Tool is linked to lender and agent options
Gravy is a newbie in the mortgage technology space, having launched only in 2021.
The company views its smartphone app as a valuable new tool for the industry – a way for renters to become owners, and for lenders and agents to connect to these customers when they’re ready to buy, all through a platform of services.
Even in a down market with rising interest rates and inflation, the tool can help lenders and agents alike, said Will Dunn (pictured), the fintech start-up’s co-founder and chief growth officer.
“It’s never been harder to buy a house as a renter, with home prices through the roof, rents through the roof and mortgage rates through the roof,” Dunn said. “We are the best tool for an aspiring homeowner, but it is still hard … people aren’t able or interested in buying right now. Demand has come down quite a bit. Gravy is a perfect place to send folks that are still in that preparation phase so that when they are ready to buy, they can do so successfully and stay within” the company’s network of agent and lender partners.
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Filling a gap
Dunn said the smartphone app is designed to fill a gap that lenders and agents haven’t traditionally addressed well.
“They’re spending a lot of money to get in front of first-time homebuyers, but they don’t have the tools to actually help them accomplish their goal of buying a house unless they already have done all of the hard work themselves,” Dunn said.
The app is designed to simplify some of the hard parts consumers face in buying their first home, and lenders and agents face in trying to connect with viable clients. Essentially, it’s something that Dunn said “stitches together the entire journey of taking your first step towards homeownership and everything to, and through, actually getting the keys to your first house.”
That includes the ability to set up an FDIC-insured, high-yield bank account to help users save for their home down payment. The app also helps customers set a savings rate goal and auto deposits, and it enables deposits in the account from friends and family. In addition, it helps educate users on how to buy their first house, how to find lenders and real estate agents, and how to improve their mortgage credit scores.
“We are laser focused on that specific score, what it is and then how to move it up into the right [direction] in advance of applying for your first home,” Dunn said. “And then finally, when you are ready or you’ve got the down payment saved, your mortgage credit is in good shape.”
The app can set users up with a national network of real estate agents and lenders at the right time. Gravy has three lender partners that do business nationally and it also works with Anywhere Real Estate (formerly Realogy), whose brands include Century 21, Coldwell Banker and Better Homes and Gardens.
Gravy also touts its “Gravy Rewards” program, which enables customers who set up the app to start winning 5% off on their rent each month in the form of points that can be redeemed toward a future home purchase.
Based in St. Louis, MO, the company has raised just under $3 million in venture capital to date. Ten employees work for Gravy so far, with half at headquarters, and the difference (including Boston-based Dunn) working remotely.
Basic technology, targeted market
As Dunn describes it, the company hasn’t invented “bleeding edge” technology, but uses a number of applications that enable consumers to easily use and enjoy the app, which is free to download and use for basic functions but has a fee structure for premium use.
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“This is a consumer app that is built for mobile first millennials,” Dunn said, noting the app allows for ease of use for the rewards program and opening a savings account in 60 seconds, and lets friends and family to contribute to the down payment savings account. At premium levels, it also provides expert advice on the homebuying process.
“It unlocks at scale the ability to help potentially every single renter in the country – and there are 100 million – to prepare to buy their home much more quickly, much more efficiently and to save a whole lot more money while they do it,” Dunn added. “That is all unlocked through the use of a native mobile application.”
Broadening the word
Gravy plans to build a new version of its platform through the third quarter that can be co-branded with all its partner lenders and agents.
The idea, Dunn said, is to allow agents, in part, to keep track of leads of potential homebuyers who may not be ready to do business for several months due to longer-term leases or other factors.
“It’s the thing I’m most excited about on our roadmap since we started the company,” Dunn said. “It’s really to do exactly what I just described – to help be that brand-forward “nurture tool” for real estate agents and marketers.”
