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RentSpree is partnering with another multiple listing service, this time the 84,000-member Stellar MLS in Florida, the state’s largest, Inman has learned in a press release.
RentSpree provides a robust platform that assists residential agents, property managers and landlords in marketing listings, document automation, digital signatures, finding and qualifying tenants, collecting payments and generally running a rental property business with modern, web-based workflows. Its strategy to partner with MLSs has allowed it to scale quickly and demonstrate to sales agents the value in serving the rental vertical, which has been long void of solutions that help both sides of the leasing business.
Specifically, RentSpree’s ApplyLink condenses the lead capture, tenant due diligence and application collection processes, and can be created in moments for Stellar members.
RentSpree’s CEO and co-founder Michael Lucarelli said in a statement that MLSs are key to getting technology into the hands of agents, and in turn, its benefits delivered to consumers.
“Our integration into the Stellar MLS platform offers brokers and agents immediate access to RentSpree’s robust tools, streamlining rental transactions, cutting down processing times, and boosting profitability,” he said. “This collaboration reaffirms our dedication to empowering real estate professionals with the essential resources they require to flourish in an ever-changing market.”
Stellar’s CEO Merri Jo Cowen echoed Lucarelli’s take and cited the importance of software in addressing Florida’s dynamic housing market, which has experienced significant growth in rental property demand.
“The continuing growth [has] put substantial pricing pressure on available rental units, making real estate brokers and agents — our customers — more important than ever to help those looking for a home to lease,” said Cowen. “Together, we’re setting a new standard for efficiency and success in Florida and beyond.”
This has been a busy year for RentSpree. The software firm has continued its march into the MLS space and executed two significant product releases. RentSpree PRO, a top-down marketing suite for agents, rolled out in April, and in October it announced a credit reporting feature to empower landlords to share on-time payment histories with TransUnion.
Historically, on-time rent payments have not been part of a person’s credit history, despite averaging close to 40 percent of a person’s outgoing expenses, according to RentSpree. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently began to consider rent as a viable financial consideration for mortgage applications.
The idea to empower renters with additional financial security is rooted in the concept of open finance, a fintech-derived movement that embraces consumer control of financial data, secure one-on-one business transactions and the deconstruction of archaic economic principles that favor large enterprises.
RentSpree is available nationwide and has partnered with more than 300 MLSs, real estate associations and brokerages, serving over two million users in the U.S. It is based in Los Angeles.
