A property company which is inviting landlords “to cut out the middleman and avoid using agents” says it is a “proud member” of ARLA.
Rentify, which has employed a top PR firm to get its messages across, says that it has seen exponential growth so far this year since going live in 2012.
It says that some 600 properties are being added to its website each week, and that its “free services, transparent costs, and faster letting process help landlords to market, manage, and make money from their properties”.
The PR release says: “Rentify already has 100,000 registered users who wish to cut out the middleman and avoid using letting agents. Most landlords use Rentify for its speed lets, which make it much faster to find tenants than using a high street letting agent.”
George Spencer, CEO of Rentify, said: “We’re thrilled at the growth we’ve seen in the first half of 2013.
“Rentify is creating the equivalent of two large letting agents every week. With our easy-to-use service and the free coverage we provide for rental properties, life has never been easier for landlords. With Rentify they can list a property and obtain a tailored contract for free.”
The release adds: “Additional services are transparently priced. A full tenant profile costs just £15, with a full range of certificates and services available a la carte, including free Zoopla advertising and Rightmove from just £14.99.”
Rentify, which is backed to the tune of £2m by investors including Balderton Capital and D5 Capital, says on its website that it is a proud member of TPO, ARLA and the Residential Landlords Association.
It appears to be one of the growing numbers of organisations that provide a platform enabling private landlords to use Rightmove and Zoopla.
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Comments
It looks like that shiny and expensive PR company have dropped a clanger.
I did think advertising the fact you were convincing landlords not to use agents to those very agents was a little misguided.
Reply received from Arla this morning, to say that they are aware of this matter and their Regulation Department are looking in to it.
The OFT should act under Consumer Protection Regs 2008 this is illegal, if they are in your area report them, simples.
You cannot claim to be part of a trade body if you are not. What are ARLA doing, nothing as normal?
@Anonymous - Hmmm, interesting. That google cache is dated 18th June, only a couple of weeks ago. Wonder if they resigned, or were expelled...
From their website, try clicking through to their reviews; not everyone is so impressed!
I'm still waiting to hear back from Arla.
It appears that they were originally listed on the ARLA website, and now are not. You can see the Google Cache here: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:RfB0oPLBoWQJ:www.arla.co.uk/letting-agent-search/area/barbican/+&cd=7&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk
For 'interned' read 'Internet'
Checked my area:for listings:
Huntingdon - none
Peterborough - none
Bedford - one listed in April 2013
Cambridge - eight the earliest listed in August 2012!
Not exactly setting the world on fire around here and claiming to a be member of an organisation they are not - usual smoke and mirrors that the interned allows such so called businesses to hide behind. My clients are intelligent enough to realise that if they want their properties properly managed they need to be dealing with real people.
I am quite surprised that Alan Ward condones this crowd he is normally fairly protective of the RLA and its members.
Perhaps they told him they were ARLA and he bought it too.
also..........; http://d5capital.com/
Must be stupid these chaps; http://www.balderton.com/
ARLA have confirmed that they are NOT members and will be contacting them directly about this matter.
LTA- please follow this matter up and cover the applicable story on this.
I have emailed Arla and will post their response here...
Agree M, they definitely do not appear to be members of ARLA according to the ARLA website!
OK so....
600 properties per week eh? Their Zoopla account shows 189 listings since 18th June so what's happened to the oth4er 1k+ properties over this period? Oh, let me guess, they have all been let. Also where are the 85 new instructions since yesterday's listings?
No trace of them on the ARLA website
They are TPOS registered
They are an online software NOT an agent
The only thing I now wonder is why have I wasted my time even writing this. I feel sorry for the £2m investors- where the hell are the margins?
@ proud to be a letting agent.
I look like Brad Pitt am hung like Errol Flynn and could kick David Hayes butt if had a mind too.
And because I say so it must be true - yes!? in your tiny world maybe.
Well I've just searched for Rentify on the ARLA website and it says:
Your query returned no results please try again with different search terms..
It might be a good idea to recall this PR and stop it appearing anywhere else or you can spend the next week trying to justify why all of a sudden you are an Agent in case Rightmove and Zoopla decide to pull your listings and stop your exponential growth. No doubt one of the ARLA members will raise this and question if it is appropriate for you to remain ARLA members given the candid explanation of your business model.
P.S I doubt you know what exponential means, anyone who does would never use it in a press release just in case the growth does not continue ‘exponentially’; As a weekly function of X, 600 this week means 3600 next week, 1,296,000 the week after and 167,961,600,000,000 landlords listing with you weekly by the time the kids break up for the school holidays. Impressive or a Cup Cake made with an Ostrich egg?
@proud to be a letting agent
and how are they members of the tpo (lettings) if they are not agents??
If they are ARLA members at all it will be under the guise of running a 'virtual office' which Adrian Turner first sanctioned aimed at agents using serviced offices about 15(?) years ago?
D'oooh, an I fort I was stoopid!
What a fantastic shoot oneself in the foot press release.
I think more than any story we have seen for a very long time this one sums up the stupidity of what is going on in lettings right now.
At its very best and that is stretching it a bit, this appears to be a tenant find service that flogs referencing to landlords yet they are proud members of ARLA, Why?
All this is an advertising agency that gives private landlords who choose not to use an agent the facility of listing on Zoopla. The ARLA membership simply gives them the false credibility to circumvent the portal rules prohibiting private listings; giving (I really have forgotten the name of the company already and can't be bothered to re-read the story just to type it here) the impression of being an Agent.
Lets hope that Ian potter now questions their membership of ARLA because no doubt when things go amiss it will be "a problem with an Agent" that hits the headlines. Lets hope Alex Chesterman reads this and sees how (whatever they're called) is simply bypassing the rules designed to protect their core customers; Agents.
So what if (???) are picking up customers, with NLA and RLA already well established to look after landlords that don't use Agents this isn't actually news but I suspect it really ought to backfire quite spec tactually on them. There really is no point whatsoever in them being ARLA members if all they are doing is advertising available properties on the internet. They have made themselves look stupid and highlighted how ARLA membership is no longer a standard raising barrier to entry into the profession.
(Forgotten already ) MD/CEO bloke, find a PR agency that understands the industry, this one just embarrassed you like the naked emperor and the new cloak he commissioned.
If rentify AREN'T a letting agency, then how are they ARLA members, and how are they on rightmove?