About FREEandCLEAR

The FREEandCLEAR Story

FREEandCLEAR is a leading mortgage website that offers free tools and resources that empower people to find the mortgage that is right for them. A mortgage is usually the largest financial commitment people make in their lives but there is a lack of education and quality information about the right way to get a mortgage. If you get the process right, you find the lender and loan that are right for you plus you can save a lot of money. If you get the process wrong, it can cost you a lot of money or even worse as we experienced during the real estate crisis. We created FREEandCLEAR to help you get the mortgage process right.

In additional to the general lack of education, getting a mortgage can be overwhelming, confusing and frustrating -- some people have shared stories with us that describe how the process reduced them to tears. Based on this feedback, we decided it was a good idea to offer a free resource that enables people to better understand the mortgage process from start to finish.  You never have to pay to use FREEandCLEAR.

From shopping lenders and submitting your loan application through closing your mortgage and making your first payment, FREEandCLEAR provides helpful resources and tools to guide you through the process and answer any question you may have along the way. We believe that empowering people through education, information and knowledge is the best way to enable people take control of the mortgage process and make informed decisions about one of the most important financial matters in their lives.

We have also designed FREEandCLEAR to be a little different than other mortgage websites. Our goal is to offer a compelling experience that our users find valuable, informative and engaging. We strive to live up to our name – our site is always free to use and we offer a clear, intuitive user experience. We avoid unnecessary clutter on our site and focus on providing the user with beneficial resources and useful tools. We also welcome the participation of our community with interactive features that allow you to ask mortgage questions and provide your feedback and insights. FREEandCLEAR also generates revenue but we attempt to do it in a way that complements or enhances the user experience.  Please note that FREEandCLEAR is an information resource and not a lender so we do not provide mortgages or loans.

The FREEandCLEAR Mission

Our mission at FREEandCLEAR is to empower people to make better decisions and save money when they get a mortgage. We accomplish our mission by providing high-quality, comprehensive content and tools including guides, mortgage calculators, mortgage expert insights and video tutorials. Our helpful resources and rate tables bring clarity and transparency to the mortgage process and enable borrowers to easily shop for a mortgage.

We have designed FREEandCLEAR to be easy-to-use, interactive and highly informative. Our goal is to help people find the mortgage, loan program and lender that are right for them. We hope that you find FREEandCLEAR engaging and valuable as we seek to fulfill our mission.

FREEandCLEAR Values

Put our users first. We strive to put our users first in everything we do. We do this by developing mortgage content and tools that empower our users. We recognize that if we get the user experience right, everything else will follow.

Exceed expectations. Our goal is to positively overwhelm our users by providing more information and value than they are expecting. We do this by providing informative and helpful resources and never charging people to use our website. We believe everyone should have access to high-quality mortgage information.

Provide honest information and advice. We seek to provide unbiased, honest information and advice about how to get a mortgage, including how to choose a lender and loan program. Being an independent source of information makes FREEandCLEAR a more valuable resource for our users.

Increase transparency in the mortgage marketplace. One of the reasons the mortgage process can be challenging is due to limited or confusing information. We believe that our product offerings, including our lender directory and rate tables, increase transparency in the mortgage industry and help our users make more educated choices when they get a mortgage.

Improve mortgage education and financial literacy. Studies have shown that there is a lack of mortgage education in our school system including at the college level. Many people lack an understanding of basic mortgage fundamentals. One of the reasons we created FREEandCLEAR is to address this knowledge gap and help people become more informed and educated about mortgages.

How We Make Money

FREEandCLEAR is free to use. We never charge users to use the tools and content available on our website.  We think high quality mortgage information, education and resources should be available to everyone for no cost and this is part of our mission.

We make money when you contact the lenders listed on our site. We may receive a fee when you click on lenders listed on our rate tables or submit an online quote form. The lender listings that appear on our website are from companies from which we receive compensation, which may impact how, where and in what order products appear. The lender tables do not include all companies or all available products.

We always provide advertiser disclosure on our website so our users are aware of how we make money. Additionally, these fees never influence the content we create or the advice we provide on FREEandCLEAR. We maintain complete editorial independence to ensure that the information, recommendations and insights we provide our users are objective and unbiased.

The FREEandCLEAR Team

FREEandCLEAR was started by Harry and Michael Jensen, a father and son team who are passionate about empowering people to make informed decisions when they get a mortgage. Harry is a true mortgage expert with over 45 years of industry experience while Michael has an extensive background in finance and the Internet sector.  Harry and Michael are responsible for developing all of the helpful tools and resources available on FREEandCLEAR.  They are also the authors of all of the content on FREEandCLEAR including our mortgage expert insights, program guides and mortgage Q&A. Their goal is to make their expertise and knowledge available for free to help people better manage the mortgage process. 

Harry Jensen

Co-Founder

With over 45 years of industry experience, Harry Jensen is a true mortgage expert. Harry got his start as a mortgage banker in 1972 with Palomar Mortgage and opened his own mortgage brokerage firm, Jensen Mortgage Company, in 1976. Over the course of his 40-plus year career as a mortgage broker Harry has originated, processed and closed thousands of loans for satisfied borrowers. Harry’s experience spans virtually every type of loan from FHA, VA and other low down payment programs to down payment assistance grants and reverse mortgages.

Harry has worked with a wide range of lending institutions including wholesale lenders, savings and loans, banks, credit unions, insurance companies and private money lenders. He has guided countless borrowers through the mortgage process and coordinated a multitude of third party services on behalf of his clients including escrow, title, attorney, home inspections and appraisal reports.

Simply put, Harry possesses unmatched expertise about the ins and outs of the mortgage process. His position as an authority on mortgages is reflected by his numerous speaking engagements as well as the many articles and industry thought pieces he has authored over the years. Harry developed FREEandCLEAR to enable others to learn and benefit from his nearly five decades of mortgage industry experience.

Prior to entering the mortgage industry, Harry honorably served in the United States Air Force which took him to Texas, Alabama, Florida, Alaska and eventually back to his home state of California. Harry holds a degree in Physics from San Diego State University.

Michael Jensen

Co-Founder

Michael co-founded FREEandCLEAR in 2012 with his father, Harry. The opportunity to partner with his Dad to enable people to make better decisions and save money when they get a mortgage was too good to pass up. Michael brings a wealth of experience in finance and working with leading Internet companies to his position at FREEandCLEAR. Michael focuses on implementing FREEandCLEAR’s mission by empowering its user community through information and education and by providing high-quality mortgage tools and resources.

Prior to starting FREEandCLEAR, Michael served as Global Head of Internet Investment Banking for Credit Suisse. Michael worked in investment banking for 13 years, holding positions with Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and BT Alex. Brown and spent the majority of his finance career covering the Internet and New Media sectors. Michael has advised companies on numerous financing and advisory transactions including private placements, initial public offerings, follow-on equity offerings, convertible debt, leverage lending and bank financing as well as mergers, acquisitions and divestitures.

Michael’s clients included many leading domestic and international Internet and New Media companies. He has taken the best lessons learned from his experience – the user comes first, foster community interaction, focus on the long term – and applied them to develop FREEandCLEAR.

Michael’s passions include surfing, soccer, screenwriting, running, backpacking, building things and helping others. Michael holds degrees in History and Economics from Stanford University. While in college, Michael interned in the U.S. Senate.

You can learn more about us by visiting the FREEandCLEAR team page or check out Harry and Michael's LinkedIn profiles.

FREEandCLEAR In the News

FREEandCLEAR has been featured in a number of leading national and industry media publications including The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, inman and Mortgage Professional America (MPA). We welcome all press inquiries as we continue to spread the word about mortgage education and financial literacy so feel free to contact us using the information provided below.

Contact Us

We would love to hear from you. You can drop us a line at the number below.

Phone: 1-800-822-0138

You can also send us a message through our contact form or even better, we welcome the opportunity to connect in-person. If you are ever in our neighborhood please feel free to pay us a visit at our headquarters. 

FREEandCLEAR Corporate Headquarters
4388 Arcadia Drive
San Diego, CA 92103

Let's Get Social

We have an active presence on all the major social media platforms. We would love for you to join us on Facebook, X, YouTube, LinkedIn and Pinterest.  We think you'll like our company.

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