Habito’s plans for the next 12 months include the creation of a fully-automated end-to-end platform, allowing it to offer real-time mortgage applications and automatic alerts when a better mortgage deal becomes available to registered clients.
The east London-based mortgage adviser said its investment will help to “transform the outdated mortgage industry for millions of homeowners and new buyers”. According to Habito, over 90% of its customers prefer using live chat over a phone conversation to complete and submit a mortgage application.
Since its launch in April 2016, Habito has introduced a chatbot called Digital Mortgage Adviser, which it says has halved the average amount of time spent on each case.
The mortgage industry has seen a slew of innovators announce plans to shake up how consumers apply for and complete mortgage applications over the past two years, with the likes of Dwell Mortgages and Trussle alongside Habito. Just last week, Capricorn CEO Conor Murphy revealed that he had created a end-to-end platform to improve the process for advisers and help them to retain clients.
Daniel Hegarty, founder and CEO of Habito, said the response to the service to date has proved opportunities are available to improve the mortgage application process.
“The industry has suffered from a lack of innovation for decades and the outdated, paper-based manual processes aren’t fit for 21st century homeowners. Our technology empowers people to take control of their personal finances and protect themselves against getting or staying on the wrong mortgage,” he said.
“We’re excited to continue to build our business and deliver new services that provide Britons with the best mortgage experience possible.”
Habito has completed £50m in mortgage applications since its launch in April 2016, which has also seen it raise a total of £8.2m in funding from investors Moasaic Ventures, Transferwise CEO Taavet Hinrikus, Funding Circle’s founder Samir Desai and venture capitalist Yuri Milner.
Micky Malka, founder and general partner, Ribbit Capital, added: “We believe Habito has the leadership, business model and technology expertise to shake up the mortgage industry in unprecedented ways. Mortgages are the biggest personal debt most people take on in their lifetime, and Habito brings a level of transparency that customers value and expect. I’m confident that Daniel and his team have the right vision to change the mortgage industry for the better. We look forward to supporting them during this period of exponential growth.”
