From our Co-Founder and CEO, Andrew Wang

For many people, owning a home represents stability, security, and the ability to build wealth and pass something on to future generations. Mortgages play a crucial role in making this dream a reality for millions of Americans.

Mortgages as we know them in the United States date back to the 1930s, when the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) was established to help stimulate the housing market and expand homeownership. Prior to the founding of the FHA, strict lending standards and a lack of available financing options made it difficult for many people to secure a mortgage, thereby impeding access to homeownership.

The FHA helped democratize homeownership by providing insurance to lenders who make mortgages to qualified borrowers. This allowed more people, including first-time homebuyers and those with lower incomes, to secure a mortgage and purchase a home. In the decades following the creation of the FHA, additional legislation was passed that further expanded homeownership access, such as the establishment of government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae. These institutions effectively gave mortgages in the United States a government guarantee, which in turn, led to the entire world investing in and subsidizing American homeownership.

At Valon, we strive to contribute to this important and noble endeavor by transforming the experience of having a mortgage, starting with mortgage servicing. Our mission is to empower America’s homeowners by providing them clarity, transparency, and simplicity while navigating their homeownership journey.

To accomplish this goal, we’re building a best-in-class mortgage servicer that prioritizes customer experience while drastically reducing average servicing costs. Achieving this outcome will serve as a proof point for the rest of the industry to adopt our next generation infrastructure and technology.

We promise to do the following:

Prioritize Homeownership Experience

Homeownership is a significant financial and emotional investment. As a mortgage servicer, it’s our job to support homeowners in managing their mortgage. Unfortunately, the mortgage servicing industry has not always been known for its customer-centricity—homeowners often struggling to get answers to their questions, receive clear communication, or complete tasks online. At Valon, we believe it’s our responsibility to make the homeownership experience as seamless and straightforward as possible. That’s why we’re committed to providing exceptional customer service and building a mortgage servicing experience that truly puts homeowners first.

Reduce Costs through Transparency and Self Service Technology

Mortgage servicers are stuck in between a rock and a hard place. The industry has historically struggled with low margins and constant regulatory pressure, in part due to the under-innovation in the industry. We’re bucking this trend by automating routine tasks and offering intuitive self-service tools, lowering costs, improving efficiency, and giving homeowners more control.

Offer Open Access to All

We also plan to offer open access to our mortgage servicing infrastructure once we achieve significant industry-wide adoption. By providing well-documented APIs and sandbox environments, we’ll encourage innovation and create opportunities for new companies to build on top of our platform. This will lower the barrier to entry and drive competition based on the quality of service provided to homeowners, ultimately helping us  achieve our mission.

The mortgage servicing industry is complex and heavily regulated; the work we do at Valon is not easy. But we’re determined to build technology that fundamentally changes how things are done. We believe that by supporting people on their homeownership journey, we can make a significant impact and directly support the stability and prosperity of the United States and contribute to a brighter future for all Americans.