Real Estate Articles from Inman News :TenantMarket.com pairs owners with prospective renters

Founder says site is 'rental industry equivalent of Match.com'

A new Web site, TenantMarket.com, allows apartment owners and managers to search through a national database of prospective renters -- it's like "the rental industry equivalent of Match.com," says founder and CEO Jeremy Bencken.

Bencken is also co-founder of ApartmentRatings.com and affiliate sites ohmyapartment.com and thinwallstalk.com.

The new site, launched this week, features Resident Listing Services, a searchable database with information entered by prospective renters. Apartment owners can search through resident profiles and contact them with personalized offers and information about current and upcoming rental homes.

Basic features at the site are free and do not require registration. Contacting prospective residents requires a paid subscription. Site subscriptions start at $29.95 for 10 days of access with a single vacancy.

"The service works because over 56,000 renters have already shared their detailed housing search with TenantMarket, enabling landlords to send one-to-one offers to renters," the company announced. "For example, a property manager could waive the application fee for renters who sign an 18-month lease and offer two weeks free rent to nonsmokers."

Prospective renters can receive personalized offers, can save housing searches and can receive notification when new rental properties enter the market.

"Aside from helping traditional apartment and rental-home owners, homeowners can also use TenantMarket to discover how many renters could cover their mortgage," according to the announcement. "Real estate investors unable to sell properties profitably can use the service to find renters to cover their expenses while they wait for a better resale market. Realtors can use the service to help their clients explore rental demand in different neighborhoods."

Prospective renters can communicate anonymously with property owners and managers, and they can choose to accept or decline contact when there are incoming offers.

Through a sister Web site, ThatRentalSite.com, TenantMarket syndicates listings on sites such as Google Base and Oodle.

"For renters, TenantMarket provides an efficient way to signal information that allows property owners and managers to present personalized incentives and rewards," Bencken said. "For landlords, TenantMarket eliminates the uncertainty and lag time of a blind ad buy, in turn eliminating costly days of vacancy."