Sale-leaseback company EasyKnock just scored a massive cash infusion, announcing that it has secured $215 million in a debt-equity round from new and returning investors.
The New York-based startup also launched a new product, MoveAbility, a play off the sale-leaseback concept marketed toward homeowners looking to buy their next home.
With MoveAbility, homeowners can quickly sell their house to EasyKnock, unlocking 70% of their home’s equity, and then rent the property back for a market-based fee and live there for up to 18 months as they look for their next home.
EasyKnock said it can offer homeowners a more competitive rate than the 6.7% to 13% it says iBuyers like Zillow, Redfin and Opendoor typically charge. Considering title, recording and other variable fees, it estimates the total cost of its product ends at about 4.62% to 6.9% of the home’s value.
“We are continuing to create innovative flexible homeownership products that enable homeowners to access their equity,” said EasyKnock CEO Jarred Kessler. “With MoveAbility, we’re offering homeowners autonomy of the process of bridging between their current home and their future home. As roughly 5,000,000 homes are sold every year, millions of Americans can benefit from our program.”
Last year, EasyKnock launched Sell and Stay, its flagship sale-leaseback product that offers to buy your house, hand you that equity in cold hard cash, and then rent it back to you for as long as you like.
The company looked to partner with reverse mortgage and HELOC lenders, hoping to help their prospects who were unable to qualify.
In September, the startup announced it had raised $103.5 million and would be using the funds to facilitate such partnerships, paying mortgage companies, including reverse mortgage lenders, a referral fee for their rejected customers.
Now, the company has even more capital to fuel its ambitious plans for growth.
EasyKnock said its Series A round included $12 million in equity. Existing investor Blumberg Capital led the round, with Correlation Ventures, Rubicon Ventures, Montage Ventures, Kairos, FJ Labs and 500 Startups joining in.
EasyKnock said it plans to use the funds to expand beyond the 25 states where its products are currently available, and to invest in building its team and enhancing its technology.
