Today’s
mortgage
lending
environment
is
shifting
rapidly.
Purchase
loans
are
now
outpacing
refinances,
and
interest
rates
are
reaching
the
stratosphere.
Meanwhile,
affordability
is
becoming
a
dream
for
many
borrowers.
Also,
lenders
feel
the
impact
of
high
rates,
as
they
struggle
to
find
the
right
clients.

However,
one
mortgage
company
is
in
a
prime
position
to
transform
the
market
and
deliver
value
to

mortgage
professionals.
In
this
executive
interview,

NEO
Home
Loans
President

Ryan
Grant
discusses
the
company’s
partnership
with

Better
Mortgage,
which
is
aimed
at
combining
technological
innovation
and
local
market
knowledge.
The
goal
is
simple
yet
profound.
NEO
Powered
by
Better
wants
to
revolutionize
the
mortgage
market.

This
conversation
has
been
edited
for
length
and
clarity.
To
start
the
conversation,
Grant
explores
the
genesis
of
NEO’s
partnership
with
Better
Mortgage.

Combining
advanced
technology
with
localized
market
knowledge

HousingWire:

Tell
us
how
your
partnership
with
Better
came
together.
What
was
the
NEO
team’s
initial
reaction,
and
how
did
that
evolve?

Ryan
Grant:
We
began
laying
the
groundwork
for
NEO
in
2020
and
officially
launched
in
2021,
after
recognizing
the
industry’s
shifting
dynamics
and
emerging
challenges.
We
knew
that
if
we
didn’t
create
a
mortgage
company
known
for
offering
a
high
level
of
value,
not
just
selling
debt,
we
were
all
going
to
be
in
a
race
to
the
bottom
for
who
could
be
the
cheapest.
We
had
a
heart
for
being
more
valuable
and
offering
more
to
our
clients. 

In
2024,
we
got
a
call
from

Chad
Smith,
president
and
COO
of
Better.
We
knew
Chad
for
a
long
time,
and
he
followed
our
journey,
knew
our
“just
cause,”—and
he’s
like,
“What
would
it
look
like
if
you
guys
ran
retail
at
Better?”
At
first,
I
thought:

That’s
like
asking
Daniel-san
to
train
with
Cobra
Kai,
right?

The
industry
had
a
belief
about
Better—they
were
kicking
our
butts
during
the
refi
era,
closing
a
refinance
in
10
days
in
2020
when
we
were
doing
it
in
four
months,
cheaper
when
we
were
expensive.
We
vilified
them
because
we
couldn’t
figure
out
how
they
were
doing
it.

My
business
partner,
Danny
Horanyi,
convinced
me,
“If
we
compete
against
them
for
the
next
decade,
don’t
you
want
to
know
how
they
operate?
So,
we
met
to
tell
our
story
without
expecting
it
to
work
out,
but
the
alignment
was
there.
Better
was
created
to
make
homeownership
more
accessible
and
affordable
for
all
Americans
because
of
Vishal’s
experience
of
realizing
technology
was
not
a
thing
in
the
mortgage
space. 

Meet
Tinman
and
Betsy
—
Better’s
flagship
tech
platforms

They
showed
us
their

technology—Tinman,
Betsy—and
to
be
honest,
I
was
scared.
I’ve
been
one
of
the
top
25
mortgage
professionals
for
a
long
time,
in
the
masterminds,
and
no
high-producing
mortgage
professional
ever
said
technology
was
a
part
of
their
success.
But
when
I
saw
what
Tinman
was
doing
and
heard
Betsy,
I
was
like,
“Oh,
I
did
not
know
this
existed.”
Then,
on
top
of
the
incredible
technology,
they
showed
us
that
they
are
generating
30,000
purchase
leads
a
month—I
didn’t
even
think
there
were
that
many
people
a
month
interested
in
buying
a
home. 

At
the
time,
we
were
still
weighing
our
options,
navigating
a
complicated
situation
at
our
prior
company,
and
weren’t
actively
looking
to
make
a
change.
We
initially
said
no
to
the
Better
partnership.
But
one
morning,
I
woke
up
and
had
this
vision
—XYZ
Mortgage
powered
by
Better—and
I
was
like,
“If
I
see
that,
I
think
we
lose.”
If
we
can
be
NEO
Powered
by
Better,
we
could
combine
what
clients
want—speed,
efficiency,
lower
cost—with
what
they
need—advice,
guidance,
strategy.

So
we
went
from
“no”
to
“maybe”
to
“absolutely,” especially
as
our
previous
circumstances
shifted
abruptly
and
we
saw
how
well
Better’s
platform
aligned
with
our
long-term
vision. That’s
when
we
decided
to
create
the
partnership.

Adding
value

HW:
How
does
this
partnership
help
loan
officers
add
more
value
to
clients?

Grant:
Clients
used
to
have
to
choose
between
cheap
and
online,
or
valuable
at
a
higher
cost.
Now
they
don’t
have
to.
What
we’ve
created
with
this
partnership
is
a
way
to
give
people
what
they
want—speed,
efficiency,
lack
of
friction—and
give
them
what
they
need:
advice,
guidance,
strategy. 

The
mortgage
advisor
wins
here
because
they
can
sell
a
more
valuable
product.
At
the
same
time,
Better’s
tech,
namely
Betsy,
the
AI
voice
assistant,
and
Tinman,
the
proprietary
loan
engine,
takes
95%
of
the
daily
tasks
off
the
origination
team’s
plate,
letting
mortgage
professionals
stay
in
their
genius
zone.

Only
4%
of
mortgage
professionals
made
$20
million
in
volume
last
year
because
they’re
stuck
being
the
host,
chef,
server,
cleaner,
and
everything
else.
And
for
really
talented
mortgage
professionals,
that
is
highly
frustrating,
right? 
This
tech
creates
a
new
world
where
they
can
focus
on
what
matters.

Next,
Grant
explores
Betsy
and
Tinman,
Better
Mortgage’s
proprietary
artificial
intelligence
(AI)
tools.

RG:
Between
those
two
technologies,
Betsy
and
Tinman,
we
will
create
a
new
world
for
the
mortgage
professional.
Tinman
can
fully
underwrite
loans
without
human
involvement
and
take
days
and
weeks
out
of
the
process.

Betsy
is
fully
interconnected
to
Tinman.
Many
companies
say,
“We
have
generative
AI
as
well”.
Well,
that
might
be
great
for
a
chatbot.
Still,
it’s
not
going
to
tell
your
client
what
their
DTI
is,
it’s
not
going
to
update
them
on
the
status
of
their
loan,
or
go
over
a
loan
estimate
with
them
because
the
AI
has
to
be
fully
integrated
into
the
mortgage
advisor’s
system
to
do
that.
And
that’s
where
a
lot
of
these
companies
are
getting
it
wrong. 

RG:
I’ll
give
you
an
example:
we
funded
a
HELOC
in
two
days.
Most
mortgage
advisors
don’t
even
have
a
HELOC
to
offer,
and
it’s
the
most
valuable
product
out
there
today.
Our
client
applied,
and
Tinman’s
OCR
read
all
the
documents
without
human
involvement.
They
ran
an
automated
underwriting
review
and
appraisal
waiver,
and
no
title
was
needed.
They
signed
and
closed
the
next
day.
That
should
blow
people’s
minds. 

We
had
another
loan
from
application
to
clear-to-close
in
four
business
days.
Multiple
teammates
worked
on
the
file
at
once—other
platforms
make
you
wait
for
one
person
to
finish.
OCR
reads
bank
statements
and
income,
and
provides
automated
approval
under
only
three
conditions.
Our
teammate
went
to
lunch
and
returned,
and
the
client
uploaded
everything.
The
system
cleared
it,
so
no
email
was
needed. 

So,
we
can
help
10
times
the
number
of
families
without
hiring
10
times
the
number
of
teammates.
It
creates
scalability
in
a
way
technology
has
never
allowed
us
to
do.

Transforming
mortgage
lending
with
Artificial
Intelligence
(AI)

HW:

Tell
us
more
about
your
goals
with
the
partnership.
How
will
NEO
Powered
by
Better
impact
the
mortgage
industry?

RG:
Our
goal
with

NEO
powered
by
Better
is
to
change
the
way
the
mortgage
industry
works—cut
costs,
boost
efficiency,
and
deliver
real
value
without
forcing
clients
to
choose
between
cheap
and
valuable.
Take
underwriting:
a
standard
underwriter
does
one
to
two
loans
daily;
Better’s
team
averages
13.2. 

When
I
ran
my
team,
helping
50
to
60
families
a
month
meant
16
people,
massive
overhead,
and
high
margins
to
cover
costs.
Now,
we
don’t
need
processors—Tinman’s
tech
handles
it.
That’s
mind-blowing
scalability,
letting
us
serve
more
families
with
less.

In
the
near
term,
we’ll
lower
margins
while
keeping
profit,
making
us
more
competitive.
Mortgage
advisors
will
use
this
tech
to
enhance
their
business,
not
replace
them,
and
allow
them
to
focus
on
the
last
mile
—
guidance
and
strategy,
making
a
bigger
impact.
Our
mortgage
advisors
will
help
50
to
100
families
a
month
with
more
value
than
ever.
That’s
how
we’ll
shake
up
the
industry.

Tackling
challenges
associated
with
shifting
from
refinance
to
purchase

HW:
What
are
the
biggest
challenges
NEO
Powered
by
Better
solves
for
mortgage
professionals? 

RG:
One
of
the
most
fundamental
challenges
the
industry
faces
today
is
that
mortgage
professionals
are
having
a
hard
time
finding
clients
who
need
our
help.
9
out
of
10
buyers
don’t
think
it’s
a
good
time
to
buy,
74%
of
realtors
didn’t
help
a
family
last
year,
and
most
of
our
database
doesn’t
need
our
services
at
the
moment.  

When
we
saw
that
Better
was
generating
over
30,000
purchase
leads
a
month,
we
knew
that
we
could
use
our
skillset
to
help
them
and
make
a
massive
impact.
We
take
curious
clients
and
turn
that
curiosity
into
confidence,
helping
people
overcome
the
fear
of
owning
homes
and
building
wealth.  

Our
goal
with
the
lead
generation
is
to
put
these
homebuyer
leads
into
the
hands
of
the
best
and
brightest,
local
mortgage
professionals. 
We
know
that
with
our
skillset
and
ability
to
educate
these
clients,
we
can
help
them
with
the
home
buying
process
and,
importantly,
connect
them
with
the
best
real
estate
professionals
in
each
market
as
well. 
The
combination
of
high-value
mortgages
and
real
estate
professionals
is
exactly
what
these
types
of
clients
need
to
help
them
in
their
journey
to
homeownership.

Redefining
relationships:
The
lender
and
the
originator

HW:
Beyond
technology,
how
is
NEO
Powered
by
Better
changing
the
business
model
for
mortgage
professionals?

RG:
Economic
transparency
is
one
of
the
most
significant
shifts
we’re
bringing
to
the
industry.
This
partnership
allowed
us
to
create
what
we
believe
is
the
first
truly
transparent,
partnership-based
lending
model.
Most
mortgage
companies
talk
about
being
transparent,
but
if
you
ask
the
right
questions,
you
quickly
find
that
there’s
still
a
lot
hidden
behind
the
curtain.

We
started
NEO
because
we
were
treated
like
employees,
but
we
were
doing
95%
of
the
work.
It
didn’t
feel
aligned.
So,
we
asked:

What
would
it
look
like
if
mortgage
professionals
were
treated
like
business
partners
instead?
That
led
us
to
a
model
where
our
branch
leaders
and
cost
centers
get
to
see
every
dollar—they
have
full
access
to
the
economics,
decide
the
margins,
and
participate
in
capital
markets
revenue.
That
clarity
builds
confidence
and
creates
a
true
sense
of
ownership.

Most
originators
today
are
forced
to
sell
at
a
rate
that
feels
too
high
and
with
a
compensation
model
that
doesn’t
feel
fair.
We’ve
solved
that.
We
give
professionals
access
to
competitive
pricing
without
sacrificing
transparency
or
margin.
This
kind
of
alignment
is
key,
not
just
for
morale,
but
for
real
performance.
And
it’s
working:
in
the
first
three
months
of
the
partnership,
our
gross
margins
are
up
20%
over
the
previous
two
years.
That’s
a
direct
result
of
our
advisors
having
more
confidence
in
the
model
they’re
working
with.

Achieving
scalability
and
reducing
client
acquisition
costs

HW:
What
do
you
expect
to
achieve
from
this
partnership
soon? 

RG:
For
starters,
we’ve
already
exceeded
our
projections
in
the
first
month
by
125%,
and
our
forecasts
in
the
second
month
are
being
exceeded
by
100%.
This
is
just
a
testament
to
the
power
of
the
partnership.

We’re
beginning
to
scale
lead
routing
with
a
short-term
goal
of
achieving
a
10%
conversion.
This
aggressive
but
realistic
target
represents
an
approximately
500%
increase
over
the
current
levels
that
Better
experiences
in
its
DTC
channels. 
To
serve
all
the
families
inquiring
with
us,
we’ll
need
to
continue
to
partner
with
the
best
and
most
aligned
mortgage
and
real
estate
professionals
in
the
country.