Owen is Ownify's AI-powered homebuying coach. It's Claude for Real Estate, powered by Anthropic's latest frontier model but connected to Ownify's proprietary databases. Owen evaluates 12+ financing paths against your situation, including every traditional mortgage, every Down Payment Assistance program, alternative financing (rent-to-own, ground lease, fractional, loan assumption, seller financing, sub-to), and pre-buyer readiness plans. Owen then emails you a ranked Homeownership Plan. Think of Owen as the Dos Equis guy of real estate.

Frank & Ben built Owen for our own use at Ownify, an integrated real estate brokerage, investment fund, and mortgage broker, all powered by AI. The AI technology we're building is driven by the day-to-day experience we have buying and financing homes for our customers at Ownify as well as the experience we've had building analytic tools for mortgage lenders. Frank was previously CEO of Nomis Solutions, a mortgage pricing software company. His clients included 30+ of the top 100 lenders globally. Prior to Nomis, he was VP Product at FICO (the credit score company), and VP Product at eCoverage. He began his career as a consultant at Oliver Wyman and holds a B.S. in Finance from the Wharton School. Ben was previously COO of Divvy Homes and led the Mortgage Business for SoFi. Prior to SoFi, he was a Portfolio Manager at PIMCO, and worked in Treasury and Structured Products at State Street. He holds a B.A. in German Studies from Dartmouth College.

Why are you charging for human review?

Because honest advice has a real cost, and we wanted to be honest about that too. A typical mortgage loan officer earns $3,000 to $8,000 on a single home loan, paid by the lender at closing. That commission funds every "free" pre-approval conversation you've ever had. The advice feels free - but you pay for it through the loan terms, and the person giving it has a financial stake in steering you toward a specific outcome. We made a different choice. We charge a flat fee for a personalized Homeownership Plan - your real budget, your loan options, your down payment assistance matches, today's actual rates, and your monthly cost on every realistic path forward. We're not paid by a lender. We don't earn more if you take a bigger loan, or any loan. You pay a small fee whether you buy tomorrow or wait three years. If the right answer is "wait" or "buy less" or "use a different lender," we can actually say it. We're leveraging the efficiency of AI to do the work that used to take hours and would have cost hundreds, enabling you to save thousands.

Can't I get this for free from my lender?

You can get advice that feels "free". But it's really just a sales pitch for that lender's products. The way loan officer compensation is regulated makes certain conversations almost impossible to have honestly. A typical loan officer earns $3,000 to $8,000 only if you close a loan with their lender. So every "fix your credit for six months first," every "$300K would suit you better than $400K," every "the lender across the street has a better rate" is a paycheck they walk away from. The CFPB wrote loan-originator-compensation rules specifically because regulators recognized that conflict is structural, not a question of individual ethics. A loan officer could charge you a flat fee to give you truly independent advice but the law then prohibits them from earning the commission. So a loan officer would have to provide hundreds of personalized homeownership plans to make as much as selling one loan - the math doesn't work. Owen exists to give you the advice your lender's incentives won't let them give you. We're paid the same flat fee whether you take a loan tomorrow, wait six months to fix your credit, buy a smaller home, or decide not to buy at all.

Can't I get this for free from ChatGPT or Claude?

For general education, yes, and we'd encourage you to use them. ChatGPT and Claude are great at explaining what FHA is, how PMI works, what DTI means, or how down payment assistance generally functions. What they can't do is analyze your specific situation. They can't pull live mortgage rates from real lenders for your credit profile today. Because in order to do that, Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google would have to get a mortgage broker license. And they'd have to get Claude, ChatGPT, or Gemini licensed as Mortgage Loan Officers - and that's not the business they're in. They can't query Ownify's down payment assistance database for the specific programs you qualify for in your county. They can't run your scenario across all 12+ financing paths with real numbers. And they're not NMLS-licensed, which means anything they tell you about your specific mortgage decision is your risk to verify against an actual licensed expert. Owen is the combination: AI doing the heavy lifting against your real situation, NMLS-licensed accountability on the answers, and a written Homeownership Plan you can hand to any agent or lender. ChatGPT teaches you the textbook. Owen tells you the answer.

What financing paths does Owen actually evaluate?

Traditional mortgages: Conventional (3/5/10/20% down), FHA, VA, USDA, Jumbo where applicable. Down payment assistance: federal, state, county, municipal, private, and employer-sponsored Down Payment Assistance in forgivable, deferred, soft-second, and matched-savings structures, stacked with the optimal loan. Alternative financing: rent-to-own, ground lease, fractional (incl. Ownify), loan assumption, seller financing, sub-to. Pre-buyer readiness: credit, savings, DTI, income runway, time-boxed milestones.

Why can't I see my plan right away?

Owen is an AI agent. He's using the latest tech to connect to data across the real estate industry and is trained on thousands of loan applications and customer profiles. He's also passed the real estate agent and mortgage loan officer tests in the states we're live. However, he is not a licensed Realtor or Mortgage Loan Officer (since he doesn't have fingerprints). Until we can get him licensed, his analysis is reviewed by a licensed Ownify concierge who checks for accuracy and compliance. That process takes 5-15 mins. Upon review, your concierge emails your Personalized Homeownership Plan.

What if I'm not ready to buy yet?

Owen builds a pre-buyer readiness plan with a credit repair pathway, a savings and DTI roadmap, an income and employment runway, and time-boxed milestones. Owen will tell you honestly when traditional financing is the wrong fight right now, and what a 6, 12, or 24-month path to readiness looks like.

Build your personal homeownership plan

Owen is the first AI agent that evaluates every financing path you have and shows you the best ones. Five questions: where you want to buy, your income, your income source, your debt, and your credit. In return: the loan programs you likely qualify for, your ballpark monthly payment, and an honest affordability check. No account needed to see your first result.

Quick check

Build my Budget

Answer 5 quick questions and we'll estimate the home price you can comfortably afford.

Target city or ZIP *

My Annual Household Income *

Pre-tax income for yourself and any co-applicants

What income is included in that household total? *

Choose "More than one source or earner" whenever more than one person contributes, or when the total combines income types.

My Monthly Debt

Include monthly payments for car loans/leases, credit cards, student loans. Do not include current rent.

My Credit Score *

Your estimated home budget

Fill in the questions to see your estimated home budget.

Build your Homeownership Plan

What do you want to buy?

Tell Owen about the home you're targeting - he'll build you a personalized plan.

Property type *

When are you looking to buy? *

I have a specific property address

Owen will tailor the plan to that exact home.

Build your Homeownership Plan

A few more details to unlock your plan

Owen uses these to rank the mortgage and assistance programs you actually qualify for.

Down payment saved *

Cash currently available for a down payment and closing costs.

Military service status *

Unlocks VA loan eligibility and military-specific assistance.

Is this your first home purchase? *

YesNo

Household size *

Used to check income-limit eligibility for loan programs like USDA and for down-payment assistance.

Optional information

Profession

First name *

Last name *

Email address *

So Owen can send you this read and your full plan. We won't share it or spam you.

Are you working with a real estate agent? *

YesNo

Owen's preliminary read

Get Owen's instant read on the loan programs you likely qualify for, your ballpark monthly payment, and an affordability check.

Please complete the "Build my Budget" section above — we need your annual household income, credit score, what income is included in that household total, and a valid US city or ZIP, before Owen can build your read.

Customer feedback on Owen

"Thanks again for putting this together — very helpful overview."

— Cem

"Thank you for sharing this report — it is extremely helpful and organized."

— Melissa

"Wow, this is great — really appreciate you doing all this work."

— Isaac

"This makes the tradeoffs between products a lot clearer. Thanks for sending this & I will schedule a call."

— Anna

"I shared this with my wife and we both appreciate you putting this together for us."

— Peter

"I didn't think a zero-down option existed but seeing all the down payment programs is really great. Thanks!"

— Carolynn

Buying a home is hard enough. It shouldn't depend on which lender you happened to call. Owen is the first AI agent that evaluates every financing path you have and shows you the best ones - so you buy your home with the best financing, not a mortgage company's commission favorite. Built by real estate & mortgage experts who care.

Frequently asked questions

New here? What is Owen? explains how an AI home buying agent works.

Realtors & Loan Officers: make Owen available to your clients →