Neat Capital, a fintech lender that aims to help borrowers compete with cash buyers through faster financing, announced Tuesday that it’s closed on $22.5 million in Series B funding.
Leading the funding round was Left Lane Capital, a venture capital firm that aims to invest in companies focused on long-term customer relationships. A group of existing investors also participated, including American Family Ventures.
Neat plans to use the funding to make its platform more scalable and will add new distribution sources and features aimed at improving customer-facing interfaces.
The company claims to approve clients three times faster than the industry average, which is traditionally about three to seven days, barring complications. Neat aims to have a preliminary pre-approval back to borrowers in “minutes.”
“We’ve far exceeded the organic growth trends in the industry with a pipeline swelling with more than 10x annual growth,” Luke Johnson, Neat’s founder and CEO, said in a press release. “This new financing will help meet client demand, which has outpaced expectations, and support the continued growth and expansion of Neat Capital across the United States.”
The platform’s appeal to a wide range of constituencies involved in the home purchase process was a key catalyst for Left Lane’s investment, according to the company.
“They’re creating the best possible experience for everyone in the mortgage ecosystem: most importantly their clients, but also loan officers, Realtors, wealth managers, end investors and others,” Left Lane Capital Partner Dan Ahrens said in the press release.
In total, Neat said it attracted more $37 million in equity financing with its strategy.
Mortgage lenders’ overall share of the U.S. purchase market relative to cash sales has grown since 2018 as rates have fallen, according to a recent analysis of public records by online real estate firm Redfin. In 2020, the cash-sale share was 24%. That marks a low not seen since 2007, when the cash share was 22%.
