FirstClose has integrated its home equity order management technology directly into MeridianLink Mortgage, reflecting a broader shift among lenders that are moving home equity production into their mortgage divisions.
The integration allows lenders to access FirstClose’s Order Management System without leaving the MeridianLink Mortgage loan origination system. Lenders can use the system to order and track valuation and settlement services, coordinate providers, and monitor the status of home equity loans and lines of credit.
Although the announcement centers on a technology connection, the underlying issue is where lenders are placing home equity within their organizations.
Banks and credit unions have traditionally handled HELOCs and closed-end second mortgages through consumer-lending divisions. But independent mortgage lenders are adding these products to diversify their production, while some financial institutions are bringing them under their mortgage operations.
FirstClose recently addressed that shift, arguing that sustained demand has made product-specific home equity infrastructure a necessity. The company identified a persistent mismatch: Borrowers expect the speed of consumer credit, but many lenders still process home equity applications through systems and procedures designed for longer first-mortgage timelines.
“Lenders that run home equity through their mortgage division have had to stitch together the origination process with tools that were never designed for it,” FirstClose CEO Tedd Smith said in Wednesday’s announcement. “This integration brings the order management piece into the same system their teams are already working in, so the process is faster, more consistent, and easier to scale.”
Mortgage Platforms Add Home Equity Capacity
FirstClose’s integration is part of a wider effort to make home equity a native part of mortgage technology rather than a separate or improvised workflow.
MeridianLink reported in May that home equity volume on its mortgage platform had increased 59%, alongside a 68% increase in refinance volume and a 27% increase in purchase volume. The company attributed adoption partly to lenders’ efforts to reduce origination costs and increase production without proportionally increasing staffing.
That growth has attracted additional integrations across different stages of the home equity process.
In June, Blend broadened its MeridianLink partnership to connect borrower application data with MeridianLink’s mortgage, home equity, and consumer-lending systems.
Earlier this year, Snapdocs integrated digital home equity closings with MeridianLink Consumer, allowing lenders to complete hybrid, eNote, and remote online notarization transactions inside that platform.
The FirstClose integration differs by targeting lenders that originate home equity products through MeridianLink Mortgage. It focuses on the fulfillment work that follows the application, including property valuation, settlement ordering, provider coordination, and status tracking.
FirstClose previously expanded the services available through its Order Management System through a 2025 partnership with Stewart Lender Services. That agreement added title, valuation, closing, and property-data products to the platform.
Performance Claims Need Context
FirstClose said customers using its order management capabilities have reduced manual processing by approximately 85% and shortened home equity turn times to less than two weeks, compared with previous timelines of 30 to 60 days.
Those figures were reported by FirstClose and its customers. The company did not identify a lender using the new MeridianLink Mortgage integration, disclose how many lenders are expected to adopt it, or provide results tied specifically to the integration announced Wednesday.
That leaves the scale of adoption unclear. But the direction of the technology investment is evident: Mortgage divisions are preparing to treat home equity as an ongoing source of production rather than a temporary substitute for first-lien refinancing.
For loan originators, putting home equity inside the primary mortgage workflow could make it easier to offer second-lien alternatives to borrowers who need cash but do not want to replace a low-rate first mortgage. Whether lenders can deliver those products at consumer-credit speed will depend on more than generating demand. It will depend on what happens to the loan after the application enters the system.
The integration is available to lenders using MeridianLink Mortgage.
