Property management can be one of the biggest pain points for a real estate investor.
Placing tenants. Making repairs. Collecting payment. Handling disputes. It can all be a tense balance between tenants and property owners, with property management employees in the middle.
ManyRoofs is a new company that seeks to make it all easier and less expensive, offering technology for everyone involved in a property and working only with brokers and management companies who have a track record of good customer service.
“It’s going to be a marketplace for property management services,” says Kenson Goo, CEO and co-founder of the startup.
Upon launch, the company will focus solely on placing tenants into rentals at rates Goo says are 60 percent lower than the industry standard. Owners pay an $895 placement fee when a unit is filled.
“We’re focused solely on tenant placements because that’s the most acute problem,” Goo said.
The company connects property owners with local real estate agents who focus on the property, and owners track tenant applications through ManyRoofs.
ManyRoofs currently offers two account levels that provide tenant placement software, rental comps and rental analysis. The company provides rental comp reports, facilitates tenant background checks and marketing the property and communication with tenants.
It plans to begin rolling out more services throughout the year, growing to handle up to 100,000 listings by the end of the year.
Within three months, ManyRoofs plans to add property inspection services.
“Owners are paying hundreds of dollars to management companies on top of management fees,” Goo said. “We can do better.”
By the end of the year, the company seeks to offer a full suite of management services that brokers can use to manage a property.
“A lot of things can be automated through the software now,” Goo said. “Payment collections, call center services which handle the calls after hours…the workload for managers will be much lower.”
Because property management can be a pain point, companies can often build a bad wrap for perceived absenteeism and other complaints from renters.
Goo said ManyRoofs seeks to avoid affiliating with property managers, owners and brokers with disciplinary actions against them, instead choosing individual brokers and small boutique property management companies that have a positive track record.
“We just want to make sure if the bad apples get caught early on we will remove them from our systems,” Goo said. “If we have this marketplace of people who care more about the properties…and then let ManyRoofs take care of the technology to streamline the process, it’s better for everyone.”