SOURCE: Mortgagebot

November 06, 2008 10:00 ET

Lenders Praise Mortgage Marvel for Expanding Market Share, Bringing in New Borrowers

One Year After Its Launch, Mortgagebot's Award-Winning Mortgage-Shopping Web Site Gets "Thumbs Up" From Bank and Credit-Union Lenders for Helping Increase Their Market Footprint and Grow Their Businesses

MEQUON, WI--(Marketwire - November 6, 2008) - Despite Wall Street unrest, people are still buying homes. According to the National Association of Realtors, in September 2008 "existing single-family home sales jumped 6.2% ... to [the] highest level in more than a year"(1). And in a time when more than 70 percent of mortgage applicants start their loan search online(2), lenders are increasingly using the Internet to reach new borrowers. That's why banks and credit unions nationwide are praising Mortgage Marvel® (www.MortgageMarvel.com), the accurate, anonymous, and simple mortgage-shopping Web site from Mortgagebot® (www.Mortgagebot.com). Mortgage Marvel gives a lender's mortgage products added exposure, which results in new business the lender may not otherwise have had access to.

"We like the greater exposure and increased application volume we gain from Mortgage Marvel," said Mr. Rod Raszler, VP of Mortgage Operations at Pentagon Federal Credit Union of Alexandria, Va. "Every loan we've obtained through it would probably have gone elsewhere if those borrowers hadn't found us through Mortgage Marvel."

Pentagon FCU is one of America's largest credit unions, with 27 locations, 780,000 members, and over $12 billion in assets.

Mortgage Marvel: Unique technology, unique lender benefits

"There are plenty of mortgage-shopping Web sites," noted Mr. Scott Happ, President and CEO of Mortgagebot. "But Mortgage Marvel -- which was launched just one year ago -- provides the greatest lender benefits."

"First," said Mr. Happ, "Mortgage Marvel is fast and simple, which is attractive to busy mortgage shoppers. It takes only seconds to enter a few property-related data points and get back a wide selection of mortgage quotes. And Mortgage Marvel is completely anonymous, requiring shoppers to give up no personal info to get detailed mortgage quotes."

"Second," stated Mr. Happ, "Mortgage Marvel extracts its information directly from the live product databases of lenders nationwide -- so it displays only accurate mortgage quotes in real time. Borrowers can apply with confidence, knowing that the mortgage rates they see on Mortgage Marvel are truly available to qualified borrowers -- they're not just 'teaser' rates."

"Finally," Mr. Happ explained, "Mortgage Marvel uniquely enables borrowers to instantly 'click through' and directly access the Web site of the lender they've selected, where they can complete an intelligent and interactive online mortgage application and get pre-approved with full disclosures in 20 minutes or less. So both lender and borrower benefit from the world's most streamlined mortgage-application and pre-approval process."

Lenders use Mortgage Marvel to grow business, expand market share

But the bottom line for lenders is how Mortgage Marvel helps them compete, boost mortgage volume, and gain new business.

That's the story of Park Bank, a $754 million, three-branch commercial bank in Milwaukee, Wis. "We focus on building relationships through personal, one-on-one connections rather than through traditional media advertising," said Ms. Ruth Fritz, Park Bank VP of Consumer Mortgage Lending. "We saw Mortgage Marvel as a cost-effective way to expand our reach and increase our mortgage volume by competing directly with the larger, national lenders that do business on the Internet."

"Mortgage Marvel has definitely given us the exposure we were looking for," noted Ms. Fritz. "But the bottom line for us is how we've increased our application volume without having to spend any advertising dollars to get that new business. I'm also pleased to report that all of the applications we've gotten through Mortgage Marvel have been truly qualified borrowers. We're even getting referrals from our new mortgage customers!"

Gaining new business is also important to El Segundo, Calif.-based Xceed Financial Credit Union, an $800 million, 80,000-member organization with 17 locations nationwide.

"We're seeing record activity in our mortgage business during 2008, and Mortgage Marvel is nothing but a benefit for us," said Ms. Karen Bardakoglu, Xceed Financial's Mortgage Operations Manager. "We're impressed with its simplicity, its accuracy, and the fact that our members can use it in complete anonymity. And Mortgage Marvel is linked directly to our Mortgagebot PowerSite; so even if borrowers don't fully complete their application online, we can contact them, find out what stopped them, and help them finish."

"We have a huge need to provide Internet access to online mortgage shoppers, new borrowers, and first-time homebuyers," said Ms. Cindy Sedlacek, VP and Manager of Mortgage Lending at Rosemont, Ill.-based MB Financial Bank, a $7.4 billion organization with 75 locations.

"Those who know us can go directly to our national Web site [which is powered by Mortgagebot]," said Ms. Sedlacek. "But for online mortgage shoppers, we implemented Mortgage Marvel -- which enables us to pop up in a good position in their search results. From there they can go straight to our online application."

"For added market exposure, Mortgage Marvel is great," stated Ms. Bardakoglu. "It's an excellent way to bring in new business, and we have to be competitive in today's market. The biggest benefit we've gained is: More loans! And a mortgage is a good place to start a complete member relationship."

It's also worth noting that online mortgage applicants tend to be more profitable borrowers -- a trend that is well documented by Pentagon Federal Credit Union.

"Many of our mortgage borrowers are brand-new members," noted Mr. Raszler; "and when a member has a mortgage loan with us, it's a great opportunity to market other products as well. We're also very impressed by the fact that the average loan amount from our Mortgage Marvel borrowers is about 35 percent higher than our average portfolio loan amount."

Mortgage Marvel gives borrowers and lenders what they want

Even though the Internet is now the preferred mortgage-shopping channel(3), many consumers are still expressing frustrations. For example, according to a recent online lending survey (http://www.deloitte.com/dtt/cda/doc/content/us_fsi_onlinebanking_May08.pdf ) by Deloitte Consulting LLP(4), less than half of online mortgage shoppers say they're satisfied with their ability to compare quotes from multiple lenders.

"Mortgage Marvel delivers its quotes in a simple table that consumers can easily sort as they desire," stated Mr. Happ, "The table features the products of a nationwide network of lenders whose mortgage Web sites are powered by Mortgagebot. So our Mortgage Marvel lenders are helping consumers get exactly what they want: the ability to compare multiple lenders."

"With Mortgage Marvel, consumers get the satisfying mortgage-shopping experience they want, and lenders can expand their online mortgage business," said Mr. Dan Welbaum, Mortgagebot's Chief Marketing Officer. "Community-based lenders can easily gain new online mortgage clients -- a slice of the mortgage 'pie' that they haven't had ready access to."

"Banks and credit unions that have implemented Mortgage Marvel are impressed with the new business they're gaining," noted Mr. Welbaum. "Since we designed the product from the ground up to enable lenders and borrowers to make a painless and productive connection, we're gratified to see such enthusiastic lender response."

"Mortgage Marvel is a great way for community banks to get the word out about their products," Ms. Fritz affirmed. "And in light of the quality applicants we've gotten, it's definitely cost-effective."

About Mortgagebot

Mortgage Marvel is a product of Mortgagebot LLC, the Inc. 500 company that leads the industry in providing consumer-direct, Internet-based mortgage-origination solutions. Mortgagebot combines its award-winning mortgage expertise with leading-edge "software-as-a-service" (SaaS) technology to create robust, scalable, and affordable mortgage Web sites for more than 800 lenders nationwide.

Mortgagebot's flagship product suite is the Mortgagebot PowerSite product family, a fully configurable, "integrated-channel" solution set that enables lenders to take mortgage applications enterprise-wide: via the self-serve Internet channel, in the branch or call center, or from professional loan officers. PowerSite's intelligent, interactive functionality enables borrowers to accurately complete a mortgage application, get pre-approved, and receive full disclosures in as little as 20 minutes. And because PowerSite is deployed over the Internet, there is no PC software to install or maintain.

To view a brief Mortgage Marvel video presentation, visit www.mortgagebot.com/marvelvideo2.

(1) "Surprise: Existing Home Sales Rise," from the National Mortgage News Daily Briefing, October 24, 2008; published by National Mortgage News and SourceMedia, Inc. (New York, New York).

(2), (3), (4) "The Silver Lining in Lending: Turning Doubters into Online Believers," by Annette Tirabasso and Kimberly Spears (May 2008), published by Deloitte Development LLC.

Mortgagebot, Mortgagebot PowerSite, and Mortgage Marvel are registered trademarks of Mortgagebot LLC.