This report is available exclusively to subscribers of Inman Intel, a data and research arm of Inman offering deep insights and market intelligence on the business of residential real estate and proptech. Subscribe today.
While a number of companies have emerged to assist agents and their seller clients with renovating or updating a home before introducing it to the market, Sundae built its model on the opposite approach — helping consumers sell homes as-is to investors.
The company released an update to its cash-offer solicitation model, an administrative homeowner portal for more timely and concise management of the transaction, according to a Nov. 24 press release sent to Inman. Sundae functions as a marketing arm for as-is sellers, extending a home’s viability into the cash-buyer market. Its referral program can be used by agents who work with investors as a supplement to their work in the traditional market.
“Sundae’s Homeowner Portal puts sellers in the driver’s seat,” said Josh Stech, CEO and co-founder of Sundae, in the release. “In real time, sellers can see what often amounts to hundreds of competing offers. This gives sellers confidence that they got the fairest possible price for their home. It’s quick, it’s easy, it’s free, and now it’s fully in your control.”
The portal’s intent is to reduce manual processes and disconnected communications to a single online channel, where all documents, messages and insights exist within the context of the deal. A few of its homeseller features include transparency into home marketing, the ability to consult with your Sundae market expert and tools to manage asset collection, such as 3D tours, inspection data and photography.
The portal also allows for digital document execution, views into how well the market is responding to a listing and a list of any other nearby or regional homes on the Sundae market.
Selling a home as-is is often a more efficient way to buy a property, even in non-distressed sales. Expert investors often know the financial commitment a rental or flip will require and need inspections for fundamental confirmations. As-is contracts are more straightforward, they remove the nuance of how to define a repair, recognize that no home is perfect and perhaps above all else, shorten the close window. Time, after all, kills deals more than any other market factor.
The company in 2022 started offering financing for its investor purchases, Inman reported. It was part of an expansion into the southeast to include the Carolinas and Tennessee. Called simply Sundae Funding, Inc., the lending programs are available in California, Florida, Georgia, Texas and Colorado.
Also available for properties not listed on Sundae’s marketplace, Sundae Funding promises competitive rates and quick pre-approval, with underwriting documents reviewed only once a year. In addition to the purchase price, investors can finance remodeling and construction costs with Sundae.
The San Francisco-based company wants to help homeowners avoid wholesale scams, which frequently target distressed properties with seemingly simple and lucrative ways to dispose of homes people are unable to continue to financially support. It has set up a website for people to stay abreast of how scams are carried out.
Sundae was founded in August 2018 by veteran real estate and marketplace executives Josh Stech and Andrew Swain.
