HomeStart is the nation’s first and only real estate and mortgage website focused on educating everyday Americans.
Our mission is to empower our users in their home buying, selling or refinancing process by equipping them with the knowledge and resources they need to make the decisions that are right for them. Offering a comprehensive array of materials and tools at prices homebuyers and homeowners can afford, HomeStart is the ultimate resource for first-time home buyers and current homeowners nationwide.
The day someone buys their first home is a day they dream about, but the complicated process that comes before they finally sign the papers can feel like an ordeal. Most people speak of feeling “lost” and fear they’ll be taken advantage of. Even those who have purchased homes before have the same feelings about refinancing. Too often, recent home buyers and those who have refinanced complain that they had to hand all control over to an expensive professional they hardly knew. All too common are the horror stories about bad experiences with unqualified, incapable real estate agents and mortgage “professionals”. And it’s been this way for centuries.
HomeStart is here to inject some much-needed simplicity, accessibility and transparency into the real estate and mortgage processes. We offer a wide range of simple but expert materials that provide the information people need in language that is easy to understand. In addition to our tested, educational tools, we also connect home buyers and homeowners with qualified, vetted and rigorously tested real estate agents and mortgage professionals to help them with their real estate and mortgage needs.
Whether someone is buying, selling, or refinancing, HomeStart puts them in the driver’s seat of their real estate and mortgage experience.
The HomeStart website is packed with free resources and tools designed to make learning about the real estate and mortgage processes as simple and stress-free as possible:
Free Tutorials: Beginner to Advanced
Our Tailored Tutorials help home buyers and current homeowners navigate their real estate or mortgage experience, based on exactly who they are and what they want to accomplish.
Referrals to Certified Professionals
HomeStart-Certified professionals are interviewed, vetted, rigorously tested and certified to give our users the best service in the industry.
Extensive Q&A Library
HomeStart experts have answered all the questions – even the ones people haven’t thought of yet. Over 1,150 commonly asked questions and expert answers in a searchable library to help people understand.
Mortgage/Real Estate Glossary
Simple definitions to help home buyers and homeowners with common terms used in real estate and mortgage transactions. Even better, these definitions follow the user throughout the site so learning is easy.
Mortgage Calculators
Easy to use mortgage calculators for both purchases and refinances.
In addition to our complimentary features, HomeStart also provides a number of premium but affordable products and services aimed at further simplifying and clarifying the real estate and mortgage processes:
Platinum Tutorials
Full of secrets from industry experts, HomeStart’s Platinum Tutorials pay for themselves many times over.
Mortgage Concierge
With this personalized service, a private Mortgage Concierge educates the client on the best mortgage product for their situation and transaction. The concierge then pre-negotiates all the terms of the mortgage with a local originator and presents the client with the BEST mortgage available. The concierge then monitors the transaction, as the client enjoys 24/7, secure, online access to the loan’s progress.
Credit Development
Our team can help any client develop a reputable credit history with error corrections, updates and Fair Credit Reporting Act enforcement.
Rapid Rescore
Clients who’ve paid off debt or lowered balances don’t have to wait months for their scores to improve. We can do it in 5-7 business days.
HomeStart also offers its HomeStart-Certifed professionals and business Partners superior products, including:
HomeStart is already making significant strides toward its goal of becoming the de facto mortgage and real estate resource nationwide. The HomeStart website (Release 2.5.2) is fully built, tested and 99% perfected, with all Year One features already live and available for use. Between 400 and 700 users are visiting the site monthly, 82% of which are new users. HomeStart has already sold Platinum Tutorials, Mortgage Concierge packages and Credit Development with great customer satisfaction.
Additionally, HomeStart has almost 1,800 Facebook Likes and a strong social media presence. HomeStart has copyrighted all site content, begun trademark work and has designed and tested its online real estate and mortgage certification processes, including the creation of two exceptional certification exams. Additionally, HomeStart has designed a Mobile App that complements the site with tools specific to the home buying process.
With resources and tools fully developed, HomeStart is ready to launch the site to the 61% of Americans who own property and to begin adding real estate agents and mortgage professionals to the platform. For more information about that and other exciting developments at HomeStart, please request access to the Business Plan page of this profile!
Pete Fajkowski – CEO
As the founder and visionary behind HomeStart, CEO Pete Fajkowski has dedicated himself to building a team of real estate and mortgage professionals who apply the same high standards and initiative toward quality of service that he embodied for over 14 years as a mortgage broker. He leads HomeStart with a command of industry knowledge and experience that can only come from having closed thousands of mortgage loans and having dealt with innumerable complex issues to resolve for his clients. As a mortgage broker, Pete never needed advertising or marketing. Instead, he built a successful career based on customer referrals by always going above and beyond to create nothing less than the best mortgage services for his clients.
Edward Canterbury – CTO
As Chief Technology Officer, Mr. Canterbury brings 13 years of experience in the startup space, as well as extensive knowledge of complex web applications, design and rapid growth.
Jeffrey M. Baker – COO
As Chief Operations Officer, Mr. Baker brings 26 years of facilities, project and operations management experience to managing the day to day operations of HomeStart.