The lawsuit alleges that Mortgage Matchup’s search results are “designed to direct borrowers to brokers that concentrate nearly all of their business with UWM, regardless of whether UWM offers the most competitive loan terms.” He claims that
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Forget about the Super Bowl. The NBA is now at the forefront of wholesale lending giant United Wholesale Mortgage Co.’s efforts to promote mortgage brokers as the best way to find loans.
UWM’s Consumer Mortgage Matchup website, a searchable database that helps consumers find local mortgage brokers, is the official mortgage partner of the NBA and WNBA. league and UWM jointly announced Thursday.
But mortgage matchups also feature prominently in lawsuits that claim UWM “corrupted” mortgage brokers by prohibiting them from doing business with competitors.
Search results for MortgageMatchup.com These are “designed to steer borrowers to brokers that concentrate nearly all of their business with UWM, regardless of whether UWM offers the most competitive loan terms,” the lawsuit alleges. There is. “Conversely, brokers who do not concentrate their lending with UWM can expect UWM to reduce the number of borrowers seeking its services.”
UWM, the NBA and WNBA did not respond to requests for comment on these accusations.
Originally launched as FindAMortgageBroker.com in 2015 by Woodward Loop Properties LLC, UWM took over management of the site in 2018. Rebranded as Mortgage Matchup In January.
Before rebranding the site, UWM promoted the site with ads that aired during the 2020 and 2021 Super Bowls, which helped UWM outperform rival Rocket Mortgage. Rocket Mortgage has also been a prominent Super Bowl advertiser since the days when it was known as Quicken His Loans.
But UWM’s relationship with the Rockets moved to the basketball court last year when UWM CEO Matt Ishbia acquired the Phoenix Suns and its sister WNBA team, the Phoenix Mercury. Dan Gilbert, co-founder and chairman of Rocket Companies, Rocket Mortgage’s parent company, is the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
UWM denies the allegations in the lawsuit, which center on an ultimatum it issued to mortgage brokers in 2021. The “all-in” policy prohibited mortgage brokers who wanted to continue doing business with UWM from sending loan applications to rivals Rocket Mortgage and Fairway. Independent Mortgage Loan.
Mr. Ishbia went a step further and claimed that Mr. Lockett and Dan Gilbert were somehow behind the allegations against UWM, which were initially brought about by hedge funds that had taken short positions in UWM. It was brought forward by the funded start-up Hunterbrook Media.
The Rockets and Hunterbrook Media argued that Ishbia’s accusations, made in April against a sports reporter who covers the Phoenix Suns, are baseless.
before making April 2nd report on UWM Hunterbrook Media provided its data analysis and findings to the New York City-based law firm Boies Schiller Flexner, which on the same day filed a lawsuit against borrowers allegedly harmed by UWM’s practices. It sued UMW, seeking class action status on behalf of the group.
MortgageMatchup.com is complaintpoints to UWM’s website and confirms suspicions that the site uses algorithms that favor mortgage brokers, who send the bulk of their business to UWM.
According to UWM, mortgage brokers earn a “PRO ranking” by submitting loan applications to UWM, visiting UWM campuses, communicating with UWM account executives, and engaging with UWM content online. It is said that it can be increased.
“The higher your PRO score, the faster your turn time and the greater your visibility in mortgage matchups,” UWM says on its website. my website.
In a press release, both leagues said the Mortgage Matchup will have “media exposure across a variety of league platforms, including on-court virtual signage during NBA and WNBA national broadcasts and on the league’s official social and digital platforms. That’s the plan,” he said.
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