Atlas Lane is a newly launched D.C.-based startup led by Rebel Mail co-founder Trever Faden. The company is trying to disrupt the residential property management market; an industry that Faden described as being largely filled by management organizations that primarily cater to entire apartment complexes on the behalf of giant real estate development firms.
Atlas Lane, which already boasts customers and a steady revenue stream according to Faden, aims to streamline the relationship between "boutique" property owners and their renters through a simple, customer-facing mobile app.
Rather than focusing on the larger real estate property, Atlas Lane works with landlords that own just a few single units—these are your mom and pop sort of home owners seeking a more convenient way to manage their tenant requests and payments.
Faden explained that his startup will be filling a demand that exists in the market today, especially in the D.C.-area, but that isn't being fulfilled by the traditional players.
"D.C. is actually the perfect market for us. It’s over 59 percent renter-occupied, with a high level of transience. Functionally, there are a lot of the property owners in D.C. that work for the World Bank, the State Department, and government contractors that require them to leave for years on end. During their hiatus from D.C. they’re going to need someone to take care of their property, help cover the mortgage, and prepare it for their arrival when they return. We want to be that person," Faden told DC Inno.
The Atlas Lane app integrates automatic payments/deposits, can find new tenants, coordinate repair services, answer questions about the property and generally, offers a better overall tenant experience, Faden said. For the landlord—who pays Atlas Lane an 8 percent fee on every monthly rent check for the managed property—they receive an occasional update and a direct bank deposit without ever needing to interact with their tenants. The 8 percent rate, Faden said, holds with today's going market price.
In terms of property repairs, 4-person Atlas Lane will schedule and find the best local repair person from their own directory dependent on communications with the tenant. The communications can be chat, video or photo based to show what needs to be fixed. In essence, the tenant can use the app to reach out to an Atlas Lane support member who then will qualify the issue and take the appropriate steps.
But it's not just about repairs and payments.
Faden said that Atlas Lane is now partnering with financial loan services that will front a month's rent for a tenant/user if necessary. This guarantees that the landlord will not miss a month's income and acts as an auxiliary feature for those who need it. The interest on the loan is negotiated between the user and loan services, themselves.
In an interview with DC Inno, Faden said that he first came up with the idea for Atlas Lane after a poor experience with a real estate management company.
"I had a condo on 17th street that I wanted help finding tenants for, so I decided to call a bunch of local property managers and take meetings. Half of them never called back, and the ones that did were so thoroughly underwhelming that we ultimately decided to sell the property instead of dealing with it ... I started digging into the space and realized that there’s a giant opportunity for a customer-centric residential property management company with the internal technology to really streamline the business," Faden explained.
Over the next year, Atlas Lane will continue to expand its presence in D.C. and Maryland, but Faden said he is "not interested in rolling out nationally as fast" as possible.
He added, "this is a boots-on-the-ground business, which means we need to, and want to, take our time in each market, truly understand how to provide a long lasting quality experience to owners and tenants, and then worry about the next market we move into."
