First Colony Mortgage Deploys AI to Overhaul Home Lending
PLEASANT GROVE, UT – May 15, 2026 – First Colony Mortgage, a lender with roots stretching back to 1984, has taken a significant leap into the future, becoming one of the first lenders in the nation to fully deploy an end-to-end artificial intelligence platform across its entire organization. The company's integration of Tidalwave's AI-powered system marks a pivotal moment in an industry long defined by manual processes, complex paperwork, and lengthy closing times.
While many lenders are still in trial phases or using AI for piecemeal tasks, First Colony's company-wide adoption signals a deeper, more strategic commitment to technological transformation. The move aims to redefine the mortgage experience for borrowers, loan officers, and operations teams alike, potentially setting a new standard for efficiency and customer service in a competitive market.
The Engine of Change: Tidalwave's Solo AI
At the heart of this transformation is Tidalwave's proprietary AI assistant, Solo. Unlike general-purpose chatbots, Solo is a purpose-built intelligence engine designed specifically for the complexities of the mortgage industry. The platform unifies the entire loan lifecycle—from the initial application to the final closing—within a single, intelligent environment.
For First Colony's teams, this means a fundamental shift in workflow. Solo automates tasks that have historically consumed hundreds of hours of manual labor. Within seconds of a borrower completing an application, the AI runs dual automated underwriting against both Fannie Mae (DU) and Freddie Mac (LPA) guidelines. It automatically verifies income through third-party services like Argyle and assets via Plaid, cross-referencing data and flagging discrepancies in real-time.
"The mortgage industry has been stuck in a manual loop for decades, but Tidalwave’s Solo is the leap forward we’ve been waiting for," said Corey Shelly, Chairman of First Colony Mortgage, in a statement. "Using AI Assist for our file checks has turned a manual process into a real-time workflow. It’s hallucination-free, agentic, and deeply integrated with all vendors as well as Fannie and Freddie, giving my team an advanced capability that was previously impossible."
The platform's capabilities are backed by impressive performance metrics. A joint study by Columbia University and Tidalwave found that Solo achieved 84% accuracy in answering complex underwriting questions, significantly outperforming a leading general AI model. This specialized intelligence is what allows the platform to handle nuanced compliance checks and document reviews with high precision.
A New Front in the Competitive Landscape
First Colony's move is not happening in a vacuum. The mortgage industry is in the midst of an AI arms race, driven by the urgent need for greater operational efficiency. According to a 2025 survey by the Stratmor Group, the percentage of lenders using AI and machine learning surged from 15% in 2023 to 38% in 2024. The primary motivation, cited by 73% of lenders, is streamlining operations.
Major players are making significant investments. United Wholesale Mortgage is deploying proprietary AI agents for underwriting support, while Rocket Mortgage has developed a customer-facing AI assistant. However, First Colony's comprehensive, top-to-bottom deployment of a third-party platform across all teams places it among the vanguard. The strategy is less about building everything in-house and more about rapidly integrating a proven, specialized system to gain an immediate competitive edge.
"This isn’t a tech upgrade; it’s a competitive advantage that allows us to scale exponentially,” Shelly noted.
This advantage manifests in several ways. By automating routine tasks, loan officers can focus more on advising clients and building relationships with real estate partners. Operations teams, freed from manual file checks and data entry, can manage larger pipelines and resolve complex issues faster. This efficiency is critical in a market where speed and reliability can be the deciding factor for borrowers and real estate agents.
"Tidalwave brings a lot of efficiencies not only to our sales team but to our operations teams," added Nick Christensen, Chief Technology Product Officer at First Colony Mortgage. "It is exciting to see how many advantages it can give our teams."
The Human Impact: A Faster, More Transparent Loan
For the average homebuyer, the opaque and often stressful mortgage process is a major pain point. First Colony is betting that AI can make the experience feel guided, responsive, and ultimately more human.
The Tidalwave platform provides borrowers with a seamless digital application that can be completed more quickly. The AI communicates proactively, requesting specific documents and providing status updates in real time. This eliminates the "black box" feeling where borrowers submit paperwork and wait days or weeks for a response.
Furthermore, the platform is expanding accessibility. It offers fully translated Spanish-language applications and communications, a crucial feature for serving a more diverse base of homebuyers. This focus on the borrower experience demonstrates a key principle of modern AI implementation: using technology to enhance, not replace, the human element. The goal is for the technology to work tirelessly behind the scenes, enabling loan officers to provide better, more focused personal service.
Navigating the AI Frontier: Challenges and the Road Ahead
Despite the immense potential, the path of AI adoption in the mortgage industry is not without its challenges. A significant "trust gap" persists among consumers, with a recent survey showing borrower trust in AI for home-buying decisions has declined. Lenders must prove that these systems are fair, accurate, and secure.
The regulatory landscape is also tightening. Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are implementing new governance requirements that demand lenders to have verifiable oversight of their AI models and vendors. Lenders can no longer simply point to a black box; they must be able to explain and validate the decisions made by their algorithms. Tidalwave's emphasis on a transparent and reviewable system appears designed to address these emerging compliance demands head-on.
First Colony's deployment, which followed a structured pilot program with phased rollouts and hands-on training, underscores the importance of change management. Successfully integrating such a transformative technology requires not just a powerful platform, but a deep investment in employee training and support to ensure the tools are used effectively and responsibly.
As the industry continues its rapid evolution, First Colony Mortgage's decisive action positions it as a case study in strategic AI adoption. The company is wagering that by combining nearly four decades of lending experience with next-generation artificial intelligence, it can deliver a mortgage process that is not only more efficient for its teams but fundamentally better for the people they serve. The success of this initiative will be watched closely by competitors and consumers alike, offering a glimpse into a future where technology and human expertise converge to open new doors to homeownership.