Service Speeds “Contact to Close,” Emphasizes Affordability, Strengthens Agent-Lender Relationships
SFAR is now helping agents accelerate listing velocity by speeding “contact to close” with new mortgage technology from RatePlug.
RatePlug helps home buyers better understand affordability issues at the beginning of the home searching process, and it strengthens the relationship between agents and their local lender online.
RatePlug educates buyers about crucial mortgage information at the beginning of their home search and helps connect them to local agents and loan officers. RatePlug and multiple MLS studies show that homebuyers spend up to 6 minutes more viewing an MLS listing featuring RatePlug than one without. For loan officers, research from the National Association of Realtors shows that 74% of homebuyers use the lender recommended to by their REALTOR. Most importantly, research also shows agents using RatePlug sell homes faster, experiencing 15% fewer Days on Market -- from list to contract date.
"When a home shopper searches for a home listed on the MLS and the listing features RatePlug, an invited local lender's current interest rates and payment for a variety of different mortgage loan programs are dynamically displayed. The result is the 4 bedroom 2.5 bath home isn’t only $225,000, It’s $1,375.87 per month including principal, interest, taxes, and HOA. It’s the lender’s current products and rates that are used to calculate affordability. When buyers understand the monthly cost to own, agents can focus their buyers upon homes buyers can afford and agents can close." said RatePlug CEO Brad Springer.
"SFAR is the glue between brokers, agents, buyers and sellers. RatePlug makes transactions even more seamless by helping home buyers better understand affordability and by helping agents and brokers find better qualified home buyers,” stated SFAR CEO stated Walter T. Baczkowski. "RatePlug is literally plugged into our platform for seamless accessibility," said Baczkowski.
Springer explains that the mortgage payment RatePlug displays is customized to that property's listing price combined with the property's current real estate taxes and insurance payment information. "This allows home shoppers to find their real affordability range because RatePlug is interactive, allowing consumers the ability to create multiple 'what if' scenarios across different loan types to find the right program that best fits their home buying needs," he said.
Moreover, Springer notes that RatePlug's compliance leadership among online mortgage technology providers has been a key driver for its growing popularity. "The regulatory environment within the real estate industry is ever changing and RatePlug delivers compliance: from the massive record-keeping requirement of the FTC MAP rules and RegZ to the latest rules surrounding TRID," said Springer, noting that his core leadership team alone collectively has more than 100 years of mortgage origination experience.
Real estate brokers, agents and loan officers interested in RatePlug can learn more at www.RatePlug.com or call toll-free 1-877-710-0808.
ABOUT RATEPLUG
Founded in 2003, RatePlug has become the nation's leading mortgage technology integrated into the MLS and is now available to 60 percent of all real estate agents and brokers in the U.S. RatePlug educates buyers about affordability by providing crucial mortgage information at the beginning of their home search and helps connect them to local agents and loan officers. Homebuyers spend up to 6 minutes more viewing an MLS listing featuring RatePlug than one without. For loan officers, NAR research shows that 74% of homebuyers use the lender referred to by their REALTOR. Most importantly, agents using RatePlug sell homes faster, experiencing 15% fewer Days on Market (from list to contract date) than agents who do not use RatePlug
# # # # #
