What Makes Better, Better

Published December 2, 2020

by Better

Purple Graphic and Better Mortgage Logo: We're Making Homeownership Simpler, Faster -- and Most Importantly, More Accessible for All Americans.

“There must be a better way”

The day that Vishal Garg came up with the idea behind Better Mortgage, he wasn’t looking to start a new company. He was simply looking to buy a house. In 2012, Vishal and his wife had saved up enough money for a down payment. They were eager to find the perfect home for their growing family.

But instead of enjoying an exciting hunt for their dream home, the Gargs faced a nightmare of inefficient processes, demands for in-person meetings, confusing fees, and outdated technology. For far too long, the homeownership process has been a daunting maze. Even as technology transformed every other aspect of the process, the mortgage industry still functioned the same way it had for decades, with traditional mortgage applications typically spanning 500 paper pages and the underwriting process lasting 45 days.

Exhausted, overwhelmed, and no closer to owning a home, Vishal thought to himself, “There must be a better way.” But when he couldn’t find one, he decided to create it.

Better’s mission is to make homeownership simpler, faster, and more accessible for everyone.

At Better Mortgage, we’re looking at every single step of the mortgage process to find ways to streamline, simplify, and deliver a radically transparent experience. So in addition to delivering low rates, we want to help you understand the pros and cons of each option, so that you can be confident you’re getting the mortgage that’s exactly right for you.

A process designed for this century

Information can now travel the globe in seconds, and people carry supercomputers around in their pockets. So, why do traditional mortgage lenders still operate in the same old ways? Here are just a few ways that Better Mortgage fully re-imagined the mortgage experience to put you first.

100% online application process

Good news: you can safely throw your fax machine in the closet with your beeper and your VCR. While many traditional lenders still require physical paperwork and inconvenient in-person meetings, our home loan application is completely online. You’ll also save time by e-signing documents, linking bank accounts, and securely uploading files. All without leaving your couch.

In fact, it’s so convenient that about 35% of our homeowners complete their applications from a mobile device.

Pre-approval in as little as 3 minutes

One of the benefits of being online is that we can turn the once painfully slow process of getting pre-approved into something that takes minutes. Simply answer a few quick questions about where you are in your home loan journey, and we'll do a soft credit check that won't affect your score. After that, you get a fully customized pre-approval letter that tells agents and sellers that you. mean. business. Show up to your next open house with the confidence that you're ready to make offers. Our electronic format also allows you to edit your pre-approval letter—meaning you can adjust the numbers to accurately reflect the purchase price of a home you're eyeing.

Instant Loan Estimates and a 24/7 rate lock

Traditional lenders can and will take up to 3 days to deliver a Loan Estimate—which is the most important document for comparing your home loan options. We didn't think 3 days was fast enough, so we built our technology to provide Loan Estimates in an instant. When you're ready to lock your rate, you can do that instantly, too. There's no need to get your bank on the phone and miss out on your desired rate. We let you lock in 24/7 at the time that works for you.

And those are just a few examples. We’re constantly looking for new ways to streamline and simplify the mortgage process to save you time. That’s why the average Better Mortgage client closes 10 days faster than the industry average.

All under one roof

There are a lot of moving pieces involved with purchasing a home: your title, homeowner’s insurance, real estate agents. In the past, you’d have to reach out to separate companies for each of them. With Better, all of those homeownership needs are in one place and we can facilitate the process from beginning to end, which could save you both time and money.

Fewer fees, please

Buying or refinancing a home is the biggest investment that most people make in their lives. Just saving for a down payment is a herculean effort, but with traditional lenders, homebuyers and homeowners would also be hit with surprising fees and higher rates. We do things differently at Better Mortgage.

Low rates

We’ve developed relationships with over 25 of the largest mortgage investors in the world, from big banks to investment funds to government-sponsored entities like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. While most traditional lenders only work with a handful of investors, our larger pool means we can match borrowers with the investors who are most interested in purchasing their loan. This allows us to offer the lowest possible rates to you!

And these low rates have a big impact. Better Mortgage saves new homeowners $8,200 on average over the life of their loan. And for homeowners who decide to refinance with Better Mortgage, they save an average of $8,200 a year in loan payments.*

No commissions, no unnecessary fees

Typically, mortgage loan officers get paid a commission equal to 1% of the total loan amount, which means they’re incentivized to get you the biggest loan and to churn through as many loans as possible. At Better Mortgage, our loan officers don’t earn commission, which means their only goal is to help you make the decision that’s right for you. This also lowers our transaction costs by 1% compared to most other lenders, which nets out to about $3,000 in savings for a 300,000 loan.*

And to save our clients even more money, we’re a lender that doesn’t charge unnecessary fees. That means no origination fees, no application fees, no processing fees, and no underwriting fees. We don’t think it makes sense to nickel and dime our clients with fees...so we don’t!

Fewer processes to pay for

Many traditional lenders use antiquated processes that take a lot of time and people power. At Better Mortgage, we’ve built technology to streamline the entire mortgage process from start to finish. This makes it less expensive for us to make the loan, and then we can pass on the dollar and time savings on to you.

One transparent, no-stress dashboard

Applying for a mortgage can be stressful if it feels like your lender has the entire process hidden away in a black box. We take the opposite approach. This is your home, your loan, and your investment, so you’re in control.

24/7 peace of mind

Rather than having your mortgage process locked away in a black box, at Better Mortgage you can log in to your online dashboard anytime to see exactly where you are in the process and tackle your to-do list at the pace that’s right for you.

A few words from our clients

After refinancing her home in California, Kathryn K wrote, “Better Mortgage is fantastic! I would recommend to anyone...This is how mortgages should be done in the 21st century!”

“Wonderful and Efficient,” writes Joshua R. “Everyone I interacted with at Better was fantastic and I quickly felt like a pro. The pre-approval process was lightning fast, the document collection was intuitive and easy, all of the necessary signatures (with the exception of one or two) were able to be e-signed, they securely connected with my bank account which made the verification process that much easier, and on the few (many) occasions I needed clarification or needed to speak with a real human being, my rep was available or easily scheduled for a call...We got the loan funded at a great rate, closed on time and without any hiccups.”

Arlynn W writers, “I was a first time homebuyer and really enjoyed my experience with Better. The entire process was transparent and it was always clear what was expected of me. They had a relatively short window from when I formally put in my application to closing and they delivered at every step. I also found they gave me greater flexibility as I fit the loan terms (down payment, points/credits, etc) to my situation.”

Read more about what other customers have said about their experience with Better Mortgage.

Why we’re Better

For Kathryn, Joe, Arlynn, and thousands of others, we’re proud to be making the homeownership process simpler, faster, and more accessible for all. If you’re thinking about buying or refinancing a home, you can see for yourself by unlocking a personalized rate in seconds and with zero extra fees.

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*Mortgage loan officers typically get paid 1% of the loan amount as commission. Our commission free business model gets rid of this fee and shares savings with the borrowers. For a conforming loan amount of ~$300,000, this would save an average of $3000 for borrowers.

Better Mortgage Corporation is a part of the Better Holdco, Inc. family of companies and provides home lending products.