Digital mortgage lender Better on Wednesday announced the launch of a loyalty program dubbed “Better Forever.”
The program is designed to reward customers by waiving origination fees on future refinance or purchase loans. Customers who previously funded a loan through Better on or after Jan. 1, 2019, are automatically enrolled in the program.
“We are proud to continue delivering on our promise of being a digitally-native homeownership company that remains customer-first — especially at a timely moment for consumers across the country,” Vishal Garg, Better’s founder and CEO, said in a statement.
“Homeowners deserve to feel confident in the interest rate tied to their mortgage for the life of their loan, not just when they complete their transaction. With Better Forever, we can help borrowers begin benefiting from their purchase or refinance today, without the fear of missing out on a better rate tomorrow.”
In an interview with HousingWire, Garg confirmed that all new customers and those who previously funded loans after the January 2019 deadline are allowed to take advantage of the program for their second purchase or refinance with Better.
“We want to encourage customers to come back. For every customer that comes back, we’re essentially giving them a $1,000 discount, which is still lower than what it costs us to acquire new customers,” he said.
“From our perspective, it’s it makes sense to do this because it’s going to be cheaper than attracting a new customer,” Garg explained. “When you advertise online or on TV, your customer acquisition cost is more than $1,000 alone. And then the other thing that is great about these customers is since they’ve already transacted with us previously, they’re familiar with the platform, and they probably still have a ton of data that they have inputted in the platform on their prior loan that they don’t have to input again, and therefore the process is more efficient.”
Garg added that a full marketing campaign is being done to inform all of Better’s previous customers about the loyalty program. “We want to think of the customer almost as a member, and as someone who’s signing up for a long-term relationship,” he said.
He also anticipates a busy 2025 homebuying season.
“We want to make it easier for our customers who do buy a home this year to refinance with us when rates are lower next year or the year after,” he said. “And (they should) know that they’re not going to pay any origination fees, and they’re going to likely be able to not have to pay any title insurance fees, because we are one of two lenders in the Fannie Mae title insurance waiver pilot. And so, all together, that could be about $2,500 per customer in savings that they can get. And that’s almost 60 basis points on a $400,000 (loan).”
The point of the program, he indicated, is to nudge hesitant borrowers off the sidelines.
“We’re already seeing applications come in from former customers that we’re marketing to and who are in the market for a cash-out refi or a HELOC. And so, we think it’s going to drive a lot of customer adoption,” Garg said.
