RentChimp’s 2011 launch
LOS ANGELES – In 2008, AGBeat introduced the real estate world to real estate bookmarking webapp Dwellicious.com which was recently acquired by real estate marketing company VHT. In April, we introduced you to bookmarking site Nestio.com which recently received $750,000 in seed funding and have aggressive expansion goals and aim to provide transparency to the real estate transaction.
Focused on renting, RentChimp has recently launched with the goal of helping consumers find rental units with full social media integration allowing users to collaborate in a meaningful way on their search and keep them organized.
Founder, Clark Giguiere said, “We’re not another real estate search engine. Search is saturated.”
RentChimp is currently available in Orange County, Cook County, Dallas County, Fresno Area, King County, Los Angeles County, New York, San Diego County, San Francisco Bay, South Florida with other cities slated to come online soon.
RentChimp features
The site offers a simple interface and a bookmarklet for consumers to use that is rich with drag and drop features. Alternatively, users can copy and paste Craigslist URLs (and as of today Realtor.com rentals) on to RentChimp.com where it charts each listing, comparing their basic details. We like the ability to drag users’ favorite rental listings from their list to order their preference, and even give them star ratings.
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Interestingly, in order to access RentChimp, users have to log in with Facebook and give up their basic information which many companies opt not to ask for up front. The capture mechanism is immediate which puts them in a unique position to offer detailed data to Realtor partners down the road.
Why RentChimp is competitive with other bookmarking sites
The site was founded by AgentPair.com where RentChimp’s blog redirects to. “AgentPair is a licensed real estate brokerage, offering customers a 21st century home buying experience. With social networking at its core, AgentPair incorporates tools such as Facebook and Twitter to allow friends and followers to positively influence home buying decisions.”
Their recent launch is definitely competitive with the established Nestio and possibly Dwellicious in the long run given that it is founded by Realtors and is very simple for consumers to use and understand.
