FormFree has partnered with HomeScout, a wholly owned subsidiary of FirstClose, to launch HomeScout Qualified Borrower, a tool that helps lenders generate leads and concentrate borrower conversion efforts on mortgage-ready home buyers.
HomeScout offers mortgage professionals a suite of tools built to capture more purchase business and close more loans by engaging with in-market home buyers early in their home buying journeys. With the introduction of HomeScout Qualified Borrower, FormFree and HomeScout helps prospective homebuyers – including those with thin credit files or no credit score at all – understand their buying power and share it with lenders before completing a detailed loan application or receiving an initial loan estimate.
FormFree is a provider of ability to pay (ATP) analytics for the lending industry, including verification of assets (VOA), verification of income and employment (VOI/E), and rent payment history. FormFree’s patent-pending Residual Income Knowledge Index (RIKI) supplements traditional credit evaluation models with analysis of a consumer’s cash flow and residual income, creating a more complete picture of a borrower’s creditworthiness and potentially allowing more borrowers to qualify for a home loan.
“The systemic bias in today’s lending model, however unintentional, has created a homeownership gap that has persisted for decades. The FHFA is calling upon the entire industry to make housing equity a priority, and FormFree is answering that call,” says Eric Lapin, FormFree’s chief strategy officer. “Our Qualified Borrower token provides the top-of-funnel intelligence lenders need to responsibly extend credit to more borrowers while curbing sky-high loan origination costs.”
“Our partnership with HomeScout redefines the way lenders engage with past customers and prospects by combining clear signals of home buying intent with a complete understanding of each consumer’s ability to finance a home,” states Brent Chandler, FormFree’s founder and CEO. “These are the highest-quality leads the industry has ever seen.”
“Every day, hundreds of thousands of Americans start their home buying journeys online. With so many potential leads, the challenge for lenders is figuring out which buyers have both the intent to buy a home and the ability to repay a mortgage loan,” comments David Camp, president of HomeScout. “By combining our consumer marketing suite with FormFree’s Qualified Borrower token, HomeScout Qualified Borrower helps lenders more efficiently connect with mortgage-ready home buyers before they are scooped up by competitors.”