Alta began operations in early 2008. Its founder, Todd Kaufman, was working for a large bank with a substantial concentration of residential mortgage loans. Both the bank and many homeowners were struggling with a combination of a declining real estate market and a glut of defaulting loans.

The most common result was foreclosure, which proved devastating to both the homeowner as well as the bank. With 22 years of experience in the real estate capital markets arena, it was clear that there were a number of possible solutions, that were better than foreclosure.

Todd formed Alta as a way to intervene with the foreclosure process, redirect the path towards a more positive outcome, and to materially change the homeowner's experience in a constructive way.