Florida RE firm strikes deal to enter mortgages

As the outlook for housing and mortgages becomes brighter, those looking for strategic entries into all or parts of home lending are now making acquisitions.

The latest deal involves Realpha Tech Corp. — a real estate company that claims its technology allows for commission-free home buying — purchasing Debt Does Deals, a mortgage broker that does business under the name Be My Neighbor.

"The acquisition of Be My Neighbor represents a strategic move to deepen our vertical integration within the real estate industry," said Sureet Pabbi, vice president of mergers and acquisitions at Realpha, in a press release. "By acquiring a mortgage brokerage company, we're capturing additional revenue stream opportunities and enhancing our control over a critical part of the home buying process."

A deal from last week, OCMBC's pick-up of the assets of Homestar, was made to give the purchaser Ginnie Mae issuer capabilities.

Another recent transaction was a publicly traded distillery buying mortgage firm, Beeline, helping both with liquidity.

Meanwhile, over the years, several real estate brokerages have entered the mortgage arena, including Zillow, through its purchase of Mortgage Lenders of America, and Redfin, who bought Bay Equity Home Loans. Remax also launched its own mortgage brokerage franchisor, Motto.

With the National Association of Realtors settlement regarding buyer-broker commissions going into effect, reportedly more sales-side participants are looking at getting involved in financing.

Publicly traded Realpha will pay $6 million for Be My Neighbor, made up of $1.5 million in cash, $1.5 million in restricted common stock shares and up to $3 million in earn out payments, a Securities and Exchange Commission filing disclosed.

Those earn-outs will be paid in three segments of $500,000, $1 million and $1.5 million, in cash or stock, if the targets are met.

Realpha uses an artificial intelligence buyer's agent, Claire, to guide consumers through the home purchase process under the tagline "No fees, just keys." However, Claire is only currently available in 20 Florida counties. Realpha made the announcement about Claire in April.

But Realpha is actively seeking new multiple listing service and brokerage licenses that will enable it to expand into additional states.

While AI focused, the company does employ a team of licensed real estate agents based in Miramar, Florida.

Debt Does Deals is licensed in 26 states. Headquartered in Denison, Texas, it has a total of four offices, according to the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System.

Post-acquisition, it will continue to operate under the Be My Neighbor branding led by its co-founders Christopher Griffith, Isabel Williams and Nathan Knottingham.

"We see great promise in Realpha's long-term strategy and are excited to help carry out their vision," Be My Neighbor CEO Griffith said in the press release.