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Prop-tech firm launches rent payment surety

By Tim Neary
21 November 2017 | 9 minute read
For rent850x400 may2017

A new prop-tech firm is lifting service in the property management industry by offering rental payment guarantees to landlords.

:Different automatically pays the rent if a tenant is more than five days late with their payment. It launched in Sydney last month, offering full-service property management for a fixed fee.

The unusually named start-up is the brainchild of senior Google and Uber executives. Mina Radhakrishnan was Uber’s former global head of product and Ruwin Perera was a principal at Google global business strategy.

Mr Perera said that Australian property investors are just everyday people.

“When a tenant misses their rent, investors still need to pay the mortgage, and it can put a huge financial strain on their family,” the co-founder said.

“It can lead to months of delay in collecting rents, hassles, and in the worst cases very costly write-offs and increased debt burdens. :Different removes that worry.”

Mr Perera said that there are around three million investment properties in Australia, but 75 per cent of investment property owners have one property and 90 per cent have two or less.

He said that data from the tax office released earlier this year showed that two-thirds of Australia’s investment property owners who negatively gear had taxable income under $80,000.

“These owners come from all walks of life; 20 per cent of police officers and 10 per cent of nurses own investment properties,” Mr Perera said.

“To cater to them, :Different has built simple, user-friendly apps and combined them with proprietary backend systems and the very best agents to create a new services business from the ground up.”

 

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