joogi FAQs
A mortgage-free home can’t be real. What’s the catch?
We promise, there is no catch, no hidden cost, no trickery. Homes on joogi are 100% community-funded using a traditional crowdfunding model that is safe and secure. Those homes are then electronically auctioned off with a process that is fair and transparent. To help get as many people into debt-free homes as possible, we allow one home per person.
How do you secure the home for people to bid on and eventually win at auction? Do you have relationships directly with sellers or real estate agents?
At present, we are working directly with a local developer and real estate broker to secure our first property and ensure that the transaction process runs smoothly. Our goal is to replicate this type of collaboration and create future opportunities at scale for developers and brokers/agents to integrate within our business model.
How can this model scale?
Our platform’s scalability is proven by early traction, and we’re building an engaged community of people invested in helping each other achieve homeownership with our first property in Bozeman, Montana. Once we successfully crowdfund and auction off this first property, we will expand our reach and continue to add more properties at scale, solidifying relationships with developers around the country to secure homes in cities with the most need.
Are there any parameters/requirements for people to have to be accepted into the community and be eligible to play?
Joogi is open to anyone who is over 18 years of age and a U.S. citizen. It is free to sign up and the minimum cost of getting into a crowdfund and subsequent auction is $10. Since joogi rewards can be earned through how much money you contribute to a crowdfund, we have set the maximum funding limit at $1,000 per property to make it more equitable. Ultimately, it’s about how much money AND effort you put into the platform that will determine the outcome.
What if I don’t win the auction?
If you don’t win the auction, you are encouraged to try again and bid on another property! The good news is if you don’t win the auction, you get to keep your joogis for a future auction; your joogis are only “cashed” out of your account once you win an auction.
Do I need to keep the home for a set amount of time?
No, as the new owner of a debt-free home you can do what makes the best financial sense for you.
What is my incentive to stay on joogi once I win a home?
You will want to continue to collect and earn joogis even if you get a home. Not only because it feels good to help others achieve their homeownership dreams by participating in a crowdfund, but there will also be other verticals that we will expand into where debt is incurred, such as cars, vacations, one-of-a-kind experiences, and more.
What does joogi mean?
With giving at the core of the idea, our Founder searched high and low in various languages for a word that would playfully bring that to life. He eventually landed on “joogi” as a fun iteration on the Korean noun verb for the act of giving, “jugi.”
Where did the idea come from?
The lightbulb moment for joogi first occurred in early 2009, during the height of the housing bust. Our Founder saw too many people lose their homes, not because they failed, but because the system was stacked against them. That moment sparked a question: What if homeownership didn’t require debt at all? Joogi is the answer to that question come to life: A new kind of social crowdfunding platform that is democratizing real estate so everyday people can own homes without debt, interest or other financial barriers.
If you have any questions, you can contact us via email at support@joogi.com.