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Zillow launches new tool to help renters build credit
Zillow is helping renters use their monthly payments to boost their credit profiles through CreditClimb, a new tool powered by Esusu.Renters can now enroll in CreditClimb directly through Zillow to have their on-time rent payments reported to the three major credit bureaus for $20 a year. The tool also helps renters track their credit score and allows them to input their last two years of rent payments to further improve their score."Renters have more options when they have paths to establish and strengthen their credit," said Michael Sherman, senior vice president of Zillow Rentals, in a press release Wednesday. "That can mean qualifying for better financing, securing their next rental or moving confidently toward homeownership. With CreditClimb, renters can use the rental payments they already make to build credit and strengthen their financial future."More than 85% of renters don't see their monthly payments reflected in their credit reports, according to a TransUnion report, limiting the loans they can apply for. But those using Esusu-powered programs have seen an average increase of 45 points to their credit score, unlocking more than $30 billion total in mortgages after reporting rent payments, the release said. CreditClimb submits payments to Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, so that on-time payments contribute to a renter's credit profile.Zillow launched free rent reporting early last year, and has since helped more than 147,000 renters improve their credit scores, according to the release."Esusu is honored to support CreditClimb and expand new credit-building opportunities for Zillow users across the country. Credit is more than a number on a page. It is a gateway to dignity, stability, and a chance to pursue the American Dream," said Samir Goel and Wemimo Abbey, co-founders and co-CEOs of Esusu, in the release. "By joining forces, Esusu and Zillow are helping millions of renters …"Esusu, a financial technology platform, has been helping renters build credit for years, partnering with Freddie Mac in 2021 and lenders like Berkadia.
Fairway partners on card that boosts homeownership savings
Fairway Home Mortgage is partnering with Made Card to offer a credit card which will provide points for making their normal monthly loan payments and for purchases of home products and services.Borrowers do not need to use the Made for Home Card, formally the Made Essential Visa Signature Preferred Card, for making their on-time mortgage payment in order to receive an award.But purchases for home improvements, home maintenance, home furnishings, gas, groceries and utilities all must be done by using the card to be eligible.This card does not have a fee. Reward points can be redeemed as cash back or gift cards, as well as buy downs of the credit card annual percentage rate."By offering rewards tied to on-time mortgage payments and home expenses, we'll provide our customers with the benefit of reducing costs on future refinance or purchase mortgages," said Mike Blake, president, capital markets, at Fairway, in a press release.Made Card's seed round fundingMade Card has just completed an $8 million seed funding round with investors including Jump Capital, Village Global, Recharge Capital and Soma Capital as well as individuals with credit card and mortgage industry experience, including from Fairway.National Mortgage News spoke with the three co-founders of Made Card: Ashin Shah, the CEO; Christophe Van; president; and Alex Shin, who is a board member. All three have financial experience, with Shah having spent time at Bain Capital, where he was an analyst; Van at J.P. Morgan and YieldStreet; and Shin with experience as a mortgage-backed securities trader and then as vice president of finance and capital markets at Ramp on the credit card side.The Made Essential Visa Signature Preferred Card is its first offering, but plans are to launch additional products in the coming quarters, Shah said.While Made Card has the risk as well as the unit economic benefits, the card itself is issued by Lead Bank, a Kansas City, Missouri-based institution, Shin said.With mortgage rates back in the 6%-to-7% range and expected to remain at that level, "homeownership has become a lot harder to attain for a lot of folks," Shin explained. "And I think there's definitely the impetus for [people] just to think about what are interesting, innovative, creative ways to make home ownership more affordable."At the same time, origination volumes since their peak during the pandemic have shrunk. An age old issue is how mortgage lenders can differentiate themselves from the competition, Shin continued.The founders also come from "hardcore technical backgrounds," Van noted, and combined with their fintech experience, "it was just the perfect opportunity, perfect storm, to bring in a lot of these aspects in a really high level way into the mortgage industry and unify it with other components that we really believe can take it to the next level."Another factor was the shift in origination share away from depositories towards nonbank lenders, Shah added. Made Card is looking to create an ecosystem much the same as American Express has around travel and dining."That's where we saw the opportunity here is to kind of bring that to the mortgage and homeowner landscape, and to be able to build an ecosystem for home spend in the same way that ones exist for other categories of spend," said Shah.Looking at all of those together, the three decided the answer was to create a credit card with a loyalty program.Other loyalty programs at mortgage lendersOthers have looked to loyalty programs to boost business and as a form of customer retention.Rocket Rewards was brought to market in November 2022 aimed at potential homebuyers. In 2024, its own branded Visa card was offered. But both programs have been discontinued.Earlier this year, RocketRentRewards was started. Homebuyers can earn 10% back on their last 12 months of rental payment to use as lender credits towards closing costs.Also in 2024, Mesa began offering a homeowner focused credit card. Paramount Residential Mortgage Group co-branded with Mesa in May.A more recent partnership is between Bilt Rewards and United Wholesale Mortgage. The combination will deliver "a tremendous amount of exclusive benefits for our brokers, including 4-to-500,000 leads [of] Bilt renters that convert to purchase every single year exclusively to our mortgage brokers," UWM Chairman, CEO and President Mat Ishbia said on the third quarter earnings call.Later in the call Ishbia said in the past when these consumers buy a house they leave Bilt."Now they're going to have a way to make a mortgage payment through Bilt by working with a mortgage broker," he continued.Why Fairway became interested in Made CardFor Made Card, "our perspective is it's all about execution, product and prioritization," Van said.Fairway is Made Card's first nationwide mortgage partner, and it expects to announce a number of additional lender and servicer partnerships as the business scales, Shah said. It plans to partner with homeownership adjacent businesses outside of the mortgage industry as well.The company approached Fairway, who Shin has connections with from his past experience. Even so, he added that as an early stage startup, it had to spend a little bit of time to curate some of these relationships and get introductions.Fairway, along with some of its executives are also investors in Made Card."It was really a shared vision where the mortgage industry broadly is focusing on how to retain their customers, preparing for the next wave of refi," Shah said. "We've been very pleased that Fairway is very forward thinking in innovating on this."Since the card does not need to be used to make the payment, Made Card is able to get the information through a series of integrations with Fairway and other partners, including credit reporting agencies and banks, so no change is needed by the consumer, Shah said, adding "we're able to create it seamlessly on our end, through technology."Will the swipe fee settlement affect the Made CardA recent development in the credit card industry is a proposed settlement of a swipe fee lawsuit with MasterCard and Visa. If approved as currently agreed to, merchants have the right to not accept certain classes of credit cards (right now, if they take a Visa card, for example, they must accept all Visa cards).The tiers include one for fee-based rewards cards.However, the Made Card is designed to be a mass market card, whose acceptance is guaranteed under the settlement agreement, rather than a premium card, Shah said.
Today's investor property loan opportunity for lenders
Foreign buyers and local investors continue to play a critical role in the U.S. housing market, pushing ahead with purchases and refinances despite rising costs, shifting politics, and slower returns. For mortgage lenders, these buyers represent a growing business opportunity.Investor ownership of residential real estate has long been a contentious topic, with some blaming investors, particularly corporate buyers, for inventory shortages. But, as Yuval Golan, CEO of real estate financier Waltz, and others note, the majority of properties are actually owned by so-called mom-and-pop investors.Jessica Bluj, president of the mortgage division at American Pride Bank, said these smaller investors are taking advantage of lower demand to enter the market. "What we're seeing is that people who probably 10 years ago would never have considered buying investment properties are now doing so," she said. "These products are becoming more available, giving regular homeowners the ability to invest in additional properties."Investor sentiment and market trendsDespite conventional wisdom suggesting foreign investors might shy away amid tariffs and political uncertainty, lenders report continued interest.Golan said international investors often view real estate as a safe, inflation-resistant investment (as they have been for quite some time). "Whenever my parents had savings, they would buy bricks and mortar rather than luxury goods," he noted.However, investors of all types are cautious. The Fall 2025 RCN Capital/CJ Patrick Company Investor Sentiment Index dipped slightly to 101 from 102 in Q2 and fell 23 points from the prior year."Market conditions for real estate investors continue to prove challenging, with high financing rates, rising labor and materials costs, and soaring insurance premiums affecting profit margins," said RCN Capital CEO Jeffrey Tesch. These pressures also weaken affordability for homebuyers, limiting fix-and-flip opportunities.Canadian buyers have been more cautious, partly due to tariffs and currency fluctuations, but they still represent a notable share of foreign activity. In 2024, Canadians accounted for 13% of foreign buyers, purchasing $5.9 billion in U.S. real estate. In the first half of 2025, 20% of Waltz's foreign clients were Canadian, second only to Israelis at 36%.Investor strategies are also shifting. While a third of investors stick to their primary model, flipping, renting, or wholesaling, 55% have switched their primary approach in recent years, and 11% added secondary strategies. Flippers have been more likely to switch to rental investing, while some rental investors have expanded into other models.Ben Fertig, president of Constructive Capital, noted that investor asset classes remain "countercyclical" and are likely to perform well over the long term. The ISI score above 100 for six of the last 10 quarters indicates a generally positive investor outlook.Why lenders should focus on investorsFertig explained that lenders can benefit from offering products tailored to investors, particularly given challenges in the traditional owner-occupied market. "Investor products, both DSCR rental loans and residential transitional loans, have proven less rate-sensitive than conventional first mortgages," he said.Single-family rentals have grown as homeownership rates declined since the Great Financial Crisis. Offering these products can also help lenders attract and retain borrowers, who are often repeat customers, reducing acquisition costs."If they were pulling out, why are 70% of my borrowers refinancing and buying again?" Golan said "They're not taking their money out. This is a year that we've seen 30% or 40% growth of foreign nationals reinvesting in the U.S."Rather than leaving because of tariff wars, they are investing in U.S. real estate because those have made home construction more expensive, Golan said.For foreign buyers looking to get into the market, there are opportunities to provide white-glove services to ease the process. Waltz, for example, sets up international investors for business in the U.S., including with a bank account; the company is also a direct lender, Golan said. While its expertise is with working with foreign national borrowers, Waltz also has U.S.-based clients as well. Waltz does not make loans on fix-and-flip properties, but only to owners who are looking to own for the long term."The whole idea is to reduce the amount of paperwork an investor deals with when investing, with all aspects" of the process, he noted. DSCR loans expand opportunities for mom-and-pop investorsNon-qualified mortgage debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) loans have helped smaller investors enter the market. Bluj said, "First-time investors are using these products to buy properties and build generational wealth." American Pride primarily originates these loans for purchases, not refinances, and plans to introduce a DSCR one-time close construction product to support build-to-rent housing.While DSCR and other investor-focused products are available to foreign buyers, this is not a major part of American Pride's business. The focus is on providing a diverse suite of products to meet the needs of brokers and their clients.New automated valuation model to look at DSCR mortgagesAngel Oak Mortgage Solutions, a third party originator of non-qualified mortgages (another Angel Oak unit does retail), has created a rental automated valuation model in conjunction with Clear Capital.Typically someone has to estimate what the rental income will be on the property during underwriting, but once an appraisal is ordered, a different number from what was originally calculated comes back, changing the parameters of the loan, explained Tom Hutchens, president of Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions.In looking at the rental AVM available from Clear Capital, it did an analysis comparing what it was getting from an appraiser and the differences were very minimal, Hutchens said. But it is data that is available earlier in the process."We know what the loan is going to look like weeks and weeks before it's going to close," he said.It's a tool that could ease the path for newcomers to this part of real estate lending."The people that are experienced in originating these investor loans, they understand the pain that it causes, but, but the new people that are getting into it, they're not going to ever have to experience that pain," Hutchens said. "There is no doubt this is the No. 1 pain point in originating a DSCR loan."Refinance is a big part of the investor lending segment. These property owners want to minimize their investment and leverage it to increase their returns, Hutchens said.Right now, Angel Oak's business is split about 50-50 between purchase and refi.What areas are best for investor purchasersBy state, Florida had the largest share (26%) of Waltz' business, followed by Ohio (17%) and Texas (12%). Of the top 10 cities for first-time real estate investors identified by LLC Attorney, which offers services to those starting a business, five are in Florida, which is considered a top destination for non-U.S. purchasers.Port St. Lucie and Cape Coral are the top two, followed by Miami, Jacksonville and St. Petersburg in positions five-through-seven. Just outside the top 10 are Tampa and Orlando at 14 and 17.Cleveland is third on the list, followed by Garland, Texas.The score takes into account the rental income potential of the area, as well as landlord-friendly laws.Globally, private-label mortgage-backed securitizations are increasingly including loans to foreign citizen investors. KBRA reported that noncitizen exposure in RMBS has grown 2.5 times over five years, primarily in non-prime transactions.Noncitizen exposure is heavily concentrated in non-prime PLS transactions, where the combined share is nearly 13.6% of the collateral pools, KBRA said."Foreign nationals have the highest default rate at 4.6%, compared to 1.7% for U.S. citizens," KBRA said. "This elevated default risk may reflect lower owner-occupancy (13.1%), reliance on foreign income, and limited credit history."What are the negative trends in the investor marketWhile investor capital gains when a property is sold were higher in the second quarter, up 1.7% year-over-year, the number of purchases, approximately 52,000, was down 6% during that time frame, a separate Redfin report said.The decline in purchase activity was due to higher borrowing costs, elevated prices and economic uncertainty — the same items impacting the owner-occupied market, a Redfin blog post noted.When selling a property, the typical investor earned $195,934 in capital gains, the post noted. That was 1.7% higher than for the second quarter 2024. But at the start of 2021, the annual gain was a whopping 30% from the prior year.Meanwhile 7% of homes in the areas in the Redfin study sold at a loss, versus 5% one year prior."For real estate investors, the numbers just don't pencil out the way they did a few years ago, whether they're looking to flip a home or rent it out," said Redfin Senior Economist Sheharyar Bokhari, in the post. "That doesn't mean investors are disappearing — they're still buying nearly one in five homes in the country — but they're being choosier about their home purchases, just like individual homebuyers."When they are selling, the purchaser in over half of the sales in the second quarter, 53%, was another investor, a recent report from Batchdata and CJ Patrick found.Small investors, those with between one and five homes, made up 87% of the property owners in the second quarter, the report said.
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