By now, many consumers are aware of online home financing sites like QuickenMortgage, E-Loan and HomeShark. These major players aren't alonge in the online mortgage business, however. There's a new group of up-and-coming Web services that could soon give these leaders a run for the money.

One such site is GetSmart, which caters not only to home owners seeking financing, but also borrowers seeking more options with debt consolidation, business financing, credit cards, auto financing and student loans. For consumers interested in obtaining home loans, the GetSmart MortgageFinder includes several choices: refinancing, second mortgages, home improvement, new-home loans, finding an equity line, and debt consolidation. Consumers may become prequalified online.

Obtaining a home loan is an often perplexing process. How do you determine which loan options are best for you? And how on earth do you decide how much you can afford to pay now and much you need to borrow? GetSmart helps you get the answers you need. Using the "refinancing" option as an example, the site first prompts the consumer to enter the zip code and the city where his property is located. The consumer is then asked to answer several questions regarding the type of home in which he lives, whether he has any loans at the present time or qualifies for any federal loans, and whether he wants to refinance in the next 30, 60, 90 or more days. Once those answers have been obtained, the consumer is then asked to fit the loan to his lifestyle -- in other words, decide whether he wants to lock in his loan's interest rate now (there is an occasional cost for that privilege); whether he wants to work with an advisor in person versus online; whether he wants accelerated approval; which language he prefers his advisor to speak; if he wants his bank to be local, in order to be able to make his transactions in person; and if he'd prefer to select a bank that gives away "extras" -- free checking, gifts or frequent flyer miles, for example.

At that point, the consumer is given a little guidance to help him figure out just how much he can afford. That figure is determined with a little prioritizing. The consumer is asked his reason for refinancing -- if he wants a lower monthly payment, or if he wants to receive a cash amount (and how much). The consumer is asked for his monthly take-home pay, to calculate how much he owes each month for his other debts, the current estimated value of his home, the balance on his first mortgage and whether he has a second mortgage, his preference for loan term and type (fixed or adjustable), and how he wishes to refinance his home (refinance a first or second mortgage, obtain a second mortgage, etc.).

Now, the consumer is asked to answer some additional questions concerning his job history (how many years of employment at his current company), whether or not he's self-employed, if he's ever declared bankruptcy, and the status of his credit history. The consumers select the best time for his advisor to call him and leaves his e-mail address so that the site may notify him about the status of his loan inquiry. GetSmart consumers also may select an option that allows them to receive a free e-mail update on smart strategies for saving money -- s subject on all of our minds at this time of year.

So who are these faceless advisors at GetSmart, anyway? The company's advisory team is comprised of such representatives as Chief Technology Officer Uday Walia, former vice president and manager of information systems for Wells Fargo's Wholesale Bank; board of directors Chairman Bill Fisher, former vice president for Wells Fargo Bank; and Tom Proulx, who co-founded Intuit, wrote the first version of Quicken software and helped found the company prior to his graduation from Stanford University.

In August, GetSmart added eight new lenders to its service: Consumers may now receive home loans from Bank One, Crestar and Norwest Mortgage; consumers seeking credit cards may now apply online for cards from First USA, American Express and Chase using GetSmart’s CreditCardFinder. And business owners can obtain financing from American Express, Glendale Federal and the Money Store using the GetSmart's Finance Center.

If you're looking for a step-by-step approach to the home-loan process -- one that enables you to do a little research and receive an introduction to the rhetoric (there's even a glossary) before you meet face to face with a financial advisor -- GetSmart fits the bill.

Published: November 24, 1998

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