Largo Real Estate Advisors, Inc. Cuts CRE Loan Servicing Time in Half with FICS^®' Commercial Servicer^® Software

The Challenge: Eliminating Spreadsheets

Largo Real Estate Advisors, a division of The Largo Group of Companies, is a commercial mortgage banking company that structures, closes and services commercial mortgages for acquisitions, refinances and redevelopment projects. 

Servicing a commercial portfolio of $1 billion, and becoming increasingly dissatisfied with their previous system, Largo began researching other options. The biggest hindrance of their legacy system was an unfavorable pricing structure based on loan volume, which kept increasing. Largo was also forced to track a large number of non-cashiering loans they acquired in spreadsheets, a manual task which was very time-consuming to manage.

“The old system just wasn’t allowing us to function the way we needed to,” said Jordan Mikula, vice president of Loan Administration for Largo. “The cost was high and the service was inadequate. We needed something more, and FICS was recommended multiple times by trusted sources.”

Largo Selects FICS Due to Cost, Service, and Reputation

FICS^®’ commercial loan servicing software, Commercial Servicer^®, came highly recommended from peer institutions based on a combination of functionality, fair price, and the superior quality of FICS’ customer service. 

Commercial Servicer offers a cost-effective and secure platform for managing all of the loans in Largo’s portfolio in one central location, regardless of status. Security is enhanced through the ability to service all loans in one platform, eliminating the number of files and locations where sensitive loan information is stored. 

“The customer service and support we receive from FICS has been outstanding,” Mikula said. “Every time we call, we are able to get a person on the phone, and they are readily available to spend whatever amount of time is needed to resolve any issues or answer questions. Commercial Servicer is everything we asked for, and the customer service has exceeded our expectations. No matter the question, FICS is prepared with a solution.”

Saving Time, Building Business

Since Largo previously used several spreadsheets to house their information, having access to the entirety of its loan data through one central database is a vast improvement.

The servicing workflow has been streamlined, a major improvement from having to sort through several spreadsheets to calculate and prepare required reports. Generating a report has now become an efficient, one-step process. Commercial Servicer software improves the level of security by housing all customer and loan information in a secure database.

Largo has also saved time by utilizing other automation features found within Commercial Servicer. The very powerful memo feature has enhanced communication throughout the Largo office, allowing the staff to share important data with the rest of the office. Increased collaborations and knowledge sharing among employees has improved efficiency in all phases of loan servicing.

“It’s little things like this that make FICS’ Commercial Servicer so effective,” Mikula said. “We not only benefit from the primary uses of the software in processing payments and generating reports, but small details such as the memo alerts help our staff spend less time tracking down extra information needed to work with our customers.”

“Utilizing Commercial Servicer software has allowed Largo to search for new business,” said Mikula. “Switching to FICS cut our time spent inputting information, processing loans and generating reports by as much as 50 percent, giving the company the time and the resources to take on new loans we weren’t previously capable of handling. With the same amount of staff, more energy and resources are now spent on business development. The switch to FICS has boosted our business!”

About The Largo Group of Companies

The Largo Group of Companies is a commercial mortgage banking company that structures, closes and services commercial mortgages for acquisitions, refinances and redevelopment projects. Largo arranges innovative financing structures for borrowers throughout the United States and Canada. The company manages the loan process from loan application through closing and services the loan throughout its term. For more information, visit www.largocapital.com.

About FICS

Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Financial Industry Computer Systems, Inc. (FICS), specializes in providing flexible, comprehensive commercial technology solutions to the mortgage industry. FICS' systems are designed for Microsoft^® Windows^® with the most recent solutions using .NET framework that include a rich Windows^® Presentation Foundation user interface and multi-tiered shareable services. The company also provides innovative document management and web-based capabilities into its full suite of products. Additional information about FICS is available via the company's website at www.FICS.com.