DEMO: Nabr’s Payment Portal

In this post, we’ll explore the payment portal of our Design Studio (Beta), where you can reserve your home with a fully refundable fee.

In the typical home buying process, a prospective buyer will have to sign a number of legal documents and interact with third-party financial institutions to reserve a home. We have tried to make reserving as simple as possible, by designing a digital, self-service process (but you can always consult with a Nabr team member if you need any help along the way).

As a reminder, once you’ve found a home you like in the Design Studio (demo here), you can click “Reserve” to be taken to a summary page. This kicks-off a 30 minute timer, during which we’ll keep your home off the market so others can’t reserve it while you check out, kind of like when you buy a plane ticket. Here’s what you’ll see next:

Checking out: Document review and payment (~30 minutes)

Before you proceed with payment, we’ll ask you to agree to terms in three documents. We’ve done our best to rid them of legalese and confusing terms:

• The Reservation Terms — This document outlines the main terms of your reservation. The main thing to keep in mind is that you can cancel your reservation at any time and get a full refund. The agreement explains both the process for making a specific home reservation and joining the Priority Waitlist.
• Agency Disclosure — California law governs the interactions of real estate agents with prospective buyers, and it requires that you read and acknowledge this document to fully understand Nabr’s role in the transaction. The disclosure states that while Nabr’s sales team members will provide you with all of the information you need, they are acting on behalf of Nabr, and are NOT acting on your behalf as a buyer’s agent.
• The Receipt for Preliminary Public Report (aka “the Pink”) — The pink report is issued by the California Department of Real Estate for new developments in the early stages of a project. It contains important disclosures and basic information about the development. This document is required by law to be printed on pink paper, so don’t be surprised when you see a bright pink document in your browser! California requires buyers signing the reservation agreement to also acknowledge they have received it. As the development progresses, the California Department of Real Estate will issue a more detailed Conditional Public Report (“the Yellow”), which you will have an opportunity to review before entering into a final “Purchase and Sales Agreement” for your residence.

Once you’ve e-signed the documents, you can place a refundable reservation fee with your credit card. As easy as that. At this time, the fee is $1,000 (heads up: this is subject to change). This locks in your home price and takes your home off market for 10 days while you complete the next step (see below).

You’ll also be asked to check a box indicating whether you’d like to be considered for Nabr’s Leap (lease-to-purchase) pilot program. If you think you might be interested (more detail below), you should check yes, as the spots are limited and first-come, first-serve.

On the payment page, you can also preview the entire purchase timeline, i.e. what’s expected from now through final closing and move-in. Once you have paid the refundable fee, a Nabr team member will be in touch to make sure all your questions are answered!

Confirming your reservation (Prequalification)

After you’ve paid your refundable reservation fee, there’s one last step to confirm your reservation: upload financial documentation that provides an estimate of your home buying budget within 10 days.

The type of financial documentation you submit will depend on how you plan to pay for your home. With Nabr there are three ways to pay: mortgage (with down payment), cash, or Leap (our lease-to-purchase program). If you’re a first-time homebuyer, or just need a refresher on what those documents are/entail, keep reading!

• Mortgage prequalification — To get a prequalification for a mortgage, or a “prequal,” you tell a lender some basic financial information, which they then use to estimate your buying power, based on your income, assets, and a soft credit check. Getting a prequal from one lender does NOT obligate you to eventually work with that lender on your mortgage. A prequal is simply an estimate intended to give both you and the seller a rough idea of your home budget. You can start the prequalification process by working with one of Nabr’s recommended lending partners, all of whom we have vetted and featured in the Payment Portal. However, you can also work with another lender if you have an alternative preference. If you elect to work with your own lender, make sure to ask them for a prequalification (and NOT a pre-approval), so that you don’t end up getting a hard credit check on your credit report!
• Cash — If you choose to buy in cash, we will ask you to submit proof of funds in the form of a bank or brokerage account statement. We only consider G-7 publicly traded stocks, investment-grade bonds, and cash as eligible assets at this time. Unfortunately, we don’t accept crypto as proof of assets, but we can suggest lenders that might lend against crypto so you can provide a lender letter instead.
• Leap — Our lease-to-purchase program Leap allows Nabr customers to lease and live in their apartment while they save for a mortgage down payment. If you are interested in Leap and a slot is available, we will ask you to meet with a member of our team for an introduction to the program. Leap terms are customizable and are unlike anything else on the market, and we want to make sure you have an opportunity to discuss all the options in detail. If you are interested in Leap, we strongly recommend completing a mortgage prequalification so that you can compare ownership paths in detail and make the best decision, given your financial situation. Note that Leap is currently a pilot program, and slots are limited in our first building. Learn more about Leap here.

Once you’ve submitted your financial documents through a secure upload in the Payment Portal, the Nabr team will review and confirm your reservation within 3 days. If something doesn’t look right, we will reach out for more information. If you are unable to qualify for the home you have selected through a conventional mortgage, cash payment, or Leap, we will offer you the opportunity to transfer your reservation to another home, subject to availability. If no homes are available, you can request a refund or choose to apply your $1,000 reservation fee toward the Priority Waitlist.

More information to come in our next blog post: “I’ve reserved my Nabr home! Now what?”