Would-be homebuyers in greater Orlando now have a new option to consider in the area’s bustling, competitive housing market. 

Divvy Homes, a San Francisco-based startup company, offers clients a rent-to-own path toward homeownership. The company will purchase a home on behalf of an eligible applicant, who then signs onto a three-year lease with Divvy.

A portion of the client’s monthly rent payment goes toward their future down payment on the home.

The client has the option to walk away from the home purchase and cash out those savings, less a relisting fee, at the end of the lease.  

“The goal is just to make homeownership more accessible,” said Adena Hefets, co-founder and CEO of Divvy Homes, which expanded to the Orlando market in December. “It’s harder now than ever to get a mortgage, and Divvy provides an alternative way to finance a home.”

In each of its markets, Divvy works with local real estate agents to identify customers who may not be ideal candidates for a traditional mortgage.

Divvy’s requirements are generally more flexible, Hefets said. 

For example, Divvy only requires a client’s bankruptcy to have been discharged one year prior to submitting an application. The general requirement for a mortgage application is four years prior, Hefets said. 

“We try to be a little more flexible and basically be the stepping stone in between when you actually are renting to when you actually fully own the home,” Hefets said.

Orlando’s strong population growth trends were part of what attracted Divvy to this market. Hefets said the company has also seen success in the neighboring Tampa market, where Divvy receives around 1,500 applications a month.

Tampa resident Kane Ford was one of those applicants. His family moved into their five-bedroom Divvy home in December. 

“We’re first-time homeowners,” Ford said. “We have historically just rented homes, and I feel like every single home that we rent, the experience gets a little bit worse and worse.”

Ford said Divvy’s flexible savings structure appealed to him. A calculator on the site allows users to estimate how much their total monthly payments would be, based on the home value and the percentage of savings they’d like to set aside.

“With five kids, it can be difficult at times to save up for a new home,” Ford said. “The way that Divvy has structured their program, that savings is kind of bundled into your monthly payments. So we’re forced into saving. Which actually works really, really well for us.”

Local property manager Chris Bright said rent-to-own programs aren’t very common locally, and that he hasn’t yet seen a company similar to Divvy in Orlando.

“From what I’ve seen here, [rent-to-own] is not something used often at all,” Bright said.

Bright, who owns Best Orlando Property Management, characterized rent-to-own programs as a “wild, wild west thing.” He warned tenants and property owners alike to read the fine print thoroughly before signing onto any rent-to-own agreement.

“Research, research, research,” Bright said. “Nobody wants to get into a contract that at the end, it makes no sense for either party, or it's not enforceable.”

For his part, Ford said he trusts Divvy and has had a fantastic experience working with the company so far. 

“I sincerely got the feeling that Divvy’s doing this to help people, not just make a quick buck,” Ford said.

Additionally, though he hasn’t made use of the resources himself, Ford said he appreciates the opportunities Divvy provides for clients to receive credit counseling and other assistance. That support is made possible through Divvy’s partnership with Navicore Solutions, a national organization focused on housing counseling, credit counseling and financial education.

Senior Housing Partnerships Manager for Navicore Solutions Richard Verrillo said the partnership helps set Divvy apart from other rent-to-own programs that aren’t as careful about who they accept. 

“When you have the neutral, third-party housing counselor that’s here, we’re working with [the clients], setting up goals, helping them spend the money, save the money and just create a budget that’s going to make this process work for them,” Verrillo said.

Verrillo said Divvy’s pre-approval process helps ensure the client isn’t being “set up to fail,” by moving into a home they definitely can’t afford.

“At no point in our lives are we taught how to buy a home or what do we need to buy a home,” Verrillo said. “So we're holding their hand throughout the process.”

Ford said his family has every intention of purchasing their home at the end of their rental lease.

“Divvy’s very flexible,” Ford said. “If you find a house that you like and a house that fits your needs, run with it.”

Molly Duerig is a Report for America corps member who is covering affordable housing for Spectrum News 13. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.