Alp Kantar is a Boston-based landlord and Leasing & Sales consultant with Boston Brokerage Group. He owns or manages over 400 properties in Boston and beyond, and has rented hundreds of rooms with SplitSpot.
The first apartment I ever rented with SplitSpot was on Hammond Street in Boston – right on the border of the South End and Lower Roxbury.
The unit opened up off-cycle, and I didn’t have an immediate tenant lined up to fill the vacancy. Ernesto Gaxha and David Mazza, the two Harvard and MIT-educated founders of SplitSpot, approached me to rent out the unit with their new startup. They said they could get me more in rent than I’d previously been receiving.
I thought to myself, “Are these guys crazy?”
Three years later, the answer to that question is, “nope, they’re just doing something new.” And it works.
I’m Alp, and I’m a veteran landlord here in Boston. I moved to the United States from Turkey and attended Northeastern University. After some time selling pizzas, I found my way into the real estate business. Now, I own or manage hundreds of properties across the city, and am expanding my reach into other areas as well.
What began as one unit on Hammond Street grew into a whole catalogue of rooms on SplitSpot. Ernesto and David have capitalized on a formula that gives landlords what we crave (peace of mind, hassle-free tenant interactions) and achieves flexibility for tenants. They’re high-character, motivated guys who deliver on what they promise. I’ve had so much success with SplitSpot that I even recently became an investor.
So you’re a landlord thinking of trying SplitSpot? Here’s what you need to know:
Life before SplitSpot
Filling multi-bedroom apartments is always a challenge in a city like Boston. My six and seven-room apartments are never lacking in quality, but it’s not easy to find a pre-packaged group of roommates looking to rent together. Inevitably, an empty unit will burn a hole in your pocket. And forget about filling a unit off the September 1st cycle.
Before SplitSpot, I’d often rented out individual rooms within these large and off-cycle units. Renting room-by-room is a headache. Roommates don’t know each other which can sometimes cause drama, leaving me to manage six or seven clashing personalities. I didn’t sign up to be a landlord to play the role of a parent or psychiatrist for my tenants!
Lastly, every landlord knows that the best tenant is the one that doesn’t call. Unfortunately, we’ve all dealt with unruly tenants that have a problem when they see a tiny scratch on the wall or their toilet takes a half-second longer to flush. With hundreds of units, managing and prioritizing all of these non-urgent inquiries is time-consuming.
Along comes SplitSpot
Working in real estate, you have to know how to read people. This is a character-based business, and I immediately got a good vibe from the people at SplitSpot.
For that first room on Hammond Street, SplitSpot paid the rent on time and took tenant inquiries off my plate. Once I signed on for 6 or 7 more rooms, they were still performing the same high-quality service, and the rent was still on time.
SplitSpot’s offering was appealing. They would handle rent collection, triage maintenance issues on their own, and advertise the unit if there was a vacancy. Tenants are willing to pay a premium, and often renew leases, because SplitSpot provides top-tier service and flexibility.
SplitSpot takes the headaches away from renting, plain and simple.
Why I recommend a SplitSpot partnership
SplitSpot has become more than just a renter; they’re a true partner. The team understands what renters want, and have even started advising me on how to build and renovate my units to make them appeal to renters.
To summarize, SplitSpot offers:
1.) More money for your apartment vacancies (even in a COVID market)
2.) Fewer maintenance calls
3.) Reduced turnover of tenants.
No-brainer, right?
What the future holds
I’m now getting units rented faster, and SplitSpot’s platform is getting my vacancies more exposure thanks to their tech-savvy tools.
Ernesto and David are expanding into new cities, and I plan on joining them in their business plan. If I buy a building and take their recommendations to optimize and make it renter-friendly, they’ve proven they can provide a steady stream of tenants.
We could all use fewer headaches. Get connected with SplitSpot to see if your units qualify. You won’t regret it.