South African hybrid real estate agency, Leadhome, has announced the launch of Bondspark, South Africa’s first, fully online and free bond origination business.
Bondspark evolved into a stand-alone business after Leadhome identified the need for a more progressive bond origination service through its client base. Bondspark allows its clients to get a comparative quote on a home loan by applying on behalf of their clients to all the banks – all through their innovative online application and at no cost to the client.
According to the CEO and founder, Marcél du Toit, Leadhome continues to bring much needed disruptive innovation to an industry and sales process that hasn’t been improved in many years: “Bondspark is part of Leadhome’s vision to disrupt the traditional real estate industry. What started as a small department within Leadhome that helped clients apply for home loans soon became a prominent business on its own, hence why we decided to spin the business out as a separate brand and target the whole market.”
Acknowledging that time to market is crucial, Du Toit says that within seven months Bondspark’s offering and website were ready. He says that timing is everything when disrupting and like Netflix CEO, Reed Hastings says: “Companies rarely die from moving too fast, but they frequently die from moving too slowly.” Du Toit is moving fast to make everything about home financing a lot simpler. Bondspark is more than a bond originator – it goes beyond getting our clients home loans to also help them get access to funds prior to the registration of the property through our bridging finance solutions.
Romy Zwiers, previously Leadhome’s Head of Marketing, has been appointed to build the Bondspark brand. With ten years of experience focusing on brand, communication, and digital strategy for both blue-chip and start-up brands, Zwiers says she is excited about this new level of disruption: “I am passionate about brands that answer client’s real problems and challenge the status quo. Bondspark represents what financial services could be if it were more aligned towards the client and I am looking forward to growing the Bondspark brand as the company evolves.”
By applying online through the Bondspark platform, skilled and professional home loan advisors will negotiate on the client’s behalf in order to achieve the most competitive deal on their home loan: “Interest rates can differ from bank to bank by as much as 1%. Although it doesn’t sound like much, it adds up to almost R160,000 that you can save on a 20-year repayment period of a R1 million home loan. This leads to significant savings for the client, aside from removing the arduous administration burden.”