“Rachmanism” ever heard about it? It is a synonym for the exploitation and intimidation of tenants. Peter Rachman was a landlord and owner of estate agency which became notorious for exploitation of tenants in 1950 and early 1960's.
©Golborne Forum
Rachman moved the protected tenants into a smaller concentration of properties or bought them out in order to minimise the number of tenancies with statutory rent controls. Houses were also subdivided into a number of flats in order to increase the number of tenancies without rent controls.
From 1957 onward he bought up many run down old houses in Paddington and North Kensington. To maximise profits Rachman exploited and intimidated tenants through notorious tactics.
© Alamy
Recent state of traditional Rachman business is improving but the value chain still consists of money grabbing buffoons like Rachman now dubbed as letting agencies. A recent survey reveals that a third of tenants do not trust their letting agency. A lack of regulation in the private rented sector has led to many tenants being taken advantage of with extortionate fees, hidden charges and a lack of mediation with landlords.
You have to remember, the estate agent is the “middle-man” The problem with having a middle man, especially one that’s dressed in an oversized polyester Burtons suit, is that information often falls out of their head, meaning information doesn’t always seamlessly relay as it should. Strange that, innit?
© Wikipedia
Real estate remains a cottage industry as people who manage it tend to be conservative and reluctant to change. Technology is beginning to disrupt how the traditional real estate industry operates.
I have been renting properties in San Francisco, Copenhagen and London, the tale of misery by the real estate agencies is truly a sad state of affairs! My co-founders have been on the other side of the table for few years, and we all thought:
- What if there was universal rental history?
- Who is my landlord? Who is my tenant?
- Why do I have to go to an agency to rent my property?
- What if there was a system who could remind my tenant to pay rent on time?
- When will I be able to do viewing myself without involving an agency?
- Why does it take weeks to rent a property?
- Why can’t my contracts and money exchange done instantly?
- What if I could save between £1030-£1710 per annum on renting my property?
- Why do I have to pay a tenant fee or referencing fee to an agency?
- What if I could rent a property for FREE?
- And so many why, why not, if etc became the future — Smoor!
Smoor is a paradigm shift — a people to people platform that uses technology to create a safe, secure and simple way to let and rent property. It creates transparency, accountability and reliability in the lettings industry by using a system of ratings, reviews, and the world’s first rental history — a ‘Smoor Score’ for each user.
Smoor dramatically reduces costs and increases simplicity for tenants and landlords by removing the now-unnecessary letting agency from the process.
The years ahead are the ideal opportunity for us to create better consumer experiences and automate the processes that drain both consumer and the supplier.
We are building the world’s first rental history, very close to our hearts. A Smoor Score which will make your life easy whether you are a landlord or a tenant or any one of public. Yours score is your real life reputation.
Get early access by clicking here www.smoor.com
Disclaimer: Smoor App — June-Dec 2017 (Product, Talent acquisition, Seed intros)
‘Smoor Score on Mars.’ ©SpaceX
These new technologies will either improve or replace most value propositions that have long been the status quo in the real estate market. — William Blair 2015