2023 Spring Issue - 74

to potential renters-enabling developers to decide
whether to spend their budget to install hardwood
floors, go with a rooftop sundeck instead of a swimming
pool, or provide concierge service or fitness
programming. The company has started a gradual
rollout of its platform, which eventually will be available
nationwide.
Rewards Points for Renters
Kaner sees proptech as a way to improve multifamily
residential's basic execution. " The crux of it is how to
get the best tenants in and keep those tenants happy
and paying their rent on time, and getting them to
renew, " he says.
Stake, a startup backed by Olive Tree, aims to take
that even further-reshaping the financial relationship
between landlords and tenants by providing cashback
rewards in exchange for paying rent on time
or renewing leases early. Rowland Hobbs, company
cofounder and CEO, says it is time for landlords to try
an approach that has worked for credit card companies,
airlines, and retailers such as Walmart.
With data accessible through the New York
Stake, a startup backed by
Olive Tree, aims to reshape
the financial relationship
between landlords and
tenants by providing cashback
rewards in exchange
for paying rent on time or
renewing leases early.
" You're now really able to model out how that new
project or repositioned asset ultimately is going to
perform, " says Michael Broder, RCKRBX cofounder,
president, and chief executive officer. " You're now
able to hear directly from those populations who are
most likely to consider and choose that particular
project in that particular submarket and understand
where those rent rates and demand levels are, and
what is really accretive to those factors, based on
what's important to those populations. "
A developer can use the polling data in RCKRBX's
platform to look at a geographic area and see how
a project would appeal to survey participants there,
whose income level, age, and demographic characteristics
have been verified.
It is possible to drill down to details such as the
room size and configuration of apartments, building
amenities, and even the finishes that would appeal
74
URBAN LAND SPRING 2023
City-based startup's dashboard, " it becomes a pretty
simple equation: here's how much cash back to get
the action that you want from your renters, "
Hobbs says. The cash-back benefits are coupled
with other financial services that Stake provides to
tenants. Through a partner bank, Stake offers free
checking accounts and debit cards, and even reports
on-time rent payments to credit bureaus to help tenants
build their creditworthiness. The startup also
provides salary advances to tenants. " It's like, hey,
we know your paychecks are coming in, we see them
every month, " Hobbs says. " And that means [tenants]
can pay their rent or other bills earlier. "
Using Stake's dashboard, landlords can even
customize their incentives-tailoring them to reduce
delinquency rates for studio apartments or the time
needed to rent three-bedroom units, Hobbs says.
Moreover, the financial benefits provide a way to differentiate
a building from others on the same block.
More such innovations are likely on the way. " It's
such a blue ocean of opportunity, " says Ian Bel,
managing principal and chief executive of Olive Tree
Holdings and a strategic adviser to Stake. " We don't
think there's one killer app that's the panacea of the
industry. We think there are a lot of killer apps. " UL
PATRICK J . KIGER is a Washington, D.C.-based writer and
author.
STAKE
2023 Spring Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of 2023 Spring Issue
