A hybrid lettings agency in London claims to have achieved what so many of those which came before it have failed to, namely… to establish a sustainable business model.
HomeMade, which has £3 million of investor cash behind it and was founded by businessman Asaf Navot (pictured, above) three years ago, says it has found a model which offers the same level of service as a traditional letting agency but enables it to charge up to 90% less and still make a profit.
Traditional agents reading this will have heard extraordinary claims like this before. So what makes HomeMade different?
Navot, who recently tried to buy Upad out of administration but was beaten by Howsy, says the business is picking up landlords and growing rapidly because it appeals mostly to more upmarket London landlords who want an affordable but efficient lettings agency service and a guarantee of reliable tenants who have been referenced with an inch of their life.
The agency has software that can automatically spot when tenants are illegally sub-letting their homes through Airbnb and other short-lets platforms.
The company runs its operation from a large office near Waterloo, has 133 properties available to rent on Rightmove and claims to be bigger than Purplebricks, although this hard to verify because of Purplebricks’ opaque search functionality on its website.
Also, it uses a sophisticated tech platform to manage landlords, tenant and its staff through the onboarding process, and controversially doesn’t employ staff with industry experience.
Navot also claims, as many hybrid and online start-up entrepreneurs tend do, that modern consumers who are used to organising their lives via smartphones are not impressed by traditional agents based around a high street branch.
“We do accompanied viewings and everything else a traditional agent offers, but without local marketing or branches, which enables us to charge much lower fees to landlords,” he says.
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