Rentoo 2.0

Why we are moving away from just renting homes to only renting homes we love

We can’t get excited about renting the type of homes we ourselves don’t want to live in.

I started Rentoo a year ago with the intention of creating a rental platform that will help international renters rent safely in London. If you need some back up to the original story, here is the link. As we mark our first year anniversary something became evident. We can’t get excited about renting the type of homes we ourselves don’t want to live in! We also don’t want to be another PropTech startup that automates the offline world online — The Uber of renting. No — We believe in offering only those homes that have a truly unique character. Therefore we have made the decision to curate and handpick those homes we truly love and would want our customers to live in.

Throughout the year, one thing that always stroke me as interesting was that as software engineers our eyes lit up every day not at the latest technology, but at the sexiest looking places that were nicely decorated. It was almost funny. Every day whilst we were curating homes, we were internally raving on about the sexiest looking places. We only ever picked the nicest one to list on Rentoo. Quality control is a key aspect of our platform. The reason is not that we are snobs, but because we want to provide our users with a search experience that not only does the job, but allows them to dream and stimulate creativity.

I will let you in on a little family secret. Sometimes my wife and I go on Trulia (the American Zoopla) and look for 10 bedroom villas in LA and Miami, with a pool house, indoor cinema and all the bells and whistles that come with it. I am sure you must have done that a couple of times. Finding your dream home and just letting your thoughts flow. Hands up if you loved MTV cribs! And it makes me think, why can’t everyone have that? I am not saying that it has to be a 20 bedroom luxury villa, but just a space that is nicely decorated, in a good condition and preferably warm. An amazing shelter of love that stimulates your happiness and creativity. Whether that’s luxury or simplicity, contemporary, shabby chic… It should be available for everyone.

Some homes we have come across have just so much potential and yet they look crappy. You wouldn’t want to live there. We always wondered why? In most cases, it wouldn’t need a mega makeover. Usually it’s just a lick of paint, some decorative elements, a few trinkets here and there — and just some creative consideration of the space. Until it hit us. The places that look good are usually designed by owners who have an eye for design. But that’s only a minority. The majority are clueless about design. In other words, they don’t know how to do it or think it costs a ton of money. There are also those who don’t see a reason for it. Why bother with design? Add a bed and couch, and leave the rest up to the tenant. They know what to do with their space…

I can give a 101 reasons why design is important. But to pick a few important ones:

• Your place rents faster
• You get more tenants applying and can pick the best ones
• You get the top end of your rental yield
• It doesn’t cost a lot and is relatively easy to do
• Tenants are more likely to look after your place if it doesn’t look like a dump

We will write a more comprehensive post on why you should bother with design soon. The other day we argued that in America interior design feels much more accessible to everyday landlords. In the UK it’s something for rich people and only reserved for their private residence, not their rental properties. It’s kind of sad. So we decided to change that. We are glad to announce that as of today we are offering free interior design advice to all our landlords who use Rentoo. We are getting a bunch amazing designers in London involved with Rentoo. Of course it helps when your wife is already part of the cream of the crop, an interior designer who started her career at one of the worlds greatest design agencies (Candy & Candy).

Rentoo now will not only have superior technology that makes renting convenient, but also the best designer (we can’t yet come up with a better name for it) homes in London, all individually designed and looked after. We really love our homes and are super passionate about providing the best service to all our users. We hope this latest addition will make you happy. If you have a place to rent or know somebody who can greatly benefit from our service, please get in touch with us. I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section.