Mesa Wants to Reward You for Every Dollar You Spend on Your Home
There
is
apparently
a
“home
cost
crisis,”
and
a
new
fintech
company
called
Mesa
is
looking
to
solve
that.
It’s
no
secret
that
home
prices
are
through
the
roof,
and
when
coupled
with
much
higher
mortgage
rates
and
things
like
skyrocketing
homeowners
insurance,
it
can
put
homeownership
out
of
reach.
Or
at
the
very
least,
make
it
a
struggle
for
the
average
American
to
keep
up.
To
ease
this
burden,
the
company
has
rolled
out
a
suite
of
products
to
make
homeownership
a
little
more
affordable.
Perhaps
ironically,
this
new
company
operates
out
of
Austin,
Texas,
one
of
the
hardest
hit
housing
markets
nationwide.
The
popular
metro
has
suffered
from
a
glut
of
housing
supply
as
many
remote
tech
workers
packed
their
bags
and
moved
back
to
wherever
they
came
from.
What
Is
Mesa?
Referred
to
as
the
“first
homeowner
membership
platform,”
Mesa
is
actually
a
group
of
offerings
aimed
at
making
homeownership
cheaper
and
more
valuable.
This
means
putting
better
mortgage
deals
in
front
of
prospective
home
buyers
and
giving
them
rewards
when
they
make
housing-related
purchases.
Their
first
two
products
are
the
Mesa
Mortgage
Marketplace
and
the
Mesa
Homeowners
Card.
The
marketplace
appears
to
operate
similar
to
the
Zillow
Mortgage
Marketplace.
Prospective
home
buyers
and
existing
homeowners
looking
to
refinance
can
compare
lenders
in
one
place.
And
aside
from
maybe
scoring
a
lower
rate
and/or
reduced
closing
costs,
they
can
earn
a
portion
of
the
loan
amount
back
in
rewards
points.
Those
who
take
out
a
loan
via
the
Marketplace
get
1%
back
in
the
form
of
rewards.
For
example,
a
$500,000
loan
amount
would
result
in
5,000
rewards
points,
which
could
then
be
redeemed
for
things
like
travel
or
even
reinvested
back
into
the
home
via
a
mortgage
payment.
It’s
important
to
note
that
Mesa
is
not
a
mortgage
lender
or
a
mortgage
broker,
but
rather
provides
advertising
for
lenders
and
brokers
via
the
marketplace
and
earns
a
fee.
The
Mesa
Homeowners
Card
Their
other
main
product
at
launch
is
the
“Mesa
Homeowners
Card,”
which
they
refer
to
as
the
first
premium
credit
card
designed
specifically
for
homeowners.
We’ve
seen
other
homeowner-centric
credit
cards
in
the
past,
but
this
one
is
apparently
premium
for
one
reason
or
another.
Like
other
cards
before
it,
cardmembers
can
get
rewarded
when
they
use
the
card
to
make
monthly
mortgage
payments.
But
it
goes
a
step
further
by
offering
bonus
points
on
things
like
HOA
fees,
utilities,
home
repairs,
and
other
home-related
services
like
insurance.
Per
TechCrunch,
you’ll
earn
1X
when
using
the
card
to
make
mortgage
payments,
2X
on
gas
and
groceries,
and
3X
in
the
home
services
category.
My
understanding
is
you’ll
be
able
to
use
the
Mesa
Homeowners
Card
to
make
your
mortgage
payments,
despite
credit
card
issuers
commonly
not
allowing
this.
Mesa
has
partnered
with
Visa
on
the
deal
and
has
a
team
that
formerly
worked
at
companies
like
American
Express,
Capital
One,
and
Bilt,
the
latter
of
which
wanted
to
reward
customers
for
paying
the
mortgage
with
a
credit
card.
Bilt
currently
lets
cardholders
pay
their
rent
and
earn
cash
back
without
being
subject
to
a
transaction
fee.
They
had
planned
to
do
the
same
for
mortgage
payments,
but
it
never
came
to
fruition.
Will
Mesa
succeed
where
others
failed?
It
remains
to
be
seen,
but
it
has
always
been
a
challenge.
Ultimately,
mortgage
lenders
don’t
love
the
idea
of
homeowners
paying
the
mortgage
with
a
credit
card,
and
for
good
reason.
The
Mesa
Homeowners
Network
Lastly,
Mesa
has
partnered
with
“brands
you
love”
to
provide
exclusive
discounts
and
offers.
This
might
include
discounts
for
memberships
at
Costco
and
at
other
businesses
that
offer
homeowner-centric
services.
In
addition,
the
company
plans
to
expand
their
membership
rewards
to
HELOC
originations,
home
warranty
plans,
insurance,
and
other
financial
products
for
homeowners.
And
an
app
is
coming
soon
as
well.
The
goal
is
to
make
homeownership
both
more
affordable
and
rewarding
by
offering
discounts
and
cash
back
on
all
related
expenses.
Knowing
today’s
cost
pressures
go
beyond
the
principal
and
interest
on
the
mortgage,
this
could
provide
some
relief
to
households
who
are
stretched.
For
me,
the
question
mark
remains
whether
they’ll
be
able
to
let
users
pay
the
mortgage
with
the
credit
card.
If
they’re
able
to
pull
that
off,
it
might
be
worthwhile.
If
not,
you
could
argue
that
credit
card
points
earned
with
other
issuers
could
hypothetically
be
cashed
out
and
applied
toward
the
mortgage
the
same
way.
For
example,
I
can
currently
cash
out
by
Chase
Ultimate
Rewards
at
a
penny
apiece
and
apply
extra
payments
toward
my
mortgage.
But
I
can’t
use
my
Chase
card
to
pay
the
mortgage.
So
they’ll
need
something
to
truly
differentiate
and
add
value
versus
existing
options.
I’d
probably
consider
it
if
they
let
me
pay
the
mortgage
each
month.
Aside
from
earning
1%
back
each
month,
I’d
get
a
grace
period
to
float
the
mortgage
payment
before
the
payment
was
due.
The
product
is
currently
waitlisted
and
you
can
sign
up
via
their
website
if
interested.
creating
this
site,
I
worked
as
an
account
executive
for
a
wholesale
mortgage
lender
in
Los
Angeles.
My
hands-on
experience
in
the
early
2000s
inspired
me
to
begin
writing
about
mortgages
18
years
ago
to
help
prospective
(and
existing)
home
buyers
better
navigate
the
home
loan
process.
Follow
me
on
for
hot
takes.
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