Ethical Lenders Challenge Deceptive Practices with New Online Sales Tool

Scottsdale, AZ -- (ReleaseWire) -- 07/20/2007 -- OfferAngel.com has launched a new sales tool for mortgage originators called the Offer Challenge. The Offer Challenge is aimed at helping ethical loan officers gain a competitive advantage in an industry that has recently come under enormous scrutiny from state and federal agencies. "There are many great lenders and brokers trying to be upfront and honest with the borrower but in an aggressive market often times the borrower can not differentiate which lender has their best interest in mind,” said Meg Burns, co-founder of OfferAngel.com. With the Offer Challenge, loan officers can stand-out by proving to the borrower they conduct their business with integrity and gain a competitive edge in the marketplace.

The Offer Challenge is the first independent online mortgage sales tool that helps mortgage professionals build trust and better inform borrowers. When a loan officer uses the Offer Challenge, they are initiating full disclosure with the borrower and empowering the borrower to get full disclosure from other lenders. “There are many lenders and brokers competing for the same customer through shared leads or mortgage payoff requests. Many borrowers are not effective shoppers and have difficulty explaining the loan terms they are being offered by another lender ultimately making choices based only interest rate or fees. The Offer Challenge standardizes the process for each lender so the borrower has every detail of each loan they are being offered and also understands how they are being qualified,” said Burns.

The loan officer initiates an Offer Challenge by creating an account for the borrower online and entering the loan details. The borrower has the ability to manage the online account and request other lenders to “rise to the challenge” and submit terms of their mortgage loans by using the online offer form. The Offer Challenge draws out as many as 100 loan terms and borrower qualifications from lenders that federal disclosures do not provide so the borrower can effectively compare their loan options and make an informed decision.

Prior to OfferAngel.com, mortgage borrowers had two routes to get information about mortgage terms while shopping for a loan. The first was reviewing federal home loan disclosures or good faith estimates, which is currently under scrutiny due to the complexity and lack of information it provides the borrower. The second was relying on the integrity of the loan officer selling the loan to the borrower to provide the mortgage terms, which many industry experts consider a conflict of interest due to compensation in the form of commissions. In both of these situations, a borrower was required to collect the information and educate themselves on their mortgage options.

OfferAngel.com has created the ultimate disclosure of loan terms for the borrower, in a way that is independent, accessible and easy-to-understand. "Our service is unique because the loan terms a borrower receives in their OfferAngel.com account are the real terms of a mortgage loan based on a completed loan application, not online quotes or best rate advertising. When this information is provided to the borrower in the beginning of the mortgage shopping process, it builds trust with the lender," said Jason Kaufman, co-founder of OfferAngel.com.

Mortgage brokers and lenders can sign-up for the service on the Offer Angel website, www.OfferAngel.com/challenge. The cost is $19.95 monthly per user with no limit on the number of Offer Challenges they can initiate. OfferAngel.com is free to consumers.

OfferAngel.com provides "The Honest to Goodness Truth About Your Mortgage Offers" to consumers. OfferAngel.com is the only online company independent from mortgage lenders to gather loan details on behalf of the borrower to better represent mortgage loan terms. Through automated technology, OfferAngel.com has standardized loan information for mortgage borrowers that is not accessible through federal home loan disclosures. Loan terms are presented to borrowers with simplified explanations in an easy-to-read format viewable through an online account. OfferAngel.com strives to create an ethical market place through informed consumer choice. OfferAngel.com does not publish interest rates, online quotes and never sells consumer information. The web site launched in May 2007 and has gained exposure as the online solution to predatory lending practices.

For more information about Offer Angel, or to schedule an interview with Jason Kaufman or Meghan Burns, please call Jason Kaufman at 888/533-0894 or email Jason at jkaufman@offerangel.com