CBA-owned fintech backs home buying start-up

A start-up company that purchases homes for home buyers has secured funding from x15ventures after winning the fintech’s program for entrepreneurs and start-up teams.

OwnHome was awarded $150,000 in funding from x15ventures – a fintech firm owned by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) – after being declared the winner of x15ventures’ fast-tracked program, Xccelerate 2020.

The program aims to fund and support start-up teams’ growth, including by leveraging CBA’s group assets and strategic partners.

OwnHome, whose co-founders include James Bowe and Tim Harley, is a start-up company that buys a property for the customer, with the start-up owning the title to the home. The customer can move to the home straight away and begin making monthly payments to OwnHome.

The customer can purchase the property off OwnHome within the first two to five years at a pre-arranged price. The minimum lease commitment is two years, while the customer can live in the OwnHome home for up to five years before they must purchase it for themselves.

The customer earns 2.5 per cent per year in their home, which means that after five years, they own 12.5 per cent in their home, which the start-up said is sufficient for the customer to switch to a bank mortgage and convert the title to their name.

The customer and OwnHome would agree on a purchase price (3.75 per cent pre-agreed appreciation). If the property is worth more than the pre-agreed price, the customer would retain the extra value.

According to OwnHome’s website, the start-up is a new option for those who cannot afford the deposit required to avoid punitive mortgage rates and fees.

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Source: CBA-owned fintech backs home buying start-up – Mortgage Business