What if I am an institutional landlord?
If owners or agents introduce more than 1 property, we’re happy to discuss how we can further tailor our services and decrease our fees!
My property has a mortgage, is it suitable for Adjoin?
Not a problem.
We can even tailor the agreement to have the sales period coincide with the end of any fixed rate.
What if the tenant runs into arrears?
If we manage the property, we would contact the tenant to find out what’s gone wrong.
We help manage the situation to help get them back on track, but if they aren’t playing ball, we can end the tenancy as you would in any standard tenancy (i.e., an Assured Shorthold Tenancy or AST for short).
Our referencing partner also offers Rent Guarantee, which can keep the money coming in, even if the tenant isn’t paying.
What is the Minimum Sales Price?
It is the minimum price the owner would sell for. It is set by the owner, with some input from us, at the start of the tenancy.
What if the tenant wants to buy during a downturn?
The sales price in the Option Agreement can never move downwards. If they want to buy in a downturn, they’d have to buy for the Minimum Sales Price, or they can make the owner an offer.
What price does the tenant pay if they want to buy?
The tenant pays whichever is higher out of the Minimum Sales Price and the Current Market Value. If the tenant opts for “Share In The Upside” they will get a discount equal to 20% or 40% of the property’s price appreciation above the Minimum Sales Price.
Can I sell the property to someone else if I want?
Yes, owners can sell the property during the tenancy, however, any new owner will still have to honour the Option Agreement until the end of the Sales Period.
When can the tenant buy the property?
Owners set the period in which the tenant can buy at the start of the tenancy, setting which months the Sales Period starts and finishes. The purchase option is only valid in this period.
What happens if the tenant doesn’t buy the property?
The tenancy ends as any normal one would. A check-out is done, and any deductions from the deposit are agreed. We can find another Adjoin tenant, sell the property on the open market for a preferential fee, or the owner can take the property back.
How do Adjoin lower my costs?
Most tenanted properties have a void period before sale, as buyers prefer purchasing with vacant possession. If the tenant buys, there is no void period for the sale, saving you mortgages, council tax and utility charges. There’s also no need for renovations or touch-ups before the sale, as the tenant buys as is.
Most importantly, we charge 0% Commission on sales if the tenant buys!
How do Adjoin Homes achieve a higher income?
As our fee comes from the option premium, we don’t charge owners anything to find a tenant. Our model allows us to manage the property for just 5%, which is less than a third of the London average! We also don’t charge Sales Commission.
I am an owner, how much does Rent-to-Buy cost me?
If we manage the property, owners keep 95% of the market rent. If not, they keep it all. We take the Option Premium as the bulk of our fee.
How does Rent-to-Buy work?
How do you source your properties?
This is our secret sauce! Our magic hands code and identify the ‘ones’.
How is (data) science helping adjoin?
Essentially we are mapping a real estate problem to data and matching problem. We reframe the problem in the arena where we excel: data, maths and finance 🙂 We use our brains in order to collect the data, value assets, derive optimised pricing, identify qualifying properties and match them to tenants. While we are not (yet) implementing quantum algorithms, there is a lot of supervised and unsupervised machine learning and financial modelling happening behind the curtains.
Why do you care about housing and house affordability at all?
It’s personal. We believe that housing conditions and our finances impact our lifestyles. We created adjoin homes to improve both 🙂
Are you backed by investors?
We have several individual ‘angel’ investors on board and they are all amazing and seasoned entrepreneurs.
Are you experienced in property?
Yes, we are.
Both founders have had startups in the property industry before, Elliot has worked in residential property for his whole career.
Why do you care about housing affordability?
Marios and Kostas are frustrated renters that were getting no closer to owning a property in the area they live. They wanted to make a platform that could help them achieve their goals while keeping the interests of the current owners in mind.
Elliot is a property enthusiast that believes everyone should have access to homeownership if that’s their goal. He’s worked with social housing providers for over 10 years and brings his expertise to help others get on the ladder.
What if the tenant wants to buy during downturn?
The sales price in the Option Agreement can never move downwards. If they want to buy in a downturn, they’d have to buy for the Minimum Sales Price (MSP), or they can make you an offer. There is no obligation for you to sell below the MSP.
Why did you start Adjoin Homes?
We want to remove as many barriers to homeownership as possible. If you aspire to own a home, we want to help.
Who are you?
We’re a newcomer to the property industry, trying to get current and aspiring owners onto the same team.
We’re a small team with big aims, feel free to find out more here.
Are you guys for real? This is super-ultra-mega-awesome! How can I meet you?
Our offices are in central London, so stop by to say hello any point you fancy. We work about 25 hours per day, so chances are good.