UpEquity

UpEquity is an Austin, Texas-based, veteran-owned real estate and tech-enabled mortgage company founded in 2019. Its flagship offering, the Trade Up program, is aimed at homeowners who are buying and selling at the same time: UpEquity makes a backup offer to purchase the customer's current home, advances the equity trapped in that home so it can be applied to the down payment on the next home, and thereby lets the customer close on and move into the new home before the old one is sold. The stated goal is to remove contingencies and give buyers a stronger, more certain purchase offer while avoiding a double move and the disruption of keeping a home show-ready.

Earlier public coverage describes UpEquity as a "power buyer" and digital mortgage platform whose Buy with Cash program allowed everyday homebuyers to submit all-cash offers competitive with those of institutional investors, with UpEquity then writing or brokering the buyer's mortgage. In markets where purchase contracts cannot be assigned, the company purchased the home upfront and wrote the mortgage after closing. UpEquity has emphasized back-end automation of underwriting to compress closing timelines, and set a target of a 10-day mortgage close.

Founding story

UpEquity was founded in 2019 and co-founded by Tim Herman and Louis Wilson. Herman, the CEO, was a US Navy fighter pilot who flew F/A-18s from aircraft carriers and was among the first F-35C pilots in the Navy; he later attended Harvard Business School and dropped out midway through after participating in Y Combinator's Summer 2019 batch.

Business model

UpEquity combines a real estate transaction service with mortgage origination. It advances a homeowner's existing equity and provides a backup offer on the departing residence, and in some structures buys the new home outright before transferring it to the customer, with the customer making monthly payments with interest. Customers select their own real estate agent and mortgage lender under the current Trade Up program.

Press coverage reports that UpEquity earns a commission from brokering or selling the mortgage the buyer takes out to purchase the home, and receives monthly payments with interest from homebuyers in cases where it fronts the purchase.

Traction

At the time of its October 2021 Series B, UpEquity reported 500% year-over-year revenue growth and forecast more than $1 billion in mortgage originations over the following 12 months. Y Combinator lists a team size of 90. The company was named to Built In Austin's Startups to Watch in 2022 and recognized as one of Built In Austin's 2022 best small companies to work for.

Latest developments

The company's website currently presents the UpEquity Trade Up program, under which UpEquity makes a backup offer on the client's existing home and advances trapped equity so the client can buy and move into a new home before selling the old one.