BUYING POWER.

• Author: Wanbaugh, Taylor
• Position: STATE WIDE: Charlotte

When Ribbon co-founder and CEO Shaival Shah's parents immigrated to the U.S. from India in the 1960s, they had no idea how much they would struggle to secure a home. The Federal Housing Administration rebuffed many minority families in that era and declined to insure a mortgage for the Shahs. Luckily, his father's co-workers recognized the family's predicament and loaned them cash to buy their first home. The family patriarch took this to heart and started social programs to assist others trying to buy their first homes.

This mentality stuck with Shah, who sees a similar purchasing problem happening today. In October, there was only a 2.5-month inventory of homes in the Charlotte region, down 57% from 2013, according to the Charlotte Regional Realtor Association. "There's no supply," Shah says. He blames the problem, in part, on so many investors acquiring homes that are then leased. People wanting to own property have less choice and pay higher prices. "It's this really vicious cycle. [Ribbon's] mandate and responsibility to the community is to break that cycle."

Shah founded Ribbon with former Twitter software engineer Jian Wei Gan in May and raised $225 million in October from investors including Greylock and Bain Capital Ventures. It's among the state's biggest fundraisers this year.

If a customer finds a home but needs extra time to arrange financing, Ribbon steps in and pays cash for the home. In some cases, the closing transaction occurs after clients move into the new home.

The approach hinges on Ribbon's proprietary software that studies potential buyers' credit records to ensure they are likely to receive mortgage f financing. Buyers don't pay a fee...