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Podcast Episode

Turning Chronic Renters Into Homeowners

The On The Rise Podcast··19 August 2026·18 min

About this episode

On this episode of the On The Rise Podcast, host Jeremy Dyer talks with Efri Argaman, founder and CEO of OwnEZ, a data-driven fintech company working to democratize homeownership. An economist who became an accidental landlord after the '07–'08 crisis, Efri built OwnEZ to convert "chronic renters" — people who can afford a home but are shut out of conventional lending — into homeowners. He explains why the credit system excludes gig workers, the self-employed, and thin-credit borrowers, how OwnEZ's algorithm underwrites on more relevant data, and why he calls his fund the "sexiest non-sexy investment" — a non-correlated, mortgage-backed vehicle yielding around 9%. Plus candid advice for parents and young buyers.