Feedback on mobile app for multifamily brokers
Hey r/CommercialRealEstate,

I'm the founder of Reva, a smart assistant (like Siri) for multifamily brokers: [https://askreva.app](https://askreva.app). Reva helps brokers quickly access listing data from their phones, e.g. when an investor asks a tough question mid-tour and you can't remember the answer.

Clients can also use the app to look up information about a listing, which presents a new opportunity for brokers to keep them engaged in the era of social distancing.

If you're a multifamily broker (or know one) open to chatting about how Reva might be useful to you, I'd love to get your feedback. Feel free to comment here or shoot me a DM. Thanks.
[{"id": "foczjc0", "text": "What problem does this solve?", "replies": [{"id": "fodffal", "text": "Great question. Three pain points Reva addresses:\n\n1. Brokers lack a good tool for accessing listing data on their phone, which leads to embarrassing interactions with clients.\n\nI used to work in multifamily brokerage, and this was a problem that came up all the time on property tours. It's a not a great look when you don't know the answer to a question, but it's even worse when you have to find it by frantically scrolling through a 50-page OM on your phone. With our app, you can discreetly pull up the information in 2-3 clicks, or impress your client by asking Reva a question (\"What's the average rent per square foot for the 2 bed / 1 bath units?\") as you would Siri.\n\n2. Existing data sources (e.g. the offering memorandum PDF) are difficult to update and quickly become useless.\n\nBrokers spend lots of money designing and printing beautiful OM booklets. One month later, the owner releases a new rent roll and monthly operating statement, which means most of the data in the OM is now out-of-date. Brokers rarely bother to produce and distribute a new PDF, and it's too expensive to re-print the books. With a digital solution, you can easily update the data so you (and your clients) always have access the latest and most accurate info.\n\n3. Data quality control is an issue, especially on larger teams. \n\nBecause there's so much data to keep track of, brokers often \"shoot from the hip\" when asked a question: They'd rather look like they know the answer, even if they're not 100% confident it's the correct one. This is especially common on larger teams, e.g. when someone who's not the \"point person\" for a particular listing has to cover a property tour or receives a call from an interested buyer. Reva helps centralize the team's data, which gives brokers confidence that everyone (junior brokers, analysts) is sharing the correct information with clients.\n\nReva also has the added benefit of giving brokers insight into what buyers are thinking about a listing. (Who asked the most questions? What questions did they ask?)\n\nLet me know if any of these resonate with you. Grateful for your feedback, good or bad.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "foda6eg", "text": "Don\u2019t know what problem this solves. Also if my broker doesn\u2019t know a basic thing like \u201cwhat\u2019s the rent for a 2x1\u201d he never should have been hired. On tour if I ask something complicated I don\u2019t really care if they get back to me later on when they can answer it.", "replies": [{"id": "fodi9ad", "text": "Fair points.\n\nTo your first point, it's worth noting that Reva can answer more \"granular\" questions like:\n\n* \"What's the average rent per square foot for the renovated 2x1.5 units only?\"\n* \"What was the T-3 R&amp;M expense per unit?\"\n* \"What's the parking ratio?\"\n\nTo your second point, I think the app could still add value in that brokers don't always have a good system for following up, and often forget to follow up altogether. It turns what would have otherwise been a pain point into an opportunity to impress the client by having the answers on hand.", "replies": [{"id": "fodtpfp", "text": "I\u2019m not a broker, I\u2019m on investment side, but general experience is that brokers can (1) spitball the easy question (2) anything you can look up is already (or should be) in the package (3) brokers of institutional CRE are generally pretty good at follow up (4) a broker wouldn\u2019t want to ask about t3 RM or anything like that - if it\u2019s weird they\u2019ll be caught flat footed without being able to explain why it\u2019s weird. To that point I\u2019d rather the broker not know a \u201cnon standard tour question\u201d and look it up then ask a machine. Brokers want to stay away from answering questions that beget more questions that they can\u2019t gloss up. \n\nMaybe this thing is useful for like lower lower middle market people who also sell like houses or something but I can\u2019t see a professional investment sales broker working with anything above like a $15MM valuation that would find a lot of use with this. My $0.02, hope you guys figure it out! Good luck, start ups are hard.", "replies": [{"id": "foeb0wt", "text": "Really appreciate the feedback, especially your perspective from the investment side of things. For what it's worth, my personal background is in the \"institutional\" investment sales world (&gt;100 units, $10-100MM+), and Reva was created in an effort to \"scratch my own itch,\" so to speak. But I hear your points and will give some thought as to how we might target the lower/middle market. Without getting too into the weeds, I'll add that our long-term product roadmap includes automating some of the more cumbersome aspects of the marketing process, which you might feel \"moves the needle\" more than the app in its current form. In any case, thanks again for your encouragement and for taking the time to share your thoughts.", "replies": [{"id": "fogiqdp", "text": "My pleasure good luck! CRE needs some new technologies, it seems to get overlooked. ULI has a new (last 2 years) tech council that I\u2019ve heard a lot of great things about, might be worthwhile to look at the list of council members and see if there\u2019s anyone on that end who would be open to a conversation. Good luck!!!", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fodplcg", "text": "Is your app syndicated with every MLS in America?", "replies": [{"id": "fodryvq", "text": "There are companies that api that to you now.....I forget who surefire uses...", "replies": [], "depth": 2}, {"id": "fodsg9e", "text": "Sorry if this wasn't clear\u2014the app is for investment sales brokers who sell entire apartment communities, as opposed to selling (or leasing) individual apartments. \n\nThere are a few online marketplaces for these listings\u2014which we have plans to integrate into Reva in the future\u2014but generally they don't appear on the local MLS.\n\nIn its current form, Reva is primarily a tool for brokers to organize/access their \\*own\\* listing data and share it directly with registered clients that have signed a CA. It is not a tool to publicly market listings or conduct research on other listings in the market.", "replies": [{"id": "foie9gi", "text": "thank you for your reply. I wish you success with REVA (great name)", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "foeh7p7", "text": "I think you are on to something here. Question though, as a broker each time I am listing a property or preparing to tour a client am I supposed to upload the PL, OM, etc a few days in advance or is your upload turn around time fairly quick (same day)? Also, product guy here. What did you build this on?", "replies": [{"id": "foej1yv", "text": "Turnaround is quick, usually same day but never more than 2-3 business days. Right now it's \"white glove service,\" so once you submit your OM (or Excel rent roll / financials) we  handle the rest. Ideally you submit at least a few days before you launch your listing, and you can re-submit if/when you need to have the data updated. Eventually we plan to move to a self-service model where you can add/update listing data through our website.\n\nAs for the tech stack: the backend runs on Laravel (PHP) and the frontend uses Vue.js, including our mobile app thanks to a hybrid framework called Quasar (think React Native but for Vue instead of React).\n\nIf you work in the industry (CRE or tech), would love to pick your brain. Shoot me a DM if you're interested.", "replies": [{"id": "foejhlj", "text": "Ya I mean I've seen a few underwriting companies like RedIQ and Homelight have excel templates where the user input their info so that when its uploaded the server can read and do a self service type thing.\n\nNice! Vue is a good framework. Do you have a team?\n\nYou got the best of both worlds. I was formerly in Value Add Multifamily development then moved into cre tech to pursue building products. Much faster than developing a building haha!", "replies": [{"id": "foekfoh", "text": "RedIQ is definitely an inspiration\u2014their product is a great example of how standardizing/centralizing property data can be a huge time-saver for the team, and  can open up new opportunities for automation. We're trying to take a similar approach with Reva, but applied to marketing as opposed to underwriting.\n\nMy career has taken a similar path (multi acquisitions -&gt; brokerage -&gt; tech). Just shot you a DM so we can connect!", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "fokyza0", "text": "Hi\n\nRespectfully I dont know how much of a market there is for this. We buy most of our properties in the off market and on specific metrics. The brokers we work with know our metrics. Before its listed they contact us and are dialled in with the details.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}]