Mortgages for Good

Real estate is the largest asset class in the worldi ii but can be a challenging asset to purchase in the U.S.,iii especially today. According to the Cato Institute’s 2022 Housing Affordability National Survey, more than half of American homeowners stated they would not be able to afford the house they live in if they bought it today.iv Lenders are responding to potential underwriting risks in the current economic environment by lowering their appetite for low credit score customers.v Moreover, lenders may be hesitant to originate mortgages for individuals in underserved communities due to an imbalance between origination cost and mortgage size – it can be more expensive to underwrite a small mortgage compared to a larger one.viMortgages for Good was founded to enable first-time homebuyers within underserved communities to help obtain a mortgage for their first home. As a mortgage broker, Mortgages for Good connects homebuyers and lenders. To do this, it leverages key connections within the residential real estate market, including wholesale lenders like Rocket Wholesale and EPM Wholesale. When closing on a mortgage, origination fees can cost up to 3% of the total value of the loan.vii Mortgages for Good is attempting to compete on cost by building out a team of salaried mortgage loan officers (MLOs) in Jamaica. The company believes lower operating costs may be achieved by building out a team overseas compared to operating in the U.S. It also believes paying salaries compared to commission-based incentives may provide economies of scale as it grows, which it then anticipates passing onto customers in the form of competitive origination fees. Mortgages for Good has already trained and hired one mortgage loan officer (“MLO”) living in Jamaica and plans to train and hire additional MLOs with some of the proceeds of this raise.Its success so far is underpinned by a lean team consisting of real estate professional and entrepreneur Chris Perry and seasoned operations and technology executive David Fullwood, who bring more than three decades of combined business experience to the team. The two are aiming to bring down borrowing costs for homebuyers by shopping for mortgages within the wholesale market, which can present attractive cost savings to homebuyers.viii Within just its first year of operations in 2022, Mortgages for Good has helped 24 individuals obtain mortgages, which collectively totaled $8 million of loan volume.

Total loan origination volume reached over $8 million during its first operating year in 2022, Revenue from originations hit nearly $200,000 in 2022, Creating a competitive cost advantage within the wholesale mortgage industry by aiming to build out a team of licensed MLOs in Jamaica, Company trained and hired its first licensed MLO in Jamaica in February 2023