Sundae now financing investor purchases of distressed properties

Distressed property marketplace Sundae is now offering to finance investor purchases as it expands into several new markets in the Carolinas and Tennessee, the company announced Thursday.

Sundae’s new lending service for investors, Sundae Funding Inc., is currently available in California, Florida, Georgia, Texas and Colorado with more states to be added over the next few months.

Josh Stech | Sundae

“After piloting lending in our home state of California, we’re excited to begin offering the service in more markets so that investors can simplify their buying experience, and offer them a one-stop-shop for property investing,” said Sundae CEO Josh Stech in a statement.

Also available for properties not listed on Sundae’s marketplace, Sundae Funding promises competitive rates and quick pre-approval, with underwriting documents reviewed only once a year. In addition to the purchase price, investors can finance remodeling and construction costs with Sundae.

Sundae also announced that it’s now providing services to “as-is home sellers” in Charleston, South Carolina, with plans to expand to Greenville, Myrtle Beach, Charlotte, Raleigh-Durham and Nashville.

Once those new markets are live, Sundae will be doing business in 28 markets, including Atlanta, Austin, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Orlando, Salt Lake City, San Diego and Seattle.

Licensed as a real estate brokerage in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Utah and Tennessee, Sundae unveiled an off-market distressed property platform for investors in September, following an $80 million Series C funding round last summer. That brought the total raised to date to $135 million, with backers including SPAC-friendly Fifth Wall, and title insurer First American Financial Corp., which has invested in 16 venture-funded companies including Offerpad, Orchard and Pacaso.

Sundae’s platform allows investors to view, filter and sort available distressed properties exclusive to Sundae, as well as submit cash offers and track them in real time.

RealtyTrac offers a similar platform for investors in the market for distressed or foreclosed properties, with financing options available through various partner lenders.

As borrower protections put in place during the pandemic are lifted, more homeowners are expected to face the risk of foreclosure.

Last year the Biden administration announced plans to give individual owner-occupants, families and nonprofits more opportunities to purchase homes that have been foreclosed on before they’re offered to large investors. The Department of Housing and Urban Development will provide an exclusive listing period during which government entities, nonprofits and owner-occupant buyers will be invited to submit bids for “Second Chance” sales of FHA-insured foreclosed properties before they’re offered to investors.

In the mean time, RES.NET, a technology platform provider for loan default management, has revamped its real-estate owned (REO) portal to help banks, mortgage lenders, loan servicers and real estate brokers coordinate to dispose of REO properties owned by lenders. RES.NET’s subscription-based agent membership gives real estate agents the opportunity to win REO listings from loan servicers and manage their own properties.

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Email Matt Carter