Meet the Real Estate Tech Founder: Luke Cohler from Jetty

In our latest real estate tech founder interview, we’re speaking with Luke Cohler, co-founder and President of Jetty.

Without further ado…

What do you do?

I’m the Co-Founder and President of Jetty, an insurtech startup based in New York City. Together with my Co-Founder, Mike Rudoy, we started Jetty to solve some of the frustration we had when we ourselves tried to buy renters insurance—Mike had trouble with renters insurance coverage and I had a hard time securing an apartment after living in Brazil for a number of years. Our aim is to give renters faster, better, and more affordable access to insurance products that help them secure new homes and protect their things after they’ve moved in. We’re also really proud that Jetty had its one-year launch anniversary in April!

What problem does your product/service solve?

We make renting a home faster and easier with our three core products: Jetty Renters Insurance, Jetty Deposit, and Jetty Lease Guaranty.

When a renter moves into a new apartment, he or she can reduce the move-in cost of a cash security deposit with Jetty Deposit, a service which replaces the traditional security deposit with a small, one-time fee that fulfills the security deposit obligation to the property owner. Additionally, if that renter happens to be a student, a foreigner, or someone with a limited credit history, Jetty Lease Guaranty allows us to act as his or her guarantor, replacing the need for a co-signer and fulfilling the property owner’s need for downside protection. We see these products as beneficial to the entire move-in ecosystem, since they reduce risk for property owners and lower costs for renters.

Jetty Deposit and Jetty Lease Guaranty require a partnership with the property owner. But Jetty Renters Insurance does not. Any renter can get a quote for affordable renters insurance through our mobile-friendly site. We’ve really invested a lot of time and resources in making the experience seamless. Customers can get affordable and fast renters insurance with the smallest amount of information possible. Additionally, we offer unique protections, like bedbug protection and our Portable Electronics Coverage Power-Up which aligns well with what consumers want in a digital-first insurance product.

What are you most excited about right now?

Moving season (June and July) is here! Along with remodeling, getting married, and having a child, moving can be one of the most stressful times in a person’s life. Jetty was specifically built to solve (some of) this pain and we’re excited to be up-and-running with all three of our products.

What’s next for you?

The Jetty mission is to build an insurance brand and products around the new way people are living their lives, today. More people are moving to large urban centers and renting homes before owning (or not ever owning a home). We see continued opportunity to build an insurance business that solves the need for that customer at the intersection of real estate and consumer needs. This means continuing to work with real estate partners and customers to create new insurance products that help renters move in, move out, and protect their things and family when in their rental homes.

What’s a cause you’re passionate about and why?

At Jetty, one thing we’re really passionate about is fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. We serve a really large and diverse customer base across the entire United States, so we’re making great efforts to recruit a team representative of that diversity, including people of all genders, race, religion, age, sexual orientation, and so forth. That’s the best way for us to ensure our product meets the needs of folks everywhere—and helps us build a better society in the process!

Thanks to Luke for sharing his story. If you’d like to connect, find him on LinkedIn here.

We’re constantly looking for great real estate tech entrepreneurs to feature. If that’s you, please read this post — then drop me a line (drew @ geekestatelabs dot com).

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5 Ways on How to Achieve a Well-Maintained Bathroom

Content originally published and Shared from http://perfectbath.com

 

The bathroom is mostly the bane of most proud homeowners’ life. It is probably the place that you spend most time cleaning since it is the place where there is a constant battle against grime, bacteria, mold, and dirt. As a result, it is essential to maintain a clean and fresh bathroom.

 

With that, here are a few tips on how you can achieve this:

1. Adequate storage.

Having your bathroom in order and throwing out any unnecessary items can go a long way when cleaning your bathroom and creating adequate space. Most probably, you have a lot of products in your bathroom that are not necessary and rarely use them.

 

These items and products such as used empty shampoo containers, conditioners containers and other bottles take up space in your bathroom, creating a feeling of crowdedness in your bathroom. Crowded areas are more difficult to clean and maintain. Get rid of these unused items and leave only useful products. If you do not have a drawer or cupboard, you can put them in one container to make it more organized.

2. Ventilation is crucial.

When taking showers and baths a lot of steam is produced. You should know that proper ventilation is vital to get rid of this steam. The steam tends to settle on the bathroom walls which can cause molds to grow. If your bathroom does not have a window, then you can install an extractor fan to get rid of the steam. Even though this seems like a tedious job, it is essential. Having a damp bathroom will always be unhygienic, unpleasant and dirty.

3. Get rid of the curtains wet materials.

Shower curtains are subjected to a lot of moisture regularly, and they are rarely adequately dried. Dump curtains create a conducive environment for bacteria to breed which is not good for you if you want a clean and hygienic bathroom. To avoid this, you should swap the curtains with simple, and modern shower screen which are easy to wipe clean after using your bathroom. Shower screens are easy to maintain. You do not have to swap them each time to make your bathroom look more spacious.

 

You can also exchange your curtains with easy-to-clean blinds which will give your bathroom a fresher look and also molds are much less likely to grow in them. Also, it is important to dry all other wet materials like towels, and bathmat after every use. If molds grow in your bathroom, you can look for solutions from mold removal experts Ferro Canada.

4. Avoid oil stains or rings.

Getting rings and stains out is not a fun thing to do, and therefore, you should avoid their formation as much as possible. Avoid the formation of oil stains and rings by rinsing your bathtub using warm water. If the stains are already formed, clean and scrub the tub using abrasive cleaners. You should clean as often as possible in order to maintain a spotless bathroom.

5. Clean grout.

There are little crevices between the tiles in your bathrooms which can hold drops of water which can easily lead to the growth of mold and mildew. You can use a mixture of water and bleach to scrub the tile to clean bacteria out and prevent the development of molds. Also, do not forget to remove the bleach with warm water and a pH neutral cleaner to protect your skin and eyes from burning while you use the shower next time.

 

It is essential to maintain your bathroom on a regular basis since it is the one place that can easily be affected by bacterias. The bathroom should be a comfort zone for you everytime you use it. The above few tips will help you maintain a clean and hygienic bathroom.

Contributed by: Perfectbath.com Foremost experts in bathroom design and function.

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How Renting Out Your Vacation Home Can Land You in Hot Water

Ready to buy that ski cabin or lake house? Renting it out while you’re not using it is a great way to make it happen - but not so fast. Lender rules may not allow it, so here's what you need to know.

Loan types and their rules

The first step to financing your vacation home is understanding what mortgages are available and their rules about renting:

• Primary residence loans. These loans are the most favorable, and you'll get the lowest possible mortgage rates. These loans require you to move into the home within 60 days of closing and live in it for at least one year. After that, you're free to rent out the home.
• Second-home loans. These loans have the same rates as primary residences, so your rate will be the lowest it can be, but down payments must be larger - most lenders require 20 percent down. You qualify for the loan using your full primary residence housing cost plus your full second home cost. You can use the home for family and friends, but lenders won't let you rent the home.
• Non-owner occupied loans. Also called rental property loans, these loans offer rates .25 percent to .375 percent higher than primary residence or second home rates, and down payment requirements typically start at 30 percent. Your lender will let you know if you can use the rental income to qualify. These loans allow you to rent the home and use it when it's not rented.

Beware second-home loans

The best thing about a second-home mortgage is that the rates are the same as a primary residence mortgage. The worst thing is that you can't rent the home.

This is an often overlooked provision of second-home loans, but it's the most important, because if you ever rent your vacation getaway, you’ll violate the loan’s terms.

When you get a loan, there’s a document called the note, which spells out the loan’s amount, rate, payments, and fixed versus adjustable periods. Depending on what state you live in, you'll also have either a mortgage or a deed of trust in addition to your note, which spells out additional loan requirements. (See which states use mortgages versus deeds of trust.)

At first glance, a second-home mortgage or deed of trust seems like it has the same requirements as a primary residence. Provision 6 says you must move in within 60 days and live there for at least one year - then you're free to rent it out. Here's a sample:

However, there's an addendum - called a rider - in mortgages and deeds of trust that replaces this friendly requirement with a new, much more strict requirement saying that you can't rent out the home. Here's a sample:

This language, though hidden deep in the loan documents you'll sign before closing, makes two critical points:

1. You can't rent the home.
2. If you applied for a second-home loan and rent it out, your entire loan balance could be called due and payable by your lender.

Choosing a loan

So, if you plan to afford a vacation home by renting it out, you can’t finance it with a second-home loan. But you’ll need to review non-owner occupied loan options with your lender to meet the objective of using and renting a home that's not your primary residence.

As noted above, this means you'll need to put down a larger down payment, and your rate will be slightly higher. But it's a small price to pay for the flexibility of earning income off of a home that you also use for your own enjoyment.

Top featured photo from Shutterstock.

Related:

• How to Handle Long-Distance House Hunting Like a Champ
• The Counteroffer: Negotiating a Real Estate Deal
• 3 Steps to Buying a Vacation Home With Friends

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of Zillow.

Originally published October 4, 2016.

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Conscious attention

There is a meditation exercise which consists of adding – generally for ten minutes a day – the reasons for each of our actions. For example: “I now read this blog because I saw a link in Facebook or Twitter. I now think of such-and-such a person, because the subject I read about lead me […]

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Meet the Real Estate Tech Founder: Jon Boller from Grid Consulting

In our latest real estate tech entrepreneur interview, we’re speaking with my friend and former colleague Jon Boller, co-founder of Grid Consulting. Jon and I worked at Zillow together “back in the day”. He was one of the first 5 inside sales representatives Zillow hired in 2008, consistently outperformed the vast majority, and rose through the ranks over the years to lead the new ventures team.

Without further ado…

What do you do?

I am the Co-Founder of Grid Consulting, we work with growth-oriented team leaders and brokers on their strategy and operations to improve their margins & ROI.

What problem does your product/service solve?

The real estate industry has a million products, coaching programs, and lead sources that professionals pay for, however, there isn’t one company that focuses on helping the agent get more out of their dollar. I spent 9+ years at Zillow Group as the Senior Director of the New Ventures team, this new company is our way of taking what we learned from Zillow Group building multiple 100+ teams that were operationally strong and applying our learnings objectively for a small subset of growth-oriented leaders. We are here to help you make more money frankly.

What are you most excited about right now?

Disruption and the uncertainty of the Real Estate industry. There’s so much Venture Capital money flowing in and some are making big bets, others are just kind of dipping their toes into the water. I’m pumped to see whose big swings pay off and what the industry looks like in 12 to 24 months.

What’s next for you?

We’re building a brand that is going to be synonymous with success in Real Estate. The beauty in being independent is that we can attack challenges and problems from a super objective place, we’ve always been known for our speed, execution, and ability to think 2 years ahead, now we get to apply that for a broader group of professional partners. I feel more inspired and enlightened now than ever before.

What’s a cause you’re passionate about and why?

I’m passionate about people chasing their dreams and continually evolving.

You can have a job, or you can have a career, or you can have a calling, and if you can somehow figure out how to have a calling, you have hit the jackpot, cause that’s the big deal.
– Bezos

Thanks to Jon for sharing his story. If you’d like to connect, find him on LinkedIn here.

We’re constantly looking for great real estate tech entrepreneurs to feature. If that’s you, please read this post — then drop me a line (drew @ geekestatelabs dot com).

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Your Saturday Baseball Post

It’s another Saturday, the first in June; during this 2018 baseball season. The season rolls on, always with unexpected occurrences. Yet it’s still baseball, and it’s always great and to be treasured. You never know when it might make you happy or a little blue.

These are the dog days of summer that are so often spoken of, from now until the end of August. Baseball is about to take center stage. Every Saturday, we put the flag at half mass to honor the greatest sport on earth on the best day of the week.

Once again, we have our kids all day by ourself. We will need our ‘A’ game. Let’s hope it goes okay and we survive. Post any thoughts you have on today’s action in the comments.

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Indie Brokerage Intown Expert Realty Is Now Nest Realty Atlanta

I’d like to congratulate one of our Geek Estate Mastermind members, Jennifer Kjellgren (previous interview here) for her new partnership with Nest Realty. Intown Expert Realty is rebranding as Nest Realty Atlanta. With 11 offices throughout North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee — and now Georgia — Nest Realty is a company methodically building a culture focused brokerage. I believe they started franchising last year, you can see their current “pitch” here.

So, why did Jennifer decide to join a larger franchise?

While the numbers are important, our focus remains on the consumer experience, a real estate transaction very complicated and emotional, and we value Nest’s commitment to elevating that experience through custom marketing plans, investment in technology and smart growth.”

Indie and Boutiques, and Tech-Enabled Brokerages/Franchises

One topic I’m particularly interested in is the fierce competition between the various franchises/brokerage offerings. I touched on the topic of the “tech-enabled brokerage pitch” a few months ago. I want to better understand why people are joining these companies, and what they are doing in terms of recruiting.

If you are an agent, team leader, or brokerage contemplating a switch and have spoken to any/all of these companies, I’d love to speak with you.

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