Through a partnership with OpenHouse, Wintrust Mortgage is applying its “one loan does not fit all” philosophy to the agents who serve the company’s lending clients.
The anti-cookie-cutter personal lending firm originated $4.3 billion in 2015 and offers conventional loans as well as special first-time homebuyer programs to the Chicagoland community.
Now, Wintrust will weave OpenHouse Realty’s data-driven recommendation technology Agent Ace into its offerings so borrowers can obtain financing for a home and source highly qualified agent representation in one place.
Incentives for consumers
The agent recommendation service is free for Wintrust consumers, who will also earn a $250 cash back rebate from Agent Ace for every $100,000 in home value, up to a maximum of $5,000.
In addition, Wintrust loan officers gain a front row seat to the customer real estate lifecycle and the opportunity to build relationships with top performing real estate agents nationally and locally.
“We’re extremely excited to be working with OpenHouse as we expand our consumer direct business and enhance the overall service we provide to our customers,” said Bob Shield, executive vice president of Wintrust in a press release. “Wintrust will be able to continue to build rock-solid relationships with the top real estate agents in the country, which will benefit our customers and loan officers for years to come.”
Clients of Wintrust will be able to access the Agent Ace service through WintrustMortgage.com/windirect and by visiting other marketing channels. In addition, Wintrust will connect pre-qualified customers with top performing Agent Ace-sourced real estate agents who are a strong match for their needs.
OpenHouse Realty’s larger vision
Using criteria such as location, price and home type, Agent Ace unlocks industry information on agent performance to determine which professional would be the most qualified to help clients purchase or sell a home.
The service prides itself on delivering objective and unbiased results, standards that agent advertisements or existing agent networks are unlikely to uphold.
“Wintrust is a nationally recognized, service-based financial organization, and OpenHouse’s Agent Ace agent connection service will be a valued extension of that promise to deliver quality customer service,” said Jason Nierman, head of business development at OpenHouse in a press release. “Agent Ace will be a key tool to aid both Wintrust customers and their loan officers as they progress through the homebuying journey.”
Last month OpenHouse announced a larger push to forge strategic partnerships with key mortgage-focused partners when it joined forces with Chicagoland’s MortgageHippo, an online guide that walks you through every step of the loan transaction. The relationship with Wintrust represents another major “win” for OpenHouse on the lending front.
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