- The app was launched in June 2024 and is currently only available in Caracas
In Venezuela, renting a property can be a complex task due to advance payments and administrative procedures, which represent an economic barrier. To address this difficulty, Quarto was launched in June 2024, an application designed to facilitate access to property rentals in the country. This tool has the potential to facilitate the process for a portion of the population by offering a more accessible solution to the challenges of the Venezuelan real estate market.
Quarto’s business model is based on offering the rental of apartments, annexes, rooms or commercial premises without requiring the payment of advances or deposits.
Juan Vicente Hernández and Juan Pablo Vincentelli, co-founders of Quarto, explained in an interview for The Diary The idea for the app came from observing the lack of guarantees in the real estate market, especially for landlords. Hernandez and Vincentelli realized that one of the main concerns of landlords is the lack of financial protection against possible damage to properties.
In the traditional real estate market, landlords often require payment of months’ rent in advance and an additional deposit to cover potential damages to the property.
Hernández and Vincentelli identified that this situation means that tenants who use Quarto are guaranteed an insurance policy against damage to the property. The application has a partnership with an insurance company, which offers them greater security to avoid requesting deposits or advance payments from tenants.
In addition, another difficulty in the real estate market in Venezuela is that landlords did not have access to detailed information about potential tenants. The absence of a detailed profile and background of the tenant, according to the market study carried out by the creators of this initiative, generates insecurity in the rental process. To address this concern, Quarto has a risk analysis of the users who apply for the service.
“When a tenant registers on Quarto, the platform conducts a thorough analysis of their profile. This analysis includes an assessment of financial and behavioral background, among other factors. The goal is to provide landlords with a detailed report on the risk associated with each potential tenant. In this way, landlords can make informed decisions based on accurate and relevant data,” Vincentelli explained.
How to use Quarto?
The app is available for iOS and Android users. Those who wish to download the app can do so by clicking on the app Please note that their rental offer is currently only available in Caracas.
To start the rental process, the user must create a profile and complete a form with personal information about their income in order to evaluate whether the person is able and financially capable of assuming the rental.
Here are some of the questions:
– Who will be responsible for the contract?
– Who will live on the property?
– What is the main source of income?
– How do you usually receive your income?
– What is your gross monthly income in dollars?
After the profile is verified, it is possible to select a property to rent.
Quarto says that tenants (the contract can be for up to two people) must have a minimum income of between 2 and 2.5 times more than the price of the property. That is, if the property is worth 200 dollars, tenants must prove that their earnings are between 400 and 450 dollars per month.
In addition, a fee must be paid for the tenant’s use of the app. At the beginning of a rental contract, an amount equivalent to one month’s rent is charged for the service. For example, if the monthly rent is $300, the initial fee will be $600. After the initial payment, the $300 corresponding to the monthly rent will be charged.
On the other hand, Quarto’s co-founders explained that the payment process between tenants and landlords is managed centrally on their platform. Funds are transferred to the landlord through the National Credit Bank (BNC), either through transfers in bolivars or cash withdrawals.
What are the requirements that landlords and tenants must meet to use Quarto?
From a legal perspective, landlords must present their ID card and provide the property title or a document proving their authorization to rent the specific property.
Tenants, on the other hand, need to present their ID card to start the process. In addition, the application may request additional documents, such as a declaration of income, to complete the rental process.
What is the waiting time for renting?
Once the person approves the rental application filter, an agent will contact them to arrange a visit to the property. If the user is satisfied with the property, they can make an offer and begin the rental process.
On the other hand, if the property does not meet your expectations, it is possible to re-enter the application to select another property and schedule a new visit.
The negotiation process can take between 3-5 days. However, moves only take place on two specific dates each month: the 5th and the 20th. If a person has completed registration and signed a rental agreement, then moving into the property can only take place on one of these two days. This means that regardless of when the agreement is signed, moves can only take place on those set dates.
“For example, if a person entered the app on the 15th of the month, saw the property they liked and visited it on the 16th or 17th, by the 20th this user could be moving,” Hernandez explained.
Renting in Venezuela with guarantees: advantages and disadvantages
As of August 8, 2024, Quarto has surpassed 10,000 downloads on the Play Store for Android users. Although the platform offers landlords guarantees through property damage insurance, the commission applied to tenants at the start of the contract can be an economic barrier, which could prevent part of the population from accessing the platform, as occurs in the traditional real estate sector.
Another consideration about the platform is that, because it was launched on June 4, 2024, it offers a limited range of rental options. The selection of available properties is still small and most are located between the municipalities of Sucre and Baruta, suggesting a normal stage in the development of initiatives.
Despite this, both Juan Vicente Hernández and Juan Pablo Vincentelli are confident that the product will continue to grow because it addresses one of the biggest demands in the Venezuelan real estate market: renting without months in advance and allowing users to manage monthly payments through the application.
In this way, Quarto stands out as one of the first projects in Venezuela to respond to a growing demand for modern solutions in the real estate market. The platform introduces innovations such as centralized management of payments and guarantees for landlords, which were not widely available in the country before.
#app #renting #Venezuela
2024-08-11 14:00:32
