Indian Proptech Startups: Still miles to go
“No, we don’t allow live-in”
“But your ad says it’s for families”
“Sorry, we meant only married couples”
And, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Months back while searching for flats, I installed many listing apps and started contacting owners. But after a few calls, we were puzzled what to look for. Are we bachelors? Are we families? Nobody was counting us. On a few occasion, we even told the owners over calls that we are family so that they will at least meet us and we can have chance to explain to them how living-in would not be that bad.
And that’s just one of many problems tenants face while renting flats in India.
I am living on rent for 3 years and in due time I have signed up for many apps. Some of them have been beneficial to some extent but there’s still a lot of room for adding value. Most of them serve owners and brokers and offer very little to tenants.
I will discuss my opinion on each app here
Housing.com
Pros
- Good UI
- Feature for paying rent via credit card
Cons
- Property status is not updated. Many listings are outdated
- Lots of brokers impersonating as owners
- No filter for couple-friendly flats
- Doesn’t show many insights like amenities available for furnished flats etc
MagicBricks
Pros
- Feature for Questions/Answers in listings
- Can get some good brokers (if that’s what you are looking for)
Cons
- App UI is not very good
- Lots of brokers impersonating as owners
- No filter for couple-friendly flats
99acres
Pros
- Has a large database with pictures and data available for societies also
- Covers almost all cities
- Provides real estate news also
- Feature to filter properties for single men
Cons
- Lots of brokers impersonating as owners
- No filter for live-ins
Nobroker.in
Pros
- Doesn’t have brokers problems as others
Cons
- Relationship managers mostly do not add any value
- No filter for couple-friendly flats
- Basic filters are not covered in the free plan
Common problems
- No filter for live-in couples
- Not many listings for bachelors (especially single men) friendly flats (except 99acres)
- No option to see the floorplan, virtual tours
- No insights on rent paid (except Nobroker)
- Brokers pretending to be owners (except Nobroker)
There is a lot of space to be filled in by the latest technologies like AI, blockchain, AR and VR in real estate. Let’s hope to get there sooner than we expect.
Footnotes
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