"Our new real estate platform calls customers who register an interest in a property back with a phone call within five minutes of them registering."
PR: How did you get into the property industry?
I have worked in property marketing for around 15 years. Prior to this I worked in the hospitality segment of the real estate industry in India running global businesses and managing companies with as many as 700 staff. I have decided to focus on the property sector because it was the area of business I realised I was good at and have a real passion for. This has led me to launch our current venture, Triplerr the lead generation company and its sister site TheMove.com, both of which I will explain more about later!
PR: Many people looking to buy and sell their property still prefer high street agents for many reasons. How do you convince the older generation to embrace (and trust) proptech?
The reason the older generation is put off by online search portals is because these websites do not currently allow customers chance to deal with a real person about their property search.
For hundreds and hundreds of years, the property business has been focussed on people whether it’s the agents that are selling or renting the property or the customers looking for someone to aid their search. I feel that in recent years the proptech sector has attempted to do too much too quickly and hasn’t thought about what the house hunter wants and needs to find their desired home.
The business we are launching this week is called Triplerr and we believe it will attract a demographic across age groups as it bridges this gap and allows people to harness the power of technology while retaining that human touch which comes from dealing with real people as opposed to online portals.
Our new real estate platform calls customers who register an interest in a property back with a phone call within five minutes of them registering. The call is conducted by one of our, 24/7 virtual 'Super Agents', who will take them through a qualification process detailing the customer’s property preferences. The Triplerr platform which operates behind TheMove.com then automatically records this qualification call and creates a voice lead making the customers online experience personal – challenging what might put the older generation off online searches.
PR: How are you protecting users of TheMove.com under the new GDPR guidelines?
We have been very careful to ensure that our business is compliant with GDPR. The very essence of our offering is an opt-in service where customers volunteer their contact details and request for help and support. We never initiate contact with customers directly without them having expressly asked us to do so which means we adhere to the new guidelines.
PR: How does TheMove.com differ to its competitors?
TheMove.com is the only free to list portal with a one-click free listing capability which by default means it is totally different to other sites and doesn’t really have any competitors. From an agent perspective it allows quick, free and efficient listings and from a consumer perspective, it is a one-stop-shop for property needs. As it stands there is no other platform or portal which can compete with the one touch free listing offering from TheMove.com
PR: What would say are the biggest issues facing the London property market at the moment?
The market is in a state of heightened flux and all the assumptions that have held true for a long time are under scrutiny. This is due to the fact that property seekers are now no longer willing to be locked in to long term rentals and are equally unwilling to buy and to rent overpriced and unaffordable homes. This is where TheMove.com can provide house hunters with a personal touch through our voice system where we tailor customers search by speaking to them and finding out exactly what they’re looking for.
PR: What are your property predictions for the UK rental market for the next year?
The rental market will continue to see a high level of disruption with the changing age profile of house hunters. We expect short-term leases and a highly competitive rental market to become the new ‘norm’. We change in this specific are due to the top end of the market being locked due to a very high stamp duty regime and the affordable end of the market facing huge issues with supply of high quality properties.
