Thirty years ago, with $2,500 in their pocket, my parents moved to the U.S. After a decade of late nights and early mornings, they finally made enough to put a downpayment on a home.
I went to a great public school, made a little money mowing lawns, and formed lifelong friendships with our neighbors. Our home gave my family stability, belonging, and something bigger than ourselves to be a part of - a community.
Since leaving our home, I’ve moved between New York, London, Shanghai, Phoenix, and San Francisco. With every transition, the enticing nature of nomadic life waned.
A little over a year ago, I wanted to move closer to my family and the home I grew up in.
It is the most unaffordable time to buy a home, ever
As I looked for a home, I watched mortgage rates rise and the monthly payments alongside them. Days turned into months, rates increased from 2.5% to 7.5%, and the chance to own a home slipped away.
I wasn’t alone. Mortgage payments as a percentage of income are at the highest point in decades.
Homebuyers today face the highest average principal and interest payments on record. More than 50% of mortgages have a monthly payment of more than $2,000, up from 18% just two years ago. Homeownership has become out of reach for tens of millions of families, just like it has for me.
So, I looked for more affordable ways to buy a home.
A new pathway to homeownership
I discovered that FHA and VA loans possess a little-known assumption clause that allows a buyer to take over the existing mortgage terms from the seller. Simply put, the mortgage could come with the home. This product has existed for decades but is hard to discover, functionally opaque, and uncertain for all parties involved. From my days as a loan officer at Opendoor, I knew there was a way to solve these issues for customers, and I saw the broader impact it could have on millions of others in a situation like mine.
I started Roam to help homebuyers wind back the clock on interest rates to make homeownership affordable again through the opportunity of mortgage assumptions.
What Roam can do for you
For buyers, Roam is the most affordable way to find and purchase your next home. We’ll help you discover the homes eligible for assumption and manage all aspects of the process on your behalf to help you save up to 50% on monthly payments compared to financing with a traditional mortgage at today’s rates.
For sellers, Roam provides the 30% of homeowners with an FHA or VA mortgage the ability to get more certainty for their sale by advertising the affordability benefit of their low-rate mortgage. By providing these sellers with a marketing edge, we help them find more buyers and better offers to capture the value of their low-rate mortgage.
We are in the middle of the largest dislocation in economic history. We live in a time that begs for bold solutions, not incremental ones. Our vision is to make homeownership 2x more affordable for 1 million Americans by 2030.
There is a better way to buy a home, and we’re excited to show you how.
 | A guest post by
|
Incredible story. You all are going after a very important problem.
Genuine solution to a real problem plaguing our society! The current state of the industry and markets is dire and we need great solutions to immensely help the current as well as "to be" homeowners! I am hoping for a great success in the company mission!