PBN INNOVATIVE COMPANIES 2020 PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Beeline Loans Inc.
IMAGINE GETTING A MORTGAGE-LOAN approval in 15 minutes and five easy steps, with a single, highly knowledgeable customer service contact. Digital mortgage lender Beeline Loans Inc. offers that, where loan approvals are issued faster and less expensive than from traditional brick-and-mortar mortgage lenders.
“Getting a mortgage or refinancing one’s home is such a painful process,” Beeline co-founder, general counsel and Chief Compliance Officer Jessica Kennedy said. “We want people to get excited about their home purchase.”
Launching in May 2020 with $7.6 million in seed funding, the Providence-based startup services customers in seven states, including Rhode Island and Massachusetts. It hopes to be lending nationwide by 2022, Kennedy said.
“Our message is a little different. We want to create a more pleasant experience than it is today,” said Beeline co-founder and CEO Nick Liuzza, by playing “the long ball” to get better outcomes for all customers. “The industry isn’t necessarily built around customer retention … we want to retain our customers for future transactions.”
Beeline profits by selling loans to investors and doesn’t charge its customers lender or origination fees. The company’s diverse customer base is both young and old, “who want that digital experience,” Liuzza said.
Subject to federal and relevant state banking regulations, Beeline uses the same financial data collection systems that large banks do. Liuzza said the company’s artificial intelligence reading, analyzing and evaluating customers’ financial data is proprietary. With extremely low interest rates, business is good at Beeline, which aims for a 50-50 split between new- purchase and refinance loans. Four weeks following the launch, Beeline’s loan approvals grew by 106%.
By building trust and credibility, Beeline envisions offering additional services, such as homeowners’ insurance, for example. “There’s room for Beeline … to connect to a new audience in an exciting way,” Liuzza said.
