The trend of mortgage and real estate brokerage partnerships continues with the latest joint venture between Metrocities Mortgage and RE/MAX Coastal Properties. The venture will be called San Diego Coast Mortgage, the two companies said Thursday.
RE/MAX Coastal, a member of RE/MAX of California and Hawaii, Inc.’s network, and residential lender Metrocities, said the alliance will serve home purchasers in the Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach and Point Loma communities and clients throughout the franchise realty firm.
RE/MAX of California and Hawaii, Inc.’s network includes more than 400 offices and more than 11,000 associates.
The new relationship will supplement the list of ancillary services available at RE/MAX Coastal Properties, offering home buyers “one-stop” real estate services and lending capabilities, including both traditional and innovative loan programs, the companies said. These programs include interest-only loans.
“As the recipient of the CustomerSat ACE Award for mortgage borrower satisfaction, Metrocities Mortgage is a great complement to our customer-oriented real estate services,” said RE/MAX Owner/Broker Greg Flaherty in a statement. “Our clients will now have access to a superb loan staff with access to more than 7,000 loan products to meet their unique needs.”
As more brokers look for ways to expand business, associated business arrangements such as this are picking up. Affiliated business arrangements among real estate service providers are legal under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, known as RESPA, as long as certain guidelines are followed and companies disclose their relationship to consumers.
However, these arrangements came under scrutiny in 2005 when Colorado’s Insurance Division investigated nine Colorado title insurers for alleged kickback schemes said to result in overcharges to consumers. The probe sparked dozens of investigations nationwide, in Florida, Washington, Hawaii, California, Oklahoma, Minnesota and Washington and other states.
