Home and Design
EasyKnock | August 17, 2023
Ribbon, powered by EasyKnock, announces today that RibbonCash – its pioneering cash offer solution – has relaunched in Atlanta and Charlotte.
As one of the pioneers of powerbuying solutions, Ribbon has considered Atlanta and Charlotte as its historical home base, driving the company’s success since its founding in 2017. Ribbon’s product reached around 2 percent of the overall closings in the Atlanta market in 2022, an achievement indicative of the appetite for homeownership.
“The EasyKnock and Ribbon teams could not be more excited to announce the return of RibbonCash to Charlotte and Atlanta,” said Jarred Kessler, CEO of EasyKnock. The Southeast in general remains competitive according to Bankrate’s Housing Heat Index. According to the index, despite price declines elsewhere in the United States, the Southeast has held steady due to comparatively affordable prices. Ribbon aims to tap into this reality for everyday homebuyers who seek ways to achieve homeownership for themselves or their family.
“We believe the Southeast maintains a culture of homeownership that withstands shifts in the market. Mortgage rates and inventory may ebb and flow, but achieving homeownership - and seeking the leading tools to compete - has not,” Kessler said.
“We continue to be bullish on Atlanta, Charlotte, and the Southeast overall.” By working with real estate agents and loan officers, and not competing with them as a direct-to-consumer offering like iBuyers, Ribbon sustains its reputation for empowering the real estate ecosystem.
EasyKnock acquired the assets of Ribbon in 2023. Both EasyKnock and Ribbon have forged strong partnerships in residential real estate by using best-in–class technology that connects consumers with loan officers, real estate agents, and other participants in the homebuying and home selling experience.
Together, Ribbon and EasyKnock are ushering in a new chapter for the real estate industry, creating a one-stop shop for financial solutions that serve homeowners, buyers, and sellers across the country.
About EasyKnock
EasyKnock is the first-to-market, technology-enabled residential sale-leaseback company in the U.S. Through innovative and accessible solutions, American homeowners who sell their property to EasyKnock can remain in their homes as renters while still getting the cash they need to pursue their financial goals. Headquartered in New York City and founded in 2016, EasyKnock has team members nationwide working to help homeowners unlock their financial freedom through non-loan programs so they can pay off debts, buy their dream home, fund a venture, and more - all while maintaining the ability to stay in their homes and communities. In 2023, EasyKnock acquired the assets of Ribbon Home and continues to offer Ribbon products to customers.
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Real Estate Technology, Agent
PRnewswire | August 04, 2023
Capital Square, one of the nation's leading sponsors of tax-advantaged real estate investments and an active developer of multifamily communities, announced today that its offering, CS1031 Ashford Townes BFR Housing, DST, has been fully subscribed. The Regulation D private placement, which raised nearly $13.7 million from accredited investors, is comprised of a 74-unit, newly constructed build-for-rent townhome community in the affluent Raleigh suburb of Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina.
Capital Square formed the Private Equity Group, managed by experienced real estate executives Dave Platter and Jon Trott as managing directors and co-heads, to profit from opportunities in the housing market, including a dedicated build-for-rent ("BFR") strategy in high growth sunbelt markets. This represents Capital Square's third BFR offering on platform to date.
"This is another home run for Capital Square in providing a newly constructed build-for-rent housing community for Section 1031 exchange and other investors seeking stable cash flow and capital appreciation. From Class A and Class B residential communities, manufactured housing in Florida and now build-for-rent residential communities, Capital Square is providing investors with a range of options to invest in the vibrant southeastern housing markets," said Louis Rogers, founder and co-chief executive officer of Capital Square.
Completed in February 2022, Ashford Townes is located at 604 Oakbrook Pass Way. The townhome community, developed by D.R. Horton, the nation's largest homebuilder by volume, boasts three-bedroom, open floorplans averaging 1,693 square feet with integrated smart-home technology, stainless steel appliances, quartz countertops, high vaulted ceilings, built-in window blinds, spacious walk-in closets, full size washer-dryers, attached one-car garages, private patios and outdoor storage. A community dog park is additionally contemplated for development.
Residents have access to over 130,000 jobs, including major employers such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Novartis, IQVIA, JLL and Duke Energy. Five minutes from the property are a plethora of local retailers, restaurants, breweries, fitness centers and top performing schools. Approximately 30 minutes south of the property is Research Triangle Park, the largest research park in the U.S. and a premier global innovation center covering 7,000 acres of the combined Raleigh-Durham-Cary statistical area.
"Ashford Townes is an affordable housing option amidst Raleigh's single-family for-sale market, where rents are predicted to grow 3.75% over the next five years," said Whitson Huffman, co-chief executive officer. "The area has seen a recent decline of multifamily inventory, making the Raleigh market an attractive market for investment in a high-quality single-family rental community."
Capital Square is an active owner of multifamily communities in North Carolina. The firm recently acquired Asheville NC Apartment Portfolio, a two-property multifamily portfolio comprised of a total of 305 apartment homes in Asheville. The community was acquired on behalf of CS1031 Asheville NC Apartment Portfolio, DST, a private placement offering that seeks to raise $73.1 million in equity from accredited investors and has a minimum investment requirement of $50,000.
Since its founding in 2012, Capital Square has acquired 171 real estate assets for over 6,500 investors seeking quality replacement properties that qualify for tax deferral under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code and other investors seeking stable cash flow and capital appreciation.
About Capital Square
Capital Square is a vertically integrated national real estate firm specializing in tax-advantaged real estate investments, including Delaware statutory trusts for Section 1031 exchanges, qualified opportunity zone funds for tax deferral and exclusion and a real estate investment trust (REIT). In recent years the company has become an active developer of mixed-use multifamily properties in the southeastern U.S., with eight current projects totaling approximately 2,000 apartment units with a total development cost in excess of $600 million. Since 2012, Capital Square has completed more than $7.5 billion in transaction volume. Capital Square's related entities provide a range of services, including due diligence, acquisition, loan sourcing, property/asset management and disposition, for a growing number of high-net-worth investors, private equity firms, family offices and institutional investors. Since 2017, Capital Square has been recognized by Inc. 5000 as one of the fastest growing companies in the nation for six consecutive years. In 2017, 2018 and 2020, the company was also ranked on Richmond BizSense's list of fastest growing companies. Additionally, Capital Square was listed by Virginia Business on their "Best Places to Work in Virginia" report in 2019 and their "Fantastic 50" reports in 2019 and 2020. In 2023, Capital Square was recognized by the Richmond Times-Dispatch as one of the region's "Top Work Places."
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Real Estate Technology, Real Estate Investment
PRnewswire | June 29, 2023
Reggora, an appraisal management software company that is modernizing residential real estate valuation for mortgage lenders, announced today the launch of its appraisal review solution, Reggora Appraisal Review. This innovative software is set to transform the appraisal analysis process for mortgage lenders by significantly reducing repurchase risk and ensuring every appraisal meets the correct quality standards.
Reggora Appraisal Review leverages cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning algorithms to automate and streamline the appraisal review workflow. With its advanced natural language processing capabilities, the software swiftly analyzes appraisal reports, identifies key data points, inconsistencies, and potential red flags.
For example, the solution uses advanced AI technology to detect bias in reports far more accurately than lexicon-based tools — so underwriters remain confident in the objectivity of their appraisals, without wasting time reviewing false positives. For instance, consider a report that mentions a property located in the city of "Race Point Beach." While the term "Race" would trigger a keyword-based bias detection tool, Reggora's AI-powered algorithm can discern the context and understand that it is simply the name of the city. By analyzing the report's language, tone, and content comprehensively, AI ensures that lenders can swiftly identify genuine instances of bias, avoiding unnecessary scrutiny and enabling them to focus their review efforts on reports that truly require attention.
With this groundbreaking solution, manual appraisal review becomes far more efficient. Reggora Appraisal Review significantly reduces human error, enhances efficiency, and ensures accuracy. By thoughtfully automating the review process, mortgage professionals can expedite their review cycles, reducing turnaround times and accelerating the loan origination process.
One of the critical features of Reggora Appraisal Review is its ability to reduce repurchase risk. By customizing rule sets and quality control checks, mortgage lenders can align their appraisal review processes with industry regulations, investor guidelines, and internal policies. This comprehensive compliance and risk mitigation capability empowers mortgage professionals to mitigate costly repurchase demands, protecting their financial stability and reputation.
Seamless integration with existing loan origination systems further enhances operational productivity. The user-friendly interface allows users to effortlessly navigate through appraisal reports, highlight critical information, and annotate directly on the documents. Comprehensive audit trails ensure transparency and facilitate collaboration between stakeholders.
"Reggora Appraisal Review represents a significant step forward in the mortgage industry," said Brian Zitin, CEO of Reggora. "We are committed to empowering mortgage professionals with cutting-edge technology that drives efficiency, reduces risk, and ultimately allows them to originate loans much faster."
This all-new review solution accompanies Reggora's existing suite of integrations with leading third-party review tools.
Reggora Appraisal Review caters to the unique needs of diverse stakeholders, providing customizable features that can be tailored to individual business requirements. Whether a small regional lender or a large national lender, this software offers a flexible and scalable solution.
About Reggora
Reggora is driving appraisal innovation with a modern, two-sided platform for mortgage lenders and appraisal vendors. Through advanced and configurable workflows, Reggora streamlines the entire appraisal process for everyone involved, while improving the overall borrower experience. Lenders and appraisers benefit from payment processing, automatic appraisal ordering, rule-based reviews, appraisal delivery, status updates, and more, creating unprecedented operational efficiency.
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