I, Cringley becomes I, Entrepreneur

06.03.2009
has crossed over from journalist to entrepreneur.

He is the co-founder of , a new start-up that acts as an Internet mortgage broker for homeowners. For US$10 per month, Home-Account offers a broker for life. The service lets homeowners refinance their homes as often and as quickly as they need to.

Home-Account, which launched this week at the DEMO conference in Palm Springs, is setting some lofty goals. "Loans recommended by Home-Account are the cheapest you can get," . "If ours looks more expensive than theirs it is because theirs aren't real."

He said that other Internet mortgage sites often sell names to banks and brokers, who pay for the lead. "Home-Account doesn't sell you to anyone, instead offering-up to the homeowner or home buyer a handful of real mortgages that we know are the best you can qualify for based on your situation," he wrote.

Home-Account is hoping that it will be seen as LifeLock, the ID theft prevention company and MyFICO, the credit score management service. Essentially, the company wants to be a mortgage adviser, manager and broker.

If, for instance, a customer does not qualify for refinancing, Home-Account will make recommendations on how he or she can work to reach that goal.