Boston-based real estate tech startup Own Up, which lets homebuyers compare mortgage rates online, raised $8.5 million in Series A funding led by Link Ventures.
This round brings the Own Up's total round of funding to $14.7 million including convertible notes raised by the company.
Founded in 2016 as Rate Gravity, the startup matches homebuyers with lenders tailored according to their specific requirements.
Here’s how Own Up works: people who want to buy or refinance their home fill out a profile, answering questions like how much money they’re able to put down, their income and where they’re looking to buy. The service then uses an algorithm based on a universal set of underwriting guidelines to determine what kind of mortgage and lender they’re eligible for. Part of that includes a soft credit check that doesn’t impact a customer’s credit score and means no Social Security number is required. Most of the time, customers will have multiple lenders to choose from. Once a customer chooses which lender they want to work with, Own Up will connect them to the lender.
CEO and co-founder of the company Patrick Boyaggi noted that an average Own Up customer will save an average of $20,000 on their mortgage.
Own Up was born through Boyaggi's own experience with securing mortgages. Boyaggi, who ran the residential lending business for Leader Bank, saved $42,000 on his mortgage.
"The irony of the story is that despite managing mortgages, I didn't go to Leader Bank for my mortgage," Boyaggi said. "Not every lender is suitable for every borrower or property type. Lenders have access to all info and have the power, information asymmetry gives lenders the power."
Earlier this year, Own Up expanded to five new states: Connecticut, Florida, Maine, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. In 2020, Own Up will make a foray into Texas, Georgia, Michigan, California and more.
Own Up will focus on hiring engineers, marketers, home advisors and invest in product development.
The MassChallenge alumni has previously raised funds from Diane Hessan, former CEO of GasBuddy, Walt Doyle, Gradifi CEO David Chang and InsightSquared CEO Fred Shilmover.
