Costco Sells Mortgages to Shoppers
Add to your shopping list: Get a mortgage.
Costco shoppers will now find that they not only can buy their groceries in bulk at the warehouse retailer, but they can also shop for a mortgage too.
Costco announced that it will offer a full-service mortgage lending program on its Web site with First Choice Bank and 10 other lenders. The site gathers quotes from various lenders.
The warehouse retailer has been testing out offering mortgages for a year in some of its locations. Its lending partners have issued more than 10,000 mortgages to Costco members so far.
"I went in to buy some bottled water, big bags of chips, cereal, and some Nutri-Grain bars that I eat on my route," one Georgia shopper told CNNMoney. "I saw a home loan brochure on my way out and picked it up."
The shopper said he went onto the Costco site and was able to get mortgage rates from four lenders, as well as estimated closing costs and terms. He was able to refinance his mortgage and lower his monthly payments by $500 per month.
"We've always known that our members wanted more financial services," says Lauren Kutschka, Costco's manager of financial services, who adds the warehouse retailer also offers health and auto insurance and stock brokerage services. Costco next plans to add auto and student loans to its mix.
Source: “Now on Sale at Costco: Mortgages,” CNNMoney (April 26, 2012)
Costco shoppers will now find that they not only can buy their groceries in bulk at the warehouse retailer, but they can also shop for a mortgage too.
Costco announced that it will offer a full-service mortgage lending program on its Web site with First Choice Bank and 10 other lenders. The site gathers quotes from various lenders.
The warehouse retailer has been testing out offering mortgages for a year in some of its locations. Its lending partners have issued more than 10,000 mortgages to Costco members so far.
"I went in to buy some bottled water, big bags of chips, cereal, and some Nutri-Grain bars that I eat on my route," one Georgia shopper told CNNMoney. "I saw a home loan brochure on my way out and picked it up."
The shopper said he went onto the Costco site and was able to get mortgage rates from four lenders, as well as estimated closing costs and terms. He was able to refinance his mortgage and lower his monthly payments by $500 per month.
"We've always known that our members wanted more financial services," says Lauren Kutschka, Costco's manager of financial services, who adds the warehouse retailer also offers health and auto insurance and stock brokerage services. Costco next plans to add auto and student loans to its mix.
Source: “Now on Sale at Costco: Mortgages,” CNNMoney (April 26, 2012)
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