A Chicago startup that builds software to help part-time landlords take care of their rental properties just raised new funding to grow its platform.
Rentalutions announced Thursday that it has raised a $2 million round led by St. Louis-based Cultivation Capital, with participation from Chicago's M25 Group and Sandalphon Capital.
Launched in 2012, Rentalutions is a platform for do-it-yourself landlords who want a better way to streamline the rental process. Rentalutions's software helps landlords find and screen tenants, create and sign leases, collect rent and manage maintenance issues. The startup to date has worked with 30,000 landlords and 65,000 tenants, CEO and co-founder Ryan Coon said.
"It's an all-in-one solution that ultimately helps [landlords] save time," Coon said.
The startup, which Coon says is "break even," makes money in a couple of ways. It charges landlords who have two or more properties a monthly fee to use the service--starting at $25 per month--and it partners with companies like State Farm and Two Men and a Truck, who pay Rentalutions to connect with the startup's clients. Landlords with just one property on Rentalutions don't have to pay.
Coon says Rentalutions plans to add new services to the platform, like the ability for landlords to track and manage rental expenses. It has raised $3 million in total since it was founded.
“Rentalutions is modernizing the way independent landlords think about and manage their rental properties," Cultivation Capital General Partner Cliff Holekamp said in a statement. "As a landlord myself, I know how difficult it can be to manage a property without any experience or comprehensive resources available.”
