New Website Offers Live Mortgage Chats

A new website designed to allow consumers to shop for mortgage loans anonymously and to chat live with more than 100 mortgage companies has been unveiled by LAL Enterprises Inc., Hermosa Beach, Calif.The website, LoanAgentsLive.com, is described as a chat-based "mortgage shopping mall" that enables a visitor to select a state, get a list of mortgage lenders, and view a link next to each company's display ad that shows whether a loan officer at the brokerage is available for a live chat. LAL Enterprises said preliminary results from a beta test indicate that consumers are four times more likely to initiate a chat with a mortgage consultant than to fill out an online application. To ensure the safety of visitors, all chats are conducted over a secure server, and LoanAgentsLive.com conducts background checks and personal interviews with all listed brokerage firms "to exclude those with a history of predatory lending," the company said. The website can be found online at http://www.loanagentslive.com.