Prominent NYC Landlords Invest In Apartment Rental Platform Doorkee
Tech startup Doorkee has raised $5.7 million from New York City landlords Simon Baron Development, Stonehenge NYC and Bushburg Properties, among other investors.
A major landlord in New York City and others have invested $5.7 million in a technology startup that has launched a platform to that saves landlords money on apartment broker fees and vacancy costs.
The startup is Doorkee, which has operated in New York since 2019, and raised the funding round from landlords Simon Baron Development, Stonehenge NYC and Bushburg Properties. Other investors were venture capital firms Corigin Ventures and Alpha Edison. The company, which has operated in New York City since 2019, will use the funding to expand its platform and grow into other US markets.
Resident turnover is a logistical hurdle for Simon Baron because it finds out less than 30 days in advance that renters are moving, leaving little time to market and lease the space, according to Matthew Baron, president at Simon Baron. Then the property sits vacant longer.
“This is why a platform like Doorkee is so promising, and it’s why we chose to invest,” Baron explained. “They’re helping us to reduce our vacancy time, leading to significant cost savings, and providing a viable alternative to the traditional rental process that benefits us and our tenants.”
Currently, the landlords using Doorkee own more than 40,000 apartments in New York City. The way it works is that landlords integrate the Doorkee platform into their leasing systems.
Tenants can earn a $1,000 average reward if they notify their landlords that they plan to move up to 100 days in advance. That gives the landlords extra time to find replacement tenants, which means their units do not sit vacant as long. Such vacancies cost landlords $3.1 billion annually in New York City, said a press release.
Renters looking for apartments use Doorkee to locate an apartment well ahead of time, do virtual tours and sign leases. This saves money on apartment broker fees—they amount to $600 million annually in New York City—both for the landlords and renters.
Doorkee co-founder and COO Jordan Franklin said that the Doorkee platform could cut landlords’ costs by 60% by slashing broker fees and vacancy costs. It saves about $5,000 per apartment.
Franklin noted, “The time for innovating the rental process is long overdue, and this has never been more true than in the situation we find ourselves in today with COVID-19, which is forcing people to transact almost entirely online.”