NEW YORK, May 09, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EasyKnock, the first institutionalized residential sale leaseback company in the United States, has raised a $215 million Series A round from new and returning investors as it releases MoveAbility, its second revolutionary program in flexible homeownership. Through MoveAbility, homeowners can leverage their equity to seamlessly purchase their next home, prior to moving out of their current home.
The Series A included $12 million in equity and was led by existing investor Blumberg Capital. The funding was joined by new investors Correlation Ventures, 500 Startups and Rubicon Ventures and existing investors Montage Ventures, Kairos and FJ Labs. The funding follows a $103.5 million debt-equity round that EasyKnock raised last year.
This successful round of funding will enable the company to expand its current products and launch MoveAbility, a product that provides homeowners their equity, enabling them to purchase their next home from the comfort of their current home.
“We are continuing to create 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 million homes are sold every year, millions of Americans can benefit from our program.”
In the current landscape, between the stringent underwriting rules and the negative impact of having an existing mortgage balance while applying for refinancing or a bridge loan, Americans struggle to access the necessary funds to secure their dream home. Further, the pressure and uncertainty surrounding when and for how much their home will sell, leaves homeowners in a state of stress and limbo. This leads to millions of families selling their homes in a hurry, at a below-market rate or uprooting their family and settling into temporary accommodations while they sell one home and search for another.
MoveAbility enables a seamless and painless transition from one home to the next, in which the homeowner can create a timeline that best suits them. EasyKnock purchases the home, offering a lump sum of cash. The homeowner-turned tenant can stay in the home as a renter for three to 18 months, while they look for a new home to buy, and use that money for the down payment.
The launch of MoveAbility follows the successful launch of EasyKnock’s Sell and Stay program, which enables homeowners to sell their home and remain in the residence as renters with the option to repurchase or move at any time during a five-year lease. Both Sell and Stay and Moveability are currently available in 25 states.
About EasyKnock
EasyKnock founders Jarred Kessler and Benjamin Black boast a collective forty years in the real estate, business development, sales and technology industries. Launched in 2016, EasyKnock is the first institutionalized sale leaseback prop-tech platform in the United States. EasyKnock’s breakthrough programs in flexible homeownership, providing services previously unavailable to American homeowners. Their programs are empowering, yet simple — with a global scalability that creates unlimited value.