Our story
Built on belief.
Discover what a company can accomplish when it believes in itself and grows for good.
A dream and the determination to make it come true.
When Victor Ciardelli was a young man just out of college, he started in the mortgage business. But he didn’t like what he saw. He felt too many people were self-serving and taking advantage of home buyers because the mortgage process was opaque and customers simply didn’t know any better. Fees were hidden. Rates were confusing. The process was slow. Overcomplicated. Inefficient.
And that fueled Victor’s dream to change the whole industry…to start an entirely new mortgage company from scratch, built on transparency, and that put the customer first, always.
Victor didn’t view the mortgage business as a financial business. He viewed it as a business that could actually help people live better lives by responsibly helping them afford the place where life’s best moments would happen. To realize the fundamental human dream of a place called home.
Early on there were lots of challenges.
His critics called him naïve. There was a recession. He and his team took massive pay cuts just to pay monthly bills. But he believed in this dream fiercely. He didn’t flinch or waver. He hustled and doubled down. And as the few customers they had were happy, they told their friends and families about Rate.
Early real estate partners and agents were impressed, and they referred more and more business. And from those humble beginnings, and grit, and determination, and unrelenting dedication to the dream, Rate soared. In their first year they wrote $200 million in mortgages with 8 employees. 22 years later, $113 billion, with 3993 employees.
And while in 22 years the company’s size has changed, Victor’s dream has never wavered. Not even a little. Rate succeeds by putting your dream of home ownership first. Always.
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Operating as Guaranteed Rate, Inc. in New York.
The company name, Guaranteed Rate, should not suggest to a consumer that Guaranteed Rate provides an interest rate guaranteed prior to an interest lock.