NFTYDoor LLC, a McLean, Va.-based digital mortgage startup, on Monday unveiled a home equity platform, offering American homeowners a digital way to access their equity with a one-minute online application and funding in as little as three days.
American homeowners are equity-rich, with more than $11 trillion of tappable home equity, according to ATTOM & Black Knight. Homeowners looking to use their equity, however, will find that current higher interest rates often make a cash-out refinance cost prohibitive. At the same time, traditional home equity lenders take 30 to 90 days to fund a loan due to manual underwriting.
NFTYDoor, meanwhile, says it provides a fast solution that is seamless.
"We help homeowners manage and pay for life's big events," said Mark Schacknies, CEO and co-founder of NFTYDoor. "Homeowners should be able to easily tap their equity on demand to pay for a home renovation, tuition, a car, or pay off high-priced personal debt."
NFTYDoor opened in January of this year. In addition to Virginia, it is licensed in the District of Columbia, Florida, Illinois, and Maryland, with plans to expand nationwide by the end of 2023. Its website, however, states that the home equity platform is live in just Virginia, Maryland, and D.C.
Homeowners in those locations can access $25,000 to $250,000 of their home's equity with a 25-year fixed-rate term, after completing a simple online application. NFTYDoor is a proprietary digital end-to-end platform that leverages Artificial Intelligence to automate underwriting, closing, funding, and servicing. These innovations are regulatory compliant and reduce origination time and costs, the company said.
NFTYDoor partners with bank and non-bank lenders so they can offer a branded home equity product to their customers, said Jonathan Spinetto, COO and co-founder of NFTYDoor. "Our platform is a plug-and-play home equity solution for lenders,” he said. “Our eNotes are stored in the blockchain, unlocking next-level efficiency in capital markets."
