LendingHome Rebrands to Kiavi

LendingHome, major U.S. lender to real estate investors, announced it will change its name, rebranding as Kiavi, which comes from the phonetic representation of the Italian word “chiave,” meaning “key” in English.

The company says in a press release that, as Kiavi, it plans to expand its support of real estate investors, helping them unlock the value of America’s aged homes.

Representatives say 65% of U.S. homes are more than 30 years old. Kiavi's leaders say they will continue to serve real estate investors as they renovate and deliver move-in-ready homes for untold families, and they plan to enhance their services through innovation and the team's collective experience.

"We’re proud of the work we’ve done to build a technology platform designed specifically for today’s residential real estate investor, and to have assembled an industry-leading team to serve our customers," said Michael Bourque, CEO. "As the company transitions to Kiavi, management’s goal is to continue expanding the tools available to investors across the real estate investment lifecycle. We believe there is a tremendous opportunity to bring technology and data-driven insights to the entire process."

For years, real estate investors wrestled with antiquated, inefficient, paper-based processes, some of which still exist today, according to LendingHome/Kiavi's news release. The company has emerged as a leader in the bridge-financing space by taking a data and technology-powered approach and dramatically simplifying those outdated processes, LendingHome/Kiavi reports. As Kiavi, the company will continue to utilize AI-powered analytics to empower real estate investors to make smarter decisions while streamlining those transactions with a custom-built tech platform.

Approximately 93% of Kiavi customer projects exit successfully as compared to the 76% industry average, the company reports.

The new name also reflects the significant transformation and growth the company has undergone, say company officials, including:

• In 2019, as demand for single-family homes and rentals grew, the company expanded its offerings to include rental loans to assist investors engaging in strategies to buy, renovate and rent out move-in-ready homes.
• To help customers with one of their most pressing needs—locating investment properties—LendingHome launched the Property Marketplace in 2020.
• Earlier this year, the company launched a pilot program involving portfolio rental loans, including $9.3 million in refinancing for a 56-unit, new Single-Family Rental home community in Florida.

Under the Kiavi brand, the company will adopt a motto that defines the company’s commitment to supplying investors with what they need most: "Speed to close. Power to scale."

Speed is crucial in real estate investing and not just when it comes to acquiring a loan. Timing is paramount all the way down the line: buying a property, managing renovations, selling a home, or making it available for rental, says Bourque. "Power to scale" references Kiavi’s technology platform and reliability of capital, which investors can depend on to grow their business into the future with confidence.

"As Kiavi, we will build on the insights we’ve gained through funding over $7.8 billion in loans across 35,000 projects across the country," Bourque added. "With over 900 million data points to inform our machine learning models, we’re looking forward to continuing to build on this experience to help real estate investors grow and scale. The new brand sets us up for our next chapter."