Real Estate Technology
Flyhomes | September 12, 2023
Flyhomes, creator of the world’s best home buying and selling experience, has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase certain assets from Innovative Holdings, LLC, doing business as Home Sale Assured, a leader in the field of ‘buy before you sell.’ Founded in early 2022 by Eric Meadow, Home Sale Assured’s flagship product is the Guaranteed Backup Contract, which empowers existing homeowners to buy their next home before closing on the sale of their current one. As part of the deal, Flyhomes will be acquiring the Home Sale Assured brand, and Meadow will be joining Flyhomes in a senior executive capacity where he’ll report to EVP of Mortgage & Closing, Dan Richards.
“Eric is a seasoned mortgage professional who has built something really special with the Guaranteed Backup Contract,” said Tushar Garg, co-founder and CEO at Flyhomes. “Its ability to remove friction from the buying and selling process, while adding assurance, flexibility, and customer-centricity, aligns perfectly with our core tenants here at Flyhomes. This deal strengthens our offerings and gives us more tools to serve more customers looking for a better way to buy and sell a home.”
Following the close of the deal, lender and realtor partners will be able to continue offering their customers access to the Guaranteed Backup Contract through the Home Sale Assured brand at Flyhomes. Understanding the importance of the customer-agent relationship, Guaranteed Backup Contract was designed to enhance the role of real estate agents and lenders. This ensures everyone moves in unison toward the common goals of seamlessly transitioning the customer into their new home and selling their prior home for maximum value.
“We’re thrilled to be adding Eric and the Home Sale Assured brand to the Flyhomes family of products,” said Dan Richards, EVP of Mortgage & Closing at Flyhomes. “Eric brings 25 years of mortgage industry experience, from his time as President of Celebrity Home Loans (at the time a national multi-billion dollar retail lender) to his recent success as an entrepreneur at Home Sale Assured. His deep operational knowledge and network of relationships will play a key role in extending our portfolio of products nationwide.”
“It’s an honor to be joining Flyhomes at such a critical point in residential real estate,” said Eric Meadow, CEO and founder of Home Sale Assured. “There remain far too many obstacles to home ownership these days, be it first-time home buyers, or in the case of Home Sale Assured, current homeowners trying to move. Consumers, agents and lenders are all looking for practical solutions to overcome these institutional challenges and Flyhomes has been at the forefront of this category. I’m ecstatic to now be able to leverage their advanced infrastructure and resources to bring the Guaranteed Backup Contract to more customers.”
Benefits of the Guaranteed Backup Contract:
With a valid purchase offer, a lender is able to apply standard agency guidelines to remove the departing debt obligation from the consumer’s debt to income ratio. Thus allowing the lender to approve the loan on the new home before the consumer closes on the sale of their prior home.
The consumer is able to close on and move into their new home and take up to 90 days to close on the sale of their prior home.
The consumer can work with a real estate agent to list their prior home for sale during this 90-day option period. If the consumer receives a better offer, they can cancel the Guaranteed Backup Contract and sell their home to the higher offer.
About Flyhomes
Flyhomes is building the world’s best homebuying and selling experience. Launched in 2016, Flyhomes has reinvented the homebuying and selling process at every step, making the process smoother and simpler for consumers with offerings like the Flyhomes Cash Offer and Buy Before You Sell. They back these services with a unique guarantee that gives both buyers and sellers certainty and peace of mind that is unheard of in real estate. To date, they’ve helped clients close on more than $6 billion worth of homes at prices ranging from $150,000 to $7 million.
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Market Outlook, Real Estate Investment
PRnewswire | July 31, 2023
RentSpree, the industry's premier end-to-end rental management software provider, today announced its latest partnership with OneKey® MLS, the largest multiple listing service in New York, to bring its services to the organization's more than 50,000 members.
RentSpree's full integration on the OneKey® MLS platform will facilitate the instant creation of an ApplyLink™ for rental listings, which supports members in generating more leads, cutting down transaction time, and increasing returns. The new integration makes it easy by allowing OneKey® members to command the entire rental process easily and efficiently.
"Our partnership with RentSpree fits our organization's vision to go beyond what is expected to provide our subscribers with access to the tools they need to compete and stay relevant in a rapidly changing business landscape," said OneKey® MLS CEO Richard Haggerty. "We are deeply committed to supporting our subscribers in all critical areas of real estate. OneKey® MLS is proud to provide a flagship rental tool that easily satisfies fundamental housing needs for Long Island, New York City and the Hudson Valley region."
The U.S. rental market continues to be driven by high demand and a lack of available housing, resulting in nearly two years of median rent growth, according to data from Rent.com. More than 66 percent of states experienced yearly rent growth in May, with New York being among the 10 biggest gainers.
"I'm beyond excited to partner and deliver value for both subscribers and consumers across the OneKey® footprint," said RentSpree Co-Founder & CEO Michael Lucarelli. "We love to work with leaders like Richard who can easily recognize and address important needs in one of the hottest rental markets in the U.S."
He added, "As we seek these types of collaborations, we continue deploying solutions that go well beyond our best-in-class rental screening services. These focus on maximizing agent earnings, building branding, and automating all rental-related processes."
About RentSpree
Los Angeles-based RentSpree is a provider of award-winning rental software that helps seamlessly connect real estate agents, owners, and renters to simplify and automate the entire rental process, from listing to lease. The all-in-one platform is known across all 50 states for its easy and secure interface and suite of rental tools, including tenant screening, rent payments, marketing and renter management. To date, RentSpree has partnered with more than 250 of the most influential MLSs, real estate associations and brokerages to serve over one million users in the U.S. RentSpree has been ranked on Inc. 5000's fastest-growing private companies in 2022. Visit RentSpree.com for more information.
About OneKey® MLS
OneKey® MLS, made possible by the merger of MLSLI and Hudson Gateway MLS, is one of the nation's leading Multiple Listing Services, serving 50,000 REALTOR® subscribers and 4,500 participating offices throughout Long Island, New York City, and the Hudson Valley. OneKey® MLS is dedicated to providing more comprehensive coverage, up-to-date statistics, and the best real estate tools and resources.
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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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