Loandepot expands home product partnerships through real estate arm

Loandepot is continuing its push of building a "lifelong customer" ecosystem by beefing up its home-related offerings.

The mortgage shop announced Tuesday its real estate unit, dubbed mellohome, has partnered with companies that offer energy solutions and home improvement products and services. Customers seeking to maintain or upgrade their homes can opt for these services in mellohome's portal.

Businesses on mello's roster now include Lumio, a solar energy provider, and Bosscat, a real estate data platform revolutionizing home services. These new partnerships build on mellohome's existing relationships with Homekeepr, which provides customers with moving services, and home security systems enterprise ADT, Loandepot said.

According to the mortgage company, the partnerships are part of an initiative "intended to expand Mellohome's ability to support its customers' homeownership journeys."

"As Mellohome continues to address the needs of today's homebuyers, we're evolving beyond core real estate services to build lifelong relationships with our customers," said Norm Steeg, senior vice president at Loandepot, in a press release Tuesday. "Importantly, Mellohome will now support customers throughout their entire homeownership journey, from searching and buying to renovating and selling, and everything in between, offering access to all of the home products and services a homeowner needs in one convenient portal."

Loandepot's business strategy is similar to that of Rocket Mortgage, which has also expanded into solar energy and wealth management products. All of these offerings are aimed at keeping a borrower engaged with one company for all of their homeownership needs.

In the third quarter, the Foothill Ranch, California-based lender and servicer endured a seventh consecutive quarter in the red, reporting a $34.3 million net loss. The result was a 31% improvement from the prior period as the industry giant continued to shave costs as part of its major Vision 2025 restructuring.

Company leaders projected profitability in the second and third quarters next year, and attributed slightly higher gain-on-sale margins to a few factors, including increased profit margins on its year old home equity line of credit product.