Various websites and phone apps are coming to the rescue of those embarking on a house-hunting spree. Some also offer direct communication between owner and house seekers without any dealer in the middle
Moving out or maybe moving in, new in town or maybe you’ve been there for a while now but the lease of your current accommodation is almost over and thus the house hunting has to begin soon. The pain and hassle one bears while clinging on to your property dealer-walle uncle from the neighbourhood is what we empathise with.
Going on a house-hunting expedition is surely troublesome with the endless paperwork and the moment you feel you’ve found your dream home, the moolah factor would often shatter that dream into smithereens. But a few concerned individuals, after embarking on agonising house-hunting trips with the brokers, started working towards simplifying the entire process for you.
Homers is a broker-free real estate online service which started it’s operations in April 2015. Founder, CEO Tarun Chowdhary tells us, “Homers is purely an outcome of our personal experience. We have in the past dealt in real estate multiple times, whether for buying/selling or renting. Each time, we felt the overall experience was extremely troubling, especially around discovery. This was largely due to the unprofessional dealings of brokers. Worst, all the existing digital platforms were nothing but an extension of the offline world. So one never found a home on any of the existing website, but basically ended up finding a “broker”, who after a lot of hassle eventually found something that worked. This lead us to recognise that there was a gaping need, and hence a clear opportunity, for a direct consumer-2-consumer real estate platform. And that's what Homers.in is.”
After one lists his/her property with the portal, their team would visit to create their own portfolios with details of the facilities available. The verifications are done with the help of social media and phone numbers and “have the tools to make sure that there are no brokers present on the site.” But there are also issues that crop-up which the portal operators did not anticipate earlier.
“Since Homers is designed as a “verified” service (we verify both HomeOwner and HomeSeekers), there are multiple challenges one has to find answers to. For example, brokers usually own real estate in their own or family's, and even if one asks for documentation, it all seems to be genuine. Another example is a broker using a family member’s credentials to log in. In order to identify and successfully reject such requests, we empty a host of verification steps/ techniques such as reverse social profile checks, active database collection, physical visits, outbound calling, among others,” shares Chowdhary.
The website also offers assistance right from the registration process to the legal work. Sachin, head of operation at Flatchat mobile app boasts of the 200,000 downloads since the launch in October 2014.
“Back in college, Gaurav (advisor) had his share of interactions with various brokers while he was looking for accommodation for himself or for his friends. He realised that it was such an unstructured market. He then thought of simplifying it and help out especially the students. Flatchat allows you to list your place and if you are looking for an accommodation then you can connect directly with the owner also. There is no brokerage involved at all. You may also look for a roommates using the app,” he says while further adding that “ we are just a platform bringing people together”. The verification process is again done with the help of Facebook and also through registered phone numbers. The service is provided throughout the country.
While on a budget vacation or a business trip to a distant city, your pocket might not allow you to camp in a hotel. Stayzilla now also allows one to rent out a part of their homes to travellers. Rupal Yogendra, VP - operations, says, “It is more viable than staying in hotels. People, of course, are reluctant and skeptical to rent out space to strangers so we let them do their own verifications and also have a chat option where they can connect. You may also select your guests according to your preference. For example, you may want someone who enjoys classical music or prefer renting out space to single women or families.” She further tells us that they personally send their photographers to click pictures of the space and also visit for verification purposes.