Sale leaseback company EasyKnock has raised $215 million in a series A round of financing from new and returning investors on the heels of the release of a new program. This is according to a press release circulated by the company.
The new program, called “MoveAbility,” is designed to allow homeowners to leverage their equity in the purchase of a new home, prior to vacating the home they currently occupy.
The Series A round included $12 million in equity, and was led by a previously existing investor in the form of Blumberg Capital, alongside other returning investors including Montage Ventures, Kairos and FJ Labs. New investors into EasyKnock include Correlation Ventures, 500 Startups and Rubicon Ventures.
“We are continuing to create flexible homeownership products that enable homeowners to access their equity,” said EasyKnock CEO Jarred Kessler in an announcement press release. “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.”
While their new product could potentially be construed as competitive with Home Equity Conversion Mortgage (HECM) for Purchase transactions, EasyKnock as a company does not see itself in competition with the reverse mortgage industry. In fact, they have sought out partnerships with it in the past.
“If someone can get a reverse mortgage or a HELOC, we always tell them to do it because it’s better for them,” said EasyKnock CEO Jarred Kessler in a late-2018 interview with RMD, citing the fact that his company has paid for referrals from forward and reverse mortgage lenders. “Loan officers are looking for new streams of revenue with rates rising. We are not looking to compete with them, but to help them by servicing their turn-downs.”
A company spokesperson also clarified that EasyKnock currently partners actively with reverse mortgage companies to increase their product portfolio.
