It’s not easy to buy a home in Phinney Ridge, and a local real estate startup, Tomo.com, aims to change that. Tomo was co-founded by two former Zillow execs in 2021 and its Business Development organization is led by Ballard resident (and RidgeWood Bottle & Tap mug club member) Chris Lowe. Tomo started out by offering faster, more convenient mortgages. But they recently set their sights on building a breakthrough home search engine.
First, you have to understand what you want in a home, then you need to prioritize the home features that matter most to you and figure out whether you can check all the boxes within your budget. Then you have to find a realtor and prepare an offer you feel confident about.
With all the information to sort through on top of the complexity of the homebuying process, It’s no wonder why three out of four home buyers are unsure about their decision. They feel like they spent too much or acted too quickly, and the reality is that a lot of people just don’t get the right place for them.
“We focused 100% on what a new home buyer might need, from when they’re finding a place to making an offer,” says Tomo CEO, Greg Schwartz.
Tomo’s new search engine leverages OpenAI’s ChatGPT to allow you to search for a home in the way they would speak to a friend, and then curates listings that match the parameters. For example, you can highlight things that really matter to you, like a high-end kitchen or views of the water. You can even drop a little emoji if there’s something you’re really hoping for—like a saltwater pool or a roof deck
So, if you’re in the market for a new home, or just want to get a peek at some of the exceptional new places hitting the market this summer in PhinneyWood and beyond, check out Tomo.
