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loan comparison website MortgageMarvel.com allows borrowers to obtain interest rate quotes based on the loan amount, the property’s value and the ZIP Code, all while remaining anonymous. Pricing is updated as quickly as it changes — usually daily, but sometimes more frequently, says Rick Allen, director of strategic initiatives.
The quote is based on certain preselected assumptions, such as a 30-year mortgage. But you can change the assumptions to fit your requirements. There’s also a rate-watch feature that automatically notifies users when rates change. Another tab estimates closing costs.
More than 230 lenders are actively quoting their charges on the site, which is owned by Mortgagebot, the company that operates all of the participating lenders’ individual websites. If you apply, you are taken directly to that lender’s site. But until that point, your identity remains unknown.
Meanwhile, HouseTipper is growing slowly but surely, says one of its co-founders, real estate broker Tigue Bonneval of Baton Rouge, La. So far, it has run deals in about 20 cities.
“We’re not going to catch on
like wildfire overnight,” Bonneval says. “But we’re seeing a lot of interest, and we’re finally gaining some traction.”
The site’s most successful deal to date has been one of its most recent. Van Metre Homes, a Northern Virginia builder, offered to cover $5,000 in closing costs for anyone who bought one of its houses if the buyer also purchased a $50 coupon. The site sold 13 coupons, and, according to Bonneval, at least half the coupon buyers have already signed contracts for Van Metre homes.
Typically, group coupon deals are available for 24 to 48 hours. But real estate is a big-ticket item, so the deals last much longer. In Van Metre’s case, the 99% off deal went live in July and ended Aug. 17. It tipped when three people bought a coupon, and, to be valid, a contract to buy a house must be signed by Oct. 8. The company builds in nearly a dozen Northern Virginia locations, with prices ranging from the $200,000s to more than $1 million.
Some examples of other recent HouseTipper deals: In Los Angeles, pay $40 and get $4,000 back at closing if you buy or sell a house through broker Herb Leary. And in Houston, pay $30 and get $1,000 back at closing when you buy or sell through the Chris Wylie Team at Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate.
