Framework Introduces Keep App Designed for Aspiring Homebuyers and Homeowners
BOSTON, Jan. 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Framework® today unveiled Keep Home™, the first independent mobile app dedicated to empowering first-time and first-generation homebuyers through the entire homeownership journey.
Free for iOS and Android, the app includes courses, budgeting tools, checklists and more to help overwhelmed consumers navigate the stressful, complex and life-changing process of buying and maintaining a home. The Keep Home app is backed by a web-based platform (www.keephome.com) that offers the same rich information, tools and support in an equally user-centric format.
"Everyone deserves the opportunity to own a home, including those for whom homeownership has been historically and systematically held out of reach," said Danielle Samalin, CEO of Framework. "Keep is dedicated to supporting all consumers as they seek, buy and maintain a home—building long term financial security for their future."
Keep is unique in that it was created by an independent, mission-driven social enterprise—Framework®. Owned by two leading nonprofits in the affordable housing space, Framework has provided innovative education to more than 600,000 first-time and first-generation homeowners through partnerships with nonprofit organizations and lenders. Unlike other real estate apps, Keep does not drive users toward a specific financial transaction. Instead, it focuses solely on supporting prospective homebuyers and homeowners. Keep also provides homebuying and homeownership features in one place, rather than segregating them among different apps, which is the common approach.
Keep incorporates course content, technology tools, and personalized human-to-human guidance to help users navigate homeownership, from budgeting, finding a real estate agent, making an offer, and preparing for closing through moving, maintenance and repairs, managing contractors, organizing warranties, and much more. Keep also translates terms that often stump consumers, such as escrow, or amortization into language that is easily understood.
Confidence and security
Framework's research confirms the need for trusted information, tools and support in the homeownership marketplace. A recent survey conducted by Framework found:
- Only 41% of prospective first-time homebuyers feel very well prepared for the homebuying process.
- 57% worry they can't afford homeownership.
- 47% think the homebuying process is "rigged" against the buyer.
- 44% fear making costly mistakes.
- 55% said they could use an independent advocate to coach them through the process of homebuying and homeownership.
Relevance is paramount
The app announced today will evolve along with the changing needs of homebuyers and owners, regularly adding new intuitive and predictive features for navigating the homebuying transaction and managing their home investment. Keep's growing product and engineering teams are deeply committed to usability as well as instructional and inclusive design. All product development involves extensive service design research, prototyping, and field trials, and designs are created and refined based on input from homebuyers and homeowners following a co-creative design process. All functions are designed to WCAG 2.0 AA Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
About Framework
Framework is a mission-driven organization dedicated to empowering smart and successful homeownership for first-time homeowners. Formed as a social enterprise by two nonprofits in 2012, Framework approaches homeownership through a social justice lens working to democratize the homeownership process. Since 2012, Framework has been providing premier homebuying resources, including a state-of-the-art online course that meets the needs and expectations of today's homebuyers. Always looking ahead, Framework continues to build and strengthen its platform to provide ongoing education, tools, and advice to support a lifetime of successful homeownership for anyone pursuing the dream. To learn more, visit www.frameworkhomeownership.org and to download the Keep app, visit www.keephome.com.
SOURCE Framework
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