Inman

Propertybase launches new lead source for loan officers, small teams

Propertybase, a popular real estate operating system that provides marketing, customer relationship management and back-office ops, now offers individual loan officers and small teams a new potential source of prospects — and a system for managing them — with the launch of BoldMortgage.

Starting at $799 for a package of 10 prospects a month, BoldMortgage offers individuals and teams access to many of the capabilities of Propertybase’s recently acquired enterprise-level mortgage business growth platform, Unify.

In many cases, prospects will have opted-in to prequalification, meaning loan originators using BoldMortgage will have instant access to data about the prospect’s credit standing within a Unify-powered customer relationship management platform.

With mortgage rates expected to rise in the months and years ahead, many lenders expect to do less business with existing homeowners seeking lower rates, and more business with homebuyers, Propertybase Chief Product Officer Tim Fessenden told Inman.

Prospecting for homebuyers

While refi clients often come knocking on their doors, lenders have to be more proactive about seeking homebuyers out. But mortgage lead generation can be tricky. Not only are there many marketing channels to reach prospects through, but there are plenty of ways to run afoul of regulators. Propertybase says it can solve both of those problems.

“I’ve talked to many compliance officers, and when I say the word, ‘lead,’ they get anxious,” Fessenden said. “We’re not selling the lead. We’re an advertising management system. We don’t want the mortgage broker to worry about waking up and saying, ‘What did my LO (loan officer) do?’ ”

BoldMortgage builds on BoldLeads, Unify

Propertybase says it’s developed the marketing expertise to mine social media, search and other online channels for leads. The company expanded its capabilities in that arena with the 2019 acquisition of BoldLeads. Today, BoldLeads generates “well over 125,000 lead per month” for real estate agents, Fessenden said.

Then, in a deal announced in February, Propertybase entered the mortgage business by acquiring Cross Media LLC, the company behind Unify. In acquiring Unify, Propertybase inherited years of experience in complying with the rules governing the marketing of mortgages, Fessenden noted.

BoldMortgage combines the lead generation capabilities of BoldLeads with Unify’s expertise in rules-compliant, automated mortgage marketing. It’s the first time individual loan officers and smaller mortgage brokers have had access to those capabilities in a single package, the company claims.

BoldMortgage “provides access to real-time data and marketing automation to make it easier for lenders to identify and engage with higher-intent prospects,” the company says.

Prequalifying prospects

Unify announced a collaboration with Experian in April to add prequalified prospects to its business growth platform. Now, through BoldMortgage, Propertybase is offering many of the same capabilities to individual loan officers.

At launch, about 30 percent of BoldMortgage prospects are opting in to prequalification, Fessenden said, providing loan officers with greater insights about potential clients as information about their credit standing is instantly retrieved from credit bureaus.

Even if prospects don’t initially opt in to prequal, information about their intentions — like whether they’re in the market to buy a home or refinance an existing mortgage — is collected. And, “We can reengage them with a variety of messaging to prequalify,” Fessenden said. “It’s not a one and done.”

Email Matt Carter