This may be one of the weirdest things I’ve ever heard come out of the mortgage industry.
And the mortgage industry is no stranger to oddities.
Chicago-based Rate (formerly Guaranteed Rate) has launched RateFit, which it calls a “lifestyle product.”
They were the 7th largest mortgage lender in the country last year, but they clearly want to do more than just get you into a home. They want to dress you up too!
Maybe it’s just a really weird ploy to cross-sell a prospective home buyer by photographing it at the point of purchase.
RateFit Is About “Real Living” Beyond Just Home Ownership
A new, quirky clothing line called RateFit from the mortgage lender is about “authentic living,” where “your financial, physical and mental health is in harmony.”
In the release, the company noted that it has already helped more than two million Americans get into their own homes, and now they are “helping them thrive inside their own homes.”
So they seem to paint the home financing business as workand to further their mission, Rate says, “to build the greatest health community in the world.”
Obviously that involves putting on some yoga pants (or bike shorts) in some pretty, earth-tone colors.
The first “drop” includes “the first 14-piece collection of everyday workwear for men and women.”
I checked out their stuff and it basically looks like clothes you’d find at lululemon or Vuori.
For example, you might be interested in their “Motion Top” or their “Power Short”.
Not bad looking stuff, but I’m still confused as to why a mortgage lender introduced a clothing line to begin with.
Of course, they told us why. They want to touch every part of your life, but in terms of performance, it’s a little weird. And even more than that.
Just like you can’t/won’t get a mortgage at lululemon. But I’m sorry.
Will This Standard Play Compete With Rocket/Redfin And Other Recent Industry Tie-Ups?
Since it’s not April 1st or anywhere near it, this is clearly true.
One thing I can compare this to is the recent trend of mortgage lenders scooping up subsidiary companies like Rocket’s acquisition of real estate brokerage Redfin.
Or Lower’s purchase of the real estate portal Movoto.
Or perhaps the ongoing battle for Two Ports and its seemingly lucrative loan servicing rights, currently between CrossCountry Mortgage and United Wholesale Mortgage.
The idea with all those activities is to expand their reach to capture more customers since mortgage is often a game of who is first. Whoever is in front of you when the time is right.
I know, it’s simple, but it allows Rate to go beyond just paying off boring old bills.
And it could be the first of many product lines aimed at getting their names out there in unconventional ways, especially with young people who may one day become homeowners.
Or maybe it’s a marketing ploy and I’m stupidly writing about it and now you’ve heard about Mortgage Lender Rate. If so, well played.
But who knows? Perhaps it’s just a passion project carried out by Rate founder Victor Ciardelli.
