“Assumable loans" allow sellers to transfer their own mortgage loans to the buyer alongside the house. That means working with the seller’s mortgage company on behalf of the buyer and seller. An assumable transaction doesn’t replace an old mortgage with a new one, but instead transfers the old mortgage to the new owner. Take a $500,000 house that is tied to an assumable mortgage with a $300,000 balance. The startup could run up against the Luddite world of mortgage banking, where assumption documents are still often transmitted by fax machine.

Source: Wall Street Journal September 18, 2023 21:18 UTC