#Snapdocs Digital Closing

[otiskeene]

Snapdocs Introduces First-Of-Its-Kind Integration To Streamline Coordination Between Mortgage Lenders And Settlement Companies

The mortgage industry's digital closing leader, Snapdocs, has unveiled "Connected Closings," an industry-first integration that streamlines and enhances the closing process. This innovative solution empowers lenders and settlement companies with improved communication, increased transparency, and reduced manual tasks.

Read More - https://www.techdogs.com/tech-news/business-wire/snapdocs-introduces-first-of-its-kind-integration-to-streamline-coordination-between-mortgage-lenders-and-settlement-companies

[un-enfant-immature]

Snapdocs raises $60M to manage the mortgage process in the cloud

The US economy may be in a precarious state right now with a presidential election looming on the horizon and the country still in the grips of the coronavirus pandemic. But partly thanks to lower interest rates, the housing market continues to rise, and today a startup that has built technology to help it run more efficiently is announcing a major growth round of funding. 

Snapdocs, which is used by some 130,000 real estate professionals to digitally manage the mortgage process and other paperwork and stages related to buying a home, has raised $60 million in new equity funding on the heels of a few bullish months of business.

In August 2020 — a peak in home sales in the US, reaching their highest level in 14 years — the startup saw 170,000 home sales, totaling some $50 million in transactions, closed on its platform. This accounted for almost 15% of all deals done that month in the US. Snapdocs is now on track to close 1.5 million deals this year, double its 2019 volume.

On top of this, the startup’s platform is being used by more than 70% of settlement agents nationally, with customers including Bell Bank, LeaderOne Financial Corporation, Googain, Georgia United Credit Union among its customers.

The Series C is being led by YC Continuity (Snapdocs was part of Y Combinator’s Winter 2014 cohort), with existing investors Sequoia Capital, F-Prime Capital and Founders Fund, and new backers Lachy Groom (formerly of Stripe and now a prolific investor) and DocuSign, a strategic backer, also participating.

“Like us they are on a mission to defragment an ecosystem,” King said, referring to it as a “perfect complement” to Snapdocs’ own efforts.

Snapdocs is not talking about its valuation. Aaron King, the founder and CEO, said in an interview that he believes disclosing it is nothing more than “grandstanding” — which is interesting considering that the industry he focuses on, real estate, is all about public disclosures of valuation — but he noted that most of the $103 million that the startup has raised to date is still in the bank, which says something about the company’s overall financial health.

And for some further context, according to PitchBook data estimates, Snapdocs was valued at $200 million in its last round, in October 2019.

Snapdocs’ central premise is that buying a house requires not just a lot of paperwork but also a lot of different parties to be on the same page, so to speak, to set the wheels in motion and get a deal done. There is not just the mortgage (with its multiple parties) to settle; you also have real estate brokers and agents, the home sellers, inspectors and appraisers, the insurance company, the title company, and more — some 15 parties in all.

The complexity of all of them working together in a quick and efficient way often means the process of buying and selling a house can be long and costly. And that’s before the pandemic — with the problems associated with social distancing and remote working — hit us.

Snapdocs’ solution has been to build one platform in the cloud that helps to manage the documents needed by all of these different parties, providing access to data and the ability to flag or approve things remotely, to speed the process along. It also has built a number of features, using AI technology and analytics, to also help identify what might be potential issues early on and get them fixed.

King is not your typical tech startup entrepreneur. He began working in mortgages as a notary when he was still in high school — he’s effectively been in the industry for 23 years, he said — and his earliest startup efforts were focused on one aspect of the complexities that he knew first-hand: he saw an opportunity to lean on technology to get notarized signatures sorted out in a legal, orderly, and quicker way.

He then got deeper into identifying the possibilities of how tech could be used to improve the larger process, and that is how Snapdocs came into existence.

Given how big the real estate market is — it’s the largest asset class in the world, by many estimates — and how many other industries tech has “disrupted” over the years, it’s interesting that there have been so few attempting to solve it. One of the reasons, it seems, is that there hasn’t been enough of a crossover between tech experts and mortgage experts, and Snapdocs is a testament to the virtues of building a startup specifically around a hard problem that you happen to know really well.

“Most people have identified this as a tech problem, and a lot of the tech — such as e-signatures — has existed for 20 years, but the fragmentation of real estate is the issue,” he said. “We’re talking about a mass constellation of companies and workflow. But we’re obsessed about the workflow of all of these constituents.”

That’s a position that has both helped Snapdocs build its standing with the industry, as well as with investors.

“I’ve known the Snapdocs team for many years and have always been amazed by their focus and execution toward bringing each stakeholder in the mortgage process online,” said Anu Hariharan, partner at YC Continuity, in a statement. “In 2013, Snapdocs began as a notary marketplace before expanding horizontally to service title companies and, more recently, lenders. By connecting the numerous parties involved in a mortgage on a single platform, Snapdocs is quickly becoming the “operating system” for mortgage closings. Mortgages, much like commerce, will shift online, bringing improved efficiency and a far better customer experience to the outdated home-closing process.” Hariharan has real estate experience herself and is joining the board with this round.

There have been a number of companies taking new, tech-based approaches to the market to find new and faster ways of doing things, and to open up new kinds of value in the market.

Opendoor for example has rethought the whole process of selling and buying houses, taking on a role as a middleman in the process both to take on a lot of the harder work of fixing up a home, and handling all of the difficult stages in the sales process: it’s a role that has recently seen the company catapult to a valuation of $4.8 billion by way of a SPAC-based public listing. An interesting idea, King said, but still only accounting for a small sliver of house sales.

Others like Orchard, Reonomy, and Zumper have all also raised large rounds on the back of a lot of promise of the market continuing to grow and the opportunity to take part in that process through new approaches. It’s a sign that “safe as houses” still has a place in the market, even with all the other unknowns in play.

“Over the next 5 years the real estate industry will be completely digitized so a lot of companies are trying to figure out what their place are, and how to provide value,” King said.

[carymortgagebroker]

Snapdocs solves the fragmentation challenge of digital closings at scale

New Post has been published on https://blog.mortgagebroker.pro/mortgage/snapdocs-solves-the-fragmentation-challenge-of-digital-closings-at-scale/

Snapdocs solves the fragmentation challenge of digital closings at scale

Aaron King, founder and CEO at Snapdocs, explains how Snapdocs’ network of closing providers solves the fragmentation challenge preventing digital closings from being adopted at scale. Source: https://www.housingwire.com/articles/49826-snapdocs-solves-the-fragmentation-challenge-of-digital-closings-at-scale

Looking to get the ball rolling to buy a new home or refinance your current mortgage? Get started today at https://mortgagebroker.pro/go

In North Carolina, click here for your local mortgage broker Cary Mortgage Pros

[clarencevancleave]

Market Map: 180 Real Estate Technology Companies Transforming Today’s Housing Market

[Note from the editor: Originally published on Thomvest’s Blog]

Today we’re pleased to release an updated version of the real estate technology market map we originally published in 2018. A high-resolution version of the map can be accessed here, and the full list of companies is available here.

This market map includes 180 real estate technology companies operating across every phase of the home purchase value chain. These companies have collectively raised more than $20B in venture capital, and range from seed stage businesses to public companies. If you’d like to suggest a company to be added to this market map, please submit them using this form.

You’ll notice that several companies are included in more than one section — this is due to the fact that many of these businesses have expanded their product areas to capture multiple phases of the transaction process. For instance, while Blend’s original product focused specifically on the mortgage point-of-sale, the company has since expanded to offer home insurance and digital closings. As such, we’ve included the Blend logo in those areas.

At Thomvest, we’ve been actively studying how technology is being utilized in real estate. We view technology as both a means of lowering transaction costs and an enabler of new transactions by better matching demand and supply. Software is also being adopted across some of the more labor-intensive areas of real estate — for instance, in property management and home improvement — as a means of improving efficiency and productivity.

Personally, I’ve been impressed by the quality of entrepreneurs building technology companies in residential real estate. Founders here are passionate about creating better experiences for consumers. Many have experienced their own frustrations when buying or selling a property, and aspire to rebuild the experience from the ground up. Others are seasoned operators within real estate and see technology as a competitive advantage in an otherwise analog asset class.

Impacts of COVID-19 on technology adoption

Every constituency within the real estate sector — including agents, lenders, title companies, and attorneys — are scrambling to adjust to life under lockdown. In my last post on the housing market, I touched on the dramatic impact COVID-19 has had on transaction volume and home showings. In many ways, the pandemic has accelerated existing trends around digitization of the home buying process. There are a few areas in particular where technology is being utilized:

1. Deepened reliance on “home shopping” apps Shelter-in-place is created new behaviors around the home shopping experience. Rather than spending a half day touring open homes, prospective buyers are relying on apps like Zillow and Realtor.com to “tour” properties in lieu of an in-person visit. Zillow created 525% more 3D home tours in April compared to February, and CEO Rich Barton recently remarked that “the virtual tools home shoppers need for safety today will become their expectations for convenience tomorrow.”

2. Rapid adoption of digital tools for real estate transactions Many of the processes associated with closing a real estate transaction are traditionally completed in-person. These include appraisals, inspections, notarizations and local government filings. Fortunately, startups are here to help. Companies like Blend, Modus, Side and Snapdocs offer products that enable digital closings. 46 states now let notaries do their jobs using a combination of video and online document sharing, up from 23 prior to the pandemic. Additionally, large mortgage buyers like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are increasingly relying on automated home valuations in lieu of in-person appraisals. We believe these new methods are here to stay, which will be a strong tailwind for startups building digital home buying experiences.

3. More tools for homeowners to manage their largest asset Startups in the real estate vertical must take advantage of their agility relative to incumbent banks, and design products and services that reflect today’s changing consumer needs. This can take the form of better credit products (for example, smart loans powered by LoanSnap or HELOCs offered by Figure), or novel home equity products like Unison. We’re also seeing a number of interesting businesses that help homeowners maintain and improve their property, including Pro.com and Made Renovation. These startups help automate much of home renovation process, including design, planning & construction.

The post Market Map: 180 Real Estate Technology Companies Transforming Today’s Housing Market appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

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[jacquelynnadina]

Snapdocs' digital closing platform is a win-win for all parties

Compared to other eClosing technologies, Snapdocs’ digital closing platform stands out by providing lenders and settlement with a standardized and streamlined process for managing all of their closings, whether wet, hybrid, or digital. From day one, lenders and settlement see very real benefits, a measurable ROI, and a better experience for their customers. Snapdocs' digital closing platform is a win-win for all parties published first on Real Estate News

[cathrynstreich]

Market Map: 180 Real Estate Technology Companies Transforming Today’s Housing Market

[Note from the editor: Originally published on Thomvest’s Blog]

Today we’re pleased to release an updated version of the real estate technology market map we originally published in 2018. A high-resolution version of the map can be accessed here, and the full list of companies is available here.

This market map includes 180 real estate technology companies operating across every phase of the home purchase value chain. These companies have collectively raised more than $20B in venture capital, and range from seed stage businesses to public companies. If you’d like to suggest a company to be added to this market map, please submit them using this form.

You’ll notice that several companies are included in more than one section — this is due to the fact that many of these businesses have expanded their product areas to capture multiple phases of the transaction process. For instance, while Blend’s original product focused specifically on the mortgage point-of-sale, the company has since expanded to offer home insurance and digital closings. As such, we’ve included the Blend logo in those areas.

At Thomvest, we’ve been actively studying how technology is being utilized in real estate. We view technology as both a means of lowering transaction costs and an enabler of new transactions by better matching demand and supply. Software is also being adopted across some of the more labor-intensive areas of real estate — for instance, in property management and home improvement — as a means of improving efficiency and productivity.

Personally, I’ve been impressed by the quality of entrepreneurs building technology companies in residential real estate. Founders here are passionate about creating better experiences for consumers. Many have experienced their own frustrations when buying or selling a property, and aspire to rebuild the experience from the ground up. Others are seasoned operators within real estate and see technology as a competitive advantage in an otherwise analog asset class.

Impacts of COVID-19 on technology adoption

Every constituency within the real estate sector — including agents, lenders, title companies, and attorneys — are scrambling to adjust to life under lockdown. In my last post on the housing market, I touched on the dramatic impact COVID-19 has had on transaction volume and home showings. In many ways, the pandemic has accelerated existing trends around digitization of the home buying process. There are a few areas in particular where technology is being utilized:

1. Deepened reliance on “home shopping” apps Shelter-in-place is created new behaviors around the home shopping experience. Rather than spending a half day touring open homes, prospective buyers are relying on apps like Zillow and Realtor.com to “tour” properties in lieu of an in-person visit. Zillow created 525% more 3D home tours in April compared to February, and CEO Rich Barton recently remarked that “the virtual tools home shoppers need for safety today will become their expectations for convenience tomorrow.”

2. Rapid adoption of digital tools for real estate transactions Many of the processes associated with closing a real estate transaction are traditionally completed in-person. These include appraisals, inspections, notarizations and local government filings. Fortunately, startups are here to help. Companies like Blend, Modus, Side and Snapdocs offer products that enable digital closings. 46 states now let notaries do their jobs using a combination of video and online document sharing, up from 23 prior to the pandemic. Additionally, large mortgage buyers like Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are increasingly relying on automated home valuations in lieu of in-person appraisals. We believe these new methods are here to stay, which will be a strong tailwind for startups building digital home buying experiences.

3. More tools for homeowners to manage their largest asset Startups in the real estate vertical must take advantage of their agility relative to incumbent banks, and design products and services that reflect today’s changing consumer needs. This can take the form of better credit products (for example, smart loans powered by LoanSnap or HELOCs offered by Figure), or novel home equity products like Unison. We’re also seeing a number of interesting businesses that help homeowners maintain and improve their property, including Pro.com and Made Renovation. These startups help automate much of home renovation process, including design, planning & construction.

The post Market Map: 180 Real Estate Technology Companies Transforming Today’s Housing Market appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

Market Map: 180 Real Estate Technology Companies Transforming Today’s Housing Market published first on https://thegardenresidences.tumblr.com/

[jimdownsreingroupdarwin]

Snapdocs solves the fragmentation challenge of digital closings at scale

Aaron King, founder and CEO at Snapdocs, explains how Snapdocs' network of closing providers solves the fragmentation challenge preventing digital closings from being adopted at scale. from Lending https://www.housingwire.com/articles/49826-snapdocs-solves-the-fragmentation-challenge-of-digital-closings-at-scale via https://www.housingwire.com/rss

[carymortgagebroker]

Snapdocs' eClosing platform caters to both lenders and settlement companies

New Post has been published on https://blog.mortgagebroker.pro/mortgage/snapdocs-eclosing-platform-caters-to-both-lenders-and-settlement-companies/

Snapdocs' eClosing platform caters to both lenders and settlement companies

Lenders are hyper-focused on digitizing their mortgage application process, but that’s only half the battle — much of the opportunity for efficiency gains and an exceptional digital borrower experience comes from the closing. Snapdocs is a leading digital closing platform with a proven track record of helping lenders and settlement achieve eClosings at scale. Source: https://www.housingwire.com/articles/49748-snapdocs-eclosing-platform-caters-to-both-lenders-and-settlement-companies

Looking to get the ball rolling to buy a new home or refinance your current mortgage? Get started today at https://mortgagebroker.pro/go

In North Carolina, click here for your local mortgage broker Cary Mortgage Pros

[cleancutpage]

Market Map: 140+ Real Estate Tech Companies Transforming the $32 Trillion Housing Market

[Note from editor: Originally published on Thomvest’s Blog]

Residential real estate has proven to be a strong driver of economic growth and individual wealth, representing more than 15% of our nation’s GDP. The combined value of housing in the United States reached a record-high $31.8 trillion in 2017, according to Zillow.

Yet until recently, venture capitalists rarely invested in the sector. In 2010, investment in real estate technology companies made up less than 1 percent of total venture capital (only about $30 million). By 2017, however, activity in the category skyrocketed — VCs invested more than $5.7 billion into real estate technology companies last year.

Why the sudden interest in real estate? In the wake of the housing crisis, many entrepreneurs recognized that software and data could materially improve an inefficient real estate market. Consumers have also demonstrated a desire to move many aspects of the home buying process online. As a result, we’ve seen a dramatic rise in the number of technology companies across nearly every aspect of real estate, from home listings, to lending, to property management and beyond.

We recently developed a market map to better understand the universe of companies in the residential real estate sector. We’ve shared the map above, which includes more than 140 companies across every aspect of the home buying and renting experience (available in PDF format here). A few recurring themes inform the approaches taken by companies on this map:

Digitizing much of the transaction workflow leads to an improved consumer experience (see Blend, Opendoor, JetClosing).

Data is being leveraged to better meets the needs of individual homebuyers and investors (see SoFi, HouseCanary, PeerIQ).

The use of technology results in reduced costs for consumers and less capital flowing to intermediaries (see Figure, Lemonade, OpenListings).

The combination of these themes (digitization, data, and cost reduction) is enabling new housing finance models (see Ribbon, Divvy & Point).

Below we’ve described the individual categories that are the building blocks for this market map. You’ll notice that several companies are included across multiple categories — that’s by design. Companies like Opendoor are reimagining the entire buying and selling process, wrapping the home search, financing and selling process into a single platform.

Find Your Home

Listings & Marketplaces: Today’s home buyers have numerous search engines and agency-specific websites in order to shop for properties online and carry out subsequent steps in the home buying process. Opendoor, which announced its $325 million Series E in June, will buy, renovate, relist, and sell your home online. Some listing sites (Homie, Open Listings) also act as tech-enabled real estate brokers by matching home buyers with preferred real estate agents.

Rental Listings: Most web and mobile listings include both “buy” and “rent” options. Several startups, however, have focused on building rental specific marketplaces. ApartmentList and Zumper aim to provide users a seamless experience from “rent-to-close.” RadPad, for allows users to sign their lease and pay rent through web or mobile app. Roomi takes a peer-to-peer approach for home and roommate hunting, whereas LoftSmartfocuses exclusively on finding students affordable off campus housing. Casalova has pioneered an algorithm to match renters to neighborhoods that meet their needs/interests.

Tech-Enabled Brokers: These companies allow a customer to search for a home to buy/rent online and access a traditional real estate agent via online chat, phone, or in-person. Compass, for example, contracts independent real estate agents and takes a share in the commission. Houwzer, in contrast, replaces agent commission with a flat fee-for-service, and Door refunds the customer’s commission fee once the house closes.

Agent Tools: These companies develop real estate software to generate and qualify leads by predicting when and why people move (First), improve search engine optimization (Hoozip), augment email marketing (Placester), match with real estate agents (HomeLight, UpNest), end-to-end marketing tools (BoomTown), and enterprise management software (Sweep Bright).

Sell Your Home

Multiple online listings and marketplaces exist on the sell-side as well as the buy-side of the residential market. When a customer is ready to sell his/her home, a direct home buyer (Opendoor, Perch, Offerpad, or others) will make an offer on the home in less than 24 hours. Homeowners can sell their property on their own terms without showings or repairs. FlyHomes offers sellers a guaranteed sale, a trend which is becoming table stakes for real estate agents to win deals. Felix Homes will even pay sellers to list their property and buy it within 90 days if they cannot find a buyer. Knock will buy your old home, finance a new one, and front costs of home renovations and project management.

Finance Your Home

Digital Lenders: Digital mortgage lenders, such as Rocket Mortgage or LendingHome, will retrieve a borrower’s bank statements and credit history to rapidly pre-approve him/her for a mortgage. Instead of playing a middleman — as with a mortgage broker — direct lenders have a financing arm to fund loans and sell them on the secondary market to investors.

Digital Brokers: Digital mortgage brokers help a borrower find a mortgage that fits his/her needs and surface loans by connecting the borrower with a variety of lending institutions. Once approved for a mortgage, the borrower usually deals directly with the service provider or loan originator. Digital mortgage brokers may act as marketplaces (Morty, LendingTree) allowing lenders, banks, and credit partners to compete for customers. Other companies tack on mortgage advisory services (Sindeo) or refinancing services (Lenda).

Alternative Financing: Customers today have a variety of alternative financing options from which to choose. Divvy Homes, for example, offers customers a “rent-to-own” proposition in which a portion of each month’s lease contributes to a future down payment via equity credits. Knock, FlyHomes and Ribbon promise all-cash offers upfront on behalf of a home buyer with a flexible schedule to close on the property. Unison, Patch Homes, and Point, offer debt-free alternatives to typical home equity loans. Instead of accepting monthly loan payments, these companies share in the property’s future appreciation or depreciation in value (i.e., shared equity mortgage).

Mortgage Lender Software

Loan Application & Docs: New loan application tools enable borrowers to apply for mortgage loans online. Qualia introduced the “first end-to-end online real estate closing platform.” Blend, Roostify, Lendsnap, and others offer consumer-focused, mobile-friendly platforms to automate the collection of qualifying documents (i.e., bank statements, W2s, tax returns, and pay stubs).

Loan Origination: Whereas some companies focused on front-end mortgage application, others have modernized loan origination. Ellie Mae, LendingQB, and others enable lenders to originate, underwrite, and close loans using one system, not by shifting between different applications.

Close on the Property

Valuation & Appraisal: Companies in this category are bringing big data analytics to home valuation — analyzing and cleansing MLS, public records, and proprietary data to refine the accuracy of automated valuations. HouseCanary and Cherre, for example, have leveraged machine learning and predictive analytics to refine estimates of valuation and forecasts down to the individual block.

Title & Escrow: The U.S. has 3,000 U.S. counties, many of which still rely on paper-based property deeds. However, innovative startups have begun to digitize title insurance and escrow services. NextAce, for example, is capable of delivering a title report in minutes. JetClosing and Spruceintegrate with mortgage lenders to expedite the closing process. Players earlier in the value chain (Redfin, Opendoor) have also added title insurance offerings in hopes of providing a great end-to-end customer experience.

Insurance: In addition to title insurance, home buyers are required to have mortgage and home or renter’s insurance. Lemonade, offers low cost homeowners and renters insurance for a flat fee, leveraging machine learning and chatbots instead of brokers and commissions. Other insurtech startups offer mobile-only on-demand property insurance (Trov), pull online data to replace the manual insurance application process (Kin), and leverage digital renters insurance to lower security deposits (Jetty).

Transaction Management: Several companies provide listing-to-close management software to streamline the closing process for all parties involved. Glide and Dotloop (acquired by Zillow in 2015) enable real estate professionals to complete an entire transaction from start to close online by automating the collection of documents and signatures. Similarly, Snapdocs offers a seamless workflow to automate title transfer and mobile closing with e-signatures.

Manage the Property

Home Improvement: Several startups have taken the inconvenience out of home improvement. Househappy, for example, provides customers with a concierge service for renovations and maintenance. BuildZoom is a marketplace for homeowners to find general contractors in their area. HomeZada offers an all-in-one app for home valuation, insurance, maintenance and remodels, and HVAC/energy management.

Rental Management: These software tools streamline day-to-day operations for property owners, thereby lowering O&M costs, reducing vacancy rates, and avoiding missed or overdue payments. Startups focused on rental management include Rentify (pricing algorithms to ‘guarantee’ rentals), OneRent (marketing, tours/showings, application tools), Cozy(lease/application, screening tools, and rent collection), and Mynd(maintenance requests and rent collection).

Manage the Loan

Liquidity & Refinancing: Today, homeowners have a variety of options for mortgage refinancing and home equity release services. Alternative financing startups Unison and Point, as well as EasyKnock, Hometap, and Tangello, enable customers to access the equity in their homes debt-free by investing alongside the homeowner. Irene introduced a similar “sell and stay” offering for retirees to take liquidity out of their homes.

Loan Securitization: In addition to large institutional investors who trade mortgage backed securities, a number of startups have begun revolutionizing securitization. Income& has introduced an alternative MBS, PRIMO, which offers fixed income returns to investors. Optimal Bluesells a digital mortgage marketplace for loan originators and investors. Blockchain consortium, R3, has developed the technology to track home mortgages packaged into securities.

[Note from editor: Originally published on Thomvest’s Blog]

The post Market Map: 140+ Real Estate Tech Companies Transforming the $32 Trillion Housing Market appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

Market Map: 140+ Real Estate Tech Companies Transforming the $32 Trillion Housing Market published first on https://greatlivinghomespage.tumblr.com/

[jacquelynnadina]

Snapdocs solves the fragmentation challenge of digital closings at scale

Aaron King, founder and CEO at Snapdocs, explains how Snapdocs' network of closing providers solves the fragmentation challenge preventing digital closings from being adopted at scale. Snapdocs solves the fragmentation challenge of digital closings at scale published first on Real Estate News

[yourchoicepage]

Market Map: 140+ Real Estate Tech Companies Transforming the $32 Trillion Housing Market

[Note from editor: Originally published on Thomvest’s Blog]

Residential real estate has proven to be a strong driver of economic growth and individual wealth, representing more than 15% of our nation’s GDP. The combined value of housing in the United States reached a record-high $31.8 trillion in 2017, according to Zillow.

Yet until recently, venture capitalists rarely invested in the sector. In 2010, investment in real estate technology companies made up less than 1 percent of total venture capital (only about $30 million). By 2017, however, activity in the category skyrocketed — VCs invested more than $5.7 billion into real estate technology companies last year.

Why the sudden interest in real estate? In the wake of the housing crisis, many entrepreneurs recognized that software and data could materially improve an inefficient real estate market. Consumers have also demonstrated a desire to move many aspects of the home buying process online. As a result, we’ve seen a dramatic rise in the number of technology companies across nearly every aspect of real estate, from home listings, to lending, to property management and beyond.

We recently developed a market map to better understand the universe of companies in the residential real estate sector. We’ve shared the map above, which includes more than 140 companies across every aspect of the home buying and renting experience (available in PDF format here). A few recurring themes inform the approaches taken by companies on this map:

Digitizing much of the transaction workflow leads to an improved consumer experience (see Blend, Opendoor, JetClosing).

Data is being leveraged to better meets the needs of individual homebuyers and investors (see SoFi, HouseCanary, PeerIQ).

The use of technology results in reduced costs for consumers and less capital flowing to intermediaries (see Figure, Lemonade, OpenListings).

The combination of these themes (digitization, data, and cost reduction) is enabling new housing finance models (see Ribbon, Divvy & Point).

Below we’ve described the individual categories that are the building blocks for this market map. You’ll notice that several companies are included across multiple categories — that’s by design. Companies like Opendoor are reimagining the entire buying and selling process, wrapping the home search, financing and selling process into a single platform.

Find Your Home

Listings & Marketplaces: Today’s home buyers have numerous search engines and agency-specific websites in order to shop for properties online and carry out subsequent steps in the home buying process. Opendoor, which announced its $325 million Series E in June, will buy, renovate, relist, and sell your home online. Some listing sites (Homie, Open Listings) also act as tech-enabled real estate brokers by matching home buyers with preferred real estate agents.

Rental Listings: Most web and mobile listings include both “buy” and “rent” options. Several startups, however, have focused on building rental specific marketplaces. ApartmentList and Zumper aim to provide users a seamless experience from “rent-to-close.” RadPad, for allows users to sign their lease and pay rent through web or mobile app. Roomi takes a peer-to-peer approach for home and roommate hunting, whereas LoftSmartfocuses exclusively on finding students affordable off campus housing. Casalova has pioneered an algorithm to match renters to neighborhoods that meet their needs/interests.

Tech-Enabled Brokers: These companies allow a customer to search for a home to buy/rent online and access a traditional real estate agent via online chat, phone, or in-person. Compass, for example, contracts independent real estate agents and takes a share in the commission. Houwzer, in contrast, replaces agent commission with a flat fee-for-service, and Door refunds the customer’s commission fee once the house closes.

Agent Tools: These companies develop real estate software to generate and qualify leads by predicting when and why people move (First), improve search engine optimization (Hoozip), augment email marketing (Placester), match with real estate agents (HomeLight, UpNest), end-to-end marketing tools (BoomTown), and enterprise management software (Sweep Bright).

Sell Your Home

Multiple online listings and marketplaces exist on the sell-side as well as the buy-side of the residential market. When a customer is ready to sell his/her home, a direct home buyer (Opendoor, Perch, Offerpad, or others) will make an offer on the home in less than 24 hours. Homeowners can sell their property on their own terms without showings or repairs. FlyHomes offers sellers a guaranteed sale, a trend which is becoming table stakes for real estate agents to win deals. Felix Homes will even pay sellers to list their property and buy it within 90 days if they cannot find a buyer. Knock will buy your old home, finance a new one, and front costs of home renovations and project management.

Finance Your Home

Digital Lenders: Digital mortgage lenders, such as Rocket Mortgage or LendingHome, will retrieve a borrower’s bank statements and credit history to rapidly pre-approve him/her for a mortgage. Instead of playing a middleman — as with a mortgage broker — direct lenders have a financing arm to fund loans and sell them on the secondary market to investors.

Digital Brokers: Digital mortgage brokers help a borrower find a mortgage that fits his/her needs and surface loans by connecting the borrower with a variety of lending institutions. Once approved for a mortgage, the borrower usually deals directly with the service provider or loan originator. Digital mortgage brokers may act as marketplaces (Morty, LendingTree) allowing lenders, banks, and credit partners to compete for customers. Other companies tack on mortgage advisory services (Sindeo) or refinancing services (Lenda).

Alternative Financing: Customers today have a variety of alternative financing options from which to choose. Divvy Homes, for example, offers customers a “rent-to-own” proposition in which a portion of each month’s lease contributes to a future down payment via equity credits. Knock, FlyHomes and Ribbon promise all-cash offers upfront on behalf of a home buyer with a flexible schedule to close on the property. Unison, Patch Homes, and Point, offer debt-free alternatives to typical home equity loans. Instead of accepting monthly loan payments, these companies share in the property’s future appreciation or depreciation in value (i.e., shared equity mortgage).

Mortgage Lender Software

Loan Application & Docs: New loan application tools enable borrowers to apply for mortgage loans online. Qualia introduced the “first end-to-end online real estate closing platform.” Blend, Roostify, Lendsnap, and others offer consumer-focused, mobile-friendly platforms to automate the collection of qualifying documents (i.e., bank statements, W2s, tax returns, and pay stubs).

Loan Origination: Whereas some companies focused on front-end mortgage application, others have modernized loan origination. Ellie Mae, LendingQB, and others enable lenders to originate, underwrite, and close loans using one system, not by shifting between different applications.

Close on the Property

Valuation & Appraisal: Companies in this category are bringing big data analytics to home valuation — analyzing and cleansing MLS, public records, and proprietary data to refine the accuracy of automated valuations. HouseCanary and Cherre, for example, have leveraged machine learning and predictive analytics to refine estimates of valuation and forecasts down to the individual block.

Title & Escrow: The U.S. has 3,000 U.S. counties, many of which still rely on paper-based property deeds. However, innovative startups have begun to digitize title insurance and escrow services. NextAce, for example, is capable of delivering a title report in minutes. JetClosing and Spruceintegrate with mortgage lenders to expedite the closing process. Players earlier in the value chain (Redfin, Opendoor) have also added title insurance offerings in hopes of providing a great end-to-end customer experience.

Insurance: In addition to title insurance, home buyers are required to have mortgage and home or renter’s insurance. Lemonade, offers low cost homeowners and renters insurance for a flat fee, leveraging machine learning and chatbots instead of brokers and commissions. Other insurtech startups offer mobile-only on-demand property insurance (Trov), pull online data to replace the manual insurance application process (Kin), and leverage digital renters insurance to lower security deposits (Jetty).

Transaction Management: Several companies provide listing-to-close management software to streamline the closing process for all parties involved. Glide and Dotloop (acquired by Zillow in 2015) enable real estate professionals to complete an entire transaction from start to close online by automating the collection of documents and signatures. Similarly, Snapdocs offers a seamless workflow to automate title transfer and mobile closing with e-signatures.

Manage the Property

Home Improvement: Several startups have taken the inconvenience out of home improvement. Househappy, for example, provides customers with a concierge service for renovations and maintenance. BuildZoom is a marketplace for homeowners to find general contractors in their area. HomeZada offers an all-in-one app for home valuation, insurance, maintenance and remodels, and HVAC/energy management.

Rental Management: These software tools streamline day-to-day operations for property owners, thereby lowering O&M costs, reducing vacancy rates, and avoiding missed or overdue payments. Startups focused on rental management include Rentify (pricing algorithms to ‘guarantee’ rentals), OneRent (marketing, tours/showings, application tools), Cozy(lease/application, screening tools, and rent collection), and Mynd(maintenance requests and rent collection).

Manage the Loan

Liquidity & Refinancing: Today, homeowners have a variety of options for mortgage refinancing and home equity release services. Alternative financing startups Unison and Point, as well as EasyKnock, Hometap, and Tangello, enable customers to access the equity in their homes debt-free by investing alongside the homeowner. Irene introduced a similar “sell and stay” offering for retirees to take liquidity out of their homes.

Loan Securitization: In addition to large institutional investors who trade mortgage backed securities, a number of startups have begun revolutionizing securitization. Income& has introduced an alternative MBS, PRIMO, which offers fixed income returns to investors. Optimal Bluesells a digital mortgage marketplace for loan originators and investors. Blockchain consortium, R3, has developed the technology to track home mortgages packaged into securities.

[Note from editor: Originally published on Thomvest’s Blog]

The post Market Map: 140+ Real Estate Tech Companies Transforming the $32 Trillion Housing Market appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

Market Map: 140+ Real Estate Tech Companies Transforming the $32 Trillion Housing Market published first on https://medium.com/@YourChoice

[clarencevancleave]

Market Map: 140+ Real Estate Tech Companies Transforming the $32 Trillion Housing Market

[Note from editor: Originally published on Thomvest’s Blog]

Residential real estate has proven to be a strong driver of economic growth and individual wealth, representing more than 15% of our nation’s GDP. The combined value of housing in the United States reached a record-high $31.8 trillion in 2017, according to Zillow.

Yet until recently, venture capitalists rarely invested in the sector. In 2010, investment in real estate technology companies made up less than 1 percent of total venture capital (only about $30 million). By 2017, however, activity in the category skyrocketed — VCs invested more than $5.7 billion into real estate technology companies last year.

Why the sudden interest in real estate? In the wake of the housing crisis, many entrepreneurs recognized that software and data could materially improve an inefficient real estate market. Consumers have also demonstrated a desire to move many aspects of the home buying process online. As a result, we’ve seen a dramatic rise in the number of technology companies across nearly every aspect of real estate, from home listings, to lending, to property management and beyond.

We recently developed a market map to better understand the universe of companies in the residential real estate sector. We’ve shared the map above, which includes more than 140 companies across every aspect of the home buying and renting experience (available in PDF format here). A few recurring themes inform the approaches taken by companies on this map:

Digitizing much of the transaction workflow leads to an improved consumer experience (see Blend, Opendoor, JetClosing).

Data is being leveraged to better meets the needs of individual homebuyers and investors (see SoFi, HouseCanary, PeerIQ).

The use of technology results in reduced costs for consumers and less capital flowing to intermediaries (see Figure, Lemonade, OpenListings).

The combination of these themes (digitization, data, and cost reduction) is enabling new housing finance models (see Ribbon, Divvy & Point).

Below we’ve described the individual categories that are the building blocks for this market map. You’ll notice that several companies are included across multiple categories — that’s by design. Companies like Opendoor are reimagining the entire buying and selling process, wrapping the home search, financing and selling process into a single platform.

Find Your Home

Listings & Marketplaces: Today’s home buyers have numerous search engines and agency-specific websites in order to shop for properties online and carry out subsequent steps in the home buying process. Opendoor, which announced its $325 million Series E in June, will buy, renovate, relist, and sell your home online. Some listing sites (Homie, Open Listings) also act as tech-enabled real estate brokers by matching home buyers with preferred real estate agents.

Rental Listings: Most web and mobile listings include both “buy” and “rent” options. Several startups, however, have focused on building rental specific marketplaces. ApartmentList and Zumper aim to provide users a seamless experience from “rent-to-close.” RadPad, for allows users to sign their lease and pay rent through web or mobile app. Roomi takes a peer-to-peer approach for home and roommate hunting, whereas LoftSmartfocuses exclusively on finding students affordable off campus housing. Casalova has pioneered an algorithm to match renters to neighborhoods that meet their needs/interests.

Tech-Enabled Brokers: These companies allow a customer to search for a home to buy/rent online and access a traditional real estate agent via online chat, phone, or in-person. Compass, for example, contracts independent real estate agents and takes a share in the commission. Houwzer, in contrast, replaces agent commission with a flat fee-for-service, and Door refunds the customer’s commission fee once the house closes.

Agent Tools: These companies develop real estate software to generate and qualify leads by predicting when and why people move (First), improve search engine optimization (Hoozip), augment email marketing (Placester), match with real estate agents (HomeLight, UpNest), end-to-end marketing tools (BoomTown), and enterprise management software (Sweep Bright).

Sell Your Home

Multiple online listings and marketplaces exist on the sell-side as well as the buy-side of the residential market. When a customer is ready to sell his/her home, a direct home buyer (Opendoor, Perch, Offerpad, or others) will make an offer on the home in less than 24 hours. Homeowners can sell their property on their own terms without showings or repairs. FlyHomes offers sellers a guaranteed sale, a trend which is becoming table stakes for real estate agents to win deals. Felix Homes will even pay sellers to list their property and buy it within 90 days if they cannot find a buyer. Knock will buy your old home, finance a new one, and front costs of home renovations and project management.

Finance Your Home

Digital Lenders: Digital mortgage lenders, such as Rocket Mortgage or LendingHome, will retrieve a borrower’s bank statements and credit history to rapidly pre-approve him/her for a mortgage. Instead of playing a middleman — as with a mortgage broker — direct lenders have a financing arm to fund loans and sell them on the secondary market to investors.

Digital Brokers: Digital mortgage brokers help a borrower find a mortgage that fits his/her needs and surface loans by connecting the borrower with a variety of lending institutions. Once approved for a mortgage, the borrower usually deals directly with the service provider or loan originator. Digital mortgage brokers may act as marketplaces (Morty, LendingTree) allowing lenders, banks, and credit partners to compete for customers. Other companies tack on mortgage advisory services (Sindeo) or refinancing services (Lenda).

Alternative Financing: Customers today have a variety of alternative financing options from which to choose. Divvy Homes, for example, offers customers a “rent-to-own” proposition in which a portion of each month’s lease contributes to a future down payment via equity credits. Knock, FlyHomes and Ribbon promise all-cash offers upfront on behalf of a home buyer with a flexible schedule to close on the property. Unison, Patch Homes, and Point, offer debt-free alternatives to typical home equity loans. Instead of accepting monthly loan payments, these companies share in the property’s future appreciation or depreciation in value (i.e., shared equity mortgage).

Mortgage Lender Software

Loan Application & Docs: New loan application tools enable borrowers to apply for mortgage loans online. Qualia introduced the “first end-to-end online real estate closing platform.” Blend, Roostify, Lendsnap, and others offer consumer-focused, mobile-friendly platforms to automate the collection of qualifying documents (i.e., bank statements, W2s, tax returns, and pay stubs).

Loan Origination: Whereas some companies focused on front-end mortgage application, others have modernized loan origination. Ellie Mae, LendingQB, and others enable lenders to originate, underwrite, and close loans using one system, not by shifting between different applications.

Close on the Property

Valuation & Appraisal: Companies in this category are bringing big data analytics to home valuation — analyzing and cleansing MLS, public records, and proprietary data to refine the accuracy of automated valuations. HouseCanary and Cherre, for example, have leveraged machine learning and predictive analytics to refine estimates of valuation and forecasts down to the individual block.

Title & Escrow: The U.S. has 3,000 U.S. counties, many of which still rely on paper-based property deeds. However, innovative startups have begun to digitize title insurance and escrow services. NextAce, for example, is capable of delivering a title report in minutes. JetClosing and Spruceintegrate with mortgage lenders to expedite the closing process. Players earlier in the value chain (Redfin, Opendoor) have also added title insurance offerings in hopes of providing a great end-to-end customer experience.

Insurance: In addition to title insurance, home buyers are required to have mortgage and home or renter’s insurance. Lemonade, offers low cost homeowners and renters insurance for a flat fee, leveraging machine learning and chatbots instead of brokers and commissions. Other insurtech startups offer mobile-only on-demand property insurance (Trov), pull online data to replace the manual insurance application process (Kin), and leverage digital renters insurance to lower security deposits (Jetty).

Transaction Management: Several companies provide listing-to-close management software to streamline the closing process for all parties involved. Glide and Dotloop (acquired by Zillow in 2015) enable real estate professionals to complete an entire transaction from start to close online by automating the collection of documents and signatures. Similarly, Snapdocs offers a seamless workflow to automate title transfer and mobile closing with e-signatures.

Manage the Property

Home Improvement: Several startups have taken the inconvenience out of home improvement. Househappy, for example, provides customers with a concierge service for renovations and maintenance. BuildZoom is a marketplace for homeowners to find general contractors in their area. HomeZada offers an all-in-one app for home valuation, insurance, maintenance and remodels, and HVAC/energy management.

Rental Management: These software tools streamline day-to-day operations for property owners, thereby lowering O&M costs, reducing vacancy rates, and avoiding missed or overdue payments. Startups focused on rental management include Rentify (pricing algorithms to ‘guarantee’ rentals), OneRent (marketing, tours/showings, application tools), Cozy(lease/application, screening tools, and rent collection), and Mynd(maintenance requests and rent collection).

Manage the Loan

Liquidity & Refinancing: Today, homeowners have a variety of options for mortgage refinancing and home equity release services. Alternative financing startups Unison and Point, as well as EasyKnock, Hometap, and Tangello, enable customers to access the equity in their homes debt-free by investing alongside the homeowner. Irene introduced a similar “sell and stay” offering for retirees to take liquidity out of their homes.

Loan Securitization: In addition to large institutional investors who trade mortgage backed securities, a number of startups have begun revolutionizing securitization. Income& has introduced an alternative MBS, PRIMO, which offers fixed income returns to investors. Optimal Bluesells a digital mortgage marketplace for loan originators and investors. Blockchain consortium, R3, has developed the technology to track home mortgages packaged into securities.

[Note from editor: Originally published on Thomvest’s Blog]

The post Market Map: 140+ Real Estate Tech Companies Transforming the $32 Trillion Housing Market appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

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[lmortgages158]

The <b>Mortgage</b> Collaborative Adds Snapdocs as Preferred Partner

“Snapdocs is a leader and innovator in bringing mortgage closings into the digital age,” says Jim Park, TMC's CEO. “TMC welcomes Snapdocs team to ...

[jacquelynnadina]

Snapdocs' eClosing platform caters to both lenders and settlement companies

Lenders are hyper-focused on digitizing their mortgage application process, but that’s only half the battle — much of the opportunity for efficiency gains and an exceptional digital borrower experience comes from the closing. Snapdocs is a leading digital closing platform with a proven track record of helping lenders and settlement achieve eClosings at scale. Snapdocs' eClosing platform caters to both lenders and settlement companies published first on Real Estate News

[cleancutpage]

Market Map: 140+ Real Estate Tech Companies Transforming the $32 Trillion Housing Market

[Note from editor: Originally published on Thomvest’s Blog]

Residential real estate has proven to be a strong driver of economic growth and individual wealth, representing more than 15% of our nation’s GDP. The combined value of housing in the United States reached a record-high $31.8 trillion in 2017, according to Zillow.

Yet until recently, venture capitalists rarely invested in the sector. In 2010, investment in real estate technology companies made up less than 1 percent of total venture capital (only about $30 million). By 2017, however, activity in the category skyrocketed — VCs invested more than $5.7 billion into real estate technology companies last year.

Why the sudden interest in real estate? In the wake of the housing crisis, many entrepreneurs recognized that software and data could materially improve an inefficient real estate market. Consumers have also demonstrated a desire to move many aspects of the home buying process online. As a result, we’ve seen a dramatic rise in the number of technology companies across nearly every aspect of real estate, from home listings, to lending, to property management and beyond.

We recently developed a market map to better understand the universe of companies in the residential real estate sector. We’ve shared the map above, which includes more than 140 companies across every aspect of the home buying and renting experience (available in PDF format here). A few recurring themes inform the approaches taken by companies on this map:

Digitizing much of the transaction workflow leads to an improved consumer experience (see Blend, Opendoor, JetClosing).

Data is being leveraged to better meets the needs of individual homebuyers and investors (see SoFi, HouseCanary, PeerIQ).

The use of technology results in reduced costs for consumers and less capital flowing to intermediaries (see Figure, Lemonade, OpenListings).

The combination of these themes (digitization, data, and cost reduction) is enabling new housing finance models (see Ribbon, Divvy & Point).

Below we’ve described the individual categories that are the building blocks for this market map. You’ll notice that several companies are included across multiple categories — that’s by design. Companies like Opendoor are reimagining the entire buying and selling process, wrapping the home search, financing and selling process into a single platform.

Find Your Home

Listings & Marketplaces: Today’s home buyers have numerous search engines and agency-specific websites in order to shop for properties online and carry out subsequent steps in the home buying process. Opendoor, which announced its $325 million Series E in June, will buy, renovate, relist, and sell your home online. Some listing sites (Homie, Open Listings) also act as tech-enabled real estate brokers by matching home buyers with preferred real estate agents.

Rental Listings: Most web and mobile listings include both “buy” and “rent” options. Several startups, however, have focused on building rental specific marketplaces. ApartmentList and Zumper aim to provide users a seamless experience from “rent-to-close.” RadPad, for allows users to sign their lease and pay rent through web or mobile app. Roomi takes a peer-to-peer approach for home and roommate hunting, whereas LoftSmartfocuses exclusively on finding students affordable off campus housing. Casalova has pioneered an algorithm to match renters to neighborhoods that meet their needs/interests.

Tech-Enabled Brokers: These companies allow a customer to search for a home to buy/rent online and access a traditional real estate agent via online chat, phone, or in-person. Compass, for example, contracts independent real estate agents and takes a share in the commission. Houwzer, in contrast, replaces agent commission with a flat fee-for-service, and Door refunds the customer’s commission fee once the house closes.

Agent Tools: These companies develop real estate software to generate and qualify leads by predicting when and why people move (First), improve search engine optimization (Hoozip), augment email marketing (Placester), match with real estate agents (HomeLight, UpNest), end-to-end marketing tools (BoomTown), and enterprise management software (Sweep Bright).

Sell Your Home

Multiple online listings and marketplaces exist on the sell-side as well as the buy-side of the residential market. When a customer is ready to sell his/her home, a direct home buyer (Opendoor, Perch, Offerpad, or others) will make an offer on the home in less than 24 hours. Homeowners can sell their property on their own terms without showings or repairs. FlyHomes offers sellers a guaranteed sale, a trend which is becoming table stakes for real estate agents to win deals. Felix Homes will even pay sellers to list their property and buy it within 90 days if they cannot find a buyer. Knock will buy your old home, finance a new one, and front costs of home renovations and project management.

Finance Your Home

Digital Lenders: Digital mortgage lenders, such as Rocket Mortgage or LendingHome, will retrieve a borrower’s bank statements and credit history to rapidly pre-approve him/her for a mortgage. Instead of playing a middleman — as with a mortgage broker — direct lenders have a financing arm to fund loans and sell them on the secondary market to investors.

Digital Brokers: Digital mortgage brokers help a borrower find a mortgage that fits his/her needs and surface loans by connecting the borrower with a variety of lending institutions. Once approved for a mortgage, the borrower usually deals directly with the service provider or loan originator. Digital mortgage brokers may act as marketplaces (Morty, LendingTree) allowing lenders, banks, and credit partners to compete for customers. Other companies tack on mortgage advisory services (Sindeo) or refinancing services (Lenda).

Alternative Financing: Customers today have a variety of alternative financing options from which to choose. Divvy Homes, for example, offers customers a “rent-to-own” proposition in which a portion of each month’s lease contributes to a future down payment via equity credits. Knock, FlyHomes and Ribbon promise all-cash offers upfront on behalf of a home buyer with a flexible schedule to close on the property. Unison, Patch Homes, and Point, offer debt-free alternatives to typical home equity loans. Instead of accepting monthly loan payments, these companies share in the property’s future appreciation or depreciation in value (i.e., shared equity mortgage).

Mortgage Lender Software

Loan Application & Docs: New loan application tools enable borrowers to apply for mortgage loans online. Qualia introduced the “first end-to-end online real estate closing platform.” Blend, Roostify, Lendsnap, and others offer consumer-focused, mobile-friendly platforms to automate the collection of qualifying documents (i.e., bank statements, W2s, tax returns, and pay stubs).

Loan Origination: Whereas some companies focused on front-end mortgage application, others have modernized loan origination. Ellie Mae, LendingQB, and others enable lenders to originate, underwrite, and close loans using one system, not by shifting between different applications.

Close on the Property

Valuation & Appraisal: Companies in this category are bringing big data analytics to home valuation — analyzing and cleansing MLS, public records, and proprietary data to refine the accuracy of automated valuations. HouseCanary and Cherre, for example, have leveraged machine learning and predictive analytics to refine estimates of valuation and forecasts down to the individual block.

Title & Escrow: The U.S. has 3,000 U.S. counties, many of which still rely on paper-based property deeds. However, innovative startups have begun to digitize title insurance and escrow services. NextAce, for example, is capable of delivering a title report in minutes. JetClosing and Spruceintegrate with mortgage lenders to expedite the closing process. Players earlier in the value chain (Redfin, Opendoor) have also added title insurance offerings in hopes of providing a great end-to-end customer experience.

Insurance: In addition to title insurance, home buyers are required to have mortgage and home or renter’s insurance. Lemonade, offers low cost homeowners and renters insurance for a flat fee, leveraging machine learning and chatbots instead of brokers and commissions. Other insurtech startups offer mobile-only on-demand property insurance (Trov), pull online data to replace the manual insurance application process (Kin), and leverage digital renters insurance to lower security deposits (Jetty).

Transaction Management: Several companies provide listing-to-close management software to streamline the closing process for all parties involved. Glide and Dotloop (acquired by Zillow in 2015) enable real estate professionals to complete an entire transaction from start to close online by automating the collection of documents and signatures. Similarly, Snapdocs offers a seamless workflow to automate title transfer and mobile closing with e-signatures.

Manage the Property

Home Improvement: Several startups have taken the inconvenience out of home improvement. Househappy, for example, provides customers with a concierge service for renovations and maintenance. BuildZoom is a marketplace for homeowners to find general contractors in their area. HomeZada offers an all-in-one app for home valuation, insurance, maintenance and remodels, and HVAC/energy management.

Rental Management: These software tools streamline day-to-day operations for property owners, thereby lowering O&M costs, reducing vacancy rates, and avoiding missed or overdue payments. Startups focused on rental management include Rentify (pricing algorithms to ‘guarantee’ rentals), OneRent (marketing, tours/showings, application tools), Cozy(lease/application, screening tools, and rent collection), and Mynd(maintenance requests and rent collection).

Manage the Loan

Liquidity & Refinancing: Today, homeowners have a variety of options for mortgage refinancing and home equity release services. Alternative financing startups Unison and Point, as well as EasyKnock, Hometap, and Tangello, enable customers to access the equity in their homes debt-free by investing alongside the homeowner. Irene introduced a similar “sell and stay” offering for retirees to take liquidity out of their homes.

Loan Securitization: In addition to large institutional investors who trade mortgage backed securities, a number of startups have begun revolutionizing securitization. Income& has introduced an alternative MBS, PRIMO, which offers fixed income returns to investors. Optimal Bluesells a digital mortgage marketplace for loan originators and investors. Blockchain consortium, R3, has developed the technology to track home mortgages packaged into securities.

[Note from editor: Originally published on Thomvest’s Blog]

The post Market Map: 140+ Real Estate Tech Companies Transforming the $32 Trillion Housing Market appeared first on GeekEstate Blog.

Market Map: 140+ Real Estate Tech Companies Transforming the $32 Trillion Housing Market published first on https://greatlivinghomespage.tumblr.com/