The newly added capital will be used by Mortgage Master to drive expansion, specifically product development
Mortgage Master, a one-stop mortgage brokering platform for homeowners, has raised US$522,500 in a seed funding round via crowdfunding platform FundedHere. The participants in this round include former President of Westpac International and Founder of S Cube Capital Bala Swaminathan and Chairman of Tembusu Partners Andy Lim.
The company managed to close their funding in eight days via the FundedHere platform, according to co-founder David Baey in an interview with e27. The newly added capital will be used by the startup to drive expansion, specifically product development, in order to scale the platform better.
“Mortgage Master is effectively looking to overhaul the way homeowners in Asia make the most expensive purchase of their lives, by being the neutral party that offers personalised advice, alongside a faster and more affordable mortgage process,” said Swaminathan, one of the lead investors of the entity.
As a mortgage brokerage company, the startup deeply roots itself in the value it creates for its customers by partnering with banks who give their rates to the company. It aims to provide the best option taking into consideration individual needs.
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“Most Singaporeans do not like the jargon, they can put in the effort to filter to understand it, but wouldn’t it be better if someone came in to explain to them in layman terms?” Baey said.
“A homeowner typically conducts 10 hours of research, assesses 15 banks – with each touting the ‘best’ offering, and then spends two hours on paperwork, but often still ends up with buyer’s remorse. A home is the most meaningful purchase you will make in your lifetime, and we believe the process of financing it with a mortgage must be better. Having observed this broken system first-hand, we started Mortgage Master to empower banks to behave the way they should – in homeowners’ best interests,” he continued.
While there are other players in the market, Baey believes that the difference in values is what sets Mortgage Master apart from its competitors.
“While Redbrick Mortgage has been around longer for a longer time, their business model is actually different from us,” says the banker-turned-entrepreneur. According to him, the company focuses on fastest fingers first and hires employees as freelancers, while Mortgage Masters prefers to have fulltime employees to maintain quality control.
Housing is a big market in Singapore, and the region’s homeownership rate is estimated to be around 91 per cent with continual expectations to rise, making owning a home one of the top local millennials aspirations.
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“This differentiated model, a team with deep industry know-how, and impressive first-year revenue momentum is a sign of even better things to come. I am thrilled to come on board as Mortgage Master continues its journey toward becoming the preferred platform for all Singaporeans buying or refinancing a home,” said another investor of the startup, Andy Lim, Chairman of Tembusu Partners.
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Image Credit: Brandon Griggs
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