People shop for homes, why not mortgages
/I used to be in tech. I'm still amused by entrepreneurial adventures and love to see the latest "startups to watch". Last week I stumbled upon one which may be my new mini obsession (OK obsession may be overkill, but I am overly excited about what they're trying to do). I'm all about using technology to -- hold onto your chair -- actually make things better. So often technology is an impediment to improvement. Have you been to the doctor lately and they spend more time clicking boxes on a screen than looking at your swollen ankle? #notimproving
So when I stumbled across RateGravity I was intrigued, and spent some time poking around their website, started to fill in some of my info and left the tab open to come back later. For two reasons:
- I'm moving soon and need to find my own mortgage
- They're mortgage brokers. I'm a Realtor.
I left the tab open intending to come back.
They reached out to me (first great sign).
I had coffee with the CEO, Patrick. I railed on the whole mortgage industry, I complained that people don't understand mortgages and most lenders don't do anything to help (which I read as not really caring) and I tried not to look like a crazy fool.
He was delightful, he didn't try to defend the mortgage industry, but explained his long history of working in the industry and understanding how consumers can get screwed (not always, but the potential is there). We talked about the fact that most people don't shop around for mortgages. People shop for the homes they're going to buy. Trust me, they shop and ponder and shop some more. They put great thought into the pros and cons and then maybe they make an offer, which may or may not be accepted. We talked about the fact that because mortgages can sometimes be scary, and people don't understand everything, they sometimes pick a lender who will finance them and just go with it...
But how about a new world where people understand the terms, acronyms and implications of their different options in borrowing to make what is likely their biggest financial transaction. RateGravity is trying to address the issues of people not understanding mortgages through education - like this First Time Home Buyer Guide and they're trying to make it easier to shop for mortgages in a highly transparent way. #improving
Curious to learn more about them?
https://www.rategravity.com/
