John Hope Bryant, the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Operation HOPE, a non-profit global provider of financial dignity education and economic empowerment programs, is launching a new venture directed at providing affordable rental housing and a path to homeownership for working class and middle class communities.
Bryant’s new company, which is called the Promise Homes Company, officially launched this week with $130 million in initial funding from private investors.
Promise Homes will operate as a single-family residential rental property asset manager, and will seek to support its residents, aid them in improving their financial situation, and help position them to buy their first home.
Here’s how the company lays out its business model:
Promise Homes has established an innovative business model that seeks to provide residents with quality housing at affordable prices as well as free financial and economic support services through a contract with Operation HOPE. Additionally, Promise Homes partners with local, minority-owned small businesses to provide property maintenance services for its homes, thereby supporting local job creation.
“Promise Homes was established with the clear objective of creating a new relationship between owner, resident and the community,” Bryant said of the new company.
“We know that by supporting residents with financial and economic support services through Operation HOPE, we will be able to improve the lives of residents, while also making Promise Homes a stronger and more resilient company,” Bryan added. “By treating residents as partners in shared prosperity, Promise Homes will also improve the communities that it serves. Promise Homes will do well by doing good.”
According to the company’s website, Promise Homes will offer several complementary services to its residents, including financial literacy education, rewards for on-time and consistent rent payments, rewards for credit score improvement, and other benefits.
In coordination with its official rollout, Promise Homes announced that it acquired its portfolio of homes, buying a $22 million portfolio of single-family homes in the Atlanta area from an institutional owner of single-family homes.
“This initial transaction demonstrates both the power of our real estate expertise as well as our desire to impact communities throughout the metropolitan Atlanta area,” Bryant said. “This is an important step for both Atlanta and our business model that embraces our residents as partners.”
Promise Homes also announced that it is partnering with two vendors for property management and maintenance.
Atlanta-based supplier/contractor K3 Hauling & Grading will provide maintenance services for Promise Homes’ Atlanta portfolio, while Renters Warehouse will provide property management services for the initial portfolio and serve as a preferred provider for additional acquisitions across the U.S.
“K3 is excited to partner with The Promise Homes Company and continue our commitment to improving Atlanta communities,” Kegdrick Smith, chief executive officer of K3 Hauling & Grading, said.
Anthony Cazazian, chief investment officer & president of portfolio services at Renters Warehouse, added: “Renters Warehouse is incredibly proud to be partnering with Promise Homes. We love their mission and are very excited to help bring their practical and innovative vision to life.”
In its release, Promise Homes said that plans to expand its portfolio of affordable, single-family residential rental homes to lower and middle income urban and suburban communities across the country.
