve already invested in building out the base forms and setup process, it’s available to you  for a fraction of the cost of building it yourself  from scratch.  Contact us to schedule a demo and find out how you can get start collecting your program  applications online.

I’m interested, tell me more!

Northshore Housing Initiative's Quick Eligibility Form    Northshore Housing Initiative's online application

What Programs are Saying:

“One Roof Community Housing has been using an on-line application for the last two years and the results have been fantastic! What used to be a labor intensive and ineffective system of tracking and updating paper applications has been replaced by an interactive workflow management system where we can track hundreds of applicants and homebuyers at once. . .  It has been a tremendous time saver, but more importantly we have been able to serve our clients in a much more timely and effective manner. The FormAssembly-Homekeeper partnership has been a critical component and cost-effective tool for our Community Land Trust homeownership program.”

– Jim Philbin, Community Land Trust Director, 1 Roof Community Housing

 

“Instead of having everyone submit what is essentially an inch thick folder of documents we broke it into steps.  The end result was that we saved at least 200 hours of staff time, provided more information to the most eligible, and saved many applicants from the effort of the full application when they would have been disqualified.”

– Matt Warner, Program Director, Hello Housing