EasyKnock, a startup that is working to pioneer home sales and leasing options, announced Tuesday a new program that will let property owners sell their houses but continue living in them for as long as they want.
In a statement Tuesday, the company described the new program, called ReLEASE, as a “straight-forward option to sell their home and rent it back from EasyKnock for as long as they would like.” The statement also explains that people using the program will be able to sell their homes in as few as seven days, and for a competitive price.
The idea is that homeowners who need or want to cash out of their houses, but don’t want to move, can now do so using ReLEASE. The statement further suggests that the program could be useful at a time when the economy is in crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic, or simply in instances where people want to diversify their investments.
“ReLEASE offers homeowners with a realistic path to meet their financial goals,” the statement adds.
The program is now available to homeowners in Florida, Michigan, Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Texas and Georgia.
EasyKnock launched about four years ago and since then has worked to give homeowners more options when it comes to moving. Prior to ReLEASE, the company offered two services. One dubbed, MoveAbility, is a kind of bridge program in which EasyKnock purchases a home while the owner looks for a new place to live.
The company’s other existing program is called Sell and Stay. Similarly to ReLEASE, Sell and Stay involves EasyKnock buying a home and then leasing it back to the prior owner for a potentially longer period of time. However, Sell and Stay allows the occupant to buy back the home in the future — meaning it’s still theoretically a temporary way to tap equity — while ReLEASE does not include the buy-back option.
Such offerings have apparently been enticing for investors, with the company having raised hundreds of millions of dollars over multiple funding rounds.
Jarred Kessler
In a statement Tuesday, EasyKnock CEO Jarred Kessler said the firm decided to launch a third offering “because Americans need options now.”
“Historically, financing solutions have been limited and lending standards have not worked in favor of the consumer,” he continued. “EasyKnock is here to change this with solutions that are easy for homeowners and work in their best interest. We want homeowners to feel their financial circumstances do not have to define them.”
