Yoom gets further backing for online real estate transaction system

14 Apr 2010 | News
ICT

Funding

Yoom.de has raised an undisclosed amount of growth capital from Earlybird Venture Capital for the further development of its online platform for tenant-to-tenant residential real estate transactions. This follows the seed financing of the company by angel investors in Spring 2009.

Yoom.de enables current and new tenants, landlords and asset/facility managers to manage the process of changing tenants, without involving and paying real estate agents, providing an economic benefit for all concerned.

Christian Nagel, Managing Partner at Earlybird Venture Capital, said, “Yoom.de is an innovative business model with the potential to eliminate a market inefficiency, namely high real estate agent commissions without [those] agents providing a noticeable service or value-add in return.”

Nagel added, “The first transactions on the platform have proven that the model offers significant advantages not only to old and new tenants, but also to landlords and asset/facility managers, compared to the estate agent model.”

Tenants who want to move out of their existing apartment can create an brochure to advertise it free on Yoom.de, stating the value of any furnishings, installations, etc. in addition to their anticipated expenses associated with moving out of the apartment. Persons looking for a new apartment can browse these and arrange for a viewing appointment directly on Yoom.de. If they are interested in the apartment, would-be tenants then provide income and personal information and are allowed to enter a bidding process to become the next tenant of the apartment. When the bidding process is complete information on the highest bidders is forwarded to the landlord or manager, who then chooses the new tenant. The amount of the winning bid is then paid out to the previous tenant of the apartment.

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