We recently refinanced our house to take advantage of a rate one point lower than our current mortgage.  Wow, that’s a big chunk of money each month. However, the process to realize that savings was PAINFUL!  We worked through a broker, Finet Mortgage, who we’ve used for several transactions.  The team at Finet does a great job finding the best rate and is very helpful in managing the laborious document submission process.  Unfortunately, despite Finet’s best efforts, the refinance process is still not pleasant due to the lender’s processes, document requirements and lack of communication… that results in frequent rush requests to find certain pieces of paper.  All the back and forth frequently results in a longer time to close…and frequently in increased fees to get the work done.

There is so much room for improvement here.  EVERYONE has similar painful experiences.  There has got to be a better way!

There IS a better way and the innovation is coming from GoRefi.  I spent some time with their leadership and learned more about their product and value proposition.  Banks, be ware, GoRefi is well positioned to turn the mortgage lending process on its head…and can pass savings off to consumers at a lower interest rate.

GoRefi takes the friction out of the mortgage lending process by focusing on the major frustration points my wife and I complain about: poor lender communication, long times to close and elimination of exorbitant fees. GoRefi positions itself to:

• Provide an interest rate .25% lower than most banks
• Provide a 30% savings on closing costs
• Close the transaction in 14 days…instead of the industry 60

Wow, this sounds great.  So, why did we use our broker and NOT GoRefi?

My wife and I have managed between us over 10 real estate transactions and I have to admit I’m a little hesitant to use GoRefi.  I’m sure many others experienced and inexperienced people may be hesitant as well.  I think the hesitancy can be appeased if GoRefi:

• Articulates their legitimacy as a lender. I’d like to know if GoRefi is the loan originator…or if they also shop around to other lenders for the best rate. If they do make the loan, where does the money come from?  Where do their rate quotes come from?
• Communicates their stability as a company.  Most people don’t care who originates the loan.  However, I personally find it frustrating when our loan is resold…and resold…and resold.  This is concerning for it means we need to revise our bank’s bill pay tool to submit payment.
• Defines how they treat and protect all the data submitted.  At this point GoRefi does not clearly define what precautions they take to protect our identities and PII.  How do we know GoRefi is not a lead gen site that resells the information provided to legitimate and not-so-legitimate companies?  Yes, GoRefi does provide this information on a Security and Privacy page…but the links are in the breadcrumbs at the bottom of the home page.  This information needs to be FRONT AND CENTER.

Having met these guys it is clear they will have responses and processes in place to address each of my reasons for hesitancy.  However, consumers will not ASSUME this and need to be directly informed….or “spoon fed” this information.

Now assuming these concerns are addressed and a consumer does apply for a loan refinance, GoRefi must treat any customer like the Queen of England. GoRefi closes their refinance process definition with a bold statement:

I think this is where GoRefi will win (and win BIG) customers or will crash.  As soon as the customer starts submitting the required documents, a GoRefi rep must become the customer’s best friend.  The rep must be available to answer any questions and must keep the customer informed of where they are in the process…at all times.  GoRefi must over communicate.  If not, consumer trust in GoRefi will quickly erode and lender will seem like all the others.

The big question that pops into my mind is can GoRefi afford the headcount needed to bring on these high touch reps? These reps are important hires and they each need to deliver an exemplary customer experience.  After all, GoRefi is striving to transform the lending process with consumers…and I think they are well positioned to do so.