Re/Max is getting into the mortgage origination game.
Already a dominant player in real estate brokerage franchising, Denver-based Re/Max Holdings Inc. on Tuesday unveiled a new mortgage brokerage franchise, Motto Mortgage, intended to help small- to medium-size real estate agencies create a “one-stop shop” for home buyers.
The second member of the Re/Max family of brands, Motto will start by offering franchises to current Re/Max owners in the 30 states without additional state franchise disclosure requirements and expand to all 50 states in the near future, Re/Max CEO and co-founder Dave Liniger said during a press call Tuesday.
The goal is to take Motto Mortgage industrywide, offering the franchise opportunity outside the Re/Max organization to “other competitors we view as professional organizations,” he said.
“Re/Max disrupted the real estate industry when it was created more than four decades ago. We did it by empowering real estate agents and ultimately giving consumers a better homebuying and selling experience,” Liniger said in a statement. “Today we are extending our core competency of franchising into the mortgage origination market.”
Ward Morrison, Re/Max’s vice president of region operations and business opportunities, has been named president of the new venture. Each Motto Mortgage franchise will be independently owned and operated.
Unlike mortgage bankers, mortgage brokerages act as a middleman between borrowers and lending institutions and are able to search among numerous lenders to find the lowest rates. Motto currently has contracts in place with four wholesale lenders, Liniger said.
“It’s a very complex business for a small- to medium-size broker to be able to navigate,” he said.
It’s not an unusual relationship, though: Many of Re/Max’s largest brokerages already work with mortgage companies, either through joint venture or outright ownership, Liniger said.
“Because choice and service matter, Motto Mortgage will offer a variety of mortgage options while promoting honesty and complete disclosure, making it extremely consumer friendly,” Morrison said in a statement. “It’s the one-stop shop homebuyers want and the experience they will soon come to expect.”
