

Ask HN: Review my startup, Leasely  - smalter

http://leasely.com<p>It works like so: the broker creates a rental and gets a unique URL for that rental to hand out to potential applicants. The applicants go to the URL to fill out an application which then the broker can review and accept/reject.<p>I made a test broker account for HN users: un:joe@broker.com, pw:broker.<p>I also created a couple of rental URLs managed by joe@broker.com:<p>http://www.leasely.com/apply/XQaKx/<p>http://www.leasely.com/apply/ArFiJ/<p>You can register as a tenant/applicant by visiting either of those.<p>Thanks!
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iloveyouocean
Homepage was uninspiring. Looks aren't everything, but I don't think you meet
the minimum 'confidence inspring' graphic design that convinces people you are
legit.

No social proof offered (has even one person used it and like it? Tell me
about it.). As a Broker, I would like to see at least an example of an
application before I invest the time to create an account, etc. Also, there is
no mention of pricing at all. If its free, say so. Saying nothing at all makes
me suspicious.

When I sign in as a Tenant, there are no current applications to view. There
is nothing at all to do. Understandable.

I like the concept, but to get actual Brokers/Tenants using Leasely, I think
you are going to need to put some more effort towards convincing: social
proof, examples, call to action, explanation of pricing.

~~~
smalter
Great points. Thanks.

I've been cold calling brokers, and on the phone, I've been getting very high
interest -- maybe 80% of brokers want to hear more via email. But the
conversion rate in getting those people signed up is lower.

Your suggestions may be part of the answer. Thank you.

------
ximeng
Some notes:

"Here are the 5 most recently updated of your applications."

How about, "Your 5 most recently updated applications:"

I couldn't see anything to do with the applications, they're all just listed
as "Not started".

"We're taking the headache out of the apartment rental applications."

The "out of the" should be "out of".

Should have calendar field for dates.

Pages keep timing out, news.y effect? Attachment uploading failed to be
maintained across an error with another part of the form.

No indication of whether emails are going to applicants, no way to change from
accepted to rejected or vice versa once you press that link. Not sure if you
sent anything to the mailinator address I signed up with, but couldn't see
anything there.

It really could do with pictures. Lease terms (e.g. renewal length, price).

If you're taking people's SSN numbers, I guess you would want to do that over
SSL. Give an alternative for people too nervous to do that.

Maybe put a flow diagram of how it works on the front page. A privacy policy
would probably be a good idea too.

No way to cancel an application after it's been accepted? No way to
communicate with the broker through the site?

It looks like it has potential, but I think could do with a bit more design
and iteration. What's going to attract people to the site?

\---

Edit: more...

Do you really want to make those URLs case sensitive? When I get the case
wrong I get a list of all brokers, but if I try to select any apart from Joe I
get an error saying I can only select Joe. Why the error? Why show the others
if I can't select them? The combos don't seem to be linked up.

As an unlogged in user why can't I view the properties that are available?

\--

Good luck

Edit: more on why email through the site:

I think you either want to explicitly encourage people to use email to ask
questions, or have a communication mechanism built in. The main advantage of
having a communication mechanism built in would be that you can keep track of
all the communication about a particular property in one place. It also makes
your site more sticky, as there's something to do other than clicking "accept"
or "reject". Even just adding notes to the "reject" would be helpful. I think
it naturally leads into keeping communication around the seed of the
conversation, which is the lease.

\--

After all, you're trying to add value here, if you're just directing people to
sort it out over email then make it clear what the benefits of using your site
are beyond it just being a directory of brokers and properties.

~~~
rguzman
Thanks! All are good points, and several of them things that we're planning on
doing e.g. SSL, encrypted SSNs with a note reminding users, email
notifications.

Would you mind going further on why would it be a good idea to let
communication with the broker happen on the site. In general, I get annoyed at
the re-implementation of email (e.g. facebook messages) when it is not
absolutely necessary (the messaging system on airbnb, however, makes perfect
sense).

------
arthurdent
Love the idea -- details are important here.

I've tried a few other services for my properties, but the UI tends to be
really sloppy for other "apply online" web services. You need to make it easy
for me to use and inviting for my potential tenants.

One thing that would make me almost certain to try it is if you could bundle
an affordable credit check into the application process. Any plans for
something like that?

I'd be interested in helping beta test this if you have a need for that.

~~~
rguzman
I'm smalter's co-founder. We would love to have you beta test, I'll email you
at the address on your HN profile.

As for credit checks: yep, that's our next step.

~~~
netmau5
Love the idea, but the UI makes it feel a little unconvincing. If you need
some front-end help, drop me a line and we can chat tonight.

~~~
rguzman
Yeah, I'd love to chat.

I can't find your email on your HN profile, but mine is rodrigo@leasely.com.

------
outreneil
i love the concept, great beta release. the design is simple and clean.

Couple suggestions about usability: 1) Tenant landing pages - make sure they
know what's going on, it has to be idiot proof. perhaps simplify the process
and tell them you'll be notified by email if the landlord has questions or
approves. they are typically going to be one time users, whereas the landlords
need a dashboard.

2) when tenant fills out application let them know which fields are mandatory
(different landlords may have different requirements, perhaps that should be
customize-able).

3) there was a display bug after i submitted my application as a tenant

4) when you reject an application perhaps you should allow the landlord to
submit a reason. also, landlord may want to ask prospective tenant questions.
allow them to communicate somehow or submit additional materials.

~~~
smalter
Thanks. We fixed the display bug. And thanks for the suggestions. Keeping
things simple is the lodestar and is quite difficult, but really worthwhile.

------
SHOwnsYou
Definitely make friendlier URLs.

The current URL structure basically requires an email to get the word out
about the listing.

I would suggest <tld><username><keyword> resulting in
<http://leasely.com/Joe/LakesideView>

~~~
smalter
Yeah, good point. Most brokers have either distributed the URL by putting in
in their listing, emailing it, or printing it at the top of paper
applications. We don't really see people saying the URL out loud to people.
Nevertheless, human friendly is always good and something we'll implement
soon!

~~~
Travis
Human friendly is also SEO friendly. I bet there's a HUGE long tail of people
looking for properties via some combination of those keywords.

I can even see a use case where I went to look at a property with Joe Black
Realty in City Center, and wanted to show it to my dad but didn't have the URL
handy.

I'd recommend that you focus on seeding to a few realtors, then really push
your SEO.

One thing that has worked for us in 2 sided markets is having a "partnership"
package. Where, for $N, you get a certain number of emails that we'll help you
write and send (leveraging our internet expertise), as well as a thousand
business cards with our co-branded info (and their custom landing page into
our system) onto it.

Might not scale, but for us it's a bootstrapping strategy. May it help you as
well.

~~~
smalter
Good point. Brokers and folks in the real estate media/seo community have
emphasized that seo is very important to brokers so they would be interested
in a service that helps with their seo that's part of what's automatically
syndicated when they, e.g., make a listing via postlets.

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vdondeti
It would be nice if tenants could login using their Facebook or other existing
credentials. This will also make it easier for users to try it out.

Also, the rental applications template page appears
(<http://www.leasely.com/sample/rental_application_forms/>) to be broken.

~~~
smalter
Thanks on both counts. Reducing friction in use is something we aim to do.

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kevinherron
Is this credit report real?

[http://leasely.com/site_media/app_doc_attachments/8/8/WHC%20...](http://leasely.com/site_media/app_doc_attachments/8/8/WHC%20Experian%20Credit%20Report.html)

I'm guessing its yours and modified, but it looks convincing :)

~~~
smalter
It was a modified credit report of mine, but I killed it because I got scared
of having any of that info out there. Thanks.

------
smalter
Clickable: <http://www.leasely.com>

