Better Home & Finance Holding Company

Better Home & Finance Holding Company is the publicly traded parent company of Better.com, a United States-based digital mortgage lender. The business was founded in 2016 by Vishal Garg, who had earlier worked in financial services and founded the student-lending company MyRichUncle. Better set out to replace the traditional, commission-heavy mortgage brokerage process with a fully online platform: customers apply for a mortgage, upload documents, lock a rate and track the loan through a digital dashboard, with loan officers and underwriters working behind the scenes. The company became one of the largest direct-to-consumer mortgage originators in the United States during the low-interest-rate refinancing boom of 2020 and 2021, when it funded tens of billions of dollars of loans and grew its headcount sharply. Better's brand is built around the promise of a faster, cheaper and more transparent mortgage — no commissions for its loan officers, no branch network, and a technology stack that handles underwriting and verification. Alongside its core residential mortgage product, the group has expanded into homeowners insurance, title and closing services, and, through acquisitions, into real estate and mortgage-adjacent businesses. It has also pursued international expansion, notably in the United Kingdom, and has marketed itself as a "one-stop shop" for home finance. The company's path to public markets was unusual. It agreed to merge with the special purpose acquisition company Aurora Acquisition Corp., a deal announced in 2021 but repeatedly delayed amid a sharp downturn in mortgage volumes as interest rates rose. The merger finally closed in August 2023, and the combined company listed on Nasdaq under the ticker BETR as Better Home & Finance Holding Company. The listing came with a large cash infusion but also with a much smaller origination market than the company had planned for, and the group subsequently restructured, cut jobs and refocused on profitability. Better has attracted considerable public attention for its corporate culture and management style. Founder and CEO Vishal Garg has been a polarizing figure, and the company has drawn headlines for layoffs conducted over video calls, for a leaked communication criticizing employees, and for executive departures. It has also been the subject of reporting on its accounting and internal controls. Despite the controversy, Better remains one of the best-known digital mortgage brands in the United States, and its platform is frequently cited as a model for fintech-driven home lending. The company continues to operate as a mortgage originator and home-finance platform, with its shares trading on Nasdaq.

Better was founded in 2016 by Vishal Garg, a former financial services executive who had previously started the student loan company MyRichUncle. The founding thesis was that mortgage origination — historically intermediated by commissioned brokers and branch-based lenders — could be moved almost entirely online, with technology handling application intake, document verification and underwriting support. The company operated under the consumer-facing brand Better.com and marketed itself on speed, no lender fees and no commission-driven loan officers. Better grew steadily through the late 2010s and then explosively during the 2020–2021 refinancing boom, when historically low interest rates pushed mortgage volumes to record levels in the United States. The company scaled its headcount rapidly and became one of the largest direct-to-consumer mortgage originators in the country. It also began to broaden its offering beyond first mortgages and refinancing, adding homeowners insurance, title and closing services and other home-finance products, and it expanded internationally, including into the United Kingdom. In 2021 Better agreed to go public by merging with Aurora Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company. The transaction was announced at a time of peak mortgage volumes but was repeatedly delayed as rising interest rates sharply reduced refinancing activity. The merger eventually closed in August 2023, and the combined entity began trading on Nasdaq as Better Home & Finance Holding Company under the ticker BETR. The deal brought in significant new capital, but the company also faced a far smaller origination market than originally anticipated, and it responded with cost cuts, layoffs and a refocus on profitability. Better's public profile has been shaped as much by controversy as by its technology. The company drew widespread attention for conducting layoffs over video conference calls, for a leaked internal message in which the founder criticized employees, and for a series of executive departures. It has also faced reporting and litigation concerning its accounting, internal controls and business practices. Founder Vishal Garg remains the public face of the brand and continues to lead the company. Today Better operates as a digital mortgage originator and home-finance platform, competing with both traditional banks and other fintech lenders.

• 2023

  Merger closes in August; Better Home & Finance Holding Company lists on Nasdaq under ticker BETR.

• 2021

  Agrees to go public via merger with SPAC Aurora Acquisition Corp.

• 2016

  Better founded by Vishal Garg; launches digital mortgage platform under the Better.com brand.

Digital-first, commission-free mortgage lender positioned as a faster and more transparent alternative to traditional mortgage brokers.

• Better Mortgage

  Fully online residential mortgage origination and refinancing platform.

• Better Insurance

  Homeowners insurance offered alongside mortgage origination.

• Better Title and Closing

  Title and closing services integrated into the digital mortgage process.

• 2026

  Better sues former CEO Vishal Garg over alleged securities violations

  Better Home & Finance Holding Company filed a federal lawsuit in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York against founder and ousted CEO Vishal Garg, alleging he violated Sections 13(d) and 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by secretly assembling a shareholder coalition and soliciting backing through misleading communications without required SEC disclosures. Better seeks court orders to compel an accurate Schedule 13D, correct false statements, halt further solicitation, and void consents gathered during the campaign.

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1. 1Better.com official websitebetter.com
2. 2Better sues former CEO Vishal Garg over alleged securities violationsmpamag.com