With more than 148,000 students enrolled in institutions of higher education last year, Boston is also home to many recent graduates and young professionals. However, the average age of a broker is 58, according to student startup Vibe Residential.
For that reason, Vibe understands how students and young professionals can be overlooked by brokers. Vibe helps clients within this demographic navigate the greater Boston real estate market by simplifying the often stressful process of renting or buying your first place.
Nike John, founder and CEO, told BostInno, “Friends had realtors who didn’t help them out or set them up with landlords who wouldn’t fix anything or charged a fee and they didn’t understand what they were paying for.”
The company’s business model has been built around a core of hospitality designed to bring full customer service back to the real estate industry. Each client is paired with a single experienced agent, creating a customized experience, decreasing search time and improved accountability.
With such reliability between clients and agents, Vibe works with landlords to develop alternative payment plans that reduce overwhelming upfront costs and provides discounted broker fees when possible, including same day application, referrals from prior rental clients and repeat clients.
To further ease difficult transitions, Vibe has created neighborhood specific brochures called “NecesCity Guides” that list the best grocery stores, dry cleaners, convenient stores, bars, entertainment spots and so forth near your new place. As the company has partnered with several of these featured locations, customers typically experience 10 to 40 percent discounts and can even receive free drinks as a welcoming gift.
Possibly the most significant aspect of Vibe is its management. Backed by two Northeastern students (’15), the team personally recognizes the importance of selectively pairing clients with brokers who understand what they are looking for.
“We just felt like in Boston there’s no one that helps people our age. Anyone can find a broker, but finding someone who’s willing to help you out and understands that everybody our age doesn’t have a high paying job… That means we also don’t have that budget and it’s a commission based sales market, so our goal is to help people on the lower end,” John said.
The real estate startup is currently in the Brandathon, which ultimately partners 12 promising startups with 12 of Boston’s top creative agency teams that present their brand campaigns to judges and a live audience. In addition to free promotion and visibility, the top 12 startup finalists will receive full rights to use the brand campaign created for them. Other prizes vary for those in first, second, and third places. Vibe has made the top 25, and the top twelve will be decided on Thursday night.
As of August 5, Vibe will have an official broker’s license and will be able to have agents at their brokerage, rather than employing agents from other agencies to take clients out under their set of guidelines and expectations. In September, the roommate matching and marketplace app Vibe Lifestyle will be launching. Distinguishing itself from other roommate matching apps, it will offer a more personalized method of putting users together. People may be matched based on favorite restaurants, how early or late they wake up, and more.
“You can meet them well before you even see the place. We also have a marketplace feature for people selling furniture instead of throwing it out,” said John. “The other thing about this app is it will help with short term rentals. A lot of students are only looking for the fall or the spring or the summer semester, but most agencies only do 12 month leases.”
Entering a foreign market by focusing entirely on young professionals and student renters, Vibe Residential aims to build lasting relationships with clients that grow as their real estate needs evolve.
Images via Vibe Residential
