Mexico City based iBuying startup Flat.mx has revealed to Crunchbase that it has secured $25 million in debt to kick start its operations in and around the capital. The money has been put up by Arc Labs, a fund that specialises in providing credit to young companies in emerging markets, and will be used to buy and renovate houses in and around Mexico City and expand Flat.mx’s operations to other cities in the next 12 months.
Speaking to Crunchbase, Co-Founder Victor Noguera said that currently, the Mexican housing sales market is operating the same way it did 40 years ago with a lack of data leading to overpriced properties and lengthy sales processes. As the first iBuyer in the local market Flat aims to speed up transactions and reduce friction by following the same model as those companies in the burgeoning iBuyer industry in the US: make an offer for a house based on proprietary data, make necessary renovations before selling the house at a profit. The company is looking to set up partnerships with mortgage companies to help buyers get access to mortgages quickly.