The promoters of a new venture designed to help people here get on the property ladder via a lease-to-loan financing product say they already have enough expressions of interest from potential borrowers for their first year of operation.
Dwellr is seeking to offer a lease-to-own product to help people secure homeownership. It has tested demand in the market via a survey on MyHome.ie, a property website owned by The Irish Times, with a sample audience. “It has validated what we thought would be a product in demand,” founder Mark Duffy told The Irish Times. “We’ve got enough interested customers to meet our first year projections.”
Mr Duffy was chief executive of Bank of Scotland Ireland at the time of the banking crash in 2008, leaving the lender shortly afterwards. Bank of Scotland Ireland and its retail arm Halifax subsequently quit the Irish market. If successfully launched next year as planned, this would essentially mark Mr Duffy’s return to doing business in Ireland after a 15-year hiatus, and having lived abroad.
Dwellr is aimed at borrowers who might not yet have a deposit saved but who have the financial means to fund a home loan and are currently renting, the-self employed, or people coming to Ireland without a credit history here. It expects to fund apartments and houses in the €350,000 to €400,000 range, with many borrowers expected to buy the apartment they are living in.
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If a borrower is approved by Dwellr, they are given a budget and can then seek to purchase a property as if they were a cash buyer. When the property goes sale agreed, Dwellr advances the full purchase price, plus stamp duty and legal fees.
Dwellr then owns the property. The borrower must have a seed fund of 3 per cent of the value of the property and be able to purchase it within three years. The property’s value is linked with the Residential Property Price Index, with the borrower paying the value at the end of the three years.
Dwellr earns its margin on the difference in the two prices. A borrower can decide to walk away from the purchase within the three years, minus certain costs.
The company has been involved in an investor roadshow in London to secure funding for the venture, and Mr Duffy is also seeking the backing of high-net-worth families here. It is understood that it is seeking to raise about €150 million to help fund the first phase of purchases.
Mr Duffy said he hopes the launch the venture next year. “We want to put about 2,000 people on the property ladder in the first three years,” he said, adding that its plan is to fund 300 to 400 properties in its first year of operation.
