South African renters is likely to spike over the next decade, and with this the workload of residential rental management professionals, who currently manage 30% of the rental properties in the local market. This is according to Craig Buckley, MD of reOS, a proptech platform that seeks to change the face of professional rental management. There has been a great deal of excitement surrounding rental technology in recent years, with a number of new entrants to the industry. However, these companies have tended to focus on self-service, with direct-to-consumer models aimed at tenants, property owners and landlords. For the most part, these products look to cut the agent out. reOS has taken a different view, recognizing that the greatest opportunity lies in enabling rental professionals to offer more value to their customers – at scale.
reOS automates two thirds of monthly tasks, including invoicing, collections, payments, communications, reporting and asset performance updates, among others. This is all done with banking grade encryption and an audit trail supported by a private blockchain. Additionally, reOS integrates with all South African banks – including newer players like Discovery and Tyme Bank. The real estate industry has been limited by costly and complicated solutions designed more for accountants than real estate professionals. We’re excited to see reOS create new areas of opportunity for the entire industry.