EasyKnock Shared Equity [An Honest Review]

Share the wealth!

If you’re like most people, you’ve probably heard of EasyKnock but don’t really know what it is or if it’s worth considering.

EasyKnock is a shared equity agreement company that has been growing in popularity in recent years.

In this post, we’ll be going over the following:

• What is a shared equity agreement?
• Why should you go into one?
• What can EasyKnock do for you?
• And more!

We’ll be as honest as we can on our assessment. Let’s get to it.

What Is a Shared Equity Agreement?

A shared equity agreement is generally an arrangement in which two or more parties agree to share in ownership of a property together. This type of agreement is often used when one party needs upfront cash, whether to buy a new house or some other personal purchase.

EasyKnock helps facilitate this arrangement by allowing you to add them as a co-owner for your property and reaping various benefits from it.

Reasons To Go Into A Shared Equity Agreement

There are a few reasons why you might want to go into a shared equity agreement. The most common reason is that it allows you direct access to cash using an alternative means other than the traditional home equity loan, HELOC, or cash-out refinancing.

You’re free to use this money however you wish, whether it is to buy another property, a car, pay off debt, etc. In short, a shared equity agreement can give you the cash boost you need without taking a loan.

You might also want to go into a shared equity agreement if you don’t qualify for the traditional HEL or HELOC due to unforeseen circumstances such as your credit score not being high enough in a traditional bank’s eyes.

Furthermore, if you’d like to benefit from selling your home but are not exactly ready to physically move out of it, EasyKnock’s shared equity agreements allow you to do just that.

Whatever your reason, a shared equity agreement just gives you an extra option or three. Let’s talk about the three products that EasyKnock offers below.

What Products Does EasyKnock Offer?

EasyKnock is a shared equity agreement company, but also goes above and beyond to help facilitate your specific needs as well.

The company pulls this off by offering three different products related to a shared equity agreement on a property. Each one is designed to give you a certain percentage of your home value in cash along with an outlined agreement of terms and conditions related to the sale of your home and length of stay should you wish to participate in a rent-back. They each give you different amount of flexibility and should cater to a wide variety of consumer needs.

EasyKnock Sell & Stay Program

The Sell & Stay program is designed to get you the cash you need right now, but in the future, if you want, you can repurchase your home back again. This is basically an easy way to tap into your home equity and give you flexible options in the future.

EasyKnock will give you up to 75% of the value of your home in cash in this program.

The difference between EasyKnock’s program and other residential sale-leasebacks is the option to repurchase your home at a later date. This is not a common feature that you’ll find all that often. The price that they’ll sell it back to you at is outlined and agreed upon before signing the contract, so you know the price you’ll be paying should you choose to exercise that option.

If you decide not to buy it back at the end of the lease, which is a maximum of 5 years total, you can then tell EasyKnock to simply sell it on the open market, and you’ll get the rest of the money from the sale of the property. If the property appreciates during that time and is sold for higher than the agreed-upon price, you have the opportunity to reap all of that appreciation.

EasyKnock MoveAbility Program

The MoveAbility program is designed to allow you to move to a new house with flexibility on your own schedule. If you find the process of moving new houses stressful because of the short time frame involved, this program may be a great fit for you.

In this program, EasyKnock essentially purchases your home but does not force you to move out immediately. The benefit of that is it allows you to get the cash from the sale of your home and put it towards your new home as a down payment or as cash payment.

You can receive up to 80% of the property value upfront. Once you move out and the house gets sold by EasyKnock, you’ll receive the remainder of the value of the home. And if the property appreciates during that time, you have the potential to take all of it as well.

You have a generous margin of 12 months to move out into your next home, so you can take your time shopping. Potentially, you could also sell your home at a peak price and wait for almost a year to buy a home at a lower price if the market goes in that direction.

In the meanwhile, you’ll be renting your home back from EasyKnock at an agreed-upon rate, which is generally the going market rate. They will be leasing it to you on a month-to-month basis.

Note that if you go for this program, you will not have the option to buy back the home from EasyKnock at an agreed-upon price in the future.

EasyKnock ReLease Program (no longer offered)

Unfortunately, it seems this product has been discontinued by EasyKnock. It offered up to 90% of your property value upfront and allowed you to rent back the property for as long as you wanted. The downside was that you would not reap the benefits of any home appreciation once you moved out and EasyKnock sold the home.

If you still need help deciding which program is right for you and would like to enlist the help of EasyKnock directly, they have a team of experienced real estate professionals who can help you through the process and answer any questions you have.

Who Qualifies for EasyKnock?

EasyKnock may be able to help you out even if you do not qualify for a home equity loan or other types of loan from a traditional bank. This is a common issue with taking out a loan from banks, as they have very strict requirements you need to meet.

Requirements for income and credit score can severely impact your eligibility for a bank loan, whereas with EasyKnock, they are able to open their opportunities to a broader range of customers, such as those who may not necessarily make the majority of their income through a traditional W-2.

The EasyKnock team looks at each potential client on a case-by-case basis, so you’ll need to fill out an application form to find out your qualification. At the very least though, you’ll need to own the property in question.

EasyKnock Requirements

1. Sell and Stay:

• The homeowner must be at least 65 years old or older, or have a medical condition that affects their ability to work.
• The homeowner must own their home and have a minimum of 50% equity in the property.
• The home must be located in a qualifying state.

2. MoveAbility:

• The homeowner must own their home and have a minimum of 10% equity in the property.
• The home must be located in a qualifying state.
• The homeowner must have a minimum credit score of 500.
• The homeowner must have a minimum monthly income of $3,500.
• The homeowner must not have any recent bankruptcies, foreclosures, or evictions.

EasyKnock Alternatives

Are There Fees?

There are fees depending on the program you decide to go with.

Sell & Stay fees

Because you have the right to exercise an option where you are basically controlling whether you can repurchase the home or when EasyKnock can sell your home, EasyKnock charges an annual fee of around 3%. This is taken right out of the funds you may receive from EasyKnock, which as mentioned above caps out at 75% of the purchase price.

So, the first year, you’re essentially getting around 72% of the purchase price when you factor that in. As for the following years, it will be charged when the home is sold, whether due to a repurchase or a sale on the open market. The rate may change and get adjusted depending on the purchase price, and the fee will be taken out accordingly upon second sale of the home.

As far as fees for when EasyKnock sells the home on the open market, you’ll be responsible for real estate agent commission but nothing else. If you decide to repurchase, you will be responsible for any closing costs on the buyer side.

Additionally, as far as rent is concerned, rent will be increased by 2.5% each year or CPI, whichever is the larger amount.

MoveAbility fees

For the first sale, you pay both buyer and seller closing costs. For the second sale, you are only responsible for any real estate agent commission on the seller side.

There is also a processing fee of $5,000 or 4.99% of the home purchase price at minimum.

As far as rent, you’ll be paying the market rent to stay in the home.

Where Is It Available?

EasyKnock is available in the majority of states, but not in every market. The company encourages you to fill out a qualification form to determine whether EasyKnock can help out at your particular address.

To see if you qualify, visit EasyKnock’s website and enter your home address into the “Get Qualified” search field. If you do qualify, EasyKnock will work with you to determine the best home ownership solution for your situation.

Pros and cons of EasyKnock: The pros

Pros

If you’re looking for a unique home selling experience that doesn’t involve traditional listing methods, EasyKnock may be a good fit for you. This company buys your home directly from you, making the entire process much simpler and often quicker than going the more common route. Here are some key advantages of working with EasyKnock:

• You Can Move Out When You’re Ready. You can move out on your timeline, and that’s a huge deal for a lot of people due to the stress involved in having to quickly move out and into a new home. If you need to sell quickly and move out immediately, that’s not a problem either. EasyKnock will even help with your moving costs.

• You Don’t Have to Worry About Showings. If the idea of strangers coming through your home at all hours of the day doesn’t sound appealing, you’ll be happy to know that there are no showings when you sell to EasyKnock. This takes a lot of the hassle and stress out of the selling process.

• You’ll Get a Fair Offer. When you work with EasyKnock, you can be confident that you’re getting a fair offer for your home. The company will do a thorough evaluation of your property with a third-party licensed appraiser before making you an offer, and they’re committed to being transparent throughout the entire process.

Pros and cons of EasyKnock: The cons

Cons

While EasyKnock may offer some benefits, there are also some notable drawbacks to consider.

• You are no longer building equity in your home. Instead, your monthly payments go towards rent and go into your landlord’s pocket. This can be a significant downside if you had planned on selling your home down the road.

• You may be subject to eviction if you fail to keep up with your monthly payments. This could be a problem if your financial situation changes and you are unable to make the payments. EasyKnock does offer some protection against this, but it is not guaranteed.

What Property Restrictions Are There?

There are a few restrictions that come along with using EasyKnock as your method of selling your home. First and foremost, your home must be located in the United States to be eligible.

Another key restriction is that you cannot currently have a mortgage on the property. If you do have a mortgage, EasyKnock will work with you to pay it off as part of the sale process.

And finally, your home must be in decent condition and meet all local code requirements – nothing too major, but any necessary repairs or updates must be made before proceeding.

EasyKnock Customer Reviews and Complaints

Overall, EasyKnock is a well-rated company, but as with virtually all companies, there are some complaints to be had.

The majority of complaints revolve around lackadaisical customer service. The selling of equity in your home to EasyKnock is almost always smooth-sailing. However, for those that opted to go for their additional programs and stay as tenants, customer service sometimes took days to respond to inquiries and requests.

Are these just a few bad experiences or is this becoming the norm for EasyKnock? Honestly, only time will tell and we plan to keep a close eye on this ever-growing company.

Here are some reviews of EasyKnock:

“Everyone from EasyKnock made the process so easy and painless. Highly recommended. So glad we found them and the team answered our questions so well.”

“Everything was done in a timely manner and the process was fully explained to us. So far Easyknock has been great, it was a perfect solution for anyone in my financial situation.”

In Conclusion: Is EasyKnock worth it?

EasyKnock can be a lifesaver for a lot of people who hate the traditional process of moving out and getting into a new home. The sale-leaseback aspect of their two products, Sell & Stay and MoveAbility, will do wonders for those types of clients.

Additionally, the ability to reap the benefits of any appreciation on second sale is pretty neat too. Just keep in mind that there are fees you need to be aware of as EasyKnock does not cover everything in the entire process, but they sure make a lot of things quite easy and straightforward and let you get cash funding without taking out a whole new loan.

Plus, if you don’t qualify for a traditional home equity loan, HELOC, or cash-out refinancing, whether it be due to a credit score hit or non-W-2 income, EasyKnock is a great additional to your arsenal of cash funding options to choose from.

Share the wealth!