Regulatory

Two firms partner to launch new mortgage company

Joins list of brokerages entering mortgage industry

Two firms, Jack Conway and New Penn Financial announced the launch of a joint-venture mortgage company – Conway Financial Services.

Conway, a privately-owned residential real estate brokerage made up of 30 offices and 700 sales associates, is based in Massachusetts, while the lender New Penn is based in Philadelphia.

With the launch of this new mortgage company Monday, industry veteran Janet Bradshaw will manage the new Boston, Massachusetts presence. Bradshaw began her career in the real estate industry with Conway in 1998.

“I expect us to have a longstanding partnership with Jack Conway & Company,” Bradshaw said. “Our ability to strengthen homebuyers with prequalification and an array of tailored loan programs, along with Jack Conway’s deep roots and local expertise, will benefit our customers.”

Conway Financial will service borrowers in home purchases and refinancing.

But Jack Conway isn’t the first real estate brokerage to launch into the mortgage business. Back in October, RE/MAX announced that it is launching Motto Mortgage, a mortgage brokerage franchise that the company plans to take nationwide.

And more recently, Redfin announced it is getting into the mortgage lending business. The company announced it is launching Redfin Mortgage, adding a mortgage-lending operation into it’s existing digital-focused real estate brokerage and title businesses. 

Redfin says its “ultimate goal” is to have is an “entirely digital process, with better service, a faster closing and lower fees.”

But not everyone agrees that real estate agents moving into the mortgage business is a good idea. Take, for example, this comment from a HousingWire reader on RE/MAX’s move into mortgages.

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And it does seem to set the stage for RESPA violations. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau could very well look closer into these businesses to ensure they are not committing these violations.

Recently, the CFPB showed the industry it will not tolerate improper mortgage referrals when it fined Prospect Mortgage for an alleged “kickback” scheme. And other companies also came under fire for their participation in the activity including ReMax Gold Coast, Keller Williams Mid-Willamette and Planet Home Mortgage.

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