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A new startup is looking to help landlords and tenants through every stage of the rental process, from listing and vetting potential renters to dealing with maintenance requests.
Sisters Miriam and Brenda Bolanos started Clarendon-based Leaseably last year, and began serving customers in April. The pair also have experience managing Airbnb properties, and said they want to save potential landlords money and time when they look to lease out their property.
The service is aimed at those who are looking to rent out one or two properties, as opposed to being for large apartment buildings, which already have in-house management and maintenance.
“If you think about it just conceptually, the options that owners have today for property management is a real estate company or managing it by themselves,” said Brenda Bolanos. “There’s nothing in between. So we are that in-between that will offer assistance to owners to help them manage their property to save time and to save money so they don’t have to pay as much as real estate companies charge.”
After registering their interest in using Leaseably, a potential landlord must provide details on their property and some photographs. The company then takes care of listing the property and being the point-of-contact for interested renters, before then coordinating viewings.
Once vetting potential renters, homeowners have the option to either prepare the lease themselves or use Leaseably to go through a realtor to prepare the paperwork. After providing an inspection list for move-in, tenants are in place.
But Leaseably’s services extend beyond getting homeowners a tenant. Once the renter is in place, they can help troubleshoot problems in the home and coordinate with a contractor to provide maintenance.
And the pair said that doing everything through virtual assistant software should help maintain a relationship between the landlord and their tenant by addressing needs quickly and automating as much as possible.
“Property management and real estate overall hasn’t had a change like everything else we have experienced with embracing new technologies,” said Brenda Bolanos. “Things haven’t changed in years, and of course part of it is regulation. I think there’s an opportunity to do things in a cost-effective manner, not compromising the security or trust of people, but opening that space that will offer a service at a reasonable price and that also responds to tenants and landlords.”
The sisters began Leaseably having spent a decade working for international organizations and managing Airbnb properties in Arlington. They said they had heard about other people’s difficulties managing their rented properties while working abroad or traveling, and so wanted to make things easier for everyone.
“One of the lessons was to have clear communication channels with tenants,” said Brenda Bolanos. “To know what they can expect and be able to respond when they need something in the property. We had long-term people who were abroad working for the government, and good communication was the best experience.”