At a time when homebuyers are reeling from mortgage rates that have nearly tripled since the pandemic lows, one startup is offering a clever workaround to high borrowing costs—by reviving a little-known tool: assumable mortgages. Backed by Khosla Ventures and real estate heavyweights, Roam is positioning itself as a transformative force in the U.S. housing market.
Founded in September 2023 by former Opendoor product lead Raunaq Singh, Roam connects homebuyers with properties that come with assumable mortgages—loans that let a buyer take over the seller’s original, lower interest rate. With rates hovering around 6.84% as of April 2025 (and having peaked near 8% in 2023), the appeal is clear. Buyers using Roam can access older loans from the pandemic era, when rates were as low as 2.25%.
Roam has already facilitated $200 million in home sales and drawn over 200,000 registered users within a year. The company charges a 1% fee on each transaction, generating approximately $2 million in revenue in 2024. Singh believes Roam’s model could cut monthly mortgage payments by up to 50% compared to current loan options—potentially saving buyers hundreds of thousands of dollars over time.
How Roam Makes Homeownership Affordable Again
The company offers a financing product that allows buyers to bring just 5% down, giving them access to low blended interest rates. For instance, in a $420,000 home sale with a 2.25% existing loan and $135,000 in seller equity, a buyer could put down $84,000 and finance the rest through Roam’s gap funding. This setup can result in a 3.45% blended rate—dramatically cheaper than today’s market rates.
“As long as you qualify for an FHA or VA loan, you’ll likely qualify to assume a mortgage through Roam,” Singh said. “If you can’t buy with Roam, chances are you can’t buy at all in today’s market.”
Backed by Proptech Veterans and Top VCs
Roam’s unique approach and early traction quickly caught the attention of investors. The startup just closed an $11.5 million Series A round led by Khosla Ventures’ Keith Rabois, who co-founded Opendoor and now joins Roam’s board. He’s not the only high-profile backer—Opendoor co-founder Eric Wu, who is also joining the board, participated as an angel investor.
“There’s an affordable housing crisis in America, and Roam is the best-positioned company to solve it,” said Rabois. “While most platforms save consumers a few hundred dollars a year, Roam can save families over $200,000 across the life of a loan.”
The latest funding round also drew continued support from Founders Fund. Notably, the round closed within a single week—an unusually fast turnaround in venture funding. Singh said, “We had a pitch on Monday, a term sheet by Tuesday, and we signed on Friday.”
To date, Roam has raised approximately $16 million across three rounds, including a pre-seed in 2023 and a $3 million seed round in May 2024. Notable investors include DoorDash CEO Tony Xu, Figma founder Dylan Field, and Upstart co-founder Paul Gu.
Solving a Critical Bottleneck in Housing Sales
Traditionally, finding assumable mortgages has been a frustrating experience. Most sellers don’t realize their loan is assumable, and real estate platforms rarely highlight these listings. Roam flips the script—its platform aggregates thousands of homes with assumable loans and makes them discoverable by city.
In Houston alone, Roam lists over 2,000 properties with assumable mortgages, according to Singh. The startup also streamlines the approval process. Historically, getting a mortgage assumption approved could take up to 45 days—or fall through entirely, forcing sellers to relist. Roam cuts that risk by offering pre-approvals and guarantees faster closings.
“Without Roam, it takes 180 days to close an assumable loan,” Singh said. “We’ve brought that down to just 45 days.” And if they miss the deadline? Roam covers the seller’s mortgage until the deal closes.
Scaling Fast—But Strategically
Currently active in 17 states—including hot markets like California, Florida, and Texas—Roam plans to go nationwide by the end of 2025. Singh expects the company to facilitate over $1 billion in home sales next year alone.
Roam runs lean, with a 12-person team, and Singh says the company is focused on scaling revenue faster than headcount. “We’re growing revenue 5x while increasing staff just 2.5x,” he explained. “Our product lets us grow without ballooning operational costs.”
A Huge, Untapped Market
Roam is betting big on a massive opportunity. According to data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, around $1.4 trillion in FHA and VA mortgages originated during 2020–2021 are assumable. Singh believes nearly one in three homes sold or refinanced in that period qualify.
With mortgage rates unlikely to return to pandemic-era lows anytime soon, Roam’s mission—to give buyers a way back into affordable homeownership—is striking a real chord. As Keith Rabois puts it, “Roam isn’t just a proptech startup. It’s a movement to fix the future of American housing.”
