Would love something like this to kill (or at least severely maim) the broker industry in NYC. 0 value added at the cost of 10-15% of yearly rent.
0 value added for the tenant, but brokers typically serve the landlord.
They serve themselves, really.
We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments
51–60 of 593 posts
Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments
#52Earlier quoted context omitted.
So the landlords just make the rent more expensive to account for having to pay the broker, what changed?
The rent price depends on supply and demand, not on landlords costs.
It isn't quite as simple as that in many cases. Kickbacks from brokers and other dubious jiggery-pokery can make quite a difference.
Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments
#53We 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…
Whether someone returned the keys or not is largely irrelevant. The prior occupants could have made extra copies.
Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments
#54I’ve had this urge lately after dealing with idiotic and incompetent property rental managers to automate their entire industry away. I’m glad I’m not the only one
Had a very similar idea 10 years ago. Just proves that ideas are easy. Execution is where the value is created.
Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments
#55Earlier quoted context omitted.
That is not how economics work... All fees are passed on to the consumer in some way, it is either a line item or hidden
No, they are not. The consumer price depends only on supply and demand. Fees don't influence none of it, only the cost of the selling party and thus his profit.
This is correct in almost all cases (outside of highly commoditized goods) and it's crazy how people don't understand it. It's why the price of McDonalds doesn't increase when minimum wage does. McDonalds is already charging as much as they can for a Big Mac (where stores averages a 40% margin). Increasing minimum wage means that margin goes down a bit, not that prices increase. If they could increase prices they already would have.
Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments
#56Would love something like this to kill (or at least severely maim) the broker industry in NYC. 0 value added at the cost of 10-15% of yearly rent.
The assumption that software can solve this problem is simply wrong. It's the regulation change that needs to happen if you don't want that renter pay the broker "services". For example, a new law in Germany to apply the "who hires pays" principle for brokers in the renting market basically made the renting "broker fee free" for renters. Previously, the landlords would hire a broker that needed to be paid by the rent…
That and the entire rental background check industry. $30-$50 fees for each submission of the same report on what is effectively your own data.
Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
The assumption that software can solve this problem is simply wrong. It's the regulation change that needs to happen if you don't want that renter pay the broker "services". For example, a new law in Germany to apply the "who hires pays" principle for brokers in the renting market basically made the renting "broker fee free" for renters. Previously, the landlords would hire a broker that needed to be paid by the rent…
So the landlords just make the rent more expensive to account for having to pay the broker, what changed?
It addresses the principle-agent problem[0]. Yes, renters that want a broker may simply raise the rent to pay for it, but doing so affects their own bottom line because either (1) it's harder to find a renter at that higher price or (2) they could have found a renter without a broker and pocketed the higher rent themselves.
[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principal%E2%80%93agent_proble...
Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments
#58We 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…
Whether someone returned the keys or not is largely irrelevant. The prior occupants could have made extra copies.
I disagree. Whether the prior occupant or the property management company has extra sets of keys, you generally don't want some random prospective tenant out there to have the keys to a unit that you will eventually want to rent out to another individual. For Airbnb's/STR's, same problem; guests returning to a unit much later to carry out illegal activities is rather well documented at this point. Across the board, it's not worth the logistical pain and/or liability risk. In the case of a prior tenant, you generally know who the person is...etc. There are edge cases for sure (e.g. evictions) but it's generally less risky.
Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments
#59Landlords being able to require proof of no evictions in rent history makes sense (even though it absolutely makes life worse for people who fell on any form of hardship), but why are landlords even allowed to demand proof of no felonies?!
Probably for the same reason your employer does. Not saying it's fair to discriminate against people who have paid their debt to society but I wouldn't be crazy about having a rapist or murderer neighbor.
Re: We replaced rental brokers with software and filled 200 vacant apartments
#60Would love something like this to kill (or at least severely maim) the broker industry in NYC. 0 value added at the cost of 10-15% of yearly rent.
0 value added for the tenant, but brokers typically serve the landlord.
I don't really get where brokers fit in. Most landlords should have the time/employees to take care of such things themselves. An absentee landlord would need a whole property management service to take care of everything, not just one small part.
Brokers should be a niche service at best.