This startup wants a stake in your home; poor credit is not a problem

Washington

HEATHER Perlberg Nicole Bennett wanted to pull cash out of her house in Antioch, California, to reduce a growing mound of debt. When Ms Bennett's mortgage lender, Wells Fargo & Co, refused the social worker because her credit score was too low, she turned to a technology startup called Point Digital Finance.

In October, Ms Bennett got the almost US$40,000 that she needed to pay down debt that was costing her more than US$1,900 a month in car, personal loan and credit card payments. In return, Palo Alto, California-based Point - which is backed by investors including Greylock Partners, Andreessen Horowitz and Vikram Pandit, the former chief executive officer of Citigroup - wanted to own a piece of her property.