HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) — Just a few weeks before Christmas 2024, EasyKnock suddenly shut its doors, plagued by consumer complaints and under the microscope of regulators in several states.
Founded in 2016, the New York-based company would purchase homes and then allow owners to remain as tenants — essentially cashing out the property’s value to escape financial hardship.
But the so-called “sell and stay” model is a scam that violates consumer protection and predatory lending laws, according to industry experts and a lawsuit filed Thursday in Horry County Circuit Court.
EasyKnock-lawsuitDownload
“Easyknock has engaged and continues to engage in a pattern and practice of extending credit to homeowners based solely on the amount of equity in their homes, e.g., their collateral, without regard to their repayment ability,” Surfside Beach attorney Sidney Connor IV wrote in the 40-page complaint accusing EasyKnock of violating the Truth in Lending Act, unfair trade practices and fraud…