Brenda Chose Hometap to Help Her Tackle Home Repairs and Eliminate Debt

For Brenda, being debt free felt like an impossibility. She’d been making double payments on credit cards and putting expenses on hold for what felt like forever, and it still didn’t seem to close the gap.

When she decided her to-do list had been on hold for too long, she began researching ways to eliminate her debt for good. As she began looking into home renovation loans, lines of credit, and reverse mortgages online, she came across home equity investments, and started comparing her options.

“Hometap offered more cash up front, which was important to me,” said Brenda, “I could also tell exactly what was expected of me. With a home improvement loan, you don’t feel like you get a fair appraisal. They want to keep the money low and the interest high. The payments would have been more than what I’ll settle [my investment] for.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do one-tenth of what I’ve done with a reverse mortgage. I would encourage anybody that’s looking at a reverse mortgage to consider a Hometap Investment. A reverse mortgage is not geared toward the homeowner at all. This is.”

After requesting an Investment Estimate, Brenda was matched with her Investment Manager, who reaffirmed that an Investment was the choice for her.

“That right there sold me,” says Brenda. “He answered every question, it didn’t matter what time of day it was. I’ve never experienced such customer service. I can tell when someone is sincere, even over the phone; he believes in this. I never felt pushed, I never felt pressured. It was just, ‘here are the facts.’”

After a seamless appraisal process and signing, Brenda had her funds in-hand, and the real work began. She set her sights on her debts and her beloved Jacksonville, Florida home. 

She had a French drain installed to fix a water drainage issue, added new carpet, replaced hardware in her windows, fixed a leak on her back porch, had some landscaping done, and painted the trim around the outside of the house. Then she paid off all of her outstanding debt, traded in her old vehicle for one that’s more reliable, and added some cushion to her emergency fund so that the next repair that crops up doesn’t put her back in debt. 

“My credit went from 640 to 779,” says Brenda. “I’m completely out of debt, it’s an amazing feeling. It’s something I’ve been working toward for a long time.”

For now, the plan is to sell the home in the future and settle the Investment with a portion of the home sale, but Brenda says that could change.

“I don’t feel like I owe Hometap. We’re partners. As partners, we’ll decide what’s best. I feel like I have someone to talk to when it comes time to make a decision. Most of the time when you deal with someone, once the deal is done, they’re gone and they could care less. But [Hometap] is in constant contact, it’s refreshing. It’s weird, but I feel like I know [my Investment Manager]. I feel like he’s a friend.” 

Brenda still has some home repairs on her list, but she’s enjoying being free of debt in the meantime.