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Mynd is a web application that assists investors with finding, financing and managing single-family rentals (SFR) in and from any location within the U.S.
It closed today on $30 million in financing to further its offerings, $20 million provided by Invesco Real Estate, the rest coming from current investors, according to a July 17 announcement sent to Inman. Funds will go toward general operations, including, product expansion and training and development. This is the second large investment Invesco has put into Mynd, having contributed $30 million in June 2021, part of a $40 million raise at the time.
Doug Brien | Mynd
“It hasn’t been an easy year for the real estate and technology industries,” Mynd CEO and co-founder Doug Brien said in the announcement. Proptech has been hit especially hard, from failed SPAC offerings to down rounds. Despite industry-wide headwinds, Mynd is positioned for success. This round represents a strong vote of confidence in our business model, technology and vision.”
The company’s solution includes tools for in-depth analysis of available SFRs in 26 markets, which delves into expected rents, comparables, maintenance forecasts and provides reporting on an array of investment models. It also functions as a lender offering streamlined financing services, allowing users to integrate investment decisions at the point of engagement with their potential lenders.
Backflip is an app with a very similar model, and both are on the crest of a surging wave of proptech coded to assist single-family investors. Baselane, which also blends fintech properties with automated day-to-day management features, provides in-app banking to financially manage individual LLCs that preside over individual investments.
Plotify offers users a scoring system for cities and ZIP codes, and it’s currently leveraging a few American cities that are known for being undervalued. Its algorithm uses 90 data points to create property risk scores and narrows a list down to, for example, 200 options per market. The company secures a home for an investor and then transfers ownership into an LLC for their buyer.
Also with its own internal banking engine, Azibo is a browser app to help property owner-operators who manage anywhere from five to 50 units get a handle on their finances, tenants and portfolio.
Mynd also works with institutional investors and “continues to grow its full-service, institutional partnerships, including buying and investment management for all interested clients,” the announcement reads.
With around $50 million in Mynd, Invesco Real Estate’s Bert Crouch — managing director and head of North America — admitted that SFRs are a “tremendous opportunity” and “an emerging asset class.”
“We’re excited to support Mynd and leverage our strategic relationship as they continue to unlock and execute on opportunities for investors,” Crouch said.
Naturally, there is concern that Wall Street ownership of homes traditionally reserved for the homeowners could impact the open market. The number remains small at the moment, but the momentum is not to be ignored.
Brien spoke at Inman Connect Las Vegas last year.
“I believe that there is sort of a rethinking of the American dream happening right now,” Brien said. “It’s not that people don’t or shouldn’t aspire to own a home, we’re just seeing people delay that decision for a number of different reasons.”
To a question about the emerging stigmas of corporate homeownership, Brien said it’s about people wanting to be where the jobs are.
“If you’re to ask the people that are renting our homes and actually have a professional service and lots of choices of homes, I think they would say ‘wow this is really nice.’”
