5 ms·

That's a fair theory, but I would argue lenders like better.com are winning so much business is because they simplify the process. Their marketing is around tha

by toolz 4y ago

That's a fair theory, but I would argue lenders like better.com are winning so much business is because they simplify the process. Their marketing is around that exact reason, as well. There's obviously competition in the space of making home purchasing less complicated, which leads me to reasonably believe less consumer protection from disconnected bureaucrats would result in less absurd complexity. I bought a house just a few months ago and I was on the hook for thousands of dollars before I was legally required to take a home purchasing educational course. Only bureaucrats could think up such silly rules as to require people to take educational courses on buying a house and allow those courses to only be legally required after you've committed thousands of dollars to the seller. If the market demanded educational material on how to buy a house (and it does, I've bought a book on real estate for that very purpose before buying my first home) then you get incentives that make sense.

sharemywin 4y ago
I didn't see a credit score disclosure on better.com's view rates page, but assuming the best score level if you go to bankrate.com and look at the scenario 500K 20% down 740+ credit it shows almost a $50K+ difference over the life of the loan between their quote and the lowest quote on bankrate. Not that they're the best place to find quotes, just it's easy to see multiple rates.
mrtranscendence 4y ago
> There's obviously competition in the space of making home purchasing less complicated How much competition? I've hardly even heard of better.com. Certainly every time I've bought a house (three since 2003, most recently in 2018) I've had to sign an unreadably long contract, and I don't recall much if any advertised competition in the "make it simpler" space. I'm also not sure I buy that the complexity of the process came down to consumer protection laws, though I'm no expert in that area.
MichaelBurge 4y ago
> I would argue lenders like better.com are winning so much business is because they simplify the process. I feel like if somebody picks a lender and gets sent a stack of paperwork, they're committed. They're not going to back out "because the paperwork is too complicated" and choose a competitor, and ask their sales people "How long is your paperwork?" So I'd be skeptical that "complexity of the legal agreement" is at all a factor.
kurikuri 4y ago
> lenders like better.com are winning so much I wouldn't be so sure about that, they've had 3 rounds of layoffs in the past 4 months, one of which was 1/3 of their workforce[0]. They are also accused multiple times of stiffing employees on severance pay[1]. Not to discount everything else you've said, but please don't use that company as an example of winning. [0] via layoffs.fyi, filter companies to "Better.com" [1] https://www.fastcompany.com/90750106/how-better-com-and-its-ceo-left-laid-off-workers-out-to-dry https://www.fastcompany.com/90750106/how-better-com-and-its-...

by toolz 4y ago

sharemywin 4y ago

I didn't see a credit score disclosure on better.com's view rates page, but assuming the best score level if you go to bankrate.com and look at the scenario 500K 20% down 740+ credit it shows almost a $50K+ difference over the life of the loan between their quote and the lowest quote on bankrate. Not that they're the best place to find quotes, just it's easy to see multiple rates.

mrtranscendence 4y ago

> There's obviously competition in the space of making home purchasing less complicated How much competition? I've hardly even heard of better.com. Certainly every time I've bought a house (three since 2003, most recently in 2018) I've had to sign an unreadably long contract, and I don't recall much if any advertised competition in the "make it simpler" space. I'm also not sure I buy that the complexity of the process came down to consumer protection laws, though I'm no expert in that area.

MichaelBurge 4y ago

> I would argue lenders like better.com are winning so much business is because they simplify the process. I feel like if somebody picks a lender and gets sent a stack of paperwork, they're committed. They're not going to back out "because the paperwork is too complicated" and choose a competitor, and ask their sales people "How long is your paperwork?" So I'd be skeptical that "complexity of the legal agreement" is at all a factor.

kurikuri 4y ago

> lenders like better.com are winning so much I wouldn't be so sure about that, they've had 3 rounds of layoffs in the past 4 months, one of which was 1/3 of their workforce[0]. They are also accused multiple times of stiffing employees on severance pay[1]. Not to discount everything else you've said, but please don't use that company as an example of winning. [0] via layoffs.fyi, filter companies to "Better.com" [1] https://www.fastcompany.com/90750106/how-better-com-and-its-ceo-left-laid-off-workers-out-to-dry https://www.fastcompany.com/90750106/how-better-com-and-its-...