As the economy fluctuates in the wake of geopolitical turmoil and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have found that their net worth has fluctuated as well — sometimes leading to personal finance issues and difficulty making ends meet. In such times, recognizing one’s assets is a critical step in establishing financial stability, and one asset that can be overlooked is housing wealth.
When utilized responsibly, housing wealth can provide a significant source of funds for various financial needs, but a lack of flexibility has prevented many homeowners from tapping into that resource — but the founders of the fledgling Israeli start-up SixtyFive believe that they’ve developed a solution to that.
“Almost 80% of the seniors in the United States own the property they live in — this is an unprecedented number,” explained SixtyFive co-founder and COO Eyal Stern. “But when [CEO Tali Gross, CTO Ron Livornik and I] took a look at the reverse mortgage space, we saw that it wasn’t functioning. Usage rates were below 2% of the potential market. That’s more or less where the journey of SixtyFive started.”
The company allows American seniors aged 60 and older to turn their properties' value into a source of income via a simple smartphone application, without a need for monthly repayments. Per the company’s model, funds are made available through a debit card and repayment is flexible: pay back whenever you want within your lifetime, upon sale of property, or after the death of the homeowner.
Making mortgages accessible
This week, the Florida- and Tel Aviv-based company announced two major partnerships with American mortgage industry players C2 Financials and The Mortgage Calculator. As part of the partnerships, the two companies’ mortgage brokers and loan officers will add the SixtyFive supplemental income program into their product portfolios, making it available to their enormous client base.
C2 Financials is considered as one of the leading mortgage brokerage companies in the US with hundreds of brokers selling various mortgage products across the US. The Mortgage Calculator is a prominent mortgage broker and lender in Florida, with more than 350 loan officers and an extensive reach to hundreds of thousands of senior households.
“While the inflation is skyrocketing and people tend to live longer, the need for financing solutions for seniors is getting stronger every day,” said Gross. “For most seniors, all they need is just this small amount of money every month to bridge the gap between their income and expenses. SixtyFive allows them to do so in an affordable and flexible way. Our expansion, which is also reflected in these two exciting partnerships, is driven by growing demand from both sides of the market: The end-users as well as the distributors.”
Currently, the SixtyFive supplemental income program is only available in Florida, with plans to expand to other states throughout the year.