Real estate startup Knock has announced the expansion of its Home Swap solution into San Antonio and Austin, Texas.
Home Swap, a proclaimed reimagined version of the company’s Home Trade-In solution, was first launched in July in Atlanta, Dallas-Fort Worth and Phoenix, and expanded to Denver earlier this month.
In San Antonio Knock is partnering with Keller Williams Heritage and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Don Johnson Realtors, and in Austin Knock is partnering with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Texas Realty to give homeowners the option to “swap” their current house for their dream home.
“The most exciting part of our partnership with Knock is the ability for agents to make non-contingent offers in this incredibly aggressive seller’s market,” Jack Hawthorne, team leader at Keller Williams Heritage said in a statement. “This is a powerful tool to strengthen a buyer’s offer and we are excited to put it into practice.”
The company said it plans to expand to “several more” markets this year – adding at least 11 markets by the end of 2020 and operating in at least 21 markets by the end of 2021.
“We’re so excited to bring the Knock Home Swap to Austin and San Antonio homeowners. Buying a home when you have to sell a home is always stressful,” Knock Cofounder and CEO Sean Black said in a statement. “Today, there’s the added complexity of trying to find a home in one of the most competitive housing markets of all time with a global pandemic.”
This solution is offered exclusively through local real estate professionals who were trained as Knock Certified Agents. Knock provides a fully integrated and competitively priced mortgage, an interest-free bridge loan to cover the down payment on the new home as well as mortgage payments and up to $25,000 for home prep and repairs on the old house.
Last month, Knock announced it was getting out of the real estate brokerage business and becoming a lender.
“We’re removing the barriers of buying and selling by providing homeowners with the financing they need to make a competitive offer to win the home they want and then settle in before prepping and listing their old house for sale on the open market,” Black said.
