What Up&Up does

Up&Up (legal entity Homevest Inc.) is a Brooklyn-based, tech-enabled real estate operator founded in 2017 that lets renters accumulate wealth while renting through a product called the Up&Up Wallet. The Wallet replaces a traditional security deposit: renters make an initial contribution equal to 2x monthly rent (3x for credit scores 600–619) and can add voluntary monthly contributions averaging $100. The Wallet grows through three mechanisms — renter contributions, the company's share of monthly rental profits, and increases in the underlying property's value — using proprietary valuation models to allocate appreciation between Up&Up and tenants. At lease end (minimum 2 years), renters can apply the Wallet toward purchasing the home, transfer it at 100% value to another Up&Up rental, or cash out at 90% of value (with Up&Up retaining a 10% fee).

The company generates revenue primarily through market-rate monthly rental income on its owned portfolio, supplemented by property appreciation and the wallet cash-out fee on tenants who exit without purchasing or transferring. Distribution is direct-to-consumer through a self-serve web and mobile platform (app.upandup.co) supported by an inside sales team, with marketing conducted via content, organic social, and earned media in Forbes, The New Yorker, Business Insider, and Inc.com. As of 2021 the company operated in five US metros — Charlotte NC, Huntsville AL, Indianapolis IN, Atlanta GA, and St. Louis MO — with stated plans for national expansion.

Up&Up is venture-backed with $312M raised in cumulative debt and equity, including a $275M round in November 2021 led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Goldman Sachs, Founders Fund, L2 Point, Rialto Capital, Backend Capital, GA Capital, and First American Financial, alongside executives from Opendoor, Robinhood, Airbnb, and Plaid. The company is led by co-founders Michael Wong (CEO), Ryan Brown (Managing Director), Ben Wong (Business Operations), and Basil Siddiqui (CTO), with Needham Hurst serving as COO. The core strategic proposition is converting rent — historically a pure consumption expense — into a wealth-building instrument, targeting creditworthy renters priced out of conventional homeownership in mid-tier US metros.

Name

Up&Up

Legal name

Homevest Inc.

Website

https://upandup.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Up&Up is a tech-enabled real estate operator that lets renters build equity through an Up&Up Wallet funded by contributions plus shared rental profits and property appreciation, currently serving creditworthy renters in five US metros with plans to expand nationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Residential Rental Services

NAICS

Residential Property Managers (531311)

SIC

Operators Of Apartment Buildings (6513), Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential Lease Administration & Tenant Services (BPAJAFAL)

Keywords

• Fractional homeownership
• Rental wealth building
• Tenant equity sharing
• Residential rental services
• Real estate rental platform

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Rental Income: Up&Up collects monthly rent from renters at market rates, generating recurring revenue from property portfolio.
2. Property Appreciation: As property values increase over time, Up&Up benefits from the appreciation of its real estate portfolio.
3. Wallet Cash-out Fee: When renters choose to cash out their Up&Up Wallet instead of purchasing the home or transferring it, Up&Up retains 10% of the Wallet value as a fee.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Up&Up operates a tech-enabled residential rental platform that lets renters build wealth through an Up&Up Wallet, replacing traditional security deposits. Tenants make an initial contribution (typically 2x monthly rent) and optional monthly contributions ($50+ recommended), and share in monthly rental profits and property value appreciation. At lease end, renters can apply the Wallet toward purchasing the home, transfer it to another Up&Up rental at 100% value, or cash out at 90% of value.

Product overview

Up&Up offers a single unified rental product centered on the Up&Up Wallet, which replaces traditional security deposits with a wealth-building mechanism. Renters make an initial contribution (2x monthly rent) to their Wallet and optionally add monthly contributions. The Wallet grows through shared rental profits and home value appreciation. At lease end, renters can apply the Wallet toward purchasing their home, transfer it to another rental in the network, or cash out at 90% value. The platform operates as a curated rental housing provider, currently serving Charlotte NC, Huntsville AL, Indianapolis IN, Atlanta GA, and St. Louis MO.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Up&Up Wallet: A purchase option agreement giving renters the right to share in rental profits and benefit from property value appreciation. Renters contribute to their Wallet instead of a traditional security deposit.

Products and services

• Up&Up Wallet The Up&Up Wallet is the core wealth-building mechanism that replaces a traditional security deposit for renters. Renters make an initial contribution of 2x monthly rent (3x for credit scores 600-619) at move-in and can add optional monthly contributions ($50 minimum recommended). The Wallet grows through three mechanisms: renter contributions, shared monthly rental profits, and home value appreciation, and at lease end can be applied toward purchasing the home, transferred to another Up&Up rental at 100% value, or cashed out at 90% of value.
• Up&Up Rental Homes Up&Up Rental Homes is the company's curated and vetted inventory of single-family and multi-bedroom rental properties offered at market-rate rent in Charlotte NC, Huntsville AL, Indianapolis IN, Atlanta GA, and St. Louis MO. Properties are leased on 2-year terms and include video tours and self-guided tour options, with the Up&Up Wallet wealth-building program attached to each lease.

Quantifiable outcome

• Up&Up renters can make up to $11k over 5 years simply by renting
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature1 record

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Landing: Landing runs a flexible, membership-based network of furnished apartments allowing renters to move between cities. Comparable in providing flexible rental experiences and a curated property network, though without the wealth-building wallet mechanism.
• Bungalow: Bungalow offers move-in-ready, shared living-friendly rental homes with a streamlined digital application. Comparable as a tech-enabled curated single-family rental platform targeting urban professionals.
• Belong: Belong operates long-term single-family rentals with a built-in home purchase option and structured renter protections. Highly comparable to Up&Up in offering a path from renting to owning while delivering a "rental home" experience.
• Divvy Homes: Divvy offers a rent-to-own path for single-family homes where tenants build equity toward purchase. Directly comparable to Up&Up's model of giving renters a path to homeownership through monthly payments, though Divvy leans more on deferred purchase option versus Up&Up's day-one profit/apreciation sharing.

Broad incumbents

• Roofstock: Roofstock is a marketplace for buying and selling single-family rental investment properties, plus a property management arm. Comparable as an institutional enabler of single-family rentals, though operating as a marketplace rather than owner-operator like Up&Up.
• Opendoor: Opendoor is a leading iBuyer that uses technology to buy, sell, and trade residential real estate. Up&Up has direct executive overlap with Opendoor investors; comparable as a tech-enabled residential real estate operator targeting renters and would-be owners.

Emerging players

• Hometap: Hometap provides home equity investments to homeowners in exchange for a share of future home value appreciation. Comparable to Up&Up's appreciation-sharing mechanism, but applied to existing owners rather than renters.
• Knock: Knock offers a home trade-in program and bridge loans that let existing owners buy a new home before selling. Adjacent to Up&Up in addressing renter-to-owner mobility friction through financial engineering.
• Arrived Homes: Arrived enables fractional ownership of single-family rental homes for individual investors. Adjacent to Up&Up in delivering wealth-building exposure to residential real estate, though targeted at investors rather than renters.
• Pacaso: Pacaso offers co-ownership of luxury vacation homes. Comparable in applying a fractional ownership model to residential real estate via technology, though focused on second homes rather than primary rentals.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/upandupco
• Facebookfacebook.com/upandupliving
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/upandupco
• Instagraminstagram.com/upandup/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 records

Investors7 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Up&Up