Bottom line: Divvy Homes was one of the most accessible rent-to-own programs in the country — but a 2025 acquisition by Brookfield’s Maymont Homes changed the landscape. If you’re considering Divvy, here’s exactly how the math works, what real customers say, and whether it’s the right path for you.
What Is Divvy Homes?
Divvy Homes was founded in 2017 to modernize the rent-to-own model. Instead of dealing with a private landlord, you rent from Divvy — a company that purchases the home on your behalf, then rents it back to you while a portion of each payment builds toward a future down payment.
In January 2025, Divvy announced it would be acquired by Brookfield Asset Management’s single-family rental arm, Maymont Homes, in a deal worth approximately $1 billion. The acquisition closed in February 2025. Divvy’s once-$2 billion valuation made this widely described as a “fire sale.” Maymont Homes now manages Divvy’s ~20,000 properties, and the company states all existing purchase options will be honored.
If you’re entering a new Divvy agreement in 2026, you’re effectively entering a contract with Maymont Homes. That context matters when evaluating long-term trust.
How Divvy Works: Step by Step
- Apply online — Divvy runs a soft credit check (no impact to your score). No hard pull at this stage.
- Get a home budget — If approved, Divvy tells you how much home you can shop for in their markets.
- Pick your home — You shop for a home within that budget. Divvy purchases it.
- Rent and save — You rent the home from Divvy. Roughly 75% of your monthly payment is rent; 25% goes into a “home savings” account that accrues toward your down payment.
- Buy when ready — You can purchase the home at any point during the 3-year lease at a pre-set buyback price. If you don’t buy, Divvy charges a 2% relisting fee and returns your savings minus that fee.
The Real Math: What a Divvy Deal Actually Costs
Let’s run a real example through our calculator so you can see the full picture.
Scenario: You want to rent-to-own a $250,000 home in Atlanta through Divvy.
- Divvy’s buyback price: ~$265,000 (Divvy typically builds in 1.5–2% annual appreciation)
- Monthly payment: ~$2,000 (approximately $1,500 rent + $500 to home savings)
- Duration: 36 months
- Total paid over 3 years: $72,000
- Amount saved toward down payment: ~$18,000 (7.2% of original price)
- Mortgage you’d need at buyback: ~$247,000 (after applying savings)
Now compare that to buying a similar home traditionally with an FHA loan:
- Down payment (3.5%): $8,750 needed upfront
- Monthly mortgage (6.5%, 30-year): ~$1,530/month
- Total paid over 3 years: ~$64,000 (including down payment)
- Equity built after 3 years: ~$14,000
The Divvy path costs roughly $8,000 more over 3 years — that’s the price of flexibility if you can’t yet qualify for a traditional mortgage. For many buyers, that premium is worth it. But if you can qualify today, the FHA route is almost always cheaper.
One critical risk: Divvy’s buyback price is non-negotiable and set at the start. If the home appraises below the buyback price when you go to get your mortgage, you must make up the difference out of pocket — or walk away and lose your savings minus the 2% relisting fee.
Where Divvy Operates
As of 2026, Divvy (now managed by Maymont Homes) is available in:
- Atlanta, GA
- Cincinnati, OH
- Cleveland, OH
- Dallas, TX
- Denver, CO
- Fort Lauderdale, FL
- Houston, TX
- Jacksonville, FL
- Memphis, TN
- Miami, FL
- Minneapolis, MN
- Orlando, FL
- Phoenix, AZ
- San Antonio, TX
- St. Louis, MO
- Tampa, FL
If your city isn’t on this list, Divvy is not an option for you — look at Landis, Home Partners of America, or local rent-to-own listings instead.
What Real Customers Say: Trustpilot and Complaints
Divvy’s Trustpilot reviews are mixed. The positive reviews cite the program helping buyers who were locked out of traditional mortgages finally get into a home. The complaints — and there are many — cluster around three issues:
1. Maintenance and Repairs
The most common complaint: Divvy (and now Maymont) has little incentive to make quality repairs quickly. Since you haven’t closed yet, you have limited leverage. Multiple customers report waiting weeks for urgent maintenance with little response. When you’re living in a home as a renter — not yet an owner — the company’s repair priorities may not align with yours.
2. Getting Your Savings Back
If you exit the program, recovering your home savings is reportedly difficult. Customers describe long delays, poor communication, and confusion about who is handling their case — a problem that may have worsened after the Brookfield acquisition as accounts were transferred to Maymont Homes.
3. Buyback Price Disputes
When home values dropped in some markets post-2022, some buyers found themselves locked into a buyback price above current market value with no ability to renegotiate. Divvy’s contracts are firm on this point.
Divvy Pros and Cons
Pros
- Soft credit check only — won’t hurt your score to apply
- Flexible income verification (just 3 months of bank statements)
- Can buy at any point during the 3-year lease, not just at the end
- Available in 16 markets across the country
- Structured savings — 25% of rent auto-saves toward your down payment
Cons
- Buyback price is locked in and non-negotiable — appraisal risk falls on you
- If you exit: 2% relisting fee (on a $250K home, that’s $5,000)
- Maintenance complaints are widespread and persistent
- Now managed by Maymont Homes after acquisition — long-term stability is unproven
- Costs significantly more than a traditional mortgage if you qualify
Who Should (and Shouldn’t) Use Divvy
Divvy makes sense if:
- Your credit score is between 550–620 and improving
- You’re self-employed or have non-traditional income that’s hard to document for a mortgage
- You want to lock in a home in a competitive market while you qualify for a mortgage
- You’re in one of their 16 available markets
Divvy doesn’t make sense if:
- You could qualify for an FHA loan today (3.5% down, 580+ credit score) — go that route instead
- You can’t afford the 2% exit fee risk if your life changes
- You’re in a market where home values are declining — the locked-in buyback price is a serious risk
- You need responsive maintenance (the complaints suggest this is a real issue)
The Divvy Verdict: 3 out of 5
Divvy built a genuinely useful product for buyers who fall in the gap between “can qualify for a mortgage now” and “needs a private rent-to-own landlord.” The structured savings mechanism and soft credit check lower the barrier meaningfully.
But the 2025 Brookfield acquisition clouds the picture. Divvy’s culture, responsiveness, and customer service track record now belong to a large institutional landlord managing 20,000 properties. The complaints about communication and maintenance predate the acquisition — and they may worsen under new ownership.
If you’re considering Divvy, run your specific numbers carefully before committing. The math only works in your favor if you complete the purchase — the exit penalty is steep.
Before You Decide: Run Your Numbers
Every rent-to-own deal is different. The only way to know if Divvy — or any program — makes financial sense for your situation is to model the real numbers: your monthly payment, how much actually goes to savings, the full cost over the lease term, and how it compares to your alternatives.
Use our Rent-to-Own Calculator to plug in your specific deal and see the true cost before you sign anything.