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Frequently Asked Questions

Questions Answered

Everything you need to know to get started.

Generals

What is SmartRE?

SmartRE is a blockchain platform that allows homeowners to sell a fraction of their home equity without incurring debt and allows buyers to purchase those fractions at any amount, down to $1.  All of which is transacted and recorded on the blockchain as a neutral third party without outside influence.

What is the general process?

Homeowners decide on how much equity they would like to liquidate from the amount they currently own.  The homeowner then submits the necessary paperwork and decides on the requested value of his/her home before SmartRE lists it on the platform.  Buyers can browse and decide whether or not to buy..

In what areas is SmartRE active?

Currently, we are working with properties in our own backyard, the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California.  We anticipate expanding to New York, New York, and Austin, Texas, later in the year.

Can any homeowner use SmartRE?

Currently, only those homeowners who have positive equity in their homes can use SmartRE.  That is, the homeowners must have at least 51% equity in their property. In addition, only homes that are owned by individuals, not business entities or trusts can participate at this time.

Does SmartRE accept commercial properties?

Unfortunately, not at this time.

Homeowners

Why would a homeowner use SmartRE?

All other ways homeowners can extract money from their home involve debt, repayment, and interest rate sensitivity.  With SmartRE, a homeowner does not have to worry about debt and repayment. There is no forced timed buyback.

How much can a homeowner sell?

The homeowner can sell up to 49% of his or her equity in the home.  For example, if the home equity is 75%, then the homeowner can liquidate up to 75% x 49% = 36.75%.

How little can a homeowner sell?

The minimum liquidated amount is $100,000.

What documents are homeowners required to provide?

In order to complete a transaction on SmartRE, a homeowner is required to submit a current appraisal, clean property title information, mortgage repayment schedule (if any), proof of income (if there is a mortgage), proof of homeowner’s insurance, and some personal information.

Does SmartRE guarantee sales?

As SmartRE is a marketplace platform, there is no guarantee that a house listed will be sold up to the percentage requested by the homeowner.  Many factors can affect this, including the desired property valuation that may not be at the fair market value.

What fee does the homeowner pay?

The advertising fee for the homeowner is tiered, depending on the equity released.  It is around 6.5%.  For the first fifty homes, we are discounting them to 5.5%.

Buyers

Is there a maximum amount a buyer may purchase? Is there a minimum?

The maximum fraction in a particular property a buyer may purchase is only limited by the amount the homeowner is willing to liquidate.  The minimum fraction amount is $1.

What fee does the Buyer pay?

The fee on the buy side is 0.5% of the value of the transaction, with a $0.25 minimum fee.  For example, if you buy $500, then the fee is $500 x 0.5% = $2.50.  If you have a SRE token, then you will get a 75% discount.  From the example, your fee would be reduced to $0.625.

What do buyers have to provide to purchase property fractions on SmartRE?

SmartRE requires that buyers submit the usual personal information plus one picture of a government-issued photo ID, a picture of them holding the photo ID near their face, and a proof of address (examples include an utility bill, a credit card bill, mobile phone bill, etc.).

What is the buying process and how long does it take?

When a buyer sees a property in which the buyer is interested, he or she then pays for the amount of the fraction he or she would like to purchase.  It may take up to a month to achieve the requested percentage that the homeowner wants to liquidate. If after the listing period the requested percentage is not achieved, the homeowner can call off the sale and the amount paid by the buyer is returned.

How does a buyer sell the percentage? Is the buyer stuck until the property is sold?

The buyer can advertise and sell the amount of the percentage he or she has purchased to other buyers on the platform.  It is similar to selling digital goods on any regular auction site.

How are buyers protected?

The properties listed on the SmartRE platform will have a customized insurance policy from one of the world’s highly-rated and largest insurance providers.  Should anything happen to the property due to the usual insurance-covered situations, the policy will cover the value of the fraction purchased by the buyer.

Want to learn more? Find out how to list YOUR home.