Now live · joinhomera.com

Most people sign their mortgage
without understanding it.

Homera analyzes your Loan Estimate against 100,000+ documents and 40 years of forensic case work — and gives you the exact questions to ask before you sign.

"You are navigating one of the largest financial decisions of your life in near-complete isolation, with only the word of someone who gets paid when you sign."Kelly McGinnis, Founder, Homera

See a Sample Report
Plain-English risk score in under 3 minutes
Ask follow-up questions — AI answers trained on 40 years of case data
Your document is analyzed then deleted. Never stored.
Sample Analysis: Loan Estimate
62
⚠ Review
Prepayment penalty found: 3-year window
Rate 0.4% above current market benchmark
Origination fee at 1.4%: above normal range
Loan type matches what you requested ✓
3-min analysis · $299 · Ask unlimited follow-up questions
$15M
in savings identified for clients
2,500+
analyses completed
100K+
mortgage documents in training data

As Featured In

"The most dangerous mortgage is the one that feels responsible."

Marie McDonnell, Forensic Mortgage Analyst · Certified Fraud Examiner · Master Analyst in Financial Forensics®

A lender's job is to produce an approval. They are not required to tell you whether that structure serves your life. Everyone at the closing table gets paid when you sign, not when you're better off five years later.

The Loan Estimate is the only moment in this transaction where you have full information and the power to walk away. Most borrowers treat it as a formality.

Homera was built to answer the question the industry was never designed to ask.

Which describes your situation?

🏠
I'm buying a home or refinancing
Expert second opinion on your Loan Estimate before you sign — risk score, color-coded findings, and copy-ready lender questions in 3 minutes.
Analyze my Loan Estimate → $299
⚠️
I already have a mortgage and something doesn't feel right
Something feels off with your payments, escrow, or servicing history. The Homera Audit is a forensic review built for exactly this.
See the Homera Audit → Coming soon
How It Works

Three minutes to clarity

The same analysis that takes a forensic accountant days: automated, plain-English, and ready before you commit to a lender.

1
Upload your Loan Estimate
Drag and drop the 3-page CFPB document your lender sent. Secure upload, analyzed and deleted. We never store your data.
Under 60 seconds
2
Homera runs 25 checks
We scan for prepayment penalties, ARM exposure, inflated fees, and compare your rate to the current Freddie Mac benchmark, plus 4 live external data pulls.
About 2 minutes
3
Get your score + report
Plain-English risk score, color-coded findings, exact lender questions, downloadable PDF, and unlimited AI follow-up — all trained on 40 years of forensic mortgage case data.
Instant results
Real Cases

What the forensic files show

Drawn from Marie McDonnell's forensic case files, expert testimony, and 40 years of mortgage audits. Identifying details omitted.

$273,378
48 Hours From Losing Everything
A Massachusetts homeowner was 48 hours from foreclosure auction. Her servicer's payoff demand was $273,378 above what the trust's own records showed. The servicer couldn't produce eight years of payment history.
Escrow fraudRead full case →
9 Years
The Chain Nobody Could Identify
A $564,000 New Jersey mortgage became a $1,063,755 foreclosure judgment. The chain of title listed an entity as "NEW INVESTOR NVL/0000001." No public filing, no corporate registration, no identifiable legal structure.
Chain of titleRead full case →
$0 missed
She Came Home to a Foreclosure
On a four-month work assignment abroad, current on every payment. While she was gone, a new servicer recorded an insurance lapse that didn't exist. She landed at Logan Airport to a foreclosure notice.
Force-placed insuranceRead full case →
$18,195
The Penalty Nobody Mentioned
Qualified for a conventional fixed-rate loan. Placed in subprime instead. When she tried to refinance, a prepayment penalty buried in closing documents blocked her. Cost to exit: $18,195.
Prepayment penaltyRead full case →
$412/mo
The ARM That Looked Like a Deal
The ARM started $153/month lower. After the reset, it was $412/month higher than the fixed rate she qualified for. Nobody showed her both numbers. The broker earned more on the ARM.
ARM structureRead full case →
9% ceiling
The Number Nobody Calculated
Excited about an ARM with a lower payment. Nobody had run the number at the loan's 9% rate cap. After seeing it, she chose the 30-year fixed. That conversation took 20 minutes. She is still in that house.
Loan estimateRead full case →

Cases from Marie McDonnell's forensic mortgage files and public court records. Homera is built to catch these patterns before you sign, not years later.

Why Homera

Nobody else at the table is on your side

Every party in your mortgage transaction gets paid when you sign. Homera is the only one whose only job is to protect you.

Your Lender
Paid at closing only
Not required to show you alternatives
No fiduciary duty to you
Doesn't explain total cost
Your Broker
Paid by the lender, not you
Earns more on certain structures
No fiduciary duty to you
Not required to reveal earnings
Your Agent
Commission paid at closing
Incentive is deal completion
Rarely mortgage specialists
No analysis of loan terms
Homera
Paid by you, not the lender
Flags every risk, with no incentive to hide
Trained on 40 years of case outcomes
Plain English, always
The Report

A document you can actually use

The Homera report is designed to be forwarded to your spouse, your attorney, or your realtor. Professional-grade analysis in plain English, not legalese.

📊
Risk score with clear grade
PROCEED · REVIEW · PAUSE, with the exact reasoning behind every rating.
🔍
Color-coded findings
RED critical issues, AMBER warnings, GREEN confirmations, each with a plain-English explanation.
💬
Exact questions to ask
For every finding, the precise question to put to your lender. Copy-and-paste ready..
📋
External data summary
MERS registry, ATTOM title check, CFPB complaint history, GSE eligibility, all pulled automatically.
Loan Analysis Report
62
⚠ Review
3 findings require attention before signing
Critical Findings
Prepayment Penalty: 3-Year WindowYou will owe a fee if you sell or refinance within 36 months. Most conventional loans do not carry this clause.
Warnings
Rate 0.4% Above MarketCurrent Freddie Mac PMMS benchmark is 6.82%. Your quoted rate is 7.22%. Ask for an itemized explanation.
Origination Fee at 1.4%Normal range is 0.5–1%. On this loan, that's $2,000 above typical. This fee is negotiable.
Confirmed
Loan Type Matches Application ✓30-year fixed as requested. No product switch detected.
Analyzed by Homera · Not legal or financial adviceDownload PDF
True Cost Calculator

This is what you're really agreeing to

Most people focus on the monthly payment. Run the numbers on what you're actually committing to over the life of the loan, then see what Homera typically catches.

$400,000
7.00%
Principal & Interest (monthly)
$2,661
Est. Property Tax (monthly) — 1.07% avg, MA
$446
Est. Homeowners Insurance (monthly)
$67
Est. Maintenance (1% of home value / yr)
$417
True Monthly Cost of Ownership
$3,591
P&I + taxes + insurance + maintenance
Total Interest Over 30 Years
$557,883
The cost of borrowing, beyond the purchase price

Estimates assume ~20% down (home value = loan ÷ 0.8). Tax rates are state effective averages; insurance rates are statewide averages. Actual figures vary by property, insurer, and municipality.

Examples of what Homera has identified on similar loans
$13,943
One borrower's savings over loan life after a 0.25% rate reduction was negotiated using Homera's findings
$1,600
Origination fee reduction recovered at closing after Homera flagged an above-range charge
$12,000
Prepayment penalty clause avoided before signing after Homera's analysis surfaced it

These are illustrative examples, not averages or guarantees. Homera provides analysis and prepared question language. Borrowers bring those findings to their own lender conversations.

The Homera Guide

40 years of experience.
Made visible.

Essays on the mortgage systems nobody explained to you, written by a CFO and forensic mortgage accountant.

Read all essays →
01
Why "What Can I Afford?" Is the Wrong Question
The most dangerous mortgage is the one that feels responsible. The system was engineered to make it feel that way.
8 min read
02
The Lunch Was on Him. The Loan Was on You.
The broker was warm, attentive, and paid by the lender. One woman ended up $412/month higher than the fixed rate she qualified for.
9 min read
03
What Pre-Approval Actually Means, and What It Does Not
Pre-approval answers one question: can you qualify? Whether it's right for your life is a question the system was never designed to answer.
9 min read
04
The Invisible CFO
Nobody gave you the title. You're doing the job anyway, running a household's full financial infrastructure with no team and no off switch.
10 min read
05
What Your Mortgage Really Is
You entered a position in a system. Your monthly payment is a fractional interest in a bond traded on global capital markets.
11 min read
06
The Account Nobody Is Watching
One forensic review found a $273,378 discrepancy and eight years of missing records, 48 hours before a foreclosure auction.
12 min read
07
What Actually Happened in 2008
The Wall Street story has been told. The consumer story (who bore the consequences) has not been told honestly.
13 min read
08
The Paper Trail Nobody Told You About
A New Jersey chain of title: "NEW INVESTOR NVL/0000001." No filing. No registration. Still in litigation.
12 min read
09
The Policy You Pay For Every Month
Your servicer can place insurance on your home without your consent. A woman came home from abroad to a foreclosure notice. She paid every month.
11 min read
10
Twenty Minutes That Could Save You Thousands
The Loan Estimate is the only moment where you have full negotiating power. Here's what to check before you commit.
10 min read
Coming Soon

The Homera Course Series

I'll walk you through every module personally: real cases, live document reviews, and the questions I wish every borrower would ask before signing.

Coming Soon
Module 01
Reading Your Loan Estimate in 20 Minutes
The five lines that determine whether your loan is fair, and exactly what to do if they are not.
Coming Soon
Module 02
ARM vs. Fixed: The Calculation Nobody Runs
A live walk-through of rate cap math, payment shock scenarios, and the broker incentives behind the recommendation.
Coming Soon
Module 03
Live Forensic Case Review
A real case, anonymized. Kelly walks through what the files revealed, what it cost the borrower, and how it could have been caught before signing.
What Homera Users Say

They signed with confidence

Not because everything was perfect. Because they knew exactly what they were signing.

★★★★★
Homera flagged a prepayment penalty I never would have caught. I asked my lender to remove it. They did. That one conversation saved me thousands.
S
Sarah M.
First-time buyer · Boston, MA
★★★★★
I'm a numbers person and I still didn't understand my loan estimate. The Homera report made it completely clear. The questions it gave me to ask were exactly right.
D
David K.
Refinancing · Chicago, IL
★★★★★
I had so many follow-up questions after getting my report. The AI answered every single one — clearly and specifically. I walked into my lender meeting completely prepared and negotiated my origination fee down by $1,800.
A
Andrea L.
Move-up buyer · Austin, TX
Pricing

Less than 0.1% of your loan.
The full picture.

The average problem Homera catches is worth $8,000–$20,000 to the borrower. Professional analysis for the biggest purchase of your life.

$299one-time
Know exactly what you're signing — and what to ask.
Included at upload
Full Loan Estimate analysis25 risk checks: prepayment penalty, ARM structure, rate benchmark, fee analysis, APR gap, loan type
Affordability & DTI check
4 automated external data pullsMERS · ATTOM title & lien · CFPB complaint history · GSE eligibility
Plain-English risk score with color-coded findings
Copy-ready question for every finding
Downloadable PDF report
Unlimited AI follow-up Q&A
📋 Stage 2 included at no extra cost: When your Closing Disclosure arrives, upload it and Homera compares it line-by-line to your Loan Estimate — flagging every fee change and TRID tolerance breach before you sign.
🔒 Bank-level encryption · Document deleted after analysis · Never shared
📡
Upgrade to Homera Monitor after your Check or Audit — $249/yr
Live ATTOM property alerts within 24 hours of any new lien, assignment, or foreclosure filing. Plus semi-annual 15-minute advisor consultations. Available exclusively after a Check or Audit. Coming soon — join the waitlist below.

On a $400,000 loan, $299 is 0.07% of the transaction. One flagged fee negotiation typically pays for it many times over.

The Team

The expertise your lender hopes you never access.

Homera brings together CFO-level financial systems experience and 40 years of forensic mortgage case work, purpose-built for the person the industry was never designed to inform.

K
Founder & CEO
Kelly McGinnis
Senior Executive · CFO/COO · Board Director
Former President, Business Operations, Thermo Fisher Scientific: $15B global platform, 60,000+ employees across 80+ sites
Former CFO: PPD (global CRO), Patheon (pharma CDMO), Uptake (Forbes-recognized); led Thermo Fisher's $20B acquisition integration
Senior Executive, GE
Former Board Director, Medable · BS Entrepreneurship, Babson College
Leaving corporate life to build Homera full time and give individual borrowers the financial intelligence the institutions have always had
M
Chief Forensic Analyst
Marie McDonnell
CFE · MAFF® · mcdonnellanalytics.com
Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) · Master Analyst in Financial Forensics® (MAFF®), awarded by NACVA
Expert witness: $10.7M court judgment (Collins v. Paul Financial) · $5.38M jury verdict (Wolf v. Wells Fargo)
Commissioned by the City of Seattle to audit municipal mortgage records · Amicus filer, MA Supreme Judicial Court
Presented at SAFE International Conference · Trainer, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
Questions

What people ask before uploading

Is my document safe?
Your Loan Estimate is analyzed using bank-level AES-256 encryption and permanently deleted after your report is generated. We never store, share, or train on your personal financial documents. You can verify deletion in writing.
What exactly does Homera analyze?
Your Loan Estimate (the 3-page CFPB document from your lender) plus the income and debt figures you enter at intake. Stage 1 runs 25 checks covering prepayment penalties, ARM structure and rate cap, origination fee benchmarking, rate vs. current Freddie Mac PMMS, APR vs. stated rate gap, DTI and affordability, and loan type verification. We also automatically pull MERS registry, ATTOM title and lien data, CFPB lender complaint history, and Fannie/Freddie GSE eligibility — no action required on your part. Stage 2 (included, unlocked when your Closing Disclosure arrives) compares every line of the CD against your original Loan Estimate and flags any changes that exceed TRID caps.
Is this legal or financial advice?
Homera is an analysis tool, not a licensed financial or legal advisor. Think of us as a very informed friend who has read 100,000 mortgages: we can tell you exactly what's in your document and what questions to ask, but we are not your attorney and this is not legal advice. For anything requiring legal action, consult a HUD-approved housing counselor or real estate attorney.
How long does the analysis take?
Under 3 minutes from upload to report. The four external data pulls (MERS, ATTOM, CFPB, GSE) happen automatically at intake. Once your report is ready, you can ask unlimited follow-up questions through our AI, which is trained on 40 years of forensic mortgage case data.
What if my score comes back RED?
A red score doesn't mean the deal is dead: it means you have specific things to address before you sign. Your report includes the exact language to use with your lender. Many issues can be negotiated away (prepayment penalties, origination fees, rate corrections). Use the follow-up Q&A to get specific guidance on how to approach each one.
Does Homera negotiate with my lender for me?
No. Homera analyzes your documents and gives you the specific, written questions to bring to your lender yourself. You own that conversation. What Homera does is make sure you walk in knowing exactly what to ask, why it matters, and what a fair response looks like — so you're not going in blind. Most users tell us having prepared language made the conversation feel completely different.
Why doesn't my realtor or lender do this?
Your realtor is paid a commission at closing. Your lender wrote the document. Everyone at the table gets paid when you sign, not when you're better off five years later. Homera is the only party in your transaction whose financial interest is in protecting you, not closing the deal. That's not an accusation. It's just how the incentives work.
Homera · AI Mortgage Analysis

What brings you here today?

Choose your situation and we'll take you exactly where you need to go.

🏠
I'm buying a home or refinancing
Expert second opinion on your Loan Estimate — risk score, findings, and copy-ready lender questions in 3 minutes.
Homera Check · $299
⚠️
I already have a mortgage and something feels wrong
Forensic review of servicing history, escrow, chain of title, and payment records — built for existing homeowners.
Homera Audit · Coming soon
🔒 Bank-level encryption
🗑 Document deleted after analysis
✓ Never stored or shared
1
What You'll Need
2
Your Info
3
Upload
4
Results

Before you start — have these ready

Takes about 2 minutes to fill in. Here's exactly what you'll need:

📄
Your Loan Estimate
The official 3-page CFPB form your lender sent within 3 days of your application. Should say "Loan Estimate" at the top right — not a pre-approval or rate quote email.
💰
Your gross monthly income
Before taxes, all sources — salary, freelance, rental income. Used to calculate your DTI and flag any affordability concerns.
💳
Your total monthly debt payments
Car loans, student loans, minimum credit card payments — not the new mortgage. A rough total is fine.
📍
Property address and lender name
City and state is fine. The lender name triggers an automatic CFPB complaint history pull — nothing else needed from you.
📅
Your closing date Optional
If you have it — we'll show a countdown to closing so you know how long you have to act on each finding.

Your document is encrypted, analyzed, and permanently deleted. Never stored or shared.

What You'll Need
2
Your Info
3
Upload
4
Results

Tell us about your loan

This helps us benchmark your rate and calculate affordability. Takes about 2 minutes.

The Property
Your Finances
Preferences
This is a refinance (not a purchase)
🔒 Your information is used only for this analysis. We do not sell or share your data. Document deleted after report generation.
What You'll Need
Your Info
3
Upload
4
Results

Upload your Loan Estimate

The 3-page CFPB document your lender sent within 3 days of your application.

📄
Loan Estimate: Lender 1
Waiting for upload
📂
Drag your Loan Estimate here
PDF, JPG, or PNG · Max 20MB · Encrypted upload
🔒 AES-256 encrypted · Analyzed and permanently deleted · Never stored
Analyzing your Loan Estimate…
Running 25 risk checks and pulling live data
Extracting document fields
Running 25 risk pattern checks
Pulling live market benchmarks
Generating your plain-English summary
What You'll Need
Your Info
Upload
4
Results
📅
--
days until your closing Finding 1 (Prepayment Penalty) requires action before you sign. Use the lender question below.
0
/ 100
⚡ High confidence · 25/25 checks run
⚠ REVIEW: Attention needed before signing

3 findings require action. 1 is critical. Use the questions below to negotiate before committing.

Prepayment Penalty: 3-Year Window
Critical
What this means
You will owe a fee (typically 2-3% of your loan balance) if you sell or refinance within 36 months of closing. On a $520,000 loan that's up to $15,600. Most conventional loans today do not carry this clause. Its presence should prompt a direct conversation.
Ask your lender
"Can you provide a version of this loan estimate without the prepayment penalty clause? I'd like to compare the rate difference, if any."
Rate 0.4% Above Market Benchmark
Warning
What this means
Current Freddie Mac PMMS benchmark is 6.82% for a 30-year fixed. Your quoted rate is 7.22%. A 0.4% difference on a $520,000 loan over 30 years is approximately $56,000 in additional interest. This may reflect your credit profile, but it warrants an explanation.
Ask your lender
"The current Freddie Mac benchmark is 6.82%. Can you explain what's driving the 0.4% difference on my quote, and whether any discount points would bring the rate closer to market?"
Origination Fee at 1.4%: Above Normal Range
Warning
What this means
Normal origination charges on a conventional loan are 0.5–1% of the loan amount. At 1.4% on your $520,000 loan, you're paying approximately $2,080 above the top of the normal range. Origination fees are negotiable. Most borrowers never ask.
Ask your lender
"Your origination charges are 1.4% of my loan amount. The typical range for a conventional loan is 0.5–1%. Can you itemize what's included and whether any of these charges are negotiable?"
Loan Type Matches Application ✓
Confirmed
Why this matters
You applied for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. That is what this Loan Estimate shows. Loan type switching between application and estimate is a documented risk; in some cases the product is changed without borrower knowledge. This check confirms the product matches your request.
⚡ Stage 1: Automated External Data Pulls
Run automatically at intake — no action needed. MERS: Loan registered · ATTOM: No open liens · CFPB: 12 complaints on record for this lender (review before committing) · GSE: Eligible for Fannie Mae purchase
📋 Stage 2: Closing Disclosure Review — Unlocks automatically when your CD arrives
Included in your $299. When your lender issues the Closing Disclosure (required 3 business days before closing), upload it here. Homera will compare every line against your Loan Estimate and flag any changes — including fees that exceed TRID tolerance caps.
🤖
Ask Homera anything about your loan
AI trained on 40 years of forensic mortgage case data. Grounded in your specific document — not generic advice.
H
I've finished analyzing the Smith Lending Loan Estimate. I found 3 items you should address before signing. Click any question above, or ask me anything about your findings. I'll give you specific answers based on your document, not generic advice.
Trained on 100,000+ mortgage documents · 40 years of forensic case data · Not legal advice
🤝
Help future homeowners — and get 20% off Monitor
Allow Homera to store anonymized, aggregated data from your analysis (no personal identifiers, no names, never sold) to improve our models for future borrowers. As a thank-you, receive 20% off Homera Monitor when it launches.
20% OFF Homera Monitor
Yes, I want to contribute and claim my discount