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As-is home sale platform Sundae is the latest alternative real estate model to secure significant funding to fuel growth. The company announced in a press release the closing of $80 million in Series C funding. To date, it has raised $135 million.
The latest round was jointly led by SPAC-friendly Fifth Wall and General Global Capital. Other groups contributing to the round included Wellington Management, QED Investors, Susa Ventures, Founders Fund, First American Financial and Prudence Capital.
Individual investors included a large group of professional athletes and an entertainer. Actor and musician Will Smith, Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf, Oakland A’s third baseman Matt Chapman and Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson also contributed to Sundae’s funding, along with Super Bowl champion Richard Seymour of 93 Ventures and 2020 U.S. Soccer Player of the Year and Juventus midfielder, Weston McKennie, among others.
In an email to Inman, CEO of Sundae Josh Stech said interest in the company resonates with high-profile investors and recognized professionals because of its altruistic approach to home sales.
“The level of interest we saw from celebrities who’ve heard our story has been a validation of the work we’ve done over the last 2.5 years to deliver this mission with a disruptive marketplace model in the ‘houses that need love’ category,” he said. “Trust in this business is critical and we’ve worked hard to build our reputation by serving the best interest of homeowners while bringing reliability and fairness to both sides of every transaction.”
Sundae is an iBuyer-like platform that facilitates “as-is” sales to a pool of qualified investors. It is an ideal vehicle for sellers who need to relocate quickly and may not have time or funds to invest in making a property “market-ready.”
Sundae’s marketplace serves as an advocate for the seller and does the hard work for them by packaging and marketing the property to a large pool of qualified buyers, the release states.
Josh Stech
“Our mission is to displace the cottage industry of wholesalers who exploit desperate or uninformed sellers and lock them into a contract which they turn around and assign to a property investor at a steep profit,” Stech said in the release. “We’re thrilled to use this funding to continue building Sundae into the category defining marketplace for houses that need love.”
The company claims that on average, most sellers receive up to 10 cash offers within three days of listing with them. There is no cost to the seller, and Sundae will work with listing agents.
Qualified investors can access an online portal to review and offer on properties accepted into Sundae’s inventory, which will include marketing collateral, virtual tours, floorplans and inspection reports.
Sellers and investors can leverage Sundae’s services in four California markets, as well as areas of Florida, Georgia, Texas and Utah. Additionally, the release states that Sundae is actively hiring city general managers and local market experts who reflect the diversity of the communities they serve.
The new funding will be directed at market and services expansion and for creating additional online tools for sellers and investor clients.
Sundae was founded in 2018.
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