Mortgage Shopping Service Examines Credit

A week after Congress passed various legislation aimed to crack down on mortgage fraud and increase transparency in the mortgage lending process, one service provider attempts to help clear the muddy waters ahead of the closing table, at the onset of the application process. Loan application solution provider Mortgagebot today unveiled the revised version of its consumer-direct Internet-based Mortgage Marvel platform, which delivers real-time, anonymous rate quotes to consumers shopping for mortgages. The new version of the application includes a credit score feature that factors a borrower’s credit score into the rate quote calculation, which is also based on the loan amount desired, the value and the zip code of the property in question. The expansion of the service aims to give consumers a more clear understanding of the cost of homeownership at whatever credit score tier they occupy. “All quotes are built using live loan-product data; so consumers can have the confidence that they will never get ‘bait-and-switch’ quotes or ‘teaser’ rates with Mortgage Marvel,” said Mortgagebot CEO Scott Happ in a media statement today. “[W]e know that a consumer’s credit score can directly influence the cost of borrowing,” he adds. Write to Diana Golobay.