Rentprop4u Helping People Find A Dream Home With Just Few Clicks From The Comfort Of Their Home
Change is inevitable. We all know, to move from one place to another, we need to move out of the home we are occupying at present. And the problem begins there. In today’s world, we are changing places at a rapid pace to survive, prosper and grow. So how do we carry on with these changes in a place we just moved in, with no house, friends or acquaintances. We cannot look in the other direction until we have a roof over our head. It’s only after we have the house sorted that we can actually flip open our laptops to proceed further. Well, this problem is solved here!
Rentprop4u is your friend in need. Often it is difficult for a student to find a decent place just because he is young, single and not considered responsible enough. Similarly, migrant families too find it difficult to find home that suits all their requirements in an alien place. Rentprop4u solves all these rent-related problems with ease. Its focus is to ease the process of renting a home. Started in 2016, Rentprop4u is a start-up based out of Bengaluru. The problems of tenants and owners are personally looked after by the Rentprop4u staff; it’s the bad experiences of some people that prompted the founders of Rentprop4u to start this venture, which promises its customers and clients an easy and happy stay and property claim respectively.
1. What is the name of your venture? Any specific reason for this name?
The name of our venture is Rentprop4u. We identified the name RentProp4u so our customers are able to associate the name easily with their needs – when they look for a property or for it to be rented out. The name itself conveys the goal of our business.
2.Who is your target audience/clients?
Whoever looks for a rental property for stay is our customer, whereas those who are looking to rent out a property is our client. To put it in simple words, tenants are our customers and property owners our clients. So our target group includes students/bachelors, corporate employees, working professionals, migrants, builders, house owners and NRIs holding properties in India.
3.Where is your venture based (city, state, country) & what are your geographical target areas?
We are a Bengaluru-based (Karnataka, India) start-up. Our near-term target markets include Chennai and Hyderabad. We plan to replicate our services across India in the long term.
4.What problems does your venture resolve? What are your products or services?
In the past, finding a rental home was considered a pain. Between haggling with brokers and house owners, people often felt frustrated and hassled. Rentprop4u’s core aim is to bridge the gap wherein finding a home is no longer a chore but an easy ride. The online rental market has seen a significant growth over the years. Yet, the industry still requires a holistic and 360-degree approach to take care of the tenants’ and the owners’ requirements simultaneously without a hassle. Rentprop4u is bridging this gap by providing a comprehensive solution by automating the process of rental management, thereby ensuring peace of mind for both owner and tenant. Rentprop4u ensures a broker-free experience and eases the process of finding an ideal tenant/owner. It also significantly reduces the time spent by an owner in managing the property.
Rentprop4u solves five basic problems in the realty industry which have been the biggest pain points for owners and tenants. Rentprop4u simplifies the entire process of residential property management.
1. Rentprop4u helps to do away with property visits for owners and tenants. Tenants can view the property online without making a visit and make the bookings too. For owners, we do a quarterly inspection and send images so they do not have to visit the properties.
2. Rentprop4u takes on the onus of tenant screening. We do background checks and share police verification reports with the owners before allowing the tenants to occupy the property.
3. Rentprop4u drafts the rental agreement between the owner and tenant.
4. Be it electrical, plumbing or carpentry, Rentprop4u takes care of maintenance and repair.
5. Rentprop4u collects the monthly rent from the tenant and hands it over to the owner.
5.Share the idea or story behind the venture. How did it come to an existence? What motivated you to start your own venture?
During the time that I was pursuing my MBA, I came across a common but a major stress among some friends — getting an accommodation in and around the city in a limited time. It came to my knowledge that landlords too faced difficulties to rent out their properties around the city due to several tenant issues.
One of my friends from Bihar came to Bengaluru to pursue his Masters degree. He hunted for weeks together to find an accommodation but had no luck. The fact that he was a student added to his woes. Meanwhile, my uncle was a landlord of a dozen moderate 1 BHK homes which he had built just then. I got an idea – why not help my friend by convincing my uncle to rent out one of his houses to my bachelor friend. My uncle was convinced. He offered him the accommodation under my assurance about the property, its security and maintenance.
My friend had a peaceful stay throughout his Masters days and my uncle too was a happy landlord.
That’s when it struck me that a landlord needs a trustee and a tenant needs a hassle-free accommodation provider, which was ‘I’ in this case.
As I saw many of my other friends undergo this pain, I thought I could help a lot more people if I took it up as a business. This encouraged me to start a property management service to bridge the gap between owners and tenants.
This is how I came up with Rentprop4u home rental solutions.
6.Who are your biggest competitors and how do you differentiate yourself from them?
There are some players in the market offering similar services. However, we focus completely on residential rentals and we are not into PG (paying guest)/sharing accommodation model unlike most of our competitors in this space.
As for our differentiators, home seekers can search and book online from Rentprop4u’s verified listing of properties. In addition to zero brokerage, tenants have the option to pay the security deposit (five-month rent) in three equated monthly instalments (EMIs). We take care of all the documentation work and offer assistance with moving and utility connections too. An added advantage is the facility to make rental payments online.
From finding the right tenant and performing a complete background check to offering assured rentals and managing the property, Rentprop4u provides full-service rental and property management for owners. Be it a single property or a large portfolio, we are so confident of our tenant placement services that we guarantee to let out the property in less than 30 days or start paying the rent to the owner within a month. We charge the owners just a month’s rent as service fee for managing their property.
7.How did you identify your co-founder? Tell us something about your co-founder/s.
They are my friends who have been with me for the longest period of my life. I shared my idea with them and they found it interesting. That’s how they became the co-founders of the company. There are two co-founders in addition to me. Asha oversees business tie-ups and marketing. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design. Ravi takes care of finance, digital marketing and property management services. He has an MSc in Multimedia.
8.How did you hire your first team members? What skills do you want in your employees/team?
We looked for some specific traits while hiring our first team members. We looked for people with a never-give up attitude, those who are hardworking, quick to adapt to new challenges though that may not be his /her core strength. Thankfully it worked and they have helped us reach where we are today.
9.What are your goals over the next 1, 3, 6 and 12 months?
Over the next month, we will add another 50 properties to our existing 200 plus registered properties, with a plan to intensify the target in the forthcoming months. Our target is an average of 50 plus properties every month. Within next three months, the company aims to include another 200 properties with a turnover of Rs 20 lakh. Our six-month target would be 600 properties and a year from now, we would aim to achieve 1,000 properties with a monthly turnover of Rs 2 crore and a staff strength of 50.
10. What expansion plans are you looking for the next 2 years, next 5 years?
We aim to have 2,000 properties in Bengaluru and intend to replicate the model in other cities such as Hyderabad and Chennai soon, and then take it across the country. We have plans for overseas expansion too.
11.Where do you want to see yourself in next 10 years?
We want to see ourselves as one of the best residential management companies providing a hassle-free experience to all our customers and clients across the globe.
12.Have you raised any funding? Or have any plans for the funding?
We are a bootstrapped company. The founders themselves invested the initial capital. For Bengaluru we are not looking for additional funding. We do have plans to raise funds for other cities including Chennai and Hyderabad. We intend to use the funds to establish the business in the respective cities and take it to the next level.
13.What were the problems you faced during the starting days and how did you resolve them?
It is a known fact that India has become an increasingly competitive market and it is difficult to sustain unless you gain the trust of your customers in the early stage itself. We faced several issues when we started out. It was tough to get the brand out there, earn the trust of clients, manage the funds and get the right people.
A good marketing team solved the issue of brand recognition. As for clients, we spent a lot of time in meeting owners personally and explaining the value proposition. This helped a lot. Also our data analytics helps in analysing the correct market value of a property. This has been a very important factor in gaining the trust of clients.
We faced challenges with recruitment too. We then started defining the key criteria for each role and we have a fantastic team now.
14. Are you married, single or in a relationship?
Single
15.What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?
I like to watch and play kabaddi and cricket. I don’t find much time to play these days though. In my spare time I listen to music. I love travelling too.
16.What’s your favourite food & holiday destination?
I like numerous chicken dishes. It’s a long list though. My favourite holiday destinations are Goa and Singapore.
17.Whom do you consider your idol or biggest motivator?
Bill Gates and Swami Vivekananda
18.What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?
Entrepreneurs focus on overall organisational development and not just on self-development. They have broader goals and think of long-term successes, while those who work for someone else limit themselves to their own roles and short-term goals.
19.If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
I would have tried another venture in the food and beverage sector.
20. How has being an entrepreneur affected your family & social life?
Being an entrepreneur is always a challenging journey. I have to admit that you have to make a few compromises in order to taste success in your business. My family has been very cooperative and always encouraged me to do what I wanted to do.
21. Anything, you would like to say to our readers or upcoming entrepreneurs?
Any start-up will take time to take off. I would request upcoming entrepreneur to focus on long-term goals rather than short-term objectives if you want your business to succeed. In the early days of your business journey, try to reinvest smartly and build your brand in the market. It is obvious that you will face many challenges in the initial days both internally and from competition and external market forces. Try to find solutions for these as you are faced with these problems rather than hassling yourself with all at one go. The first two years are crucial for any start-up. If you can survive these, you can taste the success of your hard eventually.
22.Tell us something about your education & family background.
I’m an MBA graduate specialised in Finance and Marketing. I have a younger sister who is married. My father is self-employed and my mom is a home maker.
23.What is your USP which makes it unique & different from other start-ups in similar domains.
Flexible payment scheme for customers
Zero brokerage
365 days support, just a call away
24. What do you think is the biggest threat to the success of small businesses and start-ups today?
In my opinion, a lack of research and planning on the part of the start-ups themselves is the biggest threat. Also some are unable to handle the pressures of a new business and competition. Or else the business atmosphere in Bengaluru is highly conducive for small businesses.
25. Do you consider yourself successful and by what means do you measure success?
Timely smaller goals which are a way to achieve larger goals make us successful. Success is a never-ending process. Every day improvements are the way I measure success.
26. Please share complete name, address, phone number, email id & website of Your Business & Contact Person
Rentprop4u Management Services Private Limited.
Sales Office is at #09, 1stcross, 1stmain, 4th phase J.P. Nagar Bangalore 560078
Phone: +91 9535441427,9731372631
