RentSpek is a free, web-based mobile app that is completely new to the market, with a Beta launch slated for Nov 1.
RentSpek treats renting as a more “inspection-like” process, and per Phil Castello, founder of Landlord Advisor, LLC (RentSpek’s parent company), “I think the simplicity of the app is what will make it useful. The app walks the user through the property and has them check things they may never have looked at during a walk-though before. Because renters have an endless list of sites and services to search for a place, we think RentSpek will be the perfect tool to help choose their apartment.”
RentSpek users can add notes or pictures to their inspection using their phones’ cameras. The user can then revisit the RentSpek reports to compare the properties they’ve toured.
The grade RentSpek developed is based on the same home inspections home buyers would purchase before buying a home. Landlord Advisor dissected those and developed a unique scoring system based on issues that could arise during a short-term living situation. They have a patent pending on this system and have recently filed documents for a full patent.
Castello said the longer term plan for RentSpek is to provide crowd sourced information for rental listings on their parent site Landlord Advisor, and employ a certification feature allowing landlords to show that their property is “RentSpek Certified.”
For more info on RentSpek: www.indiegogo.com/projects/rentspek-a-better-way-to-choose-an-apartment
