RealFlip founder Jaimee Ligan champions blockchain for transparency in real estate transactions
Even though the Philippines is currently experiencing inflation, the Southeast Asian country is performing well, primarily in its residential real estate market. According to the Bank of Pilipinas (BSP), the National Residential Property Price Index for 2022 rose 7.7%. In addition, due to new trends in the domestic real estate market, house prices in 2023 rose by 12.9%.
Although the market in this sector looks great, owning a home or land in the Southeast Asian country remains complicated and tempted by promises that are too good to be true. The startup led by Jaimee Ligan, a member of Block Dojo Philippines’ first batch, wants to bring more transparency to the real estate process.
At the first Block Dojo Philippine Bootcamp in Bataan, CoinGeek Backstage caught up with Ligan to learn more about her startup RealFlip (formerly SwiftClose) ideas and how she plans to integrate blockchain into the real estate escrow process I learned in detail.
“I plan to start a real estate proptech company that will simplify real estate transactions from offer to closing,” Rigan, who has worked in the industry for about 10 years, told CoinGeek backstage.
“Basically, the platform I envisioned was that from the first contact with the seller, [a buyer] I want to make an offer, [their] broker or [them] You can make offers to sellers and sellers [or the broker are] You are already a party to the transaction. So they can look at it, digitally sign it, or enable it on the blockchain. [whether] They either accept it or they don’t… Basically, this is a way to have a fairer process, a more fair and transparent process, so that people coming from abroad can see everything. [these] There are stages going on,” she explained.
Rigan noted that one of the biggest hurdles in real estate is often security and documentation. RealFlip’s founder further examines the industry’s pain points and sees blockchain as a solution for his program of more transparent and immutable real estate ownership and escrow.
“What is happening now is that brokers and agents are trying to communicate via Viber and someone is trying to get money deposited into the seller’s account. [the buyer] I don’t know what will happen after that. You’ll probably end up using it eventually. [their] There’s a lot of mistrust in these transactions and we’re looking for ways to streamline everything and solve a lot of these problems,” she explained.
“As soon as people start doing real estate transactions, [they’ll] I feel a sense of fear. We want it to be easy, quick, and painless. At the end of the day, the sooner people can get paid, the better it will be for everyone else,” Rigan added.
RealFlip is part of the inaugural group of Block Dojo Philippines, the regional arm of Block Dojo UK. Block Dojo Philippines is a venture builder that seeks out early-stage startups, accelerates their business with extensive training, and provides access to investment funding rounds.
Video: Block Dojo Philippines Bootcamp — Filipino Entrepreneurs Leverage Blockchain
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