• Where aspiring homebuyers can catch a break: Louisville, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Mo., Columbus (12 years to save for a down payment); Wichita (11 years); and Detroit (7 years) have more favorable home value to income balances, making homeownership relatively more affordable for typical wage earners.
Financial advisors can specifically benefit from the firm’s model in two ways:
• By working with clients who may have “excess” equity in their homes, Unison can help the advisors’ clients access investible funds that the advisors can put to work in other asset classes – and also derive additional fees from managing those additional funds.
• Advisors can also utilize Unison’s matching program for jumbo mortgages on their own homes, and again, tie up less capital for home investments, or potentially buy up to a more expensive home if they so choose.
In addition to solving social democratic issues by helping make home ownership more accessible, Unison’s shared risk/reward approach is quite interesting and worth further exploration. They also work directly with lenders, real estate agents and financial professionals.