Online mortgage lender Privlo has entered the Texas market, looking to help those underserved by traditional lenders in securing home financing, the company announced Thursday.
The Los Angeles-based company has opened an office in Austin and has worked with local real estate agents to sell its services, following an initial soft launch, according to a press release. Texas represents the ninth state where Privlo has operations, and the company plans to grow that figure to 21 states by the end of the year.
The company chose to expand to Texas because of the large population that is underserved in this capacity, citing a Zillow study that found around one in four would-be borrowers are rejected when applying for loans in areas such as Travis and Dallas counties. In these parts of the state, the self-employed rate is nearly 30%.
In particular, Privlo said it hopes to serve the technology, energy and life sciences industries in the state, which hire many independent or contract-based employees. Other borrowers in Texas that the company hopes to work with include small business owners, retirees with significant assets, credit rebuilders with a single negative credit event and foreign nationals with work visas.
With these individuals, the company said it looks beyond the typical tax return to consider other factors in assessing a borrower's creditworthiness.
