Renting is the new black
We’ve asserted for a long time that renting is the new black and as housing prices continue to slump and foreclosures remain high, would-be and former homeowners are turning into renters, not to mention the accidental landlords that simply rent their home in lieu of sitting on the market.
Despite lending remaining tight, investors account for a large portion of buyers now and property managers are looking for various ways to attract high quality renters. One tool at landlords’ disposal is DepositGuard which has built a payment platform specifically for “site unseen rentals” which removes the uncertainty of paying any deposits or advanced rent before the renter sees a property.
DepositGuard Co-Founder, Alan lane told AGBeat that all monies are routed through the DepositGuard system to a trust account with JP Morgan Chase and released to the owner or management the day after the rental starts to give renters time to show up and verify the property. The company says it is also a means to protect against scams which, as we have reported, are rampant.
With DepositGuard, landlords are given a tool to build trust and add transparency and the company says they act as “a neutral party that helps mediate/arbitrate a resolution” should a dispute upon arrival take place.
Trust building is important for renters who are savvy to the horror stories, so even if a landlord is legitimate, this is an additional way to prove as much and attract renters by offering that added peace of mind. It would be interesting to see CheckYourLandlord team up with DepositGuard. Tools like these will definitely be added to landlords’ marketing tool box this year to establish better relationships with renters based on trust which is now the name of the game.
