Startup Profile: Jrny

According to polling conducted by the U.K. Ministry of Housing, 90% of Britons share the dream of owning their own home and do not want to rent indefinitely. Yet, a staggering 60% of both renters and adults living with their parents believe that they will never be able to buy their own home. Due to a combination of home prices, which have skyrocketed in the past years, tightening mortgage criteria and the end of Help-to-Buy, homeownership is less accessible than ever for young adults.

Jrny wants to change this. 

 

What is Jrny?

 
Put simply, Jrny is a way for people with a steady income, but not enough money saved up, to live in their dream home while they save for their mortgage deposit.

Their leases allow their customers to choose a home of their choice, let Jrny buy it for them, lease it from Jrny, save up and, eventually, buy it back from Jrny. At this point, the customer will be the sole homeowner. 

“Young people in Britain are facing an unprecedented homeownership crisis, which will lead to long-term financial consequences for the wider economy, driven by high and rising house prices, combined with stagnating household income.”

 

Who Founded Jrny?

 
Jrny was founded by Vincent Huber and Nick Singh – long-time friends & colleagues who have years of experience working together, including jointly investing in real estate across England. 

Nick’s and Vincent’s experience of both buy-to-let and flip investments, as well as their experience trying to become homeowners in London, have allowed them to appreciate the difficulty of becoming homeowners and the cumbersome buying process. The pair are supported by an experienced team of real estate specialists.

 

 

What is Jrny’s Mission?

 
Co-founders Nick and Vincent fundamentally believe that homeownership should be more easily accessible and are convinced that owning a home today is more difficult than it has to be. Jrny’s mission is to become the platform that guides you through the journey towards owning a home.

“Jrny aims to alleviate the structural barriers to homeownership through a an accelerated ownership plan that supports our customer in moving into their dream home today, while saving up to buy it in the future.”

 

 

How Does It Work? 

 
Jrny offers a financially sustainable solution to the homeownership crisis, acting as an accelerated path to getting someone mortgage-ready, while allowing them to live in their dream home.

The steps involved in Jrny’s accelerated ownership plan include:
 

The Customer Finds a Home

 
The first step in Jrny’s accelerated ownership plan is for the customer to obtain a ‘Hunting License’, permitting them to search for properties, which customers can do by completing the application here. Properties must meet certain criteria, with some attributes being immediately unsuitable including, but not limited to: new build homes, basement apartments and properties next to rail lines or motorways. 

Once a customer has found their perfect home that meets these criteria, they will submit it to Jrny through their online platform for their approval.
 

Agreeing Lease Terms

 
Once the home is approved, the Jrny team will make a proposal for the lease structure – this includes the Option Price (price that the customer can buy back the home from Jrny) and monthly payments, which includes rent and the Equity Savings plan. This needs to be agreed before proceeding with the home purchase.

Each lease is bespoke to the savings needs of the customer and targets that the customer is mortgage-eligible by the end. Customers can choose the lease length between 3 and 8 years, while adjusting the monthly savings contribution according to their monthly income and outgoings.
 

Jrny Purchases the Property

 
Their bidding strategy and their status as all cash-buyers ensure that they secure an attractive price for the property, which the customer benefits from through a lower Option price. 

As the legal buyer of the property, Jrny handles the conveyancing process, ensuring a quicker time to completion than a traditional mortgage purchase. All the customer has to do is prepare for their move-in! 
 

The Customer Moves In

 
Once they have successfully completed the purchase, the customer can move-in and begin their journey towards homeownership. During their tenancy, Jrny’s in-house customer success team manages the properties and supports the tenants.
 

Monthly Payments

 
The customer will have full visibility of monthly payments before entering the lease. Each month, ~25% of their monthly payments goes towards saving up for the deposit on their home, in a plan they call the ‘Equity Savings plan’. The plan is designed so that the customer is mortgage-ready with a 10% deposit by the end of their tenancy with Jrny.
 

The Customer Buys Back the Property

 
If the customer chooses to exercise the lease option, they can then purchase the property at the predetermined Option Price, thereby becoming the sole owners of their home. At this stage, the customer will get back their initial deposit, all their Equity Savings contributions and a 15% cash-back bonus (calculated as a percentage of all the deposit and Equity Savings contributions), that the customer can use towards placing the deposit for their home.

 

When is Jrny Launching?

 
The Jrny team is currently preparing to launch their accelerated ownership plan to customers in England at the beginning of 2023. Until then, interested customer can visit their website and complete Jrny’s application, to join their waitlist and be informed as soon as Jrny starts buying in their area. The Jrny team is scheduling calls with interested customers to walk them through their offering.

 

 

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