u/ma-homeie — reddlx

Closed my 9th Gurgaon flat for landlords in 10 days. Same model every time. No broker, each owner saved ~₹35K. Sharing with all landlords because it keeps working.

Quit my job 6 weeks ago. Have been helping people find flats in Gurgaon. Started on the tenant side and ended up doing 9 landlord closures in 10 days.

Same playbook every time. Wrote it down because the consistency is what's surprised me.

10-day exclusivity. Owner gives me their flat exclusively for 10 days. Not on MagicBricks, not on 4 brokers. Just one channel. Sounds like a downside but it's the opposite. With exclusivity I can actually pre-vet tenants instead of competing with 4 other shortlists. We've got partnerships with Eternal, and a couple more corporates and are essentially attracting the "Uber Black" crowd. Owner gets fewer people through the door but every one of them is closer to closing.

0 brokerage fee instead of 15.

Closing in one afternoon. Tenant is pre-aligned on rent, deposit, move-in date before they meet the owner. The owner-tenant conversation is 5-10 minutes. They shake on it. Rent agreement signed in 1 afternoon.

The biggest surprise is that owners aren't even pushing back on the 10-day exclusivity. Most of them are exhausted by broker chaos and just want one trustworthy person to bring 3 good tenants. The broker model is built around volume because nobody's offered them quality.

For Gurgaon owners here who've rented out flats in the last year - what's been your experience? Curious if anyone's actually doing well with the current broker model or if everyone's quietly frustrated.

u/ma-homeie — 3 days ago

▲ 77 r/StartUpIndia

Got my first "exit this industry" threat in week 6 of building. Sharing because I think this is going to be the actual hard part.

Quit my job 6 weeks ago to build something in the Indian rental space.

Yesterday morning, two strangers stopped me outside my office. They knew my name. They very politely told me to "think about whether this is the right line of work." First 2 seconds were terrifying. Then I genuinely laughed because this is the best validation I could ask for 😛

But the laughter aside, this is a thing I hadn't fully internalised. The Indian rental brokerage industry is organised enough that 6 weeks of trying to organise this industry was noticeable. They have networks. They know each other. They tracked me back to my office in less than 2-3 weeks based on informal closures.

I think this is going to be the actual hard part of fixing this market. The brokers aren't going to leave 30-50K per closure on the table because someone built a better matching system. The industry has been operating on opacity for 30 years and the incentive to keep it that way is real.

For founders here building in similar legacy or regulated markets, when did you first realize the incumbents would push back? And how did you internalise that without losing momentum?

The first 6 weeks of building have been amazing. The next 6 months are clearly where this gets actually tested.

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u/ma-homeie — 9 days ago

▲ 131 r/gurgaon

Two brokers cornered me outside my office in Gurgaon yesterday and told me to "find another line of work."

Yesterday morning, walking from the parking to my office, two guys stopped me. I'd never met them. They knew my name.

They knew that I've been trying to organise the entire renting market in a super unique way.

They were very direct. They said I should "think carefully about whether this is the right line of work" and that "the brokerage business in Gurgaon doesn't really appreciate people who try to change the system."

First 2 seconds were genuinely terrifying. Then I just laughed because it was the best validation I've received about PMF so far 😛

But it made me realize something. The broker network in Gurgaon is organised enough that they noticed someone new, traced me back to my office, and sent two guys to suggest I stop. That's wild.

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u/ma-homeie — 9 days ago