Requity Homes’ fair and flexible rent-to-own program allows aspiring home buyers to realize their Canadian dream of home ownership

Requity Homes, a tech-enabled real estate platform, announced today it has closed CAD$1.2 million in pre-seed funding to fuel its growth as the company scales its approach to creating an alternative path to home ownership in Canada. The financing round was led by Boardwalk Investment Limited (Kolias Family Office) with participation from Highline Beta, Conconi Growth Partners, and several angel investors including Mike Dobbins. As a graduate of the Highline Beta Venture Studio program, Ben Yoskovitz, founding partner of Highline Beta, was appointed to the Requity Homes board of directors.

‍

Requity Homes was founded in 2020 and has been helping families in Northern Ontario since 2021. The Company’s rent-to-own program empowers Canadians to get one step closer to home ownership by allowing them to rent and save for their dream home with the option to purchase at a guaranteed price. The company will use the funding to accelerate the development of its tech-enabled rent-to-own platform; to hire across several strategic technology, marketing, and operations roles; and to expand to Western Canada.

“Requity Homes is a new innovative way to help Canadians reduce barriers to homeownership,” said Sam Kolias, President of Boardwalk Investment Limited and CEO of Boardwalk REIT. “It allows investors to partner with home buyers, helping bridge the gap between renting and owning a home."

‍

Requity Homes is a stepping stone to home ownership for families that are not mortgage ready today due to credit history, lack of down payment, or self-employment. Leveraging its robust underwriting technology, Requity Homes can assess aspiring homebuyers’ future mortgage capability. For clients who have the financial means to afford homeownership and may qualify for a mortgage in the next two to three years, Requity Homes will purchase the home of the clients’ choice upfront so that they can move into the home as a renter while working with Requity Homes to get ready for a mortgage. When clients are ready, they can buy back the home at a predetermined price and become a proud homeowner. The program helps to bridge the gap between renting and owning by giving renters the price security and certainty to save towards ownership, while allowing them to enjoy the benefits of living in their dream home today and saving towards their down payment one month at a time.

‍

“With the rising cost of home ownership, it has become increasingly out of reach for many families,” said Amy Ding, CEO of Requity Homes. “At Requity Homes, we are offering afair and flexible alternative path to home ownership by introducing more innovative financing options to an underserved market.”

Amanda and Brad are early clients of Requity Homes. They recently started a new tourism business in Sault Ste Marie. While the business is doing well, they don’t have the two years of operating history as required by traditional mortgage lenders. “Our biggest obstacle was being a new small business owner, so we didn’t qualify with any major banks to get a mortgage,” said Amanda. “Working with Requity Homes made the most sense for us in our situation as we are closer now to owning our own home than we previously thought possible.”