From staff reports
A few months after Zillow announced it would enter the lending business, iBuyer Opendoor announced Thursday that it would as well, launching Opendoor Home Loans.
In a statement released Thursday, the company said it was aiming to make the home lending process less complicated. It can take around 45 days to finance and close on a new home purchase, and the company saw an opening to streamline the process by encapsulating the buying experience from beginning to end.
“Having helped over 50,000 customers buy or sell with Opendoor and hosted over 1 million on demand self-tours of Opendoor homes, we know our customers value flexibility, simplicity and speed,” the company’s press release said. “We’ve taken those same principles and applied it to the home loan process.”
Currently, homebuyers in Texas and Arizona can use the company’s app or go to its website to determine if they pre-qualify for financing, whether they are buying through Opendoor or not. Each borrower will get help through the process by a mortgage consultant employed by the company.
What will make it different from other lending options? The company said its interest rates will be competitive, and there will be no lender fees. For a limited time, they will also offer up to $1,000 on buyer closing costs. Opendoor will also guarantee an on-time close, and said its one-on-one support will offer a dedicated mortgage consultant throughout the process.
Opendoor Home Loans will offer conventional fixed-rate mortgages in 10, 15, 25, and 30-year terms, and adjustable-rate mortgages with up to 10 year fixed terms for a duration of up to 30 years, with as little as 3 percent down.
The company plans on expanding the program to additional markets in the next few months, it said.
