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Self-titled “Afterpay of home loans” enters the market
Start-up hopeful TechLend is disrupting the lending market by offering homebuyers interest-free, paperless, bridging loans with same-day pre-approval. Having dubbed itself as the “Afterpay of home loans,” challenges lie ahead in the company’s mission to deliver for customers.
The business is the brainchild of Aaron Bassin and mortgage broker Nick Jacobs, who had become frustrated with the limitations of traditional home loans, and came up with the TechLend concept.
The revolutionary platform helps reduce the stress of buying and selling properties. TechLend received seed investment from Matt Leibowitz, CEO of the commission-free trading platform, Stake.
This revolutionary step will see the platform take on the big banks as it attempts to disrupt the market for bridging loans. These are loans that enable the borrowers to buy the property of their dreams and ensure they have it, while their existing home is sold.
Bassin says “Afterpay has revolutionised the way consumers buy products these days. You can Afterpay anything except the roof over your head. That’s where the concept came from.”
When asked “why go down this path, why not go to the banks?” Bassin says, “The banks and the traditional lending market take from a few weeks to a few months to receive approval. The market moves quite quickly; especially if you already own a property and you’re looking to buy another property.” The approval process to purchase another property is quite onerous and antiquated. “You need to balance two mortgages, which not everyone can do. So, you’re forced to sell your property, and then buy your next property.”
This is where TechLend steps in.
It’s a very simple product for Australian homeowners, who identify the property they want to purchase, of which TechLend helps finance with same-day approval. It gives borrowers time to put their house on the market, with three months interest-free. Borrowers can pay back their loan and worry less. This has been born out of Covid-19, with people looking to move out of the big city, realising that they just don’t need such a big house with such a big mortgage; but borrowers simply didn’t have access to this liquidity.
“The big banks don’t provide short-term bridging because they don’t make money. And mortgage brokers get their commission clawed back,” says Bassin. The clawback discourages mortgage brokers from servicing their client’s needs.”
When asked whether TechLend performs credit checks on its customers, Bassin says, “Absolutely. Our proprietary system looks at property data to determine risk. But the risk is low. We want to make sure the borrower has a good credit history, we don’t lend to borrowers with defaults or criminal history. But we do have a credit licence.”
The company also has an in-house team that helps borrowers with compliance and administration.
TechLend also provides commercial property loans for loan periods of up to 24 months. “There are roughly 1.6 million households expected to downsize, together with thousands of properties looking for a different lifestyle,” Bassin says. “It’s a fantastic product for people looking to downsize or relocate. People now have an easier way to meet this need.”
