National Mortgage Professional: First Colony Mortgage Completes Companywide AI Rollout With Tidalwave
Utah lender rolls out Tidalwave’s “Solo” assistant across operations, aiming to reduce manual touches and speed loan approvals
First Colony Mortgage has completed a companywide deployment of an AI-powered mortgage platform from Tidalwave, automating key parts of underwriting, document review and borrower verification.
The Utah-based lender said the rollout centers on Tidalwave’s “Solo” AI assistant, a mortgage-specific tool designed to handle time-intensive tasks such as reviewing loan files, identifying missing conditions and running automated underwriting through systems like Desktop Underwriter and Loan Product Advisor.
The platform also integrates with third-party data providers, including Argyle and Plaid, to verify borrower income and assets, and connects with widely used mortgage systems such as ICE Mortgage Technology’s Encompass and Optimal Blue.
Corey Shelley, owner of First Colony Mortgage, said that the lender’s use of AI-driven file review has transformed what was previously a manual, back-and-forth process into a more immediate workflow.
“The mortgage industry has been stuck in a manual loop for decades,” Shelley said. “This allows us to move in real time.”
What It Means
For LOs, the deployment signals a continued shift toward using AI behind the scenes, not just for lead generation or chat, but for the operational work that can slow deals down.
By automating document organization, income validation and condition tracking, platforms like Tidalwave’s are designed to:
- Reduce the number of touches required to move a file forward
- Shorten turn times from submission to approval
- Limit last-minute conditions that can delay closings
- Free up LOs to focus more on borrower communication and pipeline growth
First Colony Mortgage initially partnered with Tidalwave in 2025 and has since expanded its use of the platform across the organization. The company said its goal is to improve consistency and scalability across its lending operation without proportionally increasing headcount.