According to HousingWire, Vishal Garg, the founder of Better Home & Finance Holding Co., has put forward a 90-day turnaround plan while mounting a campaign to regain control of the company. His plan targets reaching two billion dollars in quarterly loan volume, which would represent a significant increase from current levels and what he believes is the company's breakeven point. He's also aiming to generate approximately seven million dollars in additional monthly revenue while bringing the company's monthly cash burn down to zero from its current level.
Garg's specific operational initiatives include launching a HELOC product through Better's Tinman technology platform and pursuing five major partnership deals that he says have been stalled under the current management. He wants to increase loan officers' average daily customer contact time to match industry standards and improve conversion rates substantially across both direct-to-consumer and partner channels. Another goal is to raise Better's lock-to-fund rate closer to what he describes as the industry average.
The plan also proposes various cost-cutting measures throughout the company's operations, including changes to how loan officers are compensated, overhauling the counteroffer process to happen instantaneously, and shifting certain legal work to AI-assisted teams. Garg made his proposal public through LinkedIn, asking shareholders to support his campaign to replace five board members and effectively return him to a leadership position.
Better's current board has pushed back firmly against Garg's efforts. According to HousingWire, the board's special committee released a presentation arguing that Garg's campaign is merely an attempt to regain power and pointed to the company's substantial losses and stock decline during his tenure as CEO. The committee maintains that Better is already improving under new leadership and called Garg's effort costly and distracting, urging shareholders to reject his consent campaign.
The dispute has escalated into legal battles, with Better filing suit against Garg and Garg subsequently filing his own lawsuit against interim CEO Daniel Lewis and other board members. One board member has stated he would not remain on the board if Garg returned to an executive role. The committee is recommending shareholders use the company's white consent card to reject Garg's proposal, while Garg continues to solicit shareholder support through his green consent card campaign.
What I am seeing locally here in the Bay Area and out in the East Bay is that turnarounds in the lending business are incredibly difficult, especially when there's this kind of internal conflict happening. Whether Garg's plan has merit or not, the fact that a mortgage company is tying up resources in boardroom battles rather than focusing on customers is never good for the market. Buyers and sellers deserve lenders that are stable and focused on their needs, not ones wrestling with governance issues.
