The Manchester-based firm, which has been in beta mode since last summer, used Crowdcube to raise £118,000 and now plans to roll out across England and Wales.
Lets Rent’s free service includes 28-day listings on Zoopla. Run by directors and co founders Oliver Fitzpatrick, 27, and Richard Cook, 26, the firm charges landlords nothing, but tenants pay a fixed £99 fee to move in.
Lets Rent advertises on Gumtree, as well as Rightmove, Zoopla and Prime Location and is a cloud-based online letting agent.
Richard Cook, Director of Lets Rent comments:
“We are very different from other online agents in that we are so tech-orientated. Most online agents are just digital shop fronts for traditional agents. We have streamlined the process and by using technology have been able to reduce the cost for landlords to zero. The service we provide introduces landlords and potential tenants and manages all the paperwork digitally. The free package includes tenant referencing, contracts, deposit collection/ registration and first months rent collection, first-month’s rent collection and contract renewals.
We have a great service, but now the investment funds will allow us to spread the word in the property market while introducing new services to make letting a property even more of a breeze. We also aim to hire the best people in customer service and web development to drive the business forward. Using the crowd funding platform Crowdcube, we have already gained a lot of interest in the business.
The letting industry has come under scrutiny recently because of arguably unjustifiable hidden fees, both for tenants and landlords. The ‘crowd’ liked our idea because we were offering a transparent and fair way of operating, so it was a great to see the support from investors.”
Lets Rent offers a completely free service for landlords, from tenant find, referencing, digital tenancy agreements, deposit collection and registration right the way through to first month’s rent collection. The firm also offers a new premium model for landlords who want to find tenants quickly - with much larger portal exposure.
The new website can be accessed on any device and also allows property uploads on tablet and mobile, so that properties can be uploaded quickly and easily, wherever you are. Lets Rent is also providing extensive services from EPCs, to gas certificates at some of the lowest prices available in the UK.
Lets Rent works with landlords in England and Wales and is a member of The Property Ombudsman and The NLA.
