Grabhouse, Nobroker and Nestaway – the growing list of start-ups joining the home aggregator and rental space means you are spoilt for choice when it comes to listing your home for rent. People nowadays are tech-savvy and prefer the convenience of going online to find rental homes. Home-owners benefit too, as they do not have to hunt for tenants themselves. In fact, nearly 70% of the homes listed on these sites are by Non-Resident Indians who cannot be physically present to take care of the tenant-hunting process. We list 5 ways these sites are beating traditional real estate brokers hands down.

1) No Brokerage Charges

Traditional brokers are known to charge at least one months’ rent from tenants as their commission, while taking a 2% to 4% fee from home owners looking to rent their homes. Sites like Nobroker.com charges nothing from owners, but takes a minuscule recurring fee from tenants.

2) Value-Added Tie-ups

Online portals like Nestaway.com and Grabhouse.com have tied up with insurance firms like AIG and other home utility startups to assure home owners that any wear and tear will be looked after. This reduces the burden on home owners who would otherwise be troubled over small issues like clogged pipes or broken lights.

3) Corporate Structure Inspires Confidence

These startups take care of the whole rental process, right from finding a suitable tenant and then taking caring of the paperwork, including getting the rental-lease agreement made and verification of both the owner and tenant. If that wasn’t enough, these start-ups come backed with serious money with the likes of Ratan Tata having invested in them. This makes home owners feel more secure that their property will be safe. The same goes for tenants who receive professional customer service.

4) Higher Rental Incomes

These online portals claim to give 20% to 25% higher rental incomes than traditional brokers. However, they do so by changing the type of tenant occupancy. Listing the home on a per-bed-basis gets the property owner a higher rental wage without having to worry about finding individual tenants who may not be able to afford the entire home. But considering that the agency is taking care of all this and maintaining the homes – homeowners aren’t really complaining, especially considering the higher income that they earn.

5) It Is A Growing Competitive Business

With an estimated 4 million properties listed in the names of NRIs alone, online portals have a huge market for their product. Job creation in metros has provided the need for such startups and while a traditional broker may clock in a maximum of 10 deals a month, these portals are seeing volumes of over 100 transactions per day. So if you do decide to go in for these portals, you will not be left wanting for options.

Reporter : Stacy Pereira, NDTV
Web Editor : Nikhil Narayan Sivadas, NDTV