ByJeff Kauflin,
Forbes Staff.
P
alo Alto, California’s Wealthfront, the 17-year-old robo-advisor that offers digital-only, automated investing portfolios and high-yield cash accounts, announced today that it has started selling mortgages to consumers in Colorado. Now licensed in 19 states, Wealthfront will make mortgages available to residents of California and Texas in the coming weeks, followed by people in 16 other states, which include Connecticut, Michigan and Florida.
CEO David Fortunato says the company began seriously considering offering mortgages as early as 2018, but it didn’t think the technology available then could support a good digital-home-buying experience. Over the years that followed, advancements in areas such as counties digitizing their homeowner records to fintechs electronically verifying people’s income have made the task easier. Companies like Rocket Mortgage have been selling mortgages digitally for years.
