In this testimonial interview, first‑time homebuyer couple Skylar and Zach recount how they purchased a home in Raleigh’s Triangle market using Ownify, an alternative financing platform. They describe the challenges they faced in a competitive market with high interest rates and soaring home prices, and how traditional mortgages would have forced them to wait years. Ownify allowed them to put down only 2% with no closing costs, receive a cash offer, and close within two weeks despite the holiday season. Over a five‑year period, Ownify purchases additional equity, giving the couple an eventual 10% ownership stake while shielding them from rising interest rates. Realtor Elise Helton highlights the fairness and speed Ownify brings to first‑time buyers, noting the influx of out‑of‑state investors and the need for a competitive edge. The couple expresses excitement, relief, and strong recommendation for Ownify as a viable alternative to conventional lending.
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Kind of surreal, I guess. I mean, we stayed here last night and it was just waking up. I was like, oh my gosh, like we're in our first home.
Pretty excited. Yeah, I think it's pretty big stuff. But again, Ownify kind of presented an opportunity that, you know, we didn't foresee coming. So once that happened, kind of jumpstart and go ahead and start looking for a home.
I'm Skylar and I'm Zach.
Ownify is an alternative financing option to get first-time homebuyers into the market quicker. My name is Elise Helton. Hi, I'm Megan. I'm a local realtor in Raleigh in the Triangle area, and I'm affiliated with Costello Real Estate and Investments. So I think my favorite parts of working with them was when we would go around in the showings. I got to see their personality and their just banter back and forth. So they're a really fun couple. I know how eager and excited they were to get into a home and start that next step. And for them, they would have had to wait maybe 3 to 5 years to be able to do that the traditional way.
It was great. She was so much fun to work with. She was super sweet. She knew what we were looking for.
Because of the higher interest rates, a lot of buyers have stepped out of the competition, whether they're fearful because of the news or they just can't afford the monthly payment with higher interest rates.
The housing market is so competitive, so it's just, it's harder to find that path to ownership because you have so many competitors out there. You know, renting is great. You know, there are a lot of perks to renting, but at the same time, you're not building equity in a home. You're not really quote unquote, investing.
We kind of get on to like, you know, Zillow or whatever. And these prices were just like outrageous. So it was kind of just like scary.
A lot of first-time homebuyers are fearful from what they see on the news. They worry that they won't be able to afford to live in this area, given the higher interest rates make mortgage payments higher.
You heard prices that were maybe $100,000-ish over than what you normally would hear.
So because of Ownify, they were able to just put the 2% down, not worry about closing costs, repair, maintenance, and they could get into the home sooner. So I thought it would be a great fit for them.
In addition, what helped us choose that right now may be a good time to buy because a lot of things are going up. So even if you are renting, you are still going to be paying a little bit more than again, 3, 4, 5 years ago.
The Triangle market is becoming a hot place to live. So people are moving from California, New York, people with more cash here, they're buying up investment properties. And so Ownify allows a first-time homebuyer to have that competitive edge by giving them a cash offer.
They really want to assist first-time homebuyers. Support, assistance, being genuine, really trying to help, that really checked one of my boxes, if I may.
And it creates more fairness to the home buying experience.
So it was just really exciting to wake up, have a cup of coffee, sit on the couch, and take in, you know, the mess, but also the potential that the space has for us.
We're buying a home now. We're hoping to set ourselves up for success in the future, not just only for us, but also our family.
Working with Ownify, it was incredibly smooth transaction, and it was surprising because we had another whole nother party in the transaction. So I had Zach and Skylar I was talking with, and then Ownify I was communicating with. Every time I had a question, Ownify would just respond immediately over email, and so it allowed us to get our offer in quickly.
I like to explain Ownify as it's not necessarily a competitor for like going through a bank and doing your traditional mortgage. It's more so an opportunity to work with a company or an organization that's going to try to streamline the process and get you in the home a little faster.
Their payments will be to Ownify directly, and they will continually buy equity over the next 5 years, and after 5 years they'll own 10% equity. The benefit is they don't have to worry about interest rates, so their monthly payment isn't going to be more if interest rates are higher, but they still get the advantage of having equity in a home and that appreciating. So they'll, they'll not only have the 2% equity, they'll buy more over time, and then they'll get appreciation on the equity that, that is growing.
Again, they offer a different path than what a mortgage would offer.
And we actually had a really quick close, so I think we went under contract right before Thanksgiving, and then we closed about 2 weeks later, even with the holiday.
But it's an opportunity to like skip some of those steps where there's just so much stress and anxiety. You know, I felt like we got into this as such a smooth process. They answered any question that we had, and it was great.
Oh yeah, I would definitely recommend them.
Absolutely.
Yeah, I don't think, I don't think either of us would partake in anything that we wouldn't recommend to a family, friend, someone who We care about.
I'm excited for people to see that traditional lending isn't the only way. They can still have competitive edge, a cash offer.
I think especially right now, you really don't know what's going to happen year after year with the housing market. And I think it really does. The more people see this becoming something, I think they're going to see that this is, this is a great opportunity.
I think Ownify provides the first-time homebuyer a really unique opportunity. To have a competitive offer in this market and to get into homes much quicker than they originally thought.
You know, Ownify provides just an alternative or a different way for people who are looking to become first-time homebuyers, a way for them to accomplish that goal. So I do think that Ownify has an opportunity to really help a lot of folks like us. You know, the communication, accommodations, whatever, they've been great.
