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We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

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Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#111

Post by benmanns »

We used this pre-COVID to get out of a Brooklyn lease and had a fantastic experience (back when it was Flip Instant). Flip basically charged 1 month rent and guaranteed a fill or they'd pay the rest (6 months) of my lease. Compared to our landlord who wanted 1.75x rent, up to 2.75x rent if not filled immediately, after significant negotiation. Hiring a broker myself would have likely cost 1x rent or more anyways with all the risk on us.

I really like the service provider + financial underwriting combination, where you get basically an SLA for them providing a service, where they take 100% of the risk after the fee.

Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#112

Post by __sy__ »

benmanns wrote: post #99
__sy__ wrote: post #37

We started Seam (YC S20) a year ago to take on the problem of programmatic access to physical spaces (apartments, single-family homes, commercial buildings...etc). Basically one API that can open any door (smart locks, elevators, commercial buildings...etc). We're still in private beta but feel free to reach out if you're struggling with programmatic access. tbh, it's baffling that in 2021, this problem is still so d…

Do you have a recommendation on a quality smart lock for home use? Some ideal mix of security, style, open/compatible software.

hm, it's a good question. I (personally) really like Yale devices, but I hate the touchscreens and would prefer something with physical key buttons. I'm also generally against locks that connect directly to wifi because the batteries run out so quickly. As far as the type of lock, mortise locks are so cool but super expensive and most U.S. homes would need to change their doors to have one. Maybe a level lock or a simple dead-bolt does the trick.

Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#113

Post by hammock »

unanswered wrote: post #29
mertd wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is the evil practice?

Well, it's either requiring rent to be paid throughout the entire lease term or not allowing leases to be randomly transferred to unqualified tenants. Does it really matter at that point which one GP meant?

A lease is a contract where you agree to pay throughout the entire term. That's evil?

Most municipalities at least in the USA also have tenant-friendly laws on that books that mandate either or both of:

a) landlords are disallowed from refusing reasonable sublease (e.g. one that passes the same credit check etc that you did)

b) landlords must release you from the remainder of a lease if you leave and a reasonably suitable replacement tenant is found

Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#114

Post by benmanns »

standardUser wrote: post #108

Apartment hunting is the most inefficient "purchasing" decision I have ever had to make, and the one most likely to end up with a severely sub-optimal outcome. There's some good ideas here that would at least facilitate efficiently viewing more apartments. But there's still so much extremely basic information that potential renters either cannot get about a unit or have to jump through hoops to get. Noise issues, pes…

Agreed. There's not enough disincentive for wasting potential renters time filtering through listings or even touring apartments.

Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#115

Post by paxys »

standardUser wrote: post #108

Apartment hunting is the most inefficient "purchasing" decision I have ever had to make, and the one most likely to end up with a severely sub-optimal outcome. There's some good ideas here that would at least facilitate efficiently viewing more apartments. But there's still so much extremely basic information that potential renters either cannot get about a unit or have to jump through hoops to get. Noise issues, pes…

During my apartment search in San Francisco I found that it was basically impossible to know whether a unit was covered by rent control or not. You'd have to explicitly ask the landlord, and even then they'd be cagey about it.

Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#116

Post by [deleted] »

__sy__ wrote: post #37

We started Seam (YC S20) a year ago to take on the problem of programmatic access to physical spaces (apartments, single-family homes, commercial buildings...etc). Basically one API that can open any door (smart locks, elevators, commercial buildings...etc). We're still in private beta but feel free to reach out if you're struggling with programmatic access. tbh, it's baffling that in 2021, this problem is still so d…

[deleted]

Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#117

Post by __sy__ »

vsareto wrote: post #109
__sy__ wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right now we have a multi-protocol hub with cellular and battery back-up. So the short answer is... nothing?

How much is the technology around this mentioned in the lease agreement? My current complex specified that I had to supply internet and some other things for their smart hub service, although that turned out to not be the case (it's not on my network and works), but it was really weird to have that clause but it not match reality because I was effectively signing a document saying I was responsible for it.

is this with SmartRent? My hunch is that they're trying to lower their cellular data costs by having you connect their units to wifi. I had no heard of this being surfaced as a lease-agreement clause though.

Fwiw, we haven't run into cases yet where landlords want to leave our hub inside a unit once it has been rented out. I think there are pros/cons to it from a security/privacy standpoint. It can also be very convenient and reduce certain OPEX costs (e.g. insurance). But there are horror stories out there of some of the cheap OEM hubs that get deployed [1] and we (Seam) would want to have a solid conversation internally first to see what's the right approach here.

[1] https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/02/smart-home-hub-flaws-unloc...

Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#119

Post by b20000 »

nacho2sweet wrote: post #79

Making being a landlord easier and more disconnected from people and your tenants etc for the investor class. What a great product for society and wealth inequality. Love it!!! Put an algorithm on judging if someone deserves shelter, we have never seen any problems with this in past studies!! Maybe one of the most evil things I seen on here in awhile tbh.

why is this voted down?

Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments

#120

Post by mshenfield »

Even though this begins with a pitch for empowering tenants, the customers are the landlords. The value for landlords comes at the expense of tenants in several ways.

* It prevents tenants who don't meet income or other requirements from even looking at the unit.

* It makes tenants liable for noting damage as soon as they view a unit to avoid it being attributed to them, a daunting task.

* And it removes a face to face interaction that forces some accountability on landlords who don't provide a clean/cared for unit.

Notably absent is a mechanism for tenants to provide feedback to landlords on the listing. The Questions feature is helpful, but not designed for concerns/praise.

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