Presenting 'homeScore'

Buying a home is likely going to be one the biggest financial decisions and commitments that you can make in your lifetime. If you’ve ever bought a house, or are even just thinking about it, you’ll know that there’s a lot of considerations you to keep in mind.
And, with housing affordability being such a big issue in New Zealand, not only is it hard to know where to start, but it’s also hard to know if you’re ever going to reach your goal of owning a home.
If you’re looking to become a first-time home buyer, you’ve undoubtedly heard how hard it is to own your home. Luckily for you, it’s about to become a whole lot easier, thanks to homeScore. With homeScore, you have a powerful saving tool right in your back pocket – helping you to save smarter and move into your first home sooner, and making the process of buying your first home simple and less stressful than ever before. homeScore is with you right through thinking about buying your first home, all the way through to getting your mortgage.
By tracking your income, and by also considering regular expenses, homeScore can help you put a little bit away every week. With every dollar that you save, your ‘homeScore’ increases, and you become just a little bit closer to being mortgage ready. homeScore can calculate how far away you are from moving in and provides you with a tangible timeframe. And the advice doesn’t just end when you’ve saved enough for a deposit. homeScore will automatically contact banks for you, and get the process of getting your mortgage started.
We’ve spent far too long listening to people that tell us that we’ll never be able to afford our first home. With homeScore on your side, buying your first home doesn’t have to be impossible. If anything, it’s about to become easier, and more personalised, meaning you get the best information for you, when you need it. No more being swamped by information that doesn’t apply. Launching this August, homeScore is the saving companion and source of information and advice that will make buying your first home easier than ever before.

Meet the team

The homeScore is made up of members:
Andy Masters – CEO and Jake Crouchley – COO (pictured),
As well as Chris Marffy – CTO, Edward Armstrong – CFO, and Nick Russell – Developer.

How homeScore began

What we now know as homeScore originally began as the idea to find a way to link personal savings with cryptocurrencies. The team pitched this idea to the Kiwibank FinTech Accelerator programme, and were accepted, moving from Christchurch to Wellington to begin developing what would become homeScore.
After some playing around with their idea, the team realised that the cryptocurrency market was still too premature, which was when they came across the issue of housing affordability in New Zealand. House ownership has been falling over the years, and with factors like rising house prices, and increasing demand for property, there is a general attitude that it’s almost impossible for first-time home buyers to get onto the property ladder. This doesn’t have to be the case.
The team were passionate about finding a way to combat lack of housing availability, and quickly got to work thinking of a viable solution. They spent some time thinking about how they wanted to go about this, and considered a few different approaches. Thanks to the Kiwibank FinTech Accelerator, and their passion to solve the issue, the team was able to really consider the scope of housing affordability, and find the most suitable solution – homeScore.
Today, May 16th, the team will be presenting homeScore in the Kiwibank FinTech Accelerator 2018 Demo Day, being held in Wellington.
If you want to learn more about homeScore, head over to homeScore’s website, and sign up to receive notifications and join the 50 people already signed up for early access to homeScore. While you’re there, it’s worth checking out their community page, where homeScore users can help support each other and discuss the issues facing you as you try and get onto the property ladder.
You can also keep up to date with everything that the homeScore team is doing through their Facebook and Twitter accounts.