New tool aims to ease online mortgage shopping

The online broker said the new will infuse transparency into what has traditionally been a confusing process for borrowers. The new tool includes a public lender feedback system, where borrowers can rate the lenders they contact.

Zillow, which had focused only on providing online information about U.S. housing prices, launched the online marketplace to meet consumer demands that their personal contact information remain private, and for realistic, not "teaser" interest rates,said Zillow CEO and co-founder Rich Barton in a .

"They would also like to shop across their options and be able to do an apples-to-apples comparison of loan quotes from multiple lenders in a standard format," he noted. "They'd like to be able to understand the reputation of the broker or lender as seen from the perspective of other borrowers, much like they can judge a seller's reputation on or a hotel's reputation on TripAdvisor".

The company also looked to help vendors spend less time and money pursuing customers, Barton added. "They've told us they don't like calling people at dinnertime any more than borrowers like to be called," he said. "They love the idea of free access to an anonymous marketplace of quote requests from borrowers who fit their desired criteria for providing a loan."

To access the mortgage marketplace, users click on the "mortgages" tab on Zillow.com. Potential borrowers can request customized loan quotes by filling out a detailed loan request form. Borrowers do not provide any personally identifiable information to the lender -- no name, address, phone number or Social SecuritySecurity number is required. Alles zu Security auf CIO.de