As buying a home gets more competitive across Seattle, cash offers often reign supreme. So a Seattle startup is angling to help homebuyers who don’t have cash on hand to stay in the game.
FlyHomes acts as a sort of intermediary buyer for homes — it prescreens the homebuyer, then puts in an all-cash bid to the seller. If it wins, it allows the seller to move out when it’s convenient within 60 days. FlyHomes then resells the home to the original interested buyer after the standard closing period.
“What we’re effectively doing is providing a buffer,” co-founder and CEO Stephen Lane said.
The startup Thursday announced a $17 million funding round led by Silicon Valley firm Andreessen Horowitz. Mark Vadon, the low-profile but prosperous Seattle entrepreneur who started online jewelry store Blue Nile and digital clothing retailer zulily, also invested in the round. Vadon originally led the company’s $2 million seed funding round last year.
Lane and co-founder Tushar Garg, both former Microsoft employees, started the company in 2015 after noticing a trend — home sellers were often choosing all-cash offers, even if others were willing to pay more with traditional financing.
