The Web makes it easier than ever to jointly promote services. There is no better example of the interesting combinations possible than in the area of real estate. On the Web a number of different types of companies are vying for the attention of the online consumer, leading, they hope, to advertising dollars from financial institutions, mortgage brokers, and real estate brokers. For a searchable list of real estate and mortgage firms look at the Internet Real Estate Directory <www.ired.com>. Another good source is Yahoo <www.yahoo.com>.

The online real estate players
The Web is fostering a new competitive threat to established companies, the independent information company that links users to distant competitors. But the Web also provides new avenues for existing players to expand their reach. Here is a run-down of the players:

• established real estate brokers listing homes for sale and/or promoting their expertise
• Web-based real estate information services listing homes for sale, and/or linking to established real estate brokers
• established mortgage brokers prospecting for new customers
• Web-based mortgage brokers looking to break into the business solely online
• personal finance sites providing comparative rate info for local markets, financial calculators, and/or linkages to mortgage brokers and real estate brokers
• established financial institutions selling mortgages and sometimes providing linkages to real estate brokers and/or homes-for-sale listings
• search engines providing look-up services for homes for sale, real estate brokers, rate information, mortgage lenders, or anything else
• individuals listing their own home for sale
• individual investors looking for mortgages to buy
• wholesale lenders seeking to pull more business their way by providing information and linkages to their best mortgage broker customers
• manufacturers of new homes and other providers of construction and remodeling services

Following is a sampling of real estate sites. It’s by no means a representative sample (if there is such as thing), or a “best of” list; simply a slice of what’s online today.

HomeSeekers
Through partnerships with local multiple listing services (MLS), HomeSeekers features 155,000 home listings in nine states and includes lender linkages and advertising.

NewHome Search
Not every real estate company want to sell you an existing house. NewHome provides plans for building your own home. Financial institutions involved in new construction lending should look at working with this type of Web business.

HomeOwners Finance Center
HomeOwners is the brainchild of Dick Lepre, a mortgage broker operating in the San Francisco bay area. Lepre, who has logged more than 1,000 hours developing the site during the past two years, was one of the first on the Web with a comprehensive mortgage site featuring daily rates, educational material, and online applications. The site gets 350,000 hits per month, which translates to about 1,700 visitors per day according to Lepre.

Has it paid off? Approximately 90% of his new mortgage loans come from leads generated on his Web (10-15 loans closed per month). The majority of these applicants fill out a full loan application on the Web, contradicting some experts who claim consumers will not sit still long enough to complete a full mortgage application online. Lepre doesn’t buy that argument one bit, “Filling out a loan application from your computer is easier than doing it by hand,” he says. The key is creating an intuitive, simple-to-understand online loan form. An element he spent a month designing.

In fact, Lepre is so sure that applicants will continue to fill-out his online application, he is considering making it a mandatory part of doing business with him. It’s important to note that Lepre knocks $250 off the normal $395 loan fee for applications coming in over the Internet. Originally an advertising hook, he has maintained the healthy discount because he feels it’s important to reward customers for doing their own data entry and making his job easier.

There’s a lot to like at <www.homeowners.com>. It’s quick-loading, devoid of graphics and advanced HTML features such as frames. One of the most innovative areas of Lepre’s relationship-building efforts is his RateWatch e-mail newsletter <www.homeowners.com/ratewatch.html> which goes out several times each month (50 have gone out since June 1994) to prospects that signed up for it on the HomeOwner Web.

RateWatch serves as a good model for financial institutions wanting to develop an ongoing dialogue with mortgage shoppers. In each issue of RateWatch, Lepre leads with a summary of interest rates for common loan types. Next he delivers a few paragraphs of educational or newsworthy tidbits, followed by a soft-sell close. His upbeat writing style and energy demonstrates to prospects that he’s a guy who likes the mortgage business. You want to do business with him.

Financial institutions could pen similar updates centrally to maintain control over loan rate and APR disclosures, then forward the e-mails to mortgage reps, branch managers, and other sales staff who would be encouraged to personalize the closing before resending to customers, prospects, and their referral network.

HomeOwners gives the refi calculator a little extra pizzazz by offering users a chance to “test-drive” a new loan before purchasing. Here’s how it works:
1.Users choose a new loan from the rate table, then press “Test Drive”.
2.Users enter loan balance, current P&I monthly payment and hit “VROOM!” (see screenshot above).
3.Final output is a comparison of the new loan vs. the existing one including new payment, old payment and savings. The breakeven point is calculated and cumulative payments are graphed.
Dick Lepre is a Mortgage Broker and the creative genius behind HomeOwners Finance Center, rlepre@homeowners.com, 415.241.1421.