1. Startup Pairs New Homebuyers with Angel Investors to Secure Homes Fast and Help Them Build Equity
A new, socially conscious startup is offering a radically new way for first-time homebuyers to get a foot in the always-challenging US housing market.
Called ‘fractional ownership’ it allows prospective homebuyers to work in direct tandem with wealthy investors to secure houses they love fast, and pay a rate similar to a mortgage until they have enough to buy the equity stake from the investors, who hold the house in trust until the buyers are ready.
It’s kind of like having an ultra-rich grandparent or godfather. Called Ownify, it was founded by a man who saw a “broken system” in the US housing market and wanted to solve it.
“First-time homebuyers are facing the toughest market in over 50 years. Home prices are increasing faster than incomes. High mortgage rates reduce affordability. The mortgage interest tax deduction isn’t helping anymore. Cash buyers and institutional investors are outbidding first-time buyers. The system is broken,” Ownify explains on their website.
Indeed, even financially secure first-time homebuyers are finding it harder than ever to succeed in the real estate market, statistically speaking.
2. Lost Dog Finds Way Home Across 150 Miles of Neighboring State, Villages Hold Feast in His Honor
Yamagarni village in the Karnataka state of India recently witnessed a strange sight. A jubilant crowd paraded a black dog covered in garlands through the streets until they reached a feast prepared in its honor. For the villagers, the return of the dog, which had been lost, was a miracle.
Fondly called Maharaj, the elderly companion was lost among the crows of pilgrims at a site in the neighboring state of Maharashtra, but managed to navigate by memory back home, traveling nearly 150 miles on its own.
Kumbhar told news media that he visits the sacred site of Pandharpur every year on Hindu holy days in July and August.
“Maharaj has always liked listening to bhajans [a devotional song]. Once, he had accompanied me on another padayatra trip to Jyotiba temple near Mahabaleshwar,” Kumbhar told Indian news outlet PTI.
For nearly 150 miles, the dog followed the master, who walked with a group of his friends, chanting these songs.
At a certain point in his devotionals, Kumbhar said he noticed that the dog was missing. When he went looking for him, a group of people told him that the dog had left with another group.
“I still searched for him everywhere and I could not find him. So, I thought maybe the people were right, that he left with someone else. I returned to my hometown on July 14th,” Kumbhar said.
The very next day though, Kumbhar said, to his surprise “Maharaj was standing there in front of my house, wagging his tail as if nothing had happened. He looked well fed and perfectly fine.”
3. Honest Uber Eats Driver Working to Pay for Wedding Earns Hundreds After Leaving Viral Letter in Chipotle Bag
When a driver for Uber Eats humbly asked for a little generosity in order to give his wife-to-be the wedding of her dreams, the world responded. TikToker Paul Slobodzian has been driving Uber Eats as a side hustle for over a year to save for his wedding.
One evening, Erica Hernandez ordered dinner from Chipotle, and it was Slobodzian who picked it up and brought it over. Concealed inside the bag was a handwritten note.
“Thank you for your order! I’m delivering for <3 on the side to give my fiancée the wedding she deserves. Any additional tip through the app or Venmo is greatly appreciated,” the note read.
Hernandez was touched by his honesty and dedication, so she shared it on her own TikTok account, which while not being very big, was still the least she could do, she thought.
“I don’t have a lot of followers, but hopefully this reaches the right people,” Erica wrote in her TikTok video, which quickly went viral on the app.
With his Venmo ID on the note, his account was hit with a torrent of generous contributions, including a $500 gift from Chipotle itself.
“I, and Aly, my fiancée have been overwhelmed in the best way possible trying to figure out how to respond to people and show how much this means to us,” Paul said in a videoon his TikTok account as messages came raining in asking for updates. “To start I just want to say thank you so so much.”
