SmartHippo seems to be launching at a really poor time; they are launching a product that exacerbates everything that led to the subprime mess. First, no one is honest about their credit so giving people "actual rates" is misleading. Second, Quicken and RMC Vanguard are not honest with customers. Smart Hippo perpertuates classic, dangerous bait and switch tactics. I have had several clients over the years get offered one rate from them and then end up with another. To put this most simply: advertising actual rates is generally a dangerous practice and not the best way to run a quality business. Thankfully, subprime mortgages are almost completely gone. The next thing to go are these irresponsible agencies such as SmartHippo and those call center refinance commericals you see on TV. Not everyone with a pulse deserves a mortgage and SmartHippo doesn't seem to understand this. If you want to model a refinance, there are many free online tools you can use. Voyant is a great one (www.planwithvoyant.com). Dinkytown has some quality calculators as well (dinkytown.com). If you want to refinance, sit down with a trusted advisor, not a salesman, and not SmarHippo. Stop giving lenders a bad name!

Hi Jeremy,

I think you are misunderstanding the purpose of SmartHippo. It exists to help people get better educated about mortgage rates and lenders before they go through the process of applying for a mortgage. Rates are posted by a variety of sources (either lenders, users or by automated means) however members of the community are also given the opportunity to comment on quotes and lenders, so if a rate was posted inaccurately, the community can point that out. We are not in the business of selling mortgages, simply providing an open, transparent forum for helping people discuss rates and lenders and find the best rates.

If someone were to find a rate they liked through SmartHippo they still have to apply through the lending institution, and we have no involvement in this process. As well users do not have to give SmartHippo any personal information, just plug in some basic data to get info on rates available to them. It is more a research tool to help consumers make better decisions.

And finally--SmartHippo was not just launched. It was released in beta in Sept. 2007 and in alpha this past Spring. At Finovate we announced new features to make our site even better.

If you have any other questions about SmartHippo, or if there's anything else I can clarify, please feel free to email me at kelly (at)smarthippo.com

Thanks,

Kelly Rusk
Community Manager,
SmartHippo