Let’s face it, you’re probably renting where you live right now, correct? It’s a big part of the culture in Kuwait, typical in mainland Europe, and increasingly more prevalent globally in the last eleven years than purchasing property. Renters may not want to be tied to the commitment of a monthly mortgage while being forced to move around building a “portfolio career” during this time now when human resources are solely considered an expenditure that should be cut for corporate short-term financial gain. Or, for those without families, or those starting one, renting is often more viable. Many people simply are not best placed to buy a home at the moment. Paying off loans, anyone?
But renting is not the answer to everything, “as one hand giveth” didn’t become a thing out of nowhere. There is an uncertainty that comes with renting that you don’t really get when you own your own place. Moving house is one of the top five most stressful events to occur in one’s life, third only to divorce and a death in the family, so putting your home life in the hands of a landlord who may be unscrupulous or not, is a gamble. The landlord has the final say and can change the locks or throw you out at any time, relatively speaking. Or what if you chose to rent the property because it had certain facilities in it, but they were always busy, irregularly accessible or never available. Of course, there are also any number of landlords out there who can regale you with stories about horrendous tenants whose kids drew all over the walls or who had to be gently reminded to pay the rent every month or left without notice, taking the furniture with them. Landlords have no idea to whom they are entrusting their property. It is risky for both parties.
And then came Mohammad Al Husaini, one of the co-founders of an app that makes it all a little easier for everyone. His career began after studying abroad, reading architectural engineering and graduating from the notoriously sports-focused Pennsylvania State University. After putting in his time with the family business, Mohammad had other ideas and started Prime Design Studio, an imaginative interior design company specializing in the commercial sector but able to deliver from renovations to restaurants, residential to retail and all other projects in-between. With his knowledge of real estate Mohammad brought a significant contribution to the creation of Banani App, finding the process of solving these kinds of problems energizing and exciting.
So, what does exactly Banani App, a complete property management application that helps both the tenant and the landlord, do? Essentially the main goal is to increase the expectations of what good service quality provided by landlords looks like. It is not a completely “Black Mirror” episode, but in the era of user feedback, Yelp, Trip Advisor, the entire internet, Banani App allows current tenants to evaluate the property in which they live using multiple factors such as cleanliness, available parking and value for money as well as other factors.
This extensive and relevant information allows potential tenants to determine whether or not they would be interested in the property before they take the time to view it. When many people work six-day weeks, or certainly long hours, the time saving opportunity through engaging with the Banani App is a valuable one. The pool of properties is also larger than the places you would be able to research, given limited time, on your own. And you are not limited to only the properties on an agent’s register either. Plus you can “follow” the building you are interested in as well as see how many people are following the same one; this almost acts like a waiting list. If the building is popular it will have a number of people following it, which can indicate you should continue looking while you wait for your dream unit to become available. The price ranges of the units within the building, and which ones are available (with the respective price) is listed, along with the number of bedrooms and bathrooms.
In real time, landlords can also keep an eye on their properties by tracking maintenance repairs, which unit requested these and how or when these have been executed, if at all. Landlords can also take payments more easily via knet on the app and not just rely on collecting the money from the haris when they can find him. This payment method benefits the tenants too who may not be comfortable carrying around a month’s rent in cash in their wallets while they are trying to pay. Bookable facilities can also be managed via the app.
Without doubt, a property with a high Banani App rating would increase in its perceived value. It is not just a case of the quantitative income that can be secured from each unit but a qualitative value that in many cases can be deemed priceless. Landlords, what is it about your available property that makes it just that little bit more appealing than others? Tenants, maybe you even know of someone who may not have the perfectly located building, but is not willing to give up where they are renting because of some other reason; a parking space, a great haris or even a rooftop pool.
As supply outstrips demand, it is the anecdotal evidence that may be the most important part of the app. Tenants for the first time have the upper hand in Kuwait. Everyone has their own particular demands of property or living space and Banani App holds a wealth of knowledge in one very powerful app. But this app is not an opportunity to pit landlord against tenant, in fact, Banani App switches neatly between the two so the same app is used by both parties, but it is an opportunity to bring the rental market experience out into the open, with increased transparency, trust and communication.
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