I saw lot of ads about Zown and their down-payment assistance. I read about it a bit, even before we decided to purchase property. When we decided to buy, I did some research, about similar services with cashback and was still a bit skeptical using them, considering that even working with a realtor we still would get a share from their commission in most cases. I left applications of interest to a few and had some calls. Call with Zown was scheduled by Rishard, their CEO. He explained very well how it will go, how they work, their model and what do we get with them. First, the cashback goes upfront, so this is why it can be used as part of down-payment. Of course 1% will not be enough, its great to cover other expenses like land transfer tax, or legal fees, government fees, fees for a fee 😁. I also asked a blunt question: why I should go with Zown and not with other similar service or agency/agent? And Rishard just showed the number of deals made by Zown compared to others. On the MLS. Not on some marketing materials. And overall, I liked their approach.
So we started with Zown. The process was quick and smooth. We had few calls with account manager, described her our budget, our needs and wishes. We were presented some options to look at and also we searched ourselves (as we wanted to look at all options that fit our filters and were very active finding them, so at this point we were more active than them 😄) and were sending and discussing everything in chat or on quick calls. We had showings of every unit we wanted, booked by Zown same day within couple hours (they have contracted agents in different communities who can show almost instantly). At some days we viewed 6 units! Very tiresome, but we wanted to find something that fits well, and we found. We also chose to get their partnered mortgage company. And as they are partnered, they talk to each other. Same with legal. Some communications were done directly, without us working as proxy. Quite smooth and very appreciated as the first mortgage experience in Canada. Now, we are waiting for the deal closure date, excited and glad that all is happening and that fast. Let's see how it goes.till very end, but for now, I'm quite satisfied customer.
