Thought Leaders in Financial Technology: Karthik Manimozhi, CEO of RentMoola (Part 5)

Karthik Manimozhi: In many cases, the whole framework is working as designed. The problem is, it leaves too many people outside of the framework. We are looking at our range of landlord portfolios going to affordable housing where we expect a lot more support from local counties.

They also have a responsibility to protect the renters from falling prey to predatory lending practices. Oftentimes, these lenders may blur the line between principal and interest and might set up a no-win situation for these already hurting families.

You also have mass migration with the option to work from home. Many people have decided to leave the large cities and go back to their families and cut-down on payments. For the first time, class A cities in Vancouver, Toronto, San Francisco, and New York are seeing increasing ads for vacancies.

The solution will be very composite and has a time factor to it. Something that we put to work for the next one to three months may be completely out of rhythm for the next four to six months if things don’t fundamentally improve.

This is a question of incremental strain and what we have to worry about is what breaks the camel’s back. Being an optimist, we are looking at is how we can provide flexibility. If you have to relocate and move to a new building, can we help you not have to come up with three months’ worth of rent? Can you instead just spend $200 a year? That is one way of creating flexibility. Could you utilize our partner’s line of credit? Keeping control and leveling the need for financial literacy is key. It’s the FinTech provider’s responsibility to make it easy for people to know how to maintain their score.

Creating intuitive user experiences on the platform is going to be important so that we can level the field and this multi-generational population with very varied circumstances are not victimized because of who they are. It’s one of those situations where you’re going to need a range of strategies.

They are all intertwined because there is a domino effect. If the record eviction goes through, it increases homelessness. Your government support programs are also going to skyrocket. The issue here is which of these issues should be tackled upstream to prevent homelessness? Which are the ones you need to be reactive downstream? We are thinking about providing viable options. The risk profile does not change. It’s a cycle. All people need is to get through this tough period, and they will have a second chance at life. They have to make sure that this financial spiral does not completely consume them.

Sramana Mitra: Do you work in Seattle?

Karthik Manimozhi: I’m in San Diego.

Sramana Mitra: I’m asking if the company has a portfolio of properties in Seattle.

Karthik Manimozhi: Most of our customers are in California and New York. We are operational in 400 cities. 

This segment is part 5 in the series : Thought Leaders in Financial Technology: Karthik Manimozhi, CEO of RentMoola
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