For the past few months I’ve been on the hunt for a new apartment, and I’ve learned something very important. A relatively high percentage of the listings searchable on Craigslist, StreetEasy, etc. are expired. Brokers leave up listings for apartments that were rented a long time ago to generate leads, and as I’m personally struggling through the mess of it now, I find it despicable.
But a new startup has just launched here in NYC that aims to connect an owner with a renter in a transparent, verified way. RentalEngine, which has just entered public beta, allows users to search all of the major listings sites in one interface.
The difference between this, and say a Nestio, however, is that RentalEngine’s system filters out listings that may have missing or false information, or may have already expired.
Vacancy is nearly guaranteed.
The site also offers management features, which allows you to store the listing, enter notes on it, and rate various features of the building and the unit.
This not only helps RentalEngine understand what you’re looking for, but it lets you collaborate with roommates, significant others, etc. RentalEngine will also notify you through email if a listing fitting your requirements becomes available.
The company has raised $150,000 in funding thus far, and the site was seeing approximately 100 unique visits/day before launching into public beta.