LoanSifter Inc. has announced a strategic relationship with Google Inc. that gives consumers access to mortgage loan products and real-time pricing based on LoanSifter’s technology, including side-by-side comparisons of mortgage loan products from multiple lenders through Google’s Comparison Ads. Google’s Comparison Ads help consumers shop for mortgages online by retrieving quotes based on the borrower’s specific loan criteria. Through a strategic relationship between both companies, Google will leverage LoanSifter’s technology—which automates pricing for lenders using a real-time database of investor pricing and eligibility content—to provide Google users with information on mortgage products and pricing from the lenders using LoanSifter. When Google users get these rates, LoanSifter's lenders will receive qualified online leads.
Greg Ulrich, production manager at Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation in Colleyville, Texas, believes that Google’s popularity provides a great opportunity as another channel for borrowers to reach the company, without substantial investment costs. “This saves us money, allowing us to pass a greater savings to the consumer,” Ulrich said. “We chose LoanSifter for our Google auto-quoting because it enables us to customize our pricing more accurately and effectively. Other vendors require manual supervision, which would have been problematic in keeping up with market shifts.”
Consumers who search for popular mortgage-related terms or phrases on Google are drawn to Google’s proprietary mortgage Comparison Ads, where they can anonymously provide details such as their desired loan amounts and credit scores. Google will then retrieve multiple reliable offers from dependable lenders, placed side-by-side so the borrower can compare them. After investigating different scenarios and choosing a lender, the borrower is then able to contact the lender by phone or e-mail. Borrowers do not have to fill out lengthy forms or click through walls of advertisements in order to access up-to-the-minute loan products and rates, and the leads generated to lenders are anonymous, so that borrowers can protect their private information until they are ready to move forward in the mortgage process.
“Our relationship with Google will be of tremendous benefit to both lenders and consumers,” LoanSifter President Bruce Backer said. “A growing number of borrowers are using the Internet to find the best possible mortgage deals, and Google’s immense popularity makes it a first stop for many. Borrowers benefit from the side-by-side comparison in an open marketplace, while lenders benefit from LoanSifter’s ability to accurately price mortgage scenarios on their behalf.”
