How Housing Associations Can Streamline Their Operations with ContactBuilder
Established over 15 years ago, ContactBuilder is the leading software solution tailored specifically to the housebuilding sector. Developed by industry experts who identified a crucial need for a comprehensive CRM and sales tool designed to meet the unique demands of the housing market. ContactBuilder proudly services over 50 clients, including housing associations such as Plus Dane Housing, Gecko Homes and Onward Living.
Embrace Efficiency and Integrations with ContactBuilder
Having facilitated over 1,100 sales for housing associations in the last 12 months, ContactBuilder understands that housing associations, though responding to some different challenges, essentially have many of the same requirements as a housebuilder. Housing associations need to track sales leads and to communicate with potential buyers, alongside the demands of providing good customer service to current tenants.
They need a system that allows them to process reservations and offers a full reporting suite. The ability to fill out application forms for their prospective purchasers, or for the buyers to do it themselves is also a necessity, along with the ability to process payments.
ContactBuilder offers e-signing as well as online payments, which are vital in allowing purchasers the flexibility to manage things around their own schedule – often out of office hours – thereby avoiding delays.
With such a wide range of requirements, housing management can be particularly difficult. Solutions are often spread out among a variety of disparate systems and applications, which cannot be integrated into one simple housing association sales management software. With ContactBuilder, everything is combined in one easy to use application. Between the core system and additional modules, every feature and function housing associations need are all in one place – creating an exceptionally valuable piece of housing association software, allowing a more cost effective and efficient process.
Some of ContactBuilder’s Key Features:
- Development and plot management
- Effortless email and SMS integrations
- Tasks and calendar management
- Share to Buy integration: directly pulls leads into ContactBuilder for Shared Ownership properties
- Integrations with various platforms including: Outlook, property portals, Meta and website forms
- Automated customer journey emails
- Staircasing applications
- Application steps creation
- Shared Ownership applications
- Reservations and sales progression tracking
- Online payments and e-signing
- Aftercare
- Comprehensive reporting
How ContactBuilder Helps Maximise Efficiency
Recently, ContactBuilder has worked directly with numerous housing associations to optimise their Shared Ownership application processes. The surge in applications has made it challenging for teams to keep up with demand. ContactBuilder addresses this by enabling prospective buyers to register and apply online through a housing association-branded portal.
Upon receiving an application, ContactBuilder alerts the team, allowing them to vet each application before advancing it to the next stage. Unsuccessful applicants receive automated rejection emails, while successful ones are guided to contact approved IFAs for initial financial assessments. Throughout the process, automated emails keep applicants informed of their status, reducing administrative workload and ensuring timely communication.
Application steps enable housing associations to track progress and generate reports, highlighting each application’s status. This streamlined workflow minimises admin time, making the process as automated and user-friendly as possible.
ContactBuilder’s Proven Success with Housing Associations
ContactBuilder’s impact on housing associations is evident through its impressive statistics:
- Facilitated 1,115 sales for housing associations in the past 12 months
- Currently marketing 1,364 properties for housing associations
- Managing 1,166 live Shared Ownership applications
What Our Clients Have to Say
Ben Kavanagh, Home Ownership Manager at Homeshub by Plus Dane, shares his positive experience:
“ContactBuilder has become our go to system for all related affordable homeownership sales. Over the past 18 months the team has helped, guided and supported us in the streamlining of the process and procedures through automation.
Having a direct link into ContactBuilder has allowed us to not only use the system for first tranche sales but also Shared Ownership staircasing and resales. The time and dedication from ContactBuilder has allowed our sales team much more flexibility in their working day, and knowing that we can login into the system remotely means we never miss a lead or chance to progress our sale progression.
Although there is an abundance of quality user guides, we know that the ContactBuilder team are always only a phone call or email away to support new members of sales, marketing and leasehold teams.
Post Covid has been challenging for all businesses and we knew we needed to adapt our thinking and working practices. Coming away from the just the CRM databases is always difficult but once ContactBuilder had mentored us through the automation there has been no looking back.
Here’s to an evolving and proactive partnership both now and the future.”