This Proptech startup is giving prospective Australian home buyers a Leg Up to get into the market
Our Leg Up is a PropTech platform that matches prospective home buyers with guarantors to get people into homes faster, as well as enable people to earn a return on real estate equity.
It aims to fast track Aussies looking to purchase by five years, and offer established homeowners a return on often inaccessible equity — without any cash outlay. It is developing a platform to unlock Australia’s hidden source of investment capital.
The Our Leg Up platform aggregates established homeowners who have equity in their property and matches them with a pool of aspiring homeowners who have qualified for a prime mortgage but have a low deposit. With no need for cash, Our Leg Up allows for investment which enhances return on often inaccessible real estate equity.
Founded by Michael Ragavan in Antler’s fifth Australian Pre-Launch cohort, the business has attracted Pre-Seed investment from Antler after proving early traction and demand.
Anthony Millet, Global Partner of Antler says Our Leg Up is solving a real pain point and Ragavan’s proof of early traction is highly compelling.
“Our Leg Up is an ambitious venture seeking to diminish wealth inequality by keeping the Aussie dream of homeownership alive,” says Millet.
“As property prices continue to soar and the cost of living rises, many Australians are locked out of the housing market. Along with that, traditional guarantor home loans are limited to family members, placing well-meaning mums and dads at risk, while carrying no financial reward.
“Our Leg Up creates an attractive alternative to both these options by aggregating commercially aware investors to diversify the risk of guarantees, introduces an incentive mechanism, and maintains capital reserves to manage losses.”
Founder Michael Ragavan says Our Leg Up unlocks Australia’s hidden source of investment capital.
“Australians harbour a majority of their wealth in real estate (53% of household wealth after mortgages) and this is a growing, significant pool of capital worth multiple trillions,” he says.
“We are commencing with a product that helps aspiring homeowners who have qualified for a prime mortgage but have a low deposit. This represents an AU$1.5 billion revenue opportunity for Our Leg Up, but we will eventually offer multiple opportunities where investors can generate a return without parting with any cash.”
“This is a white space opportunity that the team is engineering in conjunction with banks and regulators, where Our Leg Up holds the IP and will be first-movers,” says Millet.
“It’s also a win-win situation for all stakeholders involved, including aspiring homeowners, established homeowners, and the bank.”
“Following the Hayne Royal Commission, guarantor mortgages faced scrutiny as mums and dads often felt compelled, did not realise the full extent of the commercial arrangement, and weren’t making any financial gain from bearing this additional risk. Our Leg Up supports banks by providing an alternative that reduces the financial, operating, and reputational risk associated with these types of mortgages. From APRA’s perspective, the structure we’re seeking to implement would also be viewed as more favourable than mortgages with LMI,” says Ragavan.
“So far, the team is showing impressive traction having generated AU$3 million worth of commitments (to participate on the platform) in just three days of speaking to prospective supply-side investors about the platform and initial product. Now they are currently working through an evaluation process with a bank for their initial product. Watch this space,” says Millet.
Learn more Our Leg Up here.
