Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa Real Estate Investor Magazine - August 2017 | Page 28

RE TECH
Rewriting Simplifying
Rentals the game
BY MONIQUE DU TOIT
S
elf‒proclaimed provider of the “new way to rent”,
HouseMe has set out to revolutionise how the
rental market is run in South Africa. For anyone
who’s ever had to endure the stress of being either a
tenant or landlord: keep reading.
With fewer and fewer people able to afford to
buy a property, the rental market has become more
competitive than ever before. There’s big money to be
made in this market ‒ if you go about it in the right way.
There aren’t many of us who can commit the necessary
time and effort to running our rental property ‒ never
mind the time it takes to find the ideal tenant.
The concept of HouseMe came about when the
founders, Ben Shaw and Kyle Bradley, set out to
create a viable solution to Cape Town’s fractured
property rental industry. The trafitional methods
of renting, it turns out, just aren’t working for most
tenants and landlords. Instead, this product aims to
improve communication between those who own the
property and those who want to live in it.
The traditional rental market could be equated to
the children’s “broken telephone” game: one person
tells me one thing, I don’t hear all of it and end up
repeating incorrect information to the next person,
until we’re all confused about the original content of
the message. Traditionally, the property owner would
approach a letting agency with instructions. The
letting agent then goes out to advertise the property
and attract potential renters. Finally, the tenant is
approved and the property is occupied.
Ofcourse, nothing is ever this simple and all these
steps are bound to lead to confusion, frustration, and
unnecessary paperwork. With our lives busier and
more rushed than ever, it’s a good thing we now have
these timesaving tools at our disposal.
The tech benefit
As with many other industries ‒ such as hospitality and
transport ‒ the use of apps has drastically changed the
relationship between provider (in this case, landlord)
and user (tenant). HouseMe offers a service whereby
potential tenants and landlords receive ratings based on
previous interactions or contracts. The benefit of this
goes both ways: tenants are assured of a fair landlord,
while landlords are able to avoid unreliable tenants.
Taking things one step further, an online bidding
process is also used to secure a property. This leads to
increased transparency between tenant and landlord
‒ as well as incorporating the aforementioned rating
system to ensure highly‒rated tenants and landlords
get the best possible deal.
Priding itself on being a comprehensive solution,
HouseMe also includes services such as property
marketing, photography, tenant screening, property
management, and legal coverage. Possibly most
enticing is the fact that they offer landlords a
guarantee on full and punctual rent payment. Even
more, they are able to offer landlords a free quarter‒
year rental guarantee.
With the property market constantly shifting, it’s
essential to make use of the best tools at our disposal
to make the most of our investments. Pair this with the
growing demand for the use of technology in increasing
convenience, and you have a winning combination.
SOURCES
HouseMe
26
AUGUST 2017 SA Real Estate Investor
www.reimag.co.za