Author Archives: Friday Harbor

Friday Harbor’s AI pre-underwriting platform integrates to the Freddie Mac Income Calculator API

Lenders can now calculate qualifying income for wage earners with variable income more efficiently

SEATTLE, Wash., Sept. 10, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor, an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced its integration to the Freddie Mac Income Calculator API. Lenders can now determine calculated monthly income for wage earners, including borrowers with variable income, in minutes while helping preserve eligibility for certain representation and warranty (R&W) relief tied to the income calculation.

Image caption: Friday Harbor.

The Friday Harbor product, which automatically digitizes borrower paystubs and W-2s from loan origination system (LOS) integrations or direct upload, generates and updates loan conditions as new documents are added and attaches them to the loan file through its dynamic needs list and Income & Asset Sandbox. Using the digitized borrower paystub and W-2 data, Freddie Mac’s Income Calculator API determines a calculated monthly income while Friday Harbor flags potential issues and provides findings tied to Freddie Mac Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide requirements. The Freddie Mac Income Calculator Certificate is retained with the loan file to help preserve eligibility for applicable R&W relief.

“Having the Freddie Mac Income Calculator available inside Friday Harbor changes the conversation with borrowers,” said Rob Jewett, chief operating officer at NewFed Mortgage Corp. “We can give borrowers a straight answer sooner, keep files moving and avoid surprises later in the process.”

“Variable wage income remains one of the more complicated income scenarios loan production teams face,” said Theo Ellis, CEO and Founder of Friday Harbor. “We’re proud to bring the new Freddie Mac Income Calculator API to pre-underwriting, giving originators reliable qualifying income calculations earlier in the origination process. That means fewer surprises later, cleaner files for underwriting and greater confidence that loans are ready for sale.”

The Freddie Mac Income Calculator API uses borrower paystubs and W-2s to determine calculated monthly income for wage-earning borrowers, including borrowers with variable income. The resulting income calculation can be submitted through Loan Product Advisor® (LPA®), Freddie Mac’s automated underwriting system (AUS), to support eligibility for R&W relief related to the income calculation.

Friday Harbor now supports automated calculated monthly income assessments for loans delivered to both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Lenders can learn more about Friday Harbor’s integrations or request a demo at https://fridayharbor.ai.

About Friday Harbor

Friday Harbor is an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps lenders identify and resolve potential issues earlier in the origination process. By analyzing borrower documents, appraisals and income calculations against investor guidelines and lender overlays, the platform helps teams deliver cleaner files, achieve fewer underwriting touches and improve individual productivity. For more information, visit https://fridayharbor.ai/.

Tags: #mortgagetech #AI #fintech @FreddieMac

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Friday Harbor), who is solely responsible for its accuracy, by Send2Press Newswire. Image, if any, was provided by the news source and not this website or the wire service. Information is believed accurate, as provided by the news source, but is not guaranteed.

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/friday-harbors-ai-pre-underwriting-platform-integrates-to-the-freddie-mac-income-calculator-api/

Friday Harbor adds USDA loans to its AI pre-underwriting platform

Lenders can identify USDA eligibility issues and GUS evaluation requirements before files reach underwriting

SEATTLE, Wash., July 21, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor, an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced support for USDA loans. The new capability enables lenders to identify documentation gaps, eligibility issues and changes that require updated Guaranteed Underwriting System (GUS) findings before loan files reach underwriting, helping reduce rework and deliver a more predictable path to closing for both lending teams and borrowers.

Image caption: Friday Harbor.

“USDA loans have always required a level of expertise that many production teams simply don’t encounter every day,” said Theo Ellis, co-founder and CEO of Friday Harbor. “We’ve built that expertise directly into the hands of loan officers, so they know when a file needs attention before it reaches underwriting. That means underwriters spend less time working through preventable conditions, production teams keep loans moving and borrowers get to closing with fewer surprises.”

Friday Harbor continuously evaluates USDA loan files as they evolve, identifying documentation gaps, eligibility issues and changes that require updated GUS findings as new information is added to the file. Instead of relying on manual judgment or institutional knowledge, production teams receive real-time guidance that helps resolve issues before the loan reaches underwriting. The result is cleaner loan files, fewer underwriting touches and more predictable production timelines, while borrowers benefit from fewer avoidable delays and clearer expectations throughout the mortgage process.

Backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program, USDA loans expand access to homeownership by allowing eligible borrowers to purchase homes with no down payment. Because the program has unique eligibility and documentation requirements, lenders rely on GUS, an automated underwriting system (AUS), to evaluate borrower qualifications and program eligibility before returning underwriting findings.

Those findings can change throughout the origination process. Updates to borrower information, income, assets or property details may require another GUS evaluation, yet it is not always clear when one is needed. Loan officers often rerun files unnecessarily or risk delaying underwriting when required evaluations are overlooked. Friday Harbor helps production teams determine when updated GUS findings are needed, reducing unnecessary reruns while helping ensure required evaluations aren’t missed.

Lenders can learn more about USDA loan support in Friday Harbor or request a demo at https://fridayharbor.ai.

About Friday Harbor

Tags: #mortgagetech #AI #fintech #USDA

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/friday-harbor-adds-usda-loans-to-its-ai-pre-underwriting-platform/

Friday Harbor and NewFed Mortgage honored with PROGRESS in Lending’s 2026 Connections Award

Award recognizes collaboration that cut cycle times, boosted capacity and drove $170 million in additional volume

SEATTLE, Wash., June 29, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor, an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, has been named a recipient of PROGRESS in Lending’s 2026 Connections Award alongside NewFed Mortgage Corp. (NewFed), a full-service residential mortgage lender operating in more than 20 states. The recognition honors a partnership that allowed NewFed to grow production without the hiring cycles and overhead that typically accompany scale.

Image caption: Friday Harbor and NewFed Mortgage honored with PROGRESS in Lending’s 2026 Connections Award.

NewFed rolled out Friday Harbor across its origination and fulfillment teams with a straightforward premise: catch problems before they reach an underwriter. The platform evaluates loan files against automated underwriting system (AUS) findings, investor guidelines and NewFed’s own credit overlays early in the process, so processors and loan officers can resolve issues while borrowers are still engaged.

The results have been significant. Since implementing Friday Harbor, NewFed processors have increased monthly file capacity by 36%, while underwriters review 35% more loans. Application-to-funded cycle times have dropped from 32 days to 26 days, and NewFed funded approximately $170 million more in loans during 2025 than the prior year without adding a single fulfillment hire.

“NewFed came to us with a clear-eyed goal: grow production without the headcount increases that erode margin,” said Theo Ellis, CEO of Friday Harbor. “What made this partnership work was their willingness to give us a real look at how their operation actually runs: the workflows, the friction points, the edge cases. The results speak to what’s possible when a technology partner understands your operation from the inside out.”

Now in its third year, the Connections Award honors partnerships and integrations that are advancing mortgage lending through collaboration, innovation and measurable business results. The collaboration extended well beyond a typical lender-vendor relationship. NewFed joined Friday Harbor as an early design partner, contributing feedback on real production workflows and loan scenarios that directly shaped the platform’s development.

For a full list of 2026 Connections Award winners, visit https://mymortgagemindset.com/

About Friday Harbor

Tags: #mortgagetech #AI #fintech

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/friday-harbor-and-newfed-mortgage-honored-with-progress-in-lendings-2026-connections-award/

Friday Harbor expands AI pre-underwriting to condo and manufactured home loans

Expansion helps lenders navigate two of mortgage lending's most documentation-intensive property categories

SEATTLE, Wash., June 16, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor, an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced new capabilities for condominium and manufactured home loans that enable lenders to evaluate property-specific eligibility requirements before files reach underwriting.

Image caption: Friday Harbor logo.

Condo and manufactured home loans, which together account for nearly 8% of mortgage originations, present unique eligibility requirements that often fall outside the standard mortgage workflow. As a result, lenders frequently rely on specialized reviews that can add time and complexity to the origination process.

Condo reviews can require lenders to evaluate project questionnaires, budgets, insurance coverage, reserve funding and other project-level documentation. Manufactured home loans often involve additional eligibility requirements related to titling, foundation standards and property classification. Both scenarios introduce complexity that can increase review times and create additional work for production and underwriting teams.

Friday Harbor evaluates property-related documentation alongside borrower information as part of its AI pre-underwriting process. Rather than reviewing individual documents in isolation, the platform analyzes information across the loan file and compares it against investor eligibility requirements to identify property-related issues, documentation gaps and potential eligibility concerns.

“Condo and manufactured home loans are a great example of why AI pre-underwriting needs to understand the entire loan file, not just a handful of documents,” said Theo Ellis, founder and CEO of Friday Harbor. “A borrower can be perfectly qualified and still run into property eligibility issues. Friday Harbor helps lenders identify those issues before they slow down the transaction.”

Lenders can learn more about Friday Harbor or request a demo at https://fridayharbor.ai.

About Friday Harbor

Tags: #mortgagetech #AI #fintech

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/friday-harbor-expands-ai-pre-underwriting-to-condo-and-manufactured-home-loans/

Friday Harbor announces integration with MeridianLink Mortgage

AI pre-underwriting allows origination teams to identify and resolve file issues before underwriting

SEATTLE, Wash., June 9, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor, an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced its integration with MeridianLink®. The integration equips origination teams using MeridianLink® Mortgage to build clean, complete and compliant loan files up front that move through underwriting with fewer touches.

Image caption: Friday Harbor announces integration with MeridianLink Mortgage.

Friday Harbor is an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps lenders identify and resolve loan file issues before they reach underwriting. By analyzing borrower documents, appraisals, income calculations and other loan data against investor guidelines and lender overlays, the tool enables loan officers and fulfillment staff to catch missing documentation, discrepancies and guideline conflicts early enough to fix them before they become conditions. This allows lenders to compress cycle times, handle higher loan volumes without expanding headcount and move capital off the balance sheet faster.

MeridianLink Mortgage is a cloud-based loan origination system that helps banks, credit unions and independent mortgage banks manage the mortgage lending process from application through closing. The platform provides workflow automation, configurable processes and integrations with industry partners to help lenders originate, sell and purchase mortgage loans, HELOCs and home equity loans more efficiently.

The integration between Friday Harbor and MeridianLink Mortgage keeps loan data synchronized between the two systems, eliminating manual rework and giving teams clearer visibility into file readiness as loans move through origination. When files arrive at underwriting already vetted for common issues, underwriters spend less time clearing avoidable conditions and more time evaluating actual credit risk.

“Much of the friction in processing a loan comes from discovering problems too late,” said Theo Ellis, CEO of Friday Harbor. “When you catch a missing tax return or an income calculation error during file prep instead of three days into underwriting, you save time and money while keeping borrowers informed. This partnership puts that capability where MeridianLink Mortgage users are already working.”

About Friday Harbor

Tags: #mortgagetech #AI #fintech @meridianlink

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/friday-harbor-announces-integration-with-meridianlink-mortgage/

Friday Harbor becomes first mortgage technology provider to receive AI governance compliance attestation from Brody Gapp

Independent compliance review introduces new standard for evaluating AI in mortgage origination

SEATTLE, Wash., May 15, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor, an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, is the first mortgage technology provider to receive an AI governance compliance attestation from mortgage banking and financial services law firm Brody Gapp LLP.

Image caption: Friday Harbor becomes first mortgage technology provider to receive AI governance compliance attestation from Brody Gapp.

The attestation follows a formal compliance review of Friday Harbor’s platform, which uses AI to analyze borrower documents, appraisal files and product guidelines to calculate qualifying income, identify potential issues and guide resolution paths before loans reach underwriting. Brody Gapp’s review included analysis of fair lending applicability, adverse action considerations, model governance, vendor risk management, data governance, internal controls and examination readiness.

As lenders rapidly adopt artificial intelligence across the origination process, many are still developing frameworks to evaluate how these tools fit within existing compliance, risk management and vendor oversight expectations. Brody Gapp’s attestation introduces a new approach for governing AI-driven mortgage technologies as these capabilities become increasingly embedded across mortgage platforms and workflows.

“AI is being deployed across the mortgage lifecycle faster than most institutions can evaluate it,” said James Brody, founder and managing partner of Brody Gapp LLP. “Our goal is to help lenders and technology providers establish stronger governance, documentation and compliance readiness as these tools become more widely adopted.”

For lenders, the attestation provides an additional layer of assurance when assessing AI vendors. For Friday Harbor, it reinforces the company’s position as an early leader in applying AI to improve loan quality and operational efficiency while supporting compliant lending practices. The attestation is expected to serve as a model for future AI governance reviews across the mortgage industry.

“Lenders don’t just need innovation. They need confidence that the technology they’re adopting will stand up to regulatory scrutiny,” said Theo Ellis, founder and CEO of Friday Harbor. “Being first to complete this process gives our customers a clear signal that Friday Harbor is built with that standard in mind.”

About Friday Harbor

About Brody Gapp LLP

Brody Gapp LLP is a national law firm serving mortgage banks, credit unions, servicers, brokers and financial services companies. The firm provides legal and compliance counsel across mortgage regulation, litigation, risk management, audit response, licensing and corporate governance. Founded by attorneys James Brody, Ron Gapp and Ashley Jumpp, Brody Gapp LLP combines deep industry experience with a practical, business-focused approach to helping clients navigate an evolving regulatory landscape. For more information, visit www.brodygapp.com.

Tags: #mortgagetech #AI #fintech #governance #compliance

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/friday-harbor-becomes-first-mortgage-technology-provider-to-receive-ai-governance-compliance-attestation-from-brody-gapp/

NewFed Mortgage leverages Friday Harbor to boost fulfillment productivity by 35%

Independent mortgage bank uses AI pre-underwriting to scale production without adding fulfillment staff

SEATTLE, Wash., May 14, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — NewFed Mortgage Corp., a full-service residential mortgage lender operating across more than 20 states, today announced the companywide rollout of Friday Harbor’s AI pre-underwriting platform following a successful pilot program that demonstrated measurable gains in fulfillment productivity and underwriting throughput. Since implementing Friday Harbor, NewFed processors handle 36% more files per month while underwriters review 35% more loans. Those productivity gains enabled the company to fund nearly $170 million more in loan volume in 2025 than in 2024 without expanding its fulfillment team.

Image caption: NewFed Mortgage leverages Friday Harbor to boost fulfillment productivity by 35%.

“Removing low-value, repetitive work is what allows people to focus on the decisions that actually matter,” said Rob Jewett, chief operating officer at NewFed Mortgage. “I have seen so much technology in this industry, and to me, this is the single best piece of tech I’ve ever worked with.”

Friday Harbor reviews loan files as they’re being built, catching missing documentation and income discrepancies before they become underwriting conditions. By applying investor requirements and lender-specific overlays during file assembly rather than at the underwriting desk, the platform helps teams correct issues when they’re still manageable instead of costly.

“When Rob and I first met, he was looking to grow NewFed’s capacity for a predicted increase in volume without over-hiring or draining his people,” said Friday Harbor Founder and CEO Theo Ellis. “Friday Harbor removes the burden of sit-and-stare tasks by flagging potential issues, so teams can focus on the work that actually requires judgment instead of just hunting for missing documents.”

The operational impact has extended across multiple areas of NewFed’s business. Application-to-funded cycle times compressed from 32 days to 26 days. Funded-to-purchase timelines dropped from 23 days to 18 days, moving capital off the balance sheet faster after closing. Friday Harbor has also proven valuable for training, helping new processors learn from actual loan files rather than relying solely on classroom scenarios.

NewFed uses Friday Harbor through its integration with the Encompass® loan origination system from ICE Mortgage Technology, allowing loan data, documents and conditions to remain synchronized throughout the origination process. As an early design partner, NewFed worked closely with Friday Harbor to help shape the platform around real-world fulfillment workflows, operational realities and production-scale lending environments. That collaboration helped Friday Harbor refine how the platform surfaces underwriting issues earlier, supports fulfillment staff productivity and fits into existing lender operations without disrupting established processes.

To learn more about how NewFed and Friday Harbor are working together, download the case study: https://fridayharbor.ai/fh-newfed-case-study-2026-02-25.pdf

About Friday Harbor

Friday Harbor is an AI-powered platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time. The company combines deep fintech expertise with cutting-edge artificial intelligence to remove complexity, slash origination costs and deliver a better borrower experience. For more information, visit https://fridayharbor.ai/.

Tags: #mortgagetech #AI #fintech @newfedmtg

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/newfed-mortgage-leverages-friday-harbor-to-boost-fulfillment-productivity-by-35/

Friday Harbor integrates with Calyx Path Platform to bring AI pre-underwriting directly into the flow of the loan

Lenders on the Calyx Path Platform can identify and resolve loan issues earlier, reducing rework and keeping loans moving forward with fewer interruptions

SEATTLE, Wash., April 1, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor today announced a new integration with the Calyx Path Platform that brings AI-powered pre-underwriting directly into the flow of the loan. Instead of waiting until underwriting to uncover issues, lenders can now review borrower documents, surface potential problems and resolve them earlier while maintaining consistent, reliable loan data throughout the lifecycle.

Image caption: Friday Harbor integrates with Calyx Path Platform.

Friday Harbor equips loan officers to structure smarter deals with dynamic pre-underwriting capabilities like Income and Asset Sandbox. Originators can test scenarios against program guidelines to qualify more borrowers and place them in the right products with greater confidence. The platform is built to handle the complexity of real-world loan files, so loan officers spend less time chasing paperwork and more time on what moves the needle: client relationships, referral partner growth and pipeline management.

At the same time, Friday Harbor enables loan officer assistants, processors and other fulfillment team members to review borrower documents and loan data as files are assembled. The platform flags income calculation errors, missing verifications and guideline conflicts, then presents a clear resolution path so teams can correct issues before the loan file reaches underwriting. Cleaner files arriving at the underwriting desk translate into fewer conditions and fewer file touches for underwriting teams.

“Cleaner files mean lower costs and faster closings,” said Friday Harbor CEO Theo Ellis. “When lenders apply underwriting intelligence earlier in the origination process, they reduce costly rework, improve pull-through and compress the time needed to get to closing. Underwriters spend less time chasing conditions and more time making real risk decisions, ultimately increasing underwriting productivity per FTE.”

The Calyx Path Platform is a data-centric mortgage platform designed to coordinate the lifecycle of a loan from application through closing. Built on a unified data model and workflow engine, the platform reduces manual handoffs, maintains consistency across the loan and allows work to move forward with fewer interruptions.

“Lenders are looking for ways to improve file quality earlier without adding more friction to their process,” said Jeff Davis, director of sales at Calyx. “By bringing pre-underwriting intelligence directly into the flow of the loan, teams can catch issues sooner and reduce the amount of rework later. It greatly aligns with our move toward a more coordinated, data-driven lifecycle where the loan can move forward with fewer interruptions.”

To learn more about the integration between Friday Harbor and Calyx Path Platform, visit https://fridayharbor.ai.

About Friday Harbor

About Calyx

Calyx provides technology for mortgage lenders, brokers and financial institutions through the Calyx Path Platform, designed to coordinate the lifecycle of a loan from application through closing. By reducing manual steps, maintaining consistent and reliable data across the loan and connecting key parts of the mortgage process, the platform helps lenders move faster, lower costs and deliver a more predictable borrower experience. For more information, call (800) 362-2599 or visit www.calyxsoftware.com.

Tags: #mortgagetech #AI #fintech @Calyx

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/friday-harbor-integrates-with-calyx-path-platform-to-bring-ai-pre-underwriting-directly-into-the-flow-of-the-loan/

Friday Harbor partners with Waterstone Mortgage to expand underwriting capacity

National lender adopts AI pre-underwriting technology to support production growth without adding fulfillment staff

SEATTLE, Wash., March 25, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor, an AI-powered platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced that Waterstone Mortgage has implemented its AI pre-underwriting platform to strengthen file quality and expand underwriting capacity across the lender’s nationwide retail operation.

Image caption: Friday Harbor partners with Waterstone Mortgage to expand underwriting capacity.

Waterstone Mortgage, a national retail lender with more than 200 loan officers operating in 48 states, deployed Friday Harbor to help surface issues earlier in the loan process and deliver cleaner files to its lean underwriting team. Since implementation, Waterstone has seen stronger pre-approval confidence, faster file resolution and fewer conditions at the underwriting desk.

“Cleaner files mean our underwriting team can focus on high-value risk decisions instead of clearing avoidable conditions,” said Jake Rowoldt, vice president of information services at Waterstone Mortgage. “Friday Harbor is the first AI solution we’ve tried that actually delivers on what it promises. It’s helping us scale production while maintaining the standards that define our business.”

Friday Harbor analyzes loan files during origination to flag missing documents, surface income calculation issues and identify potential underwriting conditions. The tool evaluates files against investor guidelines and lender overlays, providing loan officers with visibility into problems that would otherwise emerge days or weeks later in the process.

“Waterstone approached this implementation with a clear understanding of what they needed: a way to improve file quality without disrupting their workflows or undermining the expertise of their underwriters,” said Theo Ellis, CEO of Friday Harbor. “Their success demonstrates what becomes possible when lenders use AI to support judgment rather than replace it.”

Waterstone piloted Friday Harbor in late 2024 and has since rolled the platform out across its sales and operations teams. Loan officers report that Friday Harbor’s income and asset calculations align closely with their own analysis and underwriting’s final determinations, building confidence in pre-approval scenarios involving complex borrower situations.

The implementation has driven strong engagement, with teams actively incorporating the platform into their daily workflow within weeks of launch. The integration with Waterstone’s Encompass loan origination system from ICE Mortgage Technology allows loan officers to access Friday Harbor’s capabilities without disrupting their established processes.

To learn more about how Waterstone and Friday Harbor are working together, download the case study: https://fridayharbor.ai/fh-waterstone-case-study-2026-03-03.pdf.

About Friday Harbor

Tags: #mortgagetech #AI #fintech @waterstone

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/friday-harbor-partners-with-waterstone-mortgage-to-expand-underwriting-capacity/

Friday Harbor introduces dynamic pre-underwriting to help LOs structure deals that qualify and close

Income and Asset Sandbox lets lenders run income and asset scenarios against product guidelines and investor requirements in real time

SEATTLE, Wash., Feb. 24, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor, an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced the launch of Income and Asset Sandbox, a new set of capabilities that allows lending teams to structure income and asset decisions in real time without committing changes prematurely or stepping outside program guidelines. The capabilities are designed to help loan officers structure deals that qualify and close earlier in the origination process.

Image caption: Friday Harbor.

Qualification of income and assets is among the most judgment-intensive and error-prone areas of mortgage underwriting. Small decisions about which documents to include, how to average variable income or whether to count a particular asset can materially affect eligibility and loan structure. Income and Asset Sandbox brings structure and visibility to that process earlier, when teams still have flexibility.

With Income and Asset Sandbox, lenders can instruct Friday Harbor’s AI income agent to include or exclude specific income streams, assets and supporting documentation within a live loan file and see qualifying income recalculated immediately. Teams can toggle the inclusion of documents, adjust averaging periods for variable earnings or test asset-based scenarios, all according to the loan product’s specific program, AUS findings and applicable guidelines.

Income and Asset Sandbox operates within Friday Harbor’s AI pre-underwriting platform. It reads borrower documents, compares them to the loan application and evaluates them against agency rules and lender overlays. Calculations are grounded in the documentation in real time, ensuring results reflect what can actually be supported, not hypotheticals.

“Income decisions rarely fit into neat templates, especially as borrower scenarios grow more complex,” said Theo Ellis, founder and CEO of Friday Harbor. “Our Income and Asset Sandbox gives teams a way to structure deals earlier in the process, with transparency into how each income and asset decision impacts eligibility and the path to close.”

Income and Asset Sandbox is supported by Friday Harbor’s Loan File Companion, a file-scoped AI assistant that helps teams understand how specific structuring decisions impact eligibility. Users can ask questions directly within the loan file and receive responses tied to source documents, AUS findings and policy references, keeping scenario analysis grounded in documentation while preserving lender judgment and underwriting accountability.

Lenders can learn more about Friday Harbor’s Income and Asset Sandbox or request a demo at https://fridayharbor.ai.

About Friday Harbor

Tags: #mortgagetech #AI #fintech #underwriting #incomesandbox

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/friday-harbor-introduces-dynamic-pre-underwriting-to-help-los-structure-deals-that-qualify-and-close/

Friday Harbor named to HousingWire’s 2026 Tech100 Mortgage list for advancing AI pre-underwriting

Earlier underwriting insight helps lenders deliver cleaner files and faster execution

SEATTLE, Wash., Feb. 3, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor has been named to HousingWire’s 2026 Tech100 Mortgage list, an award that recognizes the most innovative technology companies shaping the future of mortgage lending. Friday Harbor was selected for advancing the use of artificial intelligence to bring underwriting insight earlier in the loan lifecycle, helping lenders surface and resolve potential issues before files reach final underwriting. Friday Harbor’s approach has been adopted by approximately 25 lenders, including two of the top 10 independent mortgage banks.

Image caption: Friday Harbor logo.

After completing a $6 million seed funding round last April, Friday Harbor released a series of platform features designed to address common sources of underwriting conditions and investor repurchase risk. These include an integration with Fannie Mae’s Income Calculator, AI review of appraisal files and photos and the ability to apply lender and investor underwriting overlays. To support enterprise deployment, Friday Harbor also introduced a direct integration with Encompass® from ICE Mortgage Technology, along with an open API framework that simplifies custom integrations.

“Underwriting is most effective when it happens before risk and defects are embedded in the file,” said Theo Ellis, co-founder and CEO of Friday Harbor. “By applying underwriting standards earlier in origination, lenders reduce rework, shorten clear-to-close timelines and deliver stronger execution downstream.”

“The 2026 Tech100 honorees represent the companies pushing housing forward in real, measurable ways,” said Sarah Wheeler, editor-in-chief at HousingWire. “They’re building technology that solves core industry challenges, from operational efficiency to better consumer experiences, and setting a higher standard for what innovation in housing truly looks like.”

Friday Harbor’s AI pre-underwriting platform analyzes borrower documents, appraisals and income calculations against investor guidelines and lender overlays as loan files are assembled, allowing lenders to identify and resolve potential issues before files reach final underwriting. This approach helps teams deliver cleaner files, achieve fewer underwriting touches and improve productivity across production and fulfillment teams.

Launched in 2013, HousingWire’s Tech100 award spotlights the most innovative and impactful tech organizations in housing. The award is broken into two categories: the Tech100 Mortgage Award recognizes technology firms that are revolutionizing the mortgage process, while the Tech100 Real Estate Award recognizes tech companies that are changing the home sales process.

For a complete list of 2026 HousingWire Tech100 winners, visit https://www.housingwire.com/articles/announcing-the-2026-tech100-mortgage-winners/.

About Friday Harbor
Friday Harbor is an AI pre-underwriting platform that helps lenders identify and resolve potential issues earlier in the origination process. By analyzing borrower documents, appraisals and income calculations against investor guidelines and lender overlays, the platform helps teams deliver cleaner files, achieve fewer underwriting touches and improve individual productivity. For more information, visit https://fridayharbor.ai/.

Tags: @HousingWire #Tech100 #MortgageTech

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/friday-harbor-named-to-housingwires-2026-tech100-mortgage-list-for-advancing-ai-pre-underwriting/

Friday Harbor adds Fannie Mae’s Income Calculator to its AI Originator Assistant

Integration enables faster, more accurate income calculations for self-employed and rental income borrowers while reducing buyback risk

SEATTLE, Wash., Jan. 6, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor, an AI-powered platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced the integration of its AI Originator Assistant with Fannie Mae’s Income Calculator. The new connection enables lenders to instantly calculate qualifying income for borrowers with self-employment or rental income and gain enforcement relief from representations and warranties on the income calculation for conventional loans.

Image caption: Friday Harbor.

The Fannie Mae Income Calculator uses federal tax return data to calculate a borrower’s qualifying income, addressing one of the top five sources of loan quality defects found in post-purchase reviews. By integrating this capability directly into Friday Harbor’s AI Originator Assistant, lenders can identify income issues at the start of the loan process, improve underwriting accuracy and give loan officers the confidence to move deals forward without fear of costly buybacks.

“Income calculations for self-employment and rental income are among the most complex and error-prone in mortgage lending,” said Theo Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Friday Harbor. “By bringing Fannie Mae’s Income Calculator into Friday Harbor, we’re putting a powerful solution for these scenarios directly in the hands of thousands of lenders to improve accuracy, protect loan salability and give borrowers greater clarity earlier in the process.”

“Complex income scenarios used to slow us down and create uncertainty for our sales team and borrowers,” said Susan Schmidt, senior vice president of operations at Mason McDuffie Mortgage Corporation. “Now we can get answers instantly, make confident decisions up front and move loans forward with fewer surprises.”

The Income Calculator works alongside Friday Harbor’s borrower-specific checklist, real-time AI underwriting and scenario desk to simplify reviews of self-employment, business ownership and rental income. Loan officers and processors can upload tax returns, receive instant qualifying income results, resolve flagged issues with clear guidance and retain the Findings Report to maintain eligibility for rep and warrant relief.

Lenders can learn more about Friday Harbor’s integration with Fannie Mae’s Income Calculator or request a demo at https://fridayharbor.ai.

About Friday Harbor

Tags: #mortgagetech #AI #fintech @FannieMae #income #selfemployed

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/friday-harbor-adds-fannie-maes-income-calculator-to-its-ai-originator-assistant/

Friday Harbor adds appraisal underwriting to its AI Originator Assistant

AI-driven collateral analysis helps lenders identify appraisal issues early, reducing defects and repurchase risk

SEATTLE, Wash., Nov. 6, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor, an AI-powered platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced that its AI Originator Assistant now performs collateral analysis alongside credit, income and asset reviews. The enhancement enables lenders to underwrite appraisals and appraisal-related documents with the same precision and consistency the platform already delivers for other loan file components.

Image caption: Friday Harbor.

“The appraisal is one of the most subjective and time-consuming parts of underwriting,” said Theo Ellis, co-founder and CEO of Friday Harbor. “By extending our AI Originator Assistant to collateral review, lenders can identify inconsistencies early, strengthen appraisal quality and ensure every loan aligns with agency standards before it reaches the underwriter.”

Friday Harbor’s appraisal review feature examines structured data, narrative commentary and visual content within appraisal reports to surface potential risk factors ranging from missing or inconsistent details to property and market-level red flags. In addition to confirming that data in the appraisal matches the loan application, the system evaluates market soundness by analyzing comparables and neighborhood trends, and reviews property condition through photos and sketches to flag potential concerns such as damage, infestation or mismatched room counts.

When discrepancies arise, the AI Originator Assistant provides resolution paths that guide originators and processors through the steps needed to resolve issues before they reach underwriting. The new feature supports full appraisals and automated valuation models (AVMs), with built-in checks against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac guidelines.

As originators and processors resolve appraisal conditions in Friday Harbor, loan files update automatically in the loan origination system through Friday Harbor’s integration with the Encompass LOS from ICE Mortgage Technology and its open APIs that connect with other leading loan origination systems.

Lenders can learn more about appraisal underwriting in Friday Harbor or request a demo at https://fridayharbor.ai.

About Friday Harbor

Tags: #mortgagetech #AI #fintech #collateral #underwriting #valuation #appraisal

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/friday-harbor-adds-appraisal-underwriting-to-its-ai-originator-assistant/

Friday Harbor puts lenders in control with underwriting overlays in its AI Originator Assistant

New overlays feature ensures every loan file reflects lender policies and investor requirements from the start

SEATTLE, Wash., Oct. 13, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor, an AI-powered platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced that its AI Originator Assistant can now evaluate loan files against not only baseline program guidelines, but also the lender and investor overlays that ultimately shape salability and risk. By embedding these requirements directly into the workflow of frontline originators, the platform gives lenders greater control over credit quality and secondary market execution.

Image caption: Friday Harbor.

Overlays deliver value across business models. Lenders that sell primarily into the secondary market can improve flexibility and profitability by ensuring loans meet the requirements of multiple investors. Institutions that balance portfolio and securitized production can use overlays to align Friday Harbor with their in-house credit policies, fine-tune their credit box and apply risk standards consistently across the enterprise.

“Our new underwriting overlays feature gives lenders the ability to instantly encode their own judgment and policies into Friday Harbor,” said Theo Ellis, CEO and co-founder of Friday Harbor. “Whether the goal is to expand credit access, tighten controls or ensure loans are salable across multiple investors, overlays put that guidance directly in front of originators so every file starts out underwriting-ready.”

Overlay configurations can be used to tighten credit policies with more stringent documentation requirements or to widen credit boxes, for example by lowering minimum credit scores relative to GSE thresholds. Friday Harbor supports both lender overlays and investor overlays, giving originators immediate guidance to produce underwriting-ready files that reflect each lender’s credit policies and investor requirements from the start.

Unlike other systems that expect lenders to code in their own policies, Friday Harbor provides a white-glove service: lenders simply share their overlays with Friday Harbor, and the company’s team configures and maintains them free of charge. Overlays can be updated as often as needed to reflect changes in lender policies or investor requirements, ensuring they remain accurate and actionable without adding burden to lender staff.

“With overlays in Friday Harbor, every file our originators touch reflects the exact credit standards our secondary market partners expect,” said Robert Jewett, chief operating officer at NewFed Mortgage Corp. “That certainty improves our salability, reduces last-minute surprises and allows our team to focus more energy on serving borrowers instead of interpreting guidelines.”

Lenders can learn more about underwriting overlays in Friday Harbor or request a demo at https://fridayharbor.ai.

About Friday Harbor:

Tags: #mortgagetech #AI #fintech @FannieMae #income #selfemployed

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/friday-harbor-puts-lenders-in-control-with-underwriting-overlays-in-its-ai-originator-assistant/

Friday Harbor joins Community Home Lenders of America as affiliate member

AI mortgage innovator to advise community lenders on policy and practical uses of artificial intelligence

SEATTLE, Wash., Sept. 10, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor, an AI-powered platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, has joined the Community Home Lenders of America (CHLA) as an affiliate member.

Image caption: Friday Harbor joins Community Home Lenders of America as affiliate member.

Friday Harbor will serve as an expert adviser to CHLA’s lender members on the use of artificial intelligence in housing finance, including such practical considerations as compliance automation, responsible technology deployment and the evolving legislative landscape around AI. The affiliation also reflects Friday Harbor’s commitment to building solutions that address the needs of community lenders.

“Community lenders are the heart of this industry, and they deserve tools that work as hard as they do,” said Theo Ellis, CEO of Friday Harbor. “Joining CHLA gives us a seat at the table to listen, learn and offer perspective on how AI can help lenders stay competitive, meet compliance obligations and deliver a better borrower experience.”

“As AI transforms the mortgage landscape, it’s critical that community lenders help shape how these tools are developed and deployed — because if they’re not at the table, the technology risks serving the wrong priorities,” said CHLA Executive Director Scott Olson. “Friday Harbor stands out as a leader in building and implementing AI in meaningful ways, and they’re doing it in close collaboration with the lenders these tools are meant to serve. We’re pleased to welcome our newest CHLA affiliate and look forward to Friday Harbor’s leadership on technology issues that matter to our members.”

Launched in 2024, Friday Harbor is on a mission to make modern AI accessible to lenders of all sizes, not just the largest players. Lenders nationwide use its platform to automatically interpret borrower documents, flag underwriting issues and cut loan cycle times while improving compliance and reducing costs.

CHLA is a national association that exclusively represents independent mortgage bankers and supports community-based lending through advocacy, policy development and industry collaboration.

About Friday Harbor

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/friday-harbor-joins-community-home-lenders-of-america-as-affiliate-member/

Friday Harbor announces integration with ICE Mortgage Technology’s Encompass

AI-powered originator assistant now seamlessly integrates with leading LOS to help Encompass shops assemble clean, complete and compliant files from the start

SEATTLE, Wash., Sept. 3, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor, an AI-powered platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced its new integration with the Encompass® loan origination system (LOS) from ICE Mortgage Technology, part of Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading global provider of data, technology and market infrastructure. Built using ICE’s latest Developer Connect API framework for mortgage technology, the integration enables seamless use of Friday Harbor within the Encompass environment.

Image caption: Friday Harbor announces integration with ICE Mortgage Technology’s Encompass.

Mortgage loan originators use Friday Harbor’s AI-powered originator assistant to automatically evaluate borrower documents, flag underwriting issues and resolve conditions. The new Encompass integration gives lenders an opportunity to engage Friday Harbor and enable access to these capabilities directly within their LOS, with data and documents synchronized throughout the process.

“The best way to lower costs and close loans sooner is to get the file right from the start,” said Friday Harbor CEO Theo Ellis. “Our integration with Encompass embeds Friday Harbor’s underwriting intelligence directly into existing LOS workflows, reducing file touches and accelerating origination for any borrower and any loan.”

“Being the first to go live with Friday Harbor’s Encompass integration has been a game-changer for our originators,” said Taylor Stork, chief operating officer at Developer’s Mortgage Company. “Friday Harbor helps our loan officers catch and resolve underwriting conditions earlier, so they can spend less time chasing paperwork and more time winning business. It’s a clear competitive advantage.”

Where traditional AI technologies have struggled to automate beyond ‘plain vanilla’ conventional loans, Friday Harbor was purpose-built to handle the complex borrower scenarios lenders navigate every day. By helping mortgage loan originators catch and fix file issues up front, it reduces costly underwriting touches, boosts pull-through and accelerates time to close. With Friday Harbor in place, lenders can assemble the clean, complete and compliant loan files that underwriters expect and borrowers deserve.

For more information, visit Friday Harbor on the ICE Marketplace.

ICE does not own, control, nor endorse any specific industry participant or the product/service provided. Loan originators and servicers are responsible for vetting, selecting, and contracting with the providers of their choosing.

About Friday Harbor

Tags: @ICEMortgageTech #mortgagetech #AI #fintech

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/friday-harbor-announces-integration-with-ice-mortgage-technologys-encompass/

Friday Harbor adds Chris Simms, Gregory Buehler to leadership team to accelerate AI-powered mortgage origination

Seasoned hires bring product and partnership firepower as Friday Harbor scales AI-native mortgage tech

SEATTLE, Wash., July 24, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor, an AI-powered platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, announced two strategic hires today: Chris Simms has joined as head of strategic partnerships, and Gregory Buehler has joined as founding product manager. They bring over 35 years of combined experience in mortgage lending, product strategy and technology innovation.

Image caption: Friday Harbor adds Chris Simms, Gregory Buehler to leadership team.

Simms will oversee Friday Harbor’s customer relationships as well as its strategic alliances with technology integration partners and industry associations. His initial focus will be on customer engagement and success as he works to ensure lenders see lower costs, shorter cycle times and a better experience for borrowers on every loan. He sees a clear opportunity to help lenders modernize in a space long overdue for change.

“Lenders are hindered by legacy systems and manual processes that haven’t kept up with the innovation in other industries,” Simms said. “Friday Harbor is the first solution I’ve seen that truly understands and improves the process with real AI. This role felt like a natural opportunity to combine my passion for innovation with my industry experience to help transform how loans are manufactured.”

Buehler will define and execute product strategy in close partnership with the founding team, a role that Friday Harbor CEO Theo Ellis describes as ‘the glue between business and engineering.’ To that end, Buehler will collaborate with engineering, operations and customer success to scale Friday Harbor’s platform to serve a wider range of lenders, loan types and use cases while maintaining alignment with real-world origination pain points, workflows and tech stacks.

“I’ve helped build product from scratch at multiple B2B startups, and what drew me to Friday Harbor was how well the founding team understands both the problem and the customer,” Buehler said. “With AI2’s backing and a clear opportunity to modernize mortgage lending, joining the team was an easy decision.”

“Chris and Gregory bring the kind of leadership we need at this stage: deep domain knowledge paired with a builder’s mentality,” said Ellis. “We’re not just growing headcount. We’re building the kind of team that can deliver real change to a long-stagnant part of financial services. With their help, we’re making loan manufacturing faster, smarter and finally worthy of the digital age.”

Simms joins Friday Harbor after a 20-year career leading mortgage sales, origination and capital markets teams at Mutual of Omaha Mortgage, First Integrity Mortgage Services, Pulaski Bank and other institutions. During his time at these lenders, he partnered directly with mortgage technology firms to help align software solutions with real-world industry workflows. He currently serves as president of the Mortgage Bankers Association of St. Louis.

Buehler has over ten years of experience leading product development at early-stage B2B startups including Pebble Health, learning management software provider Skilljar (acquired by Gainsight) and social analytics firm Simply Measured (acquired by Sprout Social). Buehler holds dual master’s degrees from the University of Washington: an M.B.A. in international studies from the Foster School of Business and an M.A. in Japan studies.

About Friday Harbor

Tags: #mortgagetech #AI #fintech

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/friday-harbor-adds-chris-simms-gregory-buehler-to-leadership-team-to-accelerate-ai-powered-mortgage-origination/

Friday Harbor launches open APIs to give mortgage lenders and vendors more integration flexibility

New API suite makes it easy to plug Friday Harbor's AI-powered Origination Assistant into any LOS or POS

SEATTLE, Wash., July 15, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor, an AI-powered platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced the availability of open APIs, giving lenders and vendors a new level of flexibility in how they integrate Friday Harbor into their mortgage tech stack.

Image caption: Friday Harbor logo.

With Friday Harbor’s open API suite, lenders can now bring the power of AI-assisted file review into any workflow, regardless of which loan origination system (LOS), point-of-sale (POS) platform or internal tools they use. The APIs are fully documented and designed to support rapid onboarding, with developer-friendly guides and real-time support to help lenders and partners get up and running quickly.

“Lenders shouldn’t have to change their tech stack to get the benefits of Friday Harbor,” said Theo Ellis, CEO of Friday Harbor. “With our open APIs, they don’t have to. Now any lender or vendor can easily connect to Friday Harbor and unlock the same speed and accuracy that has helped our customers reduce file touches, cut days off their loan cycles and improve the borrower experience.”

“We saw an opportunity to accelerate our implementation of Friday Harbor using the new open APIs,” said Andrew Badstubner, Chief Information Officer at First Community Mortgage. “The ability to integrate on our own timeline allowed us to put AI-powered origination tools into the hands of loan teams much faster and start delivering value right away.”

In addition to embedding Friday Harbor into custom workflows, vendors such as LOS and POS providers can now use the open APIs to build native integrations that deliver Friday Harbor’s capabilities directly within their user interfaces. Once connected, lenders gain the ability to:

Ingest any borrower document and automatically identify conditions within Friday Harbor
Use Friday Harbor’s web-native experience to resolve conditions in real time
Sync resolved issues and audit-ready documentation back to their system of record

By giving both lenders and tech providers a more flexible path to integration, Friday Harbor’s open APIs support the broader goal of reducing manual work in mortgage manufacturing and enabling a more intelligent, automated loan process.

To access Friday Harbor’s developer documentation or request an API key, visit https://fridayharbor.ai/.

About Friday Harbor

Tags: #mortgagetech #AI #fintech

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/friday-harbor-launches-open-apis-to-give-mortgage-lenders-and-vendors-more-integration-flexibility/

Friday Harbor unveils AI-powered condition engine to deliver faster, cleaner, audit-ready mortgage files

New functionality generates plain-language, color-coded conditions with full audit trail, enabling originators to resolve issues in real time and cut days off the loan process

SEATTLE, Wash., May 29, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor, an AI-powered platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced the launch of a retooled condition engine that automatically generates actionable underwriting conditions based on borrower source documents and loan guidelines.

Image caption: Friday Harbor.

Unlike traditional “stare and compare” tools that flag generic issues, Friday Harbor’s condition engine reads the full context of the loan file—including borrower documents, AUS findings and lender overlays—and outputs conditions that are immediately usable by loan officers, processors and borrowers. Each condition is written in plain English, color-coded by urgency and supported by documentation that gives underwriters a ready-made audit trail.

“In most mortgage workflows today, identifying conditions is a game of hot potato between departments. Friday Harbor solves that by delivering conditions in real time that are actionable at the beginning of the borrower journey, not just in the underwriting queue,” said Theo Ellis, co-founder and CEO of Friday Harbor. “We’re empowering originators to spot and solve issues earlier, which leads to cleaner files, faster closings and dramatically lower costs to originate.”

The new engine doesn’t just catch obvious clerical gaps. It’s also trained to spot nuanced issues such as:

Red flags for occupancy and other types of fraud
Unexplained large deposits
Missing documentation
Undisclosed liabilities

For each flagged issue, Friday Harbor provides a proposed resolution path and direct links to applicable guidelines. For junior loan officers, the engine pairs with the platform’s AI-powered Scenario Desk to explain next steps or script borrower communications. For underwriters, it offers full traceability, with source documents and reasoning behind every condition.

Friday Harbor’s AI underwriter is already used by some of the nation’s most forward-thinking lenders, including Partners Bank, NewFed Mortgage, Developer’s Mortgage Company and Paramount Residential Mortgage Group. The company is backed by the AI2 Incubator, a technical incubator born from the Allen Institute for AI in Seattle, and was recently funded by leading Silicon Valley venture firms including Abstract Ventures, Mischief and Wischoff Ventures.

To learn more about how Friday Harbor is helping level the playing field for the more than 4,500 mortgage lenders competing with the tech arms of Rocket and UWM, visit https://fridayharbor.ai/.

About Friday Harbor:

Tags: #mortgagetech #AI #fintech

NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/friday-harbor-unveils-ai-powered-condition-engine-to-deliver-faster-cleaner-audit-ready-mortgage-files/

Friday Harbor raises $6M to help community mortgage lenders match the speed and efficiency of industry giants

AI-powered platform enables lenders of all sizes to close loans faster, reduce costs and ensure compliance in real time

SEATTLE, Wash., April 15, 2025 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Friday Harbor, an AI-powered platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time, today announced the completion of a $6 million seed round. The round was led by Abstract Ventures, a San Francisco-based venture firm with $1.5 billion in assets under management and a track record of backing breakout companies including Rippling, xAI, Hebbia, Brigit and Hippo (NYSE: HIPO) and Mischief, an early-stage VC fund co-founded by Plaid CEO Zach Perret.

Image caption: Friday Harbor, Inc. logo.

Also participating in the round were Wischoff Ventures, a VC firm founded by Blend (NYSE: BLND) alum Nichole Wischoff; and the AI2 Incubator, a technical incubator born from the Allen Institute for AI (AI2).

With Friday Harbor’s platform, lenders of all sizes can leverage AI to read and interpret borrower documents, generate a borrower-specific needs list, underwrite files and flag potential conditions—all in real time. Each flagged issue includes a suggested resolution, enabling loan officers to take action with a single click. By compressing what typically takes weeks of back-and-forth into just minutes, Friday Harbor reduces downstream friction and accelerates time to close.

Friday Harbor was founded with a mission to make advanced AI tools accessible to all lenders—not just those with the biggest budgets. By replacing outdated, manual workflows and automating key underwriting steps, the platform empowers banks, credit unions and independent mortgage banks (IMBs) to match—or even surpass—the speed, cost-efficiency and borrower experience of mega-lenders like Rocket Companies and United Wholesale Mortgage, which together accounted for one-fifth of all IMB originations in 2024, according to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data.

“I’ve always believed AI could be the great equalizer in mortgage lending,” said Friday Harbor CEO and Co-founder Theo Ellis. “Thousands of lenders deserve access to the same tools as the mega-lenders—and in many cases, they’re now doing things the biggest players can’t. That’s what happens when you give lenders technology built by people who truly understand both AI and mortgage.”

Early adopters of Friday Harbor confirm the system’s ability to address costly ‘stare and compare’ tasks and mitigate errors that slow loan production:

“My LOs can’t stop talking about how much time they’re saving. Friday Harbor helps our team get ahead of potential issues before files even reach underwriting. That kind of early insight speeds up the process and creates a smoother experience for everyone—especially the borrower. I’ve never seen anything else like it.”
—Taylor Stork, chief operating officer at Developer’s Mortgage Company
“Since partnering with Friday Harbor, we’ve seen a clear transformation in how we manufacture loans, our processing capacity has nearly tripled without adding headcount, our cost to originate is down and we’re submitting cleaner loans that move through underwriting faster. Partnering with Friday Harbor is not just an efficiency gain, it’s a competitive advantage that moves the needle in a big way.”
—Rob Jewett, chief operating officer at NewFed Mortgage
“We started as a design partner of Friday Harbor because it is one the few uses of actual AI in analyzing documents being collected from borrowers. We teamed up early because we knew a real, document-level AI would slash the busywork for underwriters and processors. Less back-and-forth, fewer headaches—everybody wins.”
—Kevin Peranio, chief lending officer at Paramount Residential Mortgage Group
“Friday Harbor tackles some of the biggest challenges that keep lenders up at night. It’s like having an expert set of eyes on every file. I can upload documents on one screen, work on something else and come back minutes later to find conditions issued, alerts flagged and even undisclosed debts identified. It streamlines file setup and underwriting in a way that’s both efficient and incredibly smart. This is the kind of tool that changes how lending teams work.”
—James D. Carroll, head of home lending at Partners Bank

Friday Harbor was founded by Ellis and Jesse Collins (CTO) and launched in 2024 with support from the AI2 Incubator and CoFound Partners. Ellis was previously head of U.S. growth and an early employee at machine learning fintech Pagaya Technologies (NASDAQ: PGY), where he helped launch multiple new consumer credit verticals for the company. Collins previously held senior engineering roles at leading fintech companies including Affirm (NASDAQ: AFRM) and Zillow (NASDAQ: Z), where he specialized in applying artificial intelligence to fraud detection and underwriting systems.

The $6M seed round will support the growth of Friday Harbor’s engineering team and support integrations with leading mortgage LOS and point-of-sale platforms—paving the way for more lenders to automate file setup, accelerate underwriting and compete directly with the largest lenders in the country.

About Friday Harbor
Friday Harbor is an AI-powered platform that helps loan officers assemble complete and compliant loan files in real time. The company combines deep fintech expertise with cutting-edge artificial intelligence to remove complexity, slash origination costs and deliver a better borrower experience. For more information, visit https://fridayharbor.ai/.

Tags: #mortgagetech #AI #fintech #seedfunding #venturecapital

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NEWS SOURCE: Friday Harbor

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Author Archives: Friday Harbor

Friday Harbor’s AI pre-underwriting platform integrates to the Freddie Mac Income Calculator API

Friday Harbor adds USDA loans to its AI pre-underwriting platform

Friday Harbor and NewFed Mortgage honored with PROGRESS in Lending’s 2026 Connections Award

Friday Harbor expands AI pre-underwriting to condo and manufactured home loans

Friday Harbor announces integration with MeridianLink Mortgage

Friday Harbor becomes first mortgage technology provider to receive AI governance compliance attestation from Brody Gapp

NewFed Mortgage leverages Friday Harbor to boost fulfillment productivity by 35%

Friday Harbor integrates with Calyx Path Platform to bring AI pre-underwriting directly into the flow of the loan

Friday Harbor partners with Waterstone Mortgage to expand underwriting capacity

Friday Harbor introduces dynamic pre-underwriting to help LOs structure deals that qualify and close

Friday Harbor named to HousingWire’s 2026 Tech100 Mortgage list for advancing AI pre-underwriting

Friday Harbor adds Fannie Mae’s Income Calculator to its AI Originator Assistant

Friday Harbor adds appraisal underwriting to its AI Originator Assistant

Friday Harbor puts lenders in control with underwriting overlays in its AI Originator Assistant

Friday Harbor joins Community Home Lenders of America as affiliate member

Friday Harbor announces integration with ICE Mortgage Technology’s Encompass

Friday Harbor adds Chris Simms, Gregory Buehler to leadership team to accelerate AI-powered mortgage origination

Friday Harbor launches open APIs to give mortgage lenders and vendors more integration flexibility

Friday Harbor unveils AI-powered condition engine to deliver faster, cleaner, audit-ready mortgage files

Friday Harbor raises $6M to help community mortgage lenders match the speed and efficiency of industry giants