- Hometap, a company that offers a new loan alternative for tapping into home equity without taking on debt, announced it raised $100 million in funding
Hometap — a company that offers a new loan alternative for tapping into home equity without taking on debt — announced that it has raised $100 million in a new round of funding. This round of funding includes ICONIQ Capital along with Hometap’s current investors General Catalyst, G20, Pillar, and American Family Ventures (venture arm of AmFam Insurance).
With this round of funding, Hometap is planning to continue its nationwide expansion with the goal of bringing its total reach to approximately 75% of U.S. homeowners. And the company will also be expanding its platform capabilities and significantly growing its cross-functional team to continue to deliver a best in class homeowner experience.
“We’ve been working diligently towards our mission of making homeownership less stressful and more accessible for as many U.S. homeowners as possible, and we’ve had tremendous success thus far,” said Hometap CEO Jeffrey Glass. “But the fact remains that the vast majority of homeowners are currently feeling ‘house rich and cash poor’, and there’s a lot more work to be done to make home equity investments an option that’s available to everyone. We’re thrilled to have the financial support of such a diverse group of asset-backed and venture investors who can further propel Hometap towards helping millions of Americans free up liquidity from their homes without taking on more debt.”
According to a 2019 Hometap Homeownership Study, 73% of U.S. homeowners don’t want to take on more debt through traditional financing options such as home equity loans or HELOCS despite having a need for capital. What Hometap does is provide a smart new alternative to these solutions, enabling homeowners to access a percentage of their home’s current value in exchange for an agreed-upon percentage of the future value of their home.
And by taking an investment in their home rather than incurring additional debt, homeowners are now able to tap into their home equity without the stress of monthly payments and interest. And Hometap’s unique homeowner-first approach — coupled with its simple and transparent pricing model — has allowed the company to differentiate itself and achieve significant market share within the rapidly growing home equity investment category.
“My wife and I had to start putting home repairs, including a new roof and HVAC system, on our credit cards,” explained Butch F. from Monroe, North Carolina — who turned to Hometap while trying to find a way to fund home renovations and pay off credit card debt. “We knew we had to pay off the credit card debt and were worried that if we didn’t get another home loan, we might have to sell our house. That’s when we started searching for alternatives and found Hometap. Given our financial situation, it was a no brainer – the process was easy, we received our cash in a few weeks and were able to pay off our credit card debt while having enough cash left over to fix our driveway and yard, which has already helped increase the value of our home.”
Along with helping homeowners unlock the equity in their homes for addressing financial needs or pursuing future opportunities, Hometap is also helping to solve a significant asset allocation problem in the U.S. Now Homeowners can use the wealth built up in their home to invest in other assets in order to diversify their portfolio and right size their debt. In addition, the company is providing its investors access to the U.S. residential real estate market, an asset class that was previously difficult to access.
“We are thrilled to be investing with Hometap. With a highly transparent, customer-first approach, they are providing a valuable solution to the challenges faced by many homeowners,” added ICONIQ Chief Investment Officer Nugi Jakobishvili. “As investors, it’s rare to find opportunities with the combination of an attractive asset profile, a gifted management team, and the potential to provide meaningful economic benefits to households across the country. Hometap’s deep bench of high quality, high integrity professionals has created an exceptional platform that helps align homeowners and investors. They are incredibly well-positioned to lead the growth we are witnessing in the market.”
