Rentapp is a project to create an open community for finding affordable rental homes.
Core ideas:
- Community. This is not a marketplace. Living in a rental home is an exercise of relationships and trust between roommates and landlords. The emphasis should not be only on the place, but also on the people.
- Affordable. This is for students and young professionals. Not real estate companies, investors. Short term rentals and roommates are emphasized.
- Discoverable.
- The current solutions are inadequate.
- Marketplaces (Kijiji, Craigslist) are cluttered with noise, lack proper filtering, and are impersonal.
- Facebook groups have a significant barrier (discovering the group, signing up, joining) before being able to see or post content. No filtering at all, no post structure or moderation, and many cities don't have active groups.