HomePace Secures $7M Series A Investment
Today HomePace announced it has secured $7 million in Series A funding led by LENX (Miami), the corporate venture arm of Lennar, a Miami-based builder of "affordable, move-up, and active adult" homes that founded in 1954. Lennar is the second largest home builder in the US.
Prior investors Bling Capital (San Francisco), NextView Ventures (New York), and Ride Ventures (New York) also participated in the round.
Based in Park City, Utah, HomePace helps homeowners access their home equity without taking on additional debt or interest payments by converting built-up home equity into money in exchange for a portion of the gains or losses in their home’s value over time. HomePace customers may receive up to $250,000 in cash without taking on additional debt or monthly interest payments. As a passive investor, HomePace allows homeowners to stay in complete control of their property. This program will be available to homeowners in Utah. The company is active in Arizona, Colorado, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, and Washington.
“We have been closely monitoring this emerging landscape of home equity investments and recognize it is an innovative way for homeowners to access record levels of home equity in a non-intrusive manner,” says Eric Feder, President of LENX and member of HomePace's Board of Directors. “We look forward to working with HomePace’s founding team to expand the business into the new home market as an affordable instrument to offer to our homebuyers in the years to come.”
Founded in September 2020, the company's founding team includes CEO Joe Cianciolo and COO Megan Graf, who were previously directors at BlackRock. CIO Jeboah (Bo) Joerg, a former Vice President in Derivatives Trading at Goldman Sachs, is also a co-founder. Cianciolo and Graf were among the first 25 employees at FutureAdvisor, an early digital wealth management platform acquired by BlackRock for $150 million in 2015.
"We are extremely impressed with the founding team. They have helped scale fintech companies from 0 to 100 at FutureAdvisor and have relevant domain experience from working at BlackRock and Goldman Sachs," said Melody Koh, Partner at NextView Ventures.
HomePace reaches homeowners through partners including Silverdale, Washington-based Connection Credit Union, Los Angeles, California-based University Credit Union, and Tucson, Arizona-based Vantage West Credit Union. The Series A investment will help the company expand partnerships. The company also plans to use the funding to hire more employees in the Salt Lake City area. HomePace’s workforce is located throughout the U.S.
The company also plans to use the additional funding to introduce its new homebuyer solution, which will provide homebuyers with funds upfront to use as part of their down payment when purchasing a home in exchange for sharing a portion of their home’s future value.
"Prior to founding HomePace, the challenge of a large down payment required to purchase a home is something my wife and I faced personally when buying our first home for our two children. We’re excited to help others facing a similar situation," said CEO and co-founder Joe Cianciolo.