*By Bridgette Webb*
Real estate start-up EasyKnock recently closed a $3.5 million dollar funding round.
Founder and CEO Jarred Kessler said Monday in an interview on Cheddar knows what he'll do with that cash.
"We are looking to increase our marketing and our head count and our technology offerings," Kessler said.
The company is also planning to partner with mortgage lenders to pay a referral fee for rejected customers.
EasyKnock buys homes and leases them back to the previous owner at the market rate. That way, a customer can refinance or liquidate, and the company has a reliable tenant ー and a source of revenue. The homeowner maintains the option to purchase his or her home back.
The company currently operates in five states: Texas, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, and South Carolina.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/easyknock-lands-3-5-million).
Google CEO Sundar Pichai was back in court Tuesday to testify in an antitrust trial that accuses the company of running an illegal monopoly on its Android apps.
Ed Egilinsky, managing director and head of sales and distribution & alternatives with Direxion, joined Cheddar News to discuss how bond traders are reacting to the latest consumer price index data and how they're positioning portfolios ahead of next week's release of Nvidia's earnings. Egilinsky also discussed some of the other bigger-cap companies, including Alphabet, Amazon and Apple.
