Knock Home Swap is expanding into Minneapolis-St. Paul and Nashville, the alternative mortgage provider announced on Thursday.
The company’s Home Swap product helps buyers get pre-funded for a mortgage so that they can make a cash-equivalent offer on a new home before having to list their current home. The process can help reduce many of the complications that go with having to try and sell a home while still living in it, including having contract workers in and out for repairs or coordinating home showings.
The move into the Twin Cities will be Knock’s first foray into the Midwest, and with the announcement of these two new markets, the company’s total market count will come to 27.
Sean Black | Photo credit: Knock
“Knock is changing how people buy and sell homes for the better,” Knock Co-Founder and CEO Sean Black said in a statement. “By empowering people to buy before they sell we’re eliminating the uncertainty and stress that comes from timing a home sale with the purchase of a new one. We’re thrilled to bring the Knock Home Swap to Minneapolis-St. Paul and Nashville. Both markets are very competitive with homes receiving multiple offers and selling fast, making it extremely challenging and intimidating for those who need to sell their old house first.”
With Knock Home Swap, buyers will be offered a competitive mortgage and up to a $250,000 interest-free bridge loan to cover things like a down payment, prep for their old home’s sale or up to six mortgage payments on their old home. The company also has its own Home Prep Concierge, a network of contractors it works with and coordinates with on client billing.
Knock can also place its own backup offer on a house if it doesn’t sell within six months. However, the company notes that 90 percent of homes sold with them sell within 90 days or less.
Homeowners who opt to work with Knock will be working with a local real estate agent who is Knock certified. For the company’s newest market additions, that means buyers will be working with agents from Keller Williams Preferred Realty and RE/MAX Results in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
In Nashville, homeowners will work with agents from Keller Williams Realty – Hendersonville, Nashville Urban, Mt. Juliet and Lebanon; Keller Williams Realty – Franklin, Green Hills and Murfreesboro; The Ashton Real Estate Group of RE/MAX Advantage; and Reliant Realty ERA Powered.
Knock works with about 76,000 real estate agents from over 150 brokerages across all its markets. The company’s current goal is to have Home Swap available in 75 markets by 2023.