FutureRent's looking out for landlords with prepayment service

FutureRent says landlords could receive up to $60k of rental income upfront thanks to its newly launched prepayment service for investors.

Sydney-based proptech company FutureRent will pay residential landlords with tenanted properties up to 80 percent of their rent upfront, capped at $60,000. Those with vacant properties can get up to four weeks’ rent, capped at $12,000, in advance while they find a tenant.

"A lot of investors are asset rich and cash poor

“[Many landlords] have tied up so much money in their investment property, which can make it really difficult to pay for those other expenses.

“The biggest issue for people is generally liquidity, being able to access their money when and where they need.”

—FutureRent Co-Founder and Chief Executive Godfrey Dinh

Landlords complete an online application, gain approval within 48 hours and have no restrictions on what they can use funds for, Dinh says. They are paid rent upfront, then the company gets the funds back, and its fee, from tenant payments – via the real estate agent – over six to 12 months.

“The property manager gets the money back, they send 80 per cent of it [our] way and 20 per cent [the landlord’s] way. Effectively we collect via the property manager … the amount they’ve been prepaid plus the fixed fee.”

FutureRent charges two days’ rent for prepayments for vacant properties, while advanced payments for rented properties come with a 5.5 percent fixed cost for repayments over six months, or 9.9 percent over 12 months. That’s a fee of $5940 on an upfront payment of $60,000 repaid over a year.

Dinh said there was no interest or additional charges if a tenant missed a payment, adding that, unlike credit cards and personal loans, FutureRent had no impact on credit scores.

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