Construction Loan Manager
I created a web-based construction loan system for a credit union to manage a large portfolio of residential and commercial loans.
Overview
A credit union had an old, tired Microsoft Access database created by an out-of-business, third-party company that they were using to manage and track construction loans in their pipeline. The system only allowed one employee to use it at a time and had many problems. This clunky system forced employees to use paper records for nearly every step in the process which consumed even more time and resources.
After credit union employees evaluated several vendors who provided similar construction loan solutions, I was asked to create a new web-based system that could automate much of the job functions and speed up the entire process while also saving the credit union money by not paying licensing fees.
Features
Entirely Web-Based Solution
The system is entirely web-based so there are no applications to install and maintain.
Active Directory Integration
The system is integrated with Active Directory. Users don't need to sign in to the system. It knows who they are based upon their Windows login.
Commercial and Residential Construction Loans
It tracks both residential and commercial loans for the company. It manages job information, budget, draws, inspections, notes, disbursements, vendors, builders, and more.
Real-Time Inspections
Construction inspectors submit their inspections electronically. Inspectors are assigned to jobs and those jobs automatically show up in a list that the inspectors view. The list shows when a job was last inspected, the address of the job, the builder and client contact information, and more. The inspectors can create a new inspection and report the progress of the job. They can also attach photos and files to the inspection report. When the inspection is marked complete, the system automatically updates the progress of the job in all reports and sends the photos and attachments to headquarters.
Reporting
All reports are generated from the database so they are updated in real time. There are many reports available including current loans, paid off loans, IRS extracts and more.
My Involvement
I was the only developer on this project. I worked with a Vice President and other employees over construction loans at the credit union to determine the requirements for the project. Then I developed the entire system myself including front end (HTML, CSS, Javascript, etc.), back end (ASP.NET MVC, C#, web services, Entity Framework) and database (SQL Server). I then created a test environment and deployed it to that environment and worked with various employees to test and refine the system until it met their expectations. After testing was complete, I created a production environment and deployed it there. Then I worked with employees to ensure the production environment met their needs.
As additional features have been added over the last couple of years, I have continued to work with the stakeholders to get those implemented. I continue to be the only developer on this project.
Process
After meeting several times with employees about this system, I created a new repository in our in-house Git server and created a new solution in Visual Studio. I started with a rough database schema in SSMS and then used the Entity Framework scaffolding to create code-first objects and context. The database model and context were separated in their own projects for easier testing.
Then I designed a service layer on top of that using WebAPI. The service layer has its own model project and the WebAPI and actual business service objects are also in separate projects.
There are two different front ends for this project. One front end is the piece that the construction loan managers and other internal employees access to manage the construction loans. The other front end is a separate, public-facing website that is used by inspectors to manage and submit their inspections from their mobile devices.
Testing
Once development is complete (and after each change), the code is deployed to a staging environment where the code can be tested by employees before it is deployed to production.
Results
The entire system is working well with 235 commercial and residential loans currently active in the system (valued at over $190m). The system averages 143 inspections submitted per month with over 90% of that being submitted by one inspector.
Because the software is not developed by a third-party company, it has saved the credit union many thousand dollars in licensing fees.