Looking for a fast and competitive way to fund your real estate, New Silver’s innovative fintech lending platform is here to help. The CEO of New Silver will be sharing more details with us in this interview with TechBullion.
Please tell us a little more about yourself.
My name is Kirill Bensonoff, I am an entrepreneur with a background in investing and building disruptive technologies. My experience consists of building and exiting companies in enterprise IT and public cloud management. I also serve as an angel investor and am in over 100 startups with a narrow focus on blockchain, fintech, and SaaS. I started New Silver because I have a passion for building new things and changing the current status quo.
What is New Silver?
New Silver is a fintech startup that sits at the intersection of decentralized finance and real world assets. We build technology to originate short term bridge loans with more efficiency, and securitize those loans on the blockchain. We are the first real world asset in the world to be approved by MakerDAO, a top-3 stablecoin. New Silver’s mission is to enable entrepreneurial growth by providing real estate investors with fast, conveniently accessible capital by harnessing technology to improve investors’ journey, from property search to sale.
Before New Silver, what problems were lenders and borrowers facing and what solution is New Silver providing?
Our efforts focus primarily on real estate investors. We know there are lots of inefficiencies in that rather large sector. Before we launched New Silver, it was nearly impossible for a borrower to get an instant online approval for a fix and flip loan. We fixed that. Second, borrowers need a term sheet and a proof of funds letter, which we now generate automatically after they are approved. This allows investors to quickly make a cash offer for a hot property. There is no need to wait for anyone to call you or send you emails.
Another problem that New Silver is solving is the ability to find an investment property. We introduced FlipScout, a useful tool for investors to find their next project. We are using data-driven insights and algorithms to look at all of the properties listed for sale and find the most profitable fix and flips or buy-and-hold, and estimate expenses and profits. FlipScout is totally free to use. This allows investors to find a property and then quickly apply for financing.
We also introduced an unsecured personal loan marketplace, which allows our borrowers who may not have just enough cash to start their project but have good credit and existing income. Borrowers are able to quickly get access to additional capital through major lenders like SoFi, LendingClub, Upgrade and others.
What makes New Silver unique from other lenders, tell us more about your special loan products?
What sets New Silver apart is our useful property tool called FlipScout. FlipScout is built into our website and allows investors to find good deals on investment properties using data and insights. It costs nothing to use FlipScout, while most other portals charge a fee.
We offer term sheets and proof of funds letters immediately after a loan is approved, which makes our process quicker and more efficient.
We don’t just offer the stock standard real estate investing loans, we also offer unsecured personal loans now, which means that investors can get cash to start their projects.
Another factor that I think sets us apart from the rest is that the entire process is online, so you can apply for your loan, get approval and get paid out, without having to leave your desk.
One of the most differentiating things about New Silver is the fact that we have brought real estate into the world of Decentralized Finance as a real world asset, through the MakerDAO platform, in partnership with Centrifuge. Here, we have over $20 million worth of securitized loans that have been tokenized.
Tell us more about Loans for real estate investors, how does this work, what kind of real estate projects do you lend to, who is qualified for it and what makes New Silver the best for this?
New Silver offers the following loans…
Fix and Flip loans – These are ideal for borrowers who want to purchase, renovate and resell properties. They can find their fix and flip property on our website and apply for a loan in the same place. Our FlipScout product sets us apart here, as it’s completely free and easy to use.
Rent loans – We offer this 30 year amortized product for stabilized properties. This applies to both refinancing or new purchases. The interest rate on rent loans starts at just 4.125% and investors can borrow up to $2 million.
Personal loans – We offer unsecured personal loans up to $100,000, which investors can use for anything they need. We offer instant online pre-approval from multiple top-tier lenders for these. The interest rate on personal loans starts at 5.99% and no collateral is required.
Ground Up loans – These loans are ideal for borrowers who are buying land and want to build a single family, condo, or multi-family. Builders often need ground up loans to fund their projects and that’s why these loans have become so popular. The interest rate on these loans starts at 6.99% and investors can borrow up to $5 million.
How do we get started on New Silver, could you give us a walkthrough of the platform, the application, and the approval process?
When you create an account with New Silver you can begin your journey on FlipScout by browsing thousands of properties in your neighborhood to find a good deal provided by insights. Once you’ve found a good deal, you’ll begin your application for funding with us. Alternatively, you can begin your journey on our online app and get instant approval.
The application process begins with selecting your loan type, answering the applicable questions that give us a better understanding of what you’re looking for and what your experience is. Then you’ll fill in the property address. Following that, you’ll fill in your personal information and this includes your credit score. Then you’ll give us the details of the property which entail the property value, the loan amount you’ll need and so on. You’re then shown the loan options that you’re pre-qualified for, and you can finalize your application.
Once you’ve applied for a loan and are approved online, we will do a property valuation to confirm the values, and close in as little as 5 business days.
Online lending seems to have been on the rise since covid, tell us more about this industry during the crisis and how New Silver is helping tackle the financial challenges?
Covid inspired a rush to the digital space in general which extended into the world of lending. When it comes to online lending, it’s all about speed and convenience. We have worked hard to implement these elements to New Silver. Covid restrictions have enabled existing tech solutions to flourish as their uptake rose each month. The social distancing measures have forced the world to rely heavily on technology and the experts don’t believe this will change any time soon, which means that companies like ours are already ahead of the curve.
The pandemic has also brought about job losses and changes in the way people think about employment in general. However, this opened up some new opportunities, especially for folks who either lost or quit their full-time careers to work for themselves. We are eager to help new real estate investors and believe this is a great way for regular people to make a very nice income. Our product has a tech-first approach which appeals to the younger generation, who often want to get things done online, quickly, and without the pressure of being sold to.
1) What trends should we lookout for from the lending market in 2022 and beyond?
2) Faster loan processes should be on the cards for the future as the online lending market continues to grow rapidly and speed becomes a huge factor.
3) Desktop appraisals are becoming more popular as there simply aren’t enough home appraisers to keep up with the demand. This will speed up the time for valuation reports.
4) Covid led to bidding wars becoming commonplace, so cash offers could become king in the near future. Not everyone can make a cash offer, so there are companies coming forward to do that on behalf of buyers.
5) iBuyers are coming back with a vengeance as the housing market continues to boom.
6) The rise of real estate as a real-world securitized asset has begun with New Silver and MakerDAO. Over the next few years we should see real estate start making its mark in decentralized finance (DeFi) 2.0.
What is next on your roadmap at New Silver, do you have more information for our readers today?
In the near future, we are looking to provide real estate investors with more tech tools and data. Our tool, FlipScout, is improving so that clients, such as new real estate investors, can quickly find, make an offer, and purchase their next investment property online. This update will eliminate any pressure of being sold to. We are also looking to partner with other loan originators and help them with efficient financing and technology. New Silver is additionally seeking ways to make an environmental impact and do our part to be more sustainable and climate-friendly by offering incentives to “green” builders in 2022.
How will DeFi change the way real-world lending markets operate?
We believe capital from decentralized finance will contribute and change how things are done in today’s times. First, this will introduce a technological solution that includes an immutable ledger of transactions, so potentially, compliance can be faster and easier. This will also speed up various processes that involve paperwork, slow money transfers and other legacy components. There are tons of other ways that blockchain and DeFi will help move lending into the new world.
For more information, visit the website: Newsilver.com
