Most Home Corp. has reached an agreement to sell the loan origination software platform and client base of its subsidiary, Netupdate Inc., to Mortgagebot LLC as part of a plan to raise money and grow its mobile listings service, Kurio.
Mequon, Wis.-based Mortgagebot will pay $600,000, and allow Most Home to keep $107,000 in Netupdate receivables it has billed or collected before closing, the companies said in a press release.
Mortgagebot, which provides point-of-sale solutions for taking mortgage applications through channels including the Internet, said the acquisition of Netupdate strengthens its client base of banks, thrifts and credit unions to more than 900 organizations nationwide.
Vancouver, B.C-based Most Home acquired Netupdate on Feb. 1, 2008, for $700,000 in stock plus up to $2 million in earn-outs based on the Netupdate’s future revenue, the company said in a regulatory filing.
Most Home, which hasn’t filed a quarterly report to investors since disclosing mounting losses last June, is pinning its hopes for the future on its mobile listings application, which it’s re-branded as Kurio.
Kurio provides real-time access to multiple listing service (MLS) data from any Web-enabled mobile phone, and is already serving more than 30 major MLSs with upwards of 300,000 Realtors, said Chief Executive Officer Ken Galpin. Although based in Canada, Most Home says 90 percent of its business is in the U.S.
"The big opportunity is in opening it up to the public," Galpin said, a process that’s moving forward at a number of MLSs that have or will soon have public-facing Web sites. It’s easier for telecommunications companies to point customers looking for listings information on the go to a single, national brand like Kurio than to individual MLSs, Galpin said.
In markets where Kurio is available, consumers can access listings information for free. A professional version for real estate agents, KurioPro, provides access to more comprehensive MLS data including solds and expireds, according to Kurio.com.
While Most Home’s focus going forward will be Kurio, most of the company’s revenue continues to be generated by lead generation and management for real estate brokers and agent, Galpin said. …CONTINUED
Most Home operates a consumer lead-generation portal, MostReferred.com, that connects consumers to real estate agents. The company also offers lead-management services including acquisition, response and qualifications through an eTeam call center staffed by real estate professionals responding to Internet inquiries.
Most Home has not filed a quarterly report since June, when it reported accumulated net losses of $12.7 million through April 30, 2008. At the time, the company said it needed $4 million in financing to fund 12 months of operations.
Galpin said Most Home is "working hard to clean those (regulatory filings) up. It’s a difficult time for junior public companies that haven’t reached profitability yet."
Most Home’s shareholders, he said, have authorized management to dispose of assets in order to restore the company to profitability. Asked what other assets Most Home might be looking to unload with the Netupdate deal apparently sealed, Galpin said management is "authorized to look at anything, and nothing is off the table."
It’s a difficult time to be selling assets, however, and further sales of company assets depend on the strength of offers that come in, Galpin said.
Most Home announced last month that a previous plan to sell Netupdate to Data-Vision Inc. had fallen through. Since acquiring Netupdate, Most Home said the company had continued to operate autonomously, adding mortgage banking and credit union customers.
Since its incorporation in 1999, Netupdate had accumulated a $38 million net operating loss from its incorporation in 1999 through the end of 2007, according to audited financial statements contained in a Most Home Corp. regulatory filing.
***
What’s your opinion? Leave your comments below or send a letter to the editor.
