Till, a startup that aims to help renters set up customized payment schedules, has raised $8 million in a seed funding round.
Route 66 Ventures, MetaProp and NextGen Venture Partners participated in the financing, the first external round of funding for the Washington, D.C.-based company since its 2017 inception.
Till says its Flexible Rent platform helps keep renters from being evicted by giving them a way to create a customized payment schedule “that aligns with their individual cash flow, helping them to become consistent, on-time payers.” The company partners with institutional landlords, who then offer it to their tenants.
Till launched the analytics-driven platform in April with the goal of reducing evictions by as much as 50 percent. So far, the platform has been rolled out to 170 properties comprising 30,000 units in 14 states with 30% renter adoption.
Till Founder and CEO David Sullivan says the need for such a solution is even more paramount as the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to result in job loss, making it harder for people to keep up with rent payments.
“At Till, our mission is to enable renters to thrive in their homes by radically transforming rent into a positive and personalized financial experience,” he said.
The company plans to use the new capital mainly to grow its platform and increase adoption by landlords and renters nationwide. So far, Till has formed partnerships with a number of real estate owners and property management companies, including First Communities, TM Associates, Redwood Capital Group, ACRE, and Landmark Property Services.
Zak Schwarzman, general partner at MetaProp, said his firm is impressed with Till’s ability “to bridge the gap between the increasingly volatile income and expense patterns of renters and the more rigid financial realities of landlords.”
“As the uncertainty wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic and related economic fallout continues with no clear end in sight, it’s more important than ever that landlords find new, mutually beneficial, ways to work with renters to reduce late fees, minimize evictions and foster renters’ long-term financial health,m” he added.
Les Menkes, managing partner of ACRE, said that by using Till, his company has significantly reduced turnover at its buildings while avoiding imposing penalties on its renters.
He added that it’s also been able to “get a more comprehensive, accurate view” of its revenue stream.
No doubt this space is an increasingly crowded one. We recently covered the launch of another company, Xspaced, which launched this month with the goal of helping tenants and landlords create flexible installment plans for missed rent or security deposits.
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