Throughout the turbulent economic landscape that every person in the UK is navigating and the rise in interest rates, cash has become much tighter putting an increased financial pressure on homeowners. To add to that, those with hopes to buy their first or new home – both significant milestones for anyone – administrative tasks and complicated jargon can bring unnecessary stress and take away from the joy of making such a sentimental, life-changing purchase.
One of Bootstrap Europe’s portfolio clients, UK-based fintech, Habito, is on the sole mission to make buying a house simple and to democratise home ownership. “Right now it’s complicated, yet there is no reason as to why it has to continue being that way,” Ying Tan, CEO at Habito, tells us.
By taking care of the valuations, legal work and admin, Habito aims to create a simplified buying or remortgaging process through a combination of a digital platform and real qualified advisors.
Tan continues: “People should be able to say, I want a home, I found a home, and now I am going to pick up my keys. It should be that simple. On a whiteboard it seems like an easy enough task, however it is such an intricate process to go through. At Habito, we reject the idea that the current journey to home ownership is acceptable, even if it has always been the norm.”
With decades of experience as a founder of home-broker businesses himself, and advising fintechs and prop-techs, Tan admits firsthand that Habito are throwing away the old rules and want to replace the current system in place: “It’s a disempowering process. At Habito we provide tools, knowledge and expertise that goes beyond what traditional providers give. We want people to think of Habito first, not the big banks”.
Having turned a profit last Autumn (2023), Habito’s journey with Bootstrap Europe has been extremely fruitful: “The constant faith and belief that Stephanie and Eliott have had in us and Habito’s core mission, has been key to getting us to where we are today. They don’t take the same approach that other financial backers do.
They challenge you, but in the right way. You never leave a meeting feeling stupid which many people are capable of doing. They get the balance right and give you freedom to run the business without restraints, yet, they will always be there to support you and be a constructive and empathetic sounding board”. Tan acknowledges that although he can take credit for driving the ship, and his team can take credit for navigating the course, he believes that Bootstrap Europe rightly deserves to take some credit for Habito’s success today.
Looking forward, and after a “bumper” start to 2024, Habito expects to continue on its positive trajectory throughout the coming months and years: “We can’t control the world we live in, but we are confident we will outperform the market. There’s nothing we can’t do. We have the right partners in Bootstrap Europe, and they have an astounding knack for identifying rare business opportunities that have the strength to not just flourish, but triumph, and change the way millions of us in the UK, and even globally, see and do business”.
