Rent Services On the Blockchain – PlaceToRent

July 10, 2018

PlaceToRent solves all problems relating to rental services by creating a suitable marketplace or listing service for rent on the blockchain.

Need For Rent

Over the years there has been an increasing need for rental services especially in terms of residents and commercial offices. This is because many people cannot afford to build their own house or buy off a property (especially the younger generation). In America around the year 2006 [source below], due to the economic downturn (and laws) there was a rising need for residents to rent an apartment and it has ever been on the increase since then. The need to rent an apartment not only saw this increase, the need for an office for commerce also has been on the increase ever since. It has been found that office owners who have their offices in cities will continue to pay higher rents to hold their space while they seek for other larger spaces in better areas.

Multiple Listing Services – The disadvantages

Information inaccuracy

Today there are multiple listing services online that lists properties for rent by displaying information about these properties from various owners. Many of these listing websites provide information about properties which are outdated, inadequate, and incorrect or have discrepancies from the original properties. These misleading information only deceive potential tenants who get to know the truth after seeing the physical property. This has greatly reduced people’s trust in online listing services.

Transaction completion times and Fees

To complete transactions via these online services for rent is another downside, it takes days to complete transactions for rent because of different processes some of which involves agents (both online and offline). These transactions also include transaction fees which can be very high when transacting from another country.

Intermediaries

Intermediaries such as agents help searching tenants to connect to the landlords based on the taste of the tenants. These agents are like offline listing services because many landlords come to them to help same find tenants at a commission as determined by the agent. When they find a tenant for an apartment, they charge a very high commission for the rent to be paid by the tenant. In most cases, they do not want the tenant to meet the landlord because of their own gains. Their services are with low market transparency.

Personal Experience

Earlier this year, I wanted to change my previous apartment because the rent had expired in the previous apartment I was living, and the place was far from my workplace. I had no knowledge of any online listing service by then so I had to make inquiries from friends. One of my friend who was living close to my workplace informed me of a vacant apartment that suits my taste (it was close to my workplace and the rent amount was within the range I could afford). My friend had met with the agent who had been posting us from time to time. On a particular occasion, we planned to make a visit to the apartment informing the agent of our decision and he agreed. We went to the apartment to check it out but the agent was not available, we tried calling him to at least link us with the landlord so we can proceed with the transaction but all to no avail. I was disappointed and at the verge of giving up (opting for another option which was way far from my workplace), when my friend asked around and we were told that the landlord was even around while we visited. We met with the Landlord and continued with the agreements and transactions.

PlaceToRent – Rent On the Blockchain

source
PlaceToRent solves all problems relating to rental services by creating a suitable marketplace or listing service for rent on the blockchain. Through the great tools that the blockchain offers such as decentralization, smart contracts which are self-executing, PlaceToRent provides a seamless rental experience which will allow rental processes to be completed efficiently.

The PlaceToRent decentralized rental platform is powered by blockchain technology, smart contracts, and utility tokens and is poised to revolutionize rental industry standards worldwide.
source

Blockchain + Rent = PlaceToRent

Transactions such as rent payment can now be completed on the blockchain with the PlaceToRent tokens. The blockchain technology helps to securely keep the record of all transactions made on it transparently in near real time. With a few taps on the smartphone, rent transactions can be monitored and completed between the tenant and the landlord without any intermediaries such as agents. This also increases the transparency of the rental market as transactions made are stored on the blockchain where it can neither be altered nor deleted.

Accurate Property Information

Source: Google.com

PlaceToRent through the blockchain technology allows landlords are able to provide all and accurate details about a property to be listed. These are stored as digital property profile. Some of the information to be provided by the landlord about a property to be listed for rent on the platform are property Location and address, ownership history, tenant history, and details, property age, historical rental rates, etc.

Smart Identity Verifications

Through smart identity verifications on the platform, landlords and tenants can relate or interact without trust issues. This also helps younger generations who are seeking for rental credit and landlords to get recommendations through the artificial intelligence on the platform.

Smart Tenancy Contracts

Smart tenancy contracts are smart contracts which are self-executing and allows landlords and tenants to sign contracts online without meeting physically. There is an online chat feature which allows them to communicate effectively if needed. The signed contract after being signed are stored on the blockchain where it cannot be altered, deleted or hacked. This is because the blockchain technology allows that no single or whole file to be stored in a location, but every single file are separated into pieces and stored in different locations (decentralization).

Smart Door Lock

This allows tenants to confirm the lock status of their apartment at any point in time or anywhere on their smartphones. Smart door lock also allows tenants to grant or revoke access to their apartment to relations or service workers through electronic keys. Landlords can also void old tenant’s key and activate new key for new tenants.

Other Benefits that PlaceToRent offers for rent services are

source

Why I would Recommend PlaceToRent

It allows tenants to directly connect with landlords without intermediaries
It also helps younger generations to get rental credit through smart Identity on the platform.
Through Smart door lock on the platform users can grant or revoke access to their apartment.
The platform also allows an easy search for rent spaces without fear of misinformation or outdated information.
Etc.