Question 1

What is HomeTurf and how does it work?

Accepted Answer

HomeTurf is a reverse-auction marketplace for mortgages. Instead of you shopping around for rates, you post your mortgage needs anonymously, and NMLS-verified lenders compete for your business in real-time. HomeTurf supports four auction types: Purchase, Refinance, Pre-Approval, and Beat My Rate. You stay anonymous until you choose a winner, ensuring your privacy throughout the process.

Question 2

Why is HomeTurf free for borrowers?

Accepted Answer

HomeTurf is free for borrowers - and always will be. Lenders, not borrowers, pay to access the platform. Borrowers use HomeTurf at no cost, and lenders get access to borrowers who have posted a mortgage request.

Question 3

How is this different from other mortgage sites?

Accepted Answer

Unlike traditional mortgage marketplaces where you fill out forms and get bombarded with calls, HomeTurf keeps you anonymous and in control. Other sites sell your information to multiple lenders who then aggressively pursue you. With HomeTurf, lenders compete transparently in real-time, you see all offers, and only the lender you choose receives your contact details. Plus, we offer four specialized auction modes to match every stage of your mortgage journey.

Question 4

Is this a loan application?

Accepted Answer

No, HomeTurf is NOT a loan application. We're a matching service that connects borrowers with lenders. The auction process helps you compare lenders and rates for your situation. Once you select an offer, you'll complete the actual loan application with that lender. We don't make lending decisions, perform credit checks, or process loans - we simply facilitate the connection.

Question 5

What are the four auction types on HomeTurf?

Accepted Answer

HomeTurf offers four auction modes: - Purchase - For buyers with a signed purchase contract. Lenders see property details and compete on firm rates, fees, and closing speed. - Refinance - For homeowners looking to replace their existing mortgage with better terms. - Pre-Approval - For buyers still shopping for a home. Share your financial profile in ranges (not exact amounts) and lenders compete on estimated rates, validity periods, and terms. - Beat My Rate - Already have a rate from another lender? Post it anonymously and challenge others to beat it.

Question 6

What is the Pre-Approval auction?

Accepted Answer

The Pre-Approval auction is for homebuyers who are shopping for a home but don't have a signed purchase contract yet. Instead of sharing exact financial details, you provide ranges (credit score band, income range, loan amount range) and your target state, purchase timeline, and property type preferences. Lenders compete on estimated rates, pre-approval validity periods, and whether they can offer a rate lock once you find a property. This gives you a competitive pre-approval letter to strengthen your offers when house hunting.

Question 7

Do I need a purchase contract for a Pre-Approval auction?

Accepted Answer

No - that's the whole point. Pre-Approval auctions are designed for buyers who are still shopping. You share your financial profile in bands/ranges (not exact numbers) and your target state, purchase timeline, and property type preferences. Lenders quote estimated rates and pre-approval terms. Once you find a property, you can create a new Purchase auction or continue working with your pre-approved lender.

Question 8

What is the Beat My Rate auction?

Accepted Answer

If you already have a Loan Estimate or an existing mortgage rate, the Beat My Rate auction lets you post that rate anonymously and challenge other lenders to beat it. Lenders see the benchmark rate they need to beat and submit competing offers. You can compare each offer with your current terms. In a Beat My Rate auction, HomeTurf never asks for your current lender's name, and competing lenders never see it.

Question 9

Is my existing lender's name shared in Beat My Rate?

Accepted Answer

No. In a Beat My Rate auction, HomeTurf never asks for your current lender's name, and competing lenders never see it. They see the benchmark rate and APR, your loan amount as a $10,000 range, your loan type, and ranges for your credit score, income, and loan-to-value. Your Loan Estimate shows your lender's name, so only you and HomeTurf staff can open it. We also send it to Google Cloud's Vertex AI, which normally reads it to check your benchmark rate; our Privacy Policy explains how Google handles it. If Google's automated safety checks flag a request as possible misuse, Google may log it, including the document, for up to 90 days, and authorized Google employees may review it. Your Loan Estimate is deleted no later than 90 days after your auction closes, unless the law requires us to keep it.

Question 10

What's the difference between Pre-Approval and Purchase auctions?

Accepted Answer

A Purchase auction is for buyers who already have a signed purchase contract on a specific property. Lenders can quote firm rates because the property and loan details are known. A Pre-Approval auction is for buyers still shopping - no property identified yet. Lenders provide estimated rates and pre-approval terms based on your financial profile ranges. The estimates may change once a property is selected and full underwriting occurs.

Question 11

Can I use Beat My Rate even if I'm happy with my current rate?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Beat My Rate lets you see how your current offer compares with what other lenders will quote. If no lender beats your existing rate, you have that information. If a lender does beat it, you decide what to do with the new offer; you are never obligated to switch.

Question 12

How are lenders verified?

Accepted Answer

All lenders on HomeTurf must pass our NMLS (Nationwide Multistate Licensing System) verification process. HomeTurf reviews each lender's NMLS record and state licenses at onboarding, typically within 1 business day, and checks the state license again when the lender quotes. Lenders can browse auctions while the review is pending; only approved lenders can quote on auctions.

Question 13

What if no lenders quote on my auction?

Accepted Answer

While we grow our lender network, it's possible some auctions may receive fewer offers than expected. This could be due to loan parameters, property type, or lender availability in your state. We'll notify you before your auction ends if there are no offers, and you can either extend the auction or adjust your parameters.

Question 14

How do I know if a lender is trustworthy?

Accepted Answer

All lenders on HomeTurf are NMLS-verified and state-licensed, and every lender agrees to our Lender Code of Conduct. You can verify any lender's credentials directly on the NMLS Consumer Access website.

Question 15

What documents are required?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the auction type. For Purchase auctions, a signed purchase agreement is required. For Refinance auctions, a recent mortgage statement is required. For Pre-Approval auctions, no purchase contract is needed - just your financial profile in ranges. For Beat My Rate, you must upload your official Loan Estimate from your current lender to verify your benchmark rate.

Question 16

Are my documents secure?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Documents are encrypted in transit with TLS and encrypted at rest by Google Cloud (AES-256). Only you and HomeTurf staff can open your documents. No lender receives them, including the lender you choose. When AI reads a document (normally each Beat My Rate Loan Estimate, and a purchase agreement or mortgage statement only if you turn on AI verification), we send it to Google Cloud's Vertex AI. Google does not use it to train AI models and keeps it only as long as it needs to read it, though it may hold a temporary cached copy for up to 24 hours. If Google's automated safety checks flag a request as possible misuse, Google may log it, including the document, for up to 90 days, and authorized Google employees may review it. We delete your documents no later than 90 days after your auction closes, unless the law requires us to keep them, and you can ask us to delete them sooner, at any time, by emailing privacy@hometurfus.com.

Question 17

Can I have my Loan Estimate explained without creating an account?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The Loan Estimate Decoder at hometurfus.com/decode reads the PDF or a photo of your Loan Estimate and explains every section: the loan terms, each closing cost section and which of those costs can still change before closing, the cash to close table, the comparison figures, and the questions worth asking your lender. Google Cloud's Vertex AI reads the file in memory and HomeTurf never stores it; the figures are kept for 30 days, along with a note of which ad or link brought you to the site, so you can email yourself the breakdown or start a Beat My Rate auction from them (our Privacy Policy lists everything the record holds). It is an explanation of the figures on your form, not advice and not a judgment of the loan.

Question 18

How long do auctions last?

Accepted Answer

You can choose auction durations of 12, 24, 36, or 48 hours. We limit auctions to 48 hours maximum because mortgage rates change daily - longer auctions result in less accurate quotes. The default is 24 hours, which gives lenders time to quote while keeping rates current.

Question 19

Can I cancel an auction?

Accepted Answer

Yes, but you must close your auction properly by selecting a reason (such as 'Deal Fell Through' or 'Not Ready to Proceed'). This helps lenders understand borrower intent and keeps the marketplace healthy. After closing, you can create a new auction whenever you're ready.

Question 20

What happens after I select an offer?

Accepted Answer

Once you select an offer: 1) Your contact information is shared with only that lender, 2) The lender is required to contact you within 36 hours to begin the formal process, 3) You'll work directly with the lender to complete underwriting and close. For Pre-Approval auctions, the lender will issue your pre-approval letter. For Beat My Rate, they'll begin your refinance application.

Question 21

Is my information kept private?

Accepted Answer

During the auction, lenders see the auction details but never your name, email, phone number, or street address. In a Pre-Approval auction, lenders see your financial details as ranges. In a Beat My Rate auction, they see the rate you want beaten exactly and everything else as ranges. In a Purchase or Refinance auction, they see the exact price, value, and loan figures, because accurate offers depend on them, and your credit score, income, and assets as ranges.

Question 22

Do you check my credit?

Accepted Answer

No, HomeTurf does not perform credit checks. The credit score range you provide is self-reported. The winning lender will check your credit as part of their formal application process. Using HomeTurf doesn't impact your credit score.

Question 23

Do you use cookies or advertising pixels?

Accepted Answer

Essential cookies keep you signed in and run the site. With your permission, we also load three advertising and analytics tags on our public pages: the Meta pixel, Google Analytics 4 and the Reddit pixel. They measure our ads and, for Meta and Reddit, let us show HomeTurf ads to people who visited, and they never receive your name, email, phone number or any rate, fee, loan amount or property detail. Nothing loads from account, auction or dashboard pages. Choose Essential only in the cookie notice, or send a Global Privacy Control signal from your browser, and none of them loads; you can change your choice any time from Your Privacy Choices at the bottom of our public pages. Our Privacy Policy lists the pages, the events and the cookie names.

Question 24

What happens when I ask for the checklist or the Loan Estimate breakdown by email?

Accepted Answer

We send one email to the address you give, through SendGrid, with an unsubscribe link that works without an account. We keep the address, the boxes you ticked and the campaign link that brought you to the site for 30 days, or, if you also asked for our mortgage shopping guides, until you unsubscribe. No lender ever sees the address, we do not sell it, and these emails do not record opens or clicks.

Question 25

What kind of rates can I expect?

Accepted Answer

Rates depend on many factors including your credit score, down payment, loan amount, and current market conditions. Because lenders compete directly for your business, you should see competitive offers. For Beat My Rate auctions, you'll see exactly how each offer compares to your benchmark.

Question 26

What if I don't like any of the offers?

Accepted Answer

You're never obligated to accept an offer. If you close your auction without choosing a lender, no lender receives your name or contact details. Lenders who viewed the auction while it ran saw only the auction details. You can then create a new auction with adjusted parameters or wait for better market conditions.

Question 27

What states is HomeTurf available in?

Accepted Answer

HomeTurf is currently available in 5 states: Colorado, North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin and Florida. Only lenders licensed in your property's state (or target state for Pre-Approval) can quote on your auction.

Question 28

Is HomeTurf a lender or broker?

Accepted Answer

No. HomeTurf is a technology platform, NOT a lender, broker, or loan servicer. We don't make lending decisions, originate loans, or provide financial advice. We simply provide the marketplace where borrowers and lenders connect. All lending activities are performed by independent, licensed lenders.

Frequently Asked Questions