But wait, you’d muse to yourself, how can this be? Sure, some dates end in apartments, but usually dates take place in restaurants and romantic settings; they take place between people (hopefully). Where do apartments come into it?
Well when you think about it, apartment hunting is essentially dating for the perfect spatial significant other. You hire brokers, post on Craig’s List, and go through a lot of “bad dates” until you find the right place that you can settle down and have endless pajama-Netflix nights in.
It makes sense, then, that an app like HomeSwipe would come on to the scene. Combing the techniques of Tinder with the elegance of any high-end real estate company, founder and NYU student Michael Lisovetsky helps you the right place while eliminating bad decisions.
HC NYU What is the story behind the app? How are your two other co-founders, and how did you guys meet?ML I was attending a program called Draper University over the summer. The company I was working on there didn’t work out for various reasons, but I had the opportunity to pitch a new idea at the end, and I ended up pitching what was then “the Tinder interface for apartments”. I had recently searched for an apartment in NYC, and I knew how horrible the process was. Also, I thought of my friend and co-founder Dean, as he was a broker for a few years in the city. Jason, my other co-founder, and I met when we were organizing a hackathon meet up event together. I pitched both of them the idea and they both loved it – they were immediately on board.
HC NYU What did you find particularly frustrating about finding an apartment in New York? What were the specific flaws in the system?ML There was complete uncertainty in the process. The data is extremely opaque, and it’s designed so that renters don’t have the power themselves. Using sites like Craigslist make it feel like we’re still in the days of the internet’s wild west. I had really unpleasant experienced on other sites as well, and they never felt reliable to me. It was like closing my eyes and hoping for the best. There is no guarantee that the apartments posted on the other sites are real, and the agents that respond to me aren’t vetted. I had no idea who I was working with, and a few times it felt like a bait-and-switch scam. I knew there had to be a better way.
HC NYU How does your app address/alleviate these flaws?ML The key to HomeSwipe’s design is the simplicity of it all. All you have to do is open your app, put in your preferences, and start swiping! We clean up the data to ensure that we’re not showing you spam. We remove all of the duplicates, and we validate our agents to ensure they’re qualified to work with you. You’ll only see one apartment one time on our platform – you don’t have to worry about confusing postings advertising the same place. Most importantly, our system learns over time. The app improves as it collects more and more data because we know what kind of apartments should be where. For example, if an agent tries submitting an apartment to us indicating a building has an elevator and unit number “33AB”, we’ll block it right away.
HC NYU What is it about HomeSwipe that gives it an edge over hiring a broker or using Craig’s List (aside from obvious reasons?ML You are still dealing with agents/brokers on HomeSwipe. The key advantage is how we control that connection to the broker. It’s the Uber-esque finesse that makes the experience smooth – you know that you’re working with a trusted professional and that you’re in a verified environment. There are no checks and balances on Craigslist – anyone can go and post whatever they want. Most importantly, many Craigslist postings are bait-and-switch. The New York City Council even conducted a study that showed more than 30% of postings on Craigslist for real estate were questionable.
HC NYU Why did you create an app that follows the same format as dating apps such as Tinder? Is there a certain flow to it that makes it easier for users or because finding the perfect place is essentially like finding the a significant other?ML Apartments always swipe right ;). We looked at current apps and they just gave us a headache. Imagine opening up another apartment app – you’re immediately presented with a map. On that map are 10,000 little data points spread out around Manhattan. You have no idea what to tap next, and you’re overwhelmed with the data being presented to you. It’s a case of analysis paralysis.
HomeSwipe is elegant. We make it really easy for you to make a decision – yes or no. We show you apartments in a bite-sized manner, ensuring that your experience is great throughout. You’re absolutely right – finding the perfect place in NYC sometimes feels like finding your perfect significant other.