Knock’s Home Swap is now available in six new markets in the Carolinas, according to a press release sent by the company.
With the addition of Charleston, Columbia, Greenville and Spartanburg in South Carolina, and Hickory and Burlington in North Carolina, the Home Swap program is active in 40 markets throughout 10 states. It’s been available in Charlotte and Raleigh since November, 2020.
The Home Swap empowers homeowners to make a non-contingent offer and close on a new home before listing their old house. The program is carried out with a competitively priced mortgage from Knock and an interest-free bridge loan that covers the down payment on the new home, home prep and up to six months of mortgage payments on the old house.
The company works with local agents to approve them for Knock-certification, after which they can offer Home Swap as an option to traditional homebuying and selling. In especially heated markets, Home Swap can offer homeowners a much less stressful and more competitive approach to finding a home.
Knock will be partnering in South Carolina with Century 21 Blackwell & Co., Century 21 Properties Plus, Hamilton & Co. at Keller Williams Greenville Upstate, JP & Associates Realtors Magnolia Group, Johnson & Wilson Real Estate Company, Keller Williams Greenville Central, Keller Williams Realty Spartanburg, Keller Williams One, KW Carolina and RE/MAX Executive.
In North Carolina, broker partners include Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Paracle, JPAR Properties Group, Giving Tree and JPAR Carolina Living.
“We are excited to be working with Knock,” said Andy Brumbaugh, broker in charge/owner JP & Associates Realtors Magnolia Group in the press release. “In today’s market, the more options we can offer our clients, the better it is for our clients and our agents.
Knock also offers its Prep Concierge, a managed service for preparing a home for the open market. Knock approves and manages a network of local vendors, working with homeowners to ensure work quality and timely completion.
Knock also offers sellers a backup offer should the home not sell with six months. Ninety-nine percent of Knock homes sell in 90 days or less, with 83 percent selling in 30 days or less, according to the company.
In the release, Knock CEO and co-founder Sean Black said that its technology is what separates his company from the fintech field with which it’s often misaligned.
“We are leveraging technology to build a consumer-first platform that offers certainty, transparency, convenience and cost savings to homeowners looking to buy and sell,” he said. “A consumer can qualify for the Home Swap from their mobile device and then confidently shop for the home they want with their own agent by their side and in the app.”
Knock has grown by 26 markets in 2021, on track to be in 100 by 2023. The company states that more than 85,000 agents are certified to offer Home Swap services within 200 real estate brokerages.
The company was founded in 2015.