Fintech lender Loansnap evicted amid wider troubles

Mortgage fintech Loansnap is in deep trouble amid an eviction, nonpayment lawsuits, a consent order and dismal origination figures. 

The company's woes, first reported by TechCrunch, include a May eviction at its Costa Mesa, California office, the building's landlord confirmed Tuesday. MGR Real Estate sued Loansnap in an Orange County court for $404,667, alleging it had failed to make its $55,056 monthly payments.

Michael Rademaker, founder and CEO of MGR, told National Mortgage News the lender is locked out of its former space and still hasn't paid any of the rent it owes. LoanSnap lists the former Costa Mesa suite as its sole lending location, and its de facto headquarters in Consumer Nationwide Multistate Licensing System records. 

The lender, which says its artificial intelligence tools can close loans in as few as 24 hours, appears to be rapidly shrinking. It counts just five sponsored mortgage loan originators in NMLS records, and $3.59 million in origination volume in 2023, according to data provided by Polygon Research. In 2021 and 2022, it reported in Home Mortgage Disclosure Act filings volume of $499 million and $209 million, respectively.

A number listed for Loansnap in the NMLS was disconnected, while an answering machine at a line listed on its website did not provide the option to speak to a representative. The firm's press contact also didn't reply to a request for comment Tuesday.

TechCrunch reported comments from unnamed company sources who claim Loansnap missed payroll this winter, and an active headcount dropping under 50. On LinkedIn, the firm counts 30 employees. It still has active origination licenses in 37 states, according to NMLS records. 

Loansnap still retains an origination license in Connecticut following a recent consent order and $75,000 fine to state officials last month. The business was first hit with a cease and desist order in January over its use of unlicensed MLOs in customer transactions. The May agreement was signed by company president Allan Carroll. 

Loansnap also faces lawsuits from counterparties alleging nonpayment. 

A Minnesota federal court in November issued a default judgment of $431,511.75 for Wells Fargo, which sued the lender for failure to repurchase a loan that didn't meet the depository's debt-to-income requirements. Anderson, a global tax firm, sued Loansnap last month in a New York state court over a $1 million debt from a $5 million warehouse line of credit for single-family lending. 

An attorney for Andersen declined to comment on pending litigation, while an attorney for Wells Fargo didn't respond to a request for comment. Loansnap did not retain legal representation in either case, according to public records. 

Despite the list of woes, Loansnap continued to announce business activities, including joining a startup program by artificial intelligence and computer chip giant Nvidia. As the Costa Mesa eviction was filed in court in February, Loansnap also touted its entry into a fintech program by Visa.

The fintech has raised $57.7 million in four funding rounds from 14 investors, according to S&P. TechCrunch, sharing data from venture capital database Pitchbook, says the company has raised about $100 million since 2017, including $19 million last July from Forte Ventures. Pitchbook data also said the lender has $12 million in debt.