A new startup, Rentalgrid, has created a cloud-based service to help property managers and landlords in Zimbabwe manage the properties they lease out. The service provides features such as Lease Management, Email and SMS Rent reminders, Online Rent Payments, Inspection Schedule and Reports, and a Tenant Portal amoung other things. Rentalgrid founder, Freeman Chari, said estate agents and landlords are having a difficult time manually managing properties, with most of them using spreadsheets.
The startup itself was actually first conceived as a real estate listing site (similar to what Property and Propertybook) but they soon realised there was a key problem about managing the properties which they could solve.
Freeman Chari, who is based in the US, also noticed something else that made the need for a solution to manage properties even clearer. The diaspora face problems with managing their properties back home in Zimbabwe. He explained: “It was hard to get a company that would provide statements and timely information of the state of leases and rentals. Most still use Excel and paper. Secondly rent collected had to physically exchange hands several times before reaching its final destination. Some hands were not trustworthy.”
Rentagrid started working on the solution last year and with the help of some estate agents ensured they understood what problems were most pertinent. They introduced Rentalgrid in beta in June this year and eventually launched this month. Besides helping the landlords and management companies organize data, Rentalgrid aims to help their clients improve customer service to tenants.
Chari says they have a team on the ground here, signing up agents, training them and offering customer support. He didn’t disclose though what the uptake has been so far.
It’s not clear to us just how big this opportunity is here in Zimbabwe for such a platform, but one would imagine it’s bigger than just listing properties since all properties on the market eventually need some kind of management by the estate agent or landlord.
Also, unlike property marketplaces, whose customers remove a property from the site when their need is met, Rentalgrid customers’ needs are met by adding the property to the site and to manage it from there, putting the startup in a good position for recurring business for each property.
Small or big the opportunity is in Zimbabwe, it may actually not matter. Chari says they have attracted some interest in the US market where he’s based and that they are working on those deals. “We have also been making strides in USA,” he told us, “and our focus may shift more towards the US given the obvious size of the market.”
7 comments
Put your house for rent management under estate agencies at your own risk. The moment they know your live outside the country thats where all the trust ends. Also, if you are outside, do not let your relatives collect rent or manage your properties.
If both estate agents and relatives are not to be trusted, who then to manage on your behalf?
Good question, l have been through both and l know a lot of people right now who have lost a lot of money money. I do it myself now.
If you cannot do it yourself, then l do not encourage people to take that step of having properties which needs management in Zim.
Our country is gone and all the morals washed away!!
In your case then, would an app like Rentalgrid help?
I do not see how it will restore the trust l lost. Can this be done via the app?
For example, how can the app determine money is going via trusted hands? We do not have a valid credit vetting system?
I suspect the developer is a victim of property mismanagent, he knows what needs to be done but an app where 70% of business is done thru back channels is not going to address the real human issues.
How can the app stop a tenant from running a huge water bill(which is always in the name of property owner) then pay corrupt council officials not to close the water?
all these efforts will slowly solve some corruption problems somehow, someone will realise they are loosing busineess and improve. rather than complaining its high time zimboz we find solutions, for how long will we blame it on cde mugabe and his team, . lets do something using ict. mobile money solved the problem of sending cash through relatives and buses. a lot of solutions are coming up. see what UBER is doing elsewhere, those with taxis are working hard to get back lost business, the competition is good. we need a lot of these startups slowly we will get there.