Shantel
Ownify, a first-of-its kind fractional homeownership program dedicated to making homeownership achievable for first-time homebuyers, officially launches in the Triangle area of North Carolina. The company announced today a $7 million seed round, led by Lobby Capital with participation from Socially Financed, Gaingels and others.
As almost 2 million people look to buy their first home each year, they face a system stacked against them. Even with good credit and stable income, saving for a down payment is an insurmountable hurdle for many. Coming out of the real estate, mortgage, and software industry, the Ownify team has been working on solving this problem over the past year, building a path to homeownership through fractional ownership rather than mortgage debt.
“We’re thrilled to bring Ownify to the Triangle area for qualified first-time homebuyers,” said Frank Rohde, Founder and CEO of Ownify. “We believe that fractional ownership, rather than the traditional mortgage-based path to ownership, is an attractive alternative for first-time buyers. Ownify offers a low down payment of 2%, a powerful cash offer to compete against corporate buyers, no unforeseen costs and surprises, and evergreen equity in the home.”
To buy their home with Ownify, homebuyers make a 2% down payment, giving them a 2% equity stake in the home upon closing. Ownify transforms the homebuyers into powerful cash buyers and covers additional upfront costs, such as due diligence fees and earnest money. Homebuyers then pay a fixed monthly payment to Ownify, inclusive of a monthly equity buy that increases the homebuyer’s ownership percentage in the home over time, and a monthly occupancy payment on the fraction of the home that is not yet owned, which covers costs associated with owning the home, such as maintenance and repairs, homeowner’s insurance and taxes. Ownify customers, known as “Ownis,” effectively buy their home “brick by brick” through fractional ownership. After five years, Ownis own approximately 10% of their home’s equity. Ownis can buy the remaining equity at any time, at fair market value, or cash out and walk away.
“Ownify is solving a massive generational problem,” said Eric Carlborg, Founding Partner and Lead Investor at Lobby Capital. “The challenges for first-time homebuyers continue to grow and we’re excited to back the Ownify team as they’re solving these challenges in a revolutionary way.”
By directly matching real estate investors with homebuyers, Ownify is able to keep expenses lower than traditional mortgage or rent-to-own offerings. On average, Ownify helps customers save $211 per month compared to a mortgage for first time homebuyers, and $34,060 on a down payment compared to a mortgage down payment. In addition, Ownify helps first-time homebuyers compete in the market with an enticing cash offer and ability to close in less than two weeks, on average.
“To the consumer, Ownify is the investor that they never had before to make their investment dreams come true,” said Bryant Lovette, Ownify-accredited real estate agent and team leader for Lovette Properties. “When you think about Ownify, you should be thinking of less rent-to-own or a bank and more of a partnership. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen come to the market.”
Ownify offers real estate agents the opportunity to help more first-time homebuyers realize that their dreams of homeownership may be closer than they think. Ownify helps agents reduce the time and effort required to close deals, convert more customers to sales and earn full commission more often.
For those interested in learning how to become an Ownify-accredited real estate agent, visit ownify.com/agents and sign up to attend the next Agent Accreditation webinar.
For those ready to turn the vision of their future home into reality, visit ownify.com/join-ownify to learn more and apply today.
About Ownify
Ownify reimagined the path to homeownership to make it achievable for the next generation of homebuyers. Through a revolutionary fractional ownership program, Ownify customers buy their homes with as little as a 2% down payment, lower upfront costs and lower monthly payments compared to traditional homebuying models. Ownify customers own 2% equity on day one and continue to buy their home, brick by brick, building equity with fixed monthly payments for five years. On average, Ownify customers save $34,000 on the down payment and over $200 per month compared to a traditional mortgage, and average 12 days from offer to close. With lower upfront costs and a powerful cash offer, Ownify provides the path for first-time homebuyers to compete in the market and achieve their dream of hmeownership with zero debt and no surprises. To learn more, visit Ownify.com
