Interview with Koray Can Oztekin
Q: Koray what’s the 20 second booth pitch and how are you
different from other rent payment platforms?
A: We’re a
flexible rent payment platform that eliminates late payments. Residents can
pay as much as $150 for late payments and landlords can lose a good chunk of
their margins because of the operational cost of managing late payments. We
are fixing this by covering the residents on the first of the month and
receiving their rent in smaller payments when they get paid.
Q: Ok, well, talk to us about the financial health of
residents and why that’s important?
A: 25% of the
renting families are in core housing need and more than 50% of the renting
households are living paycheque to paycheque. These folks are vulnerable to
life events: loss of employment, reduced hours, unexpected health issues. So
they don’t always get to make their biggest expense, rent, during that
time.
When this happens they don’t have good options to turn to:
1)
predatory lenders or
2) deal with overdrafts, late fees in case of
rent.
This further worsens their financial health leading to repeat late
rent payments and potentially to eviction. Good people shouldn’t have to leave
and we are partnering with landlords to improve the financial health of their
residents.
Q: So, coming out from all the government mandates and now
into high inflation our industry is being negatively affected – Koray, what
late payment trends are you seeing these days?
A: As the
number of families in core housing need increases, we are seeing an increase
in late payments as well. Given a more risk averse credit environment, we are
seeing a reduced number of options for the residents to catch up on their rent
payments. Because of this we are seeing a greater operational overhead to
manage late payments while straining the relationship with the residents.
Q: Alright – how much can a late payment cost a tenant?
A: Insanely high, things can really add up. With pandemic pre-authorized debit
became the most common payment method. This means greater risk of bank
overdraft fees that can be as high as $48. On top of that landlords can charge
between $50-$100 overdrafts fees. When you add late fees on top of that one
can pay as high $150 for an average of $1,200 rent.
Q: Well, now that rents are finally increasing – are you
seeing any groups disproportionately affected – and how can property managers
maintain on time rent payments during these transitioning times?
A:
Visible minority groups are almost twice as likely to be in core housing need.
To help their communities it is now more important than ever to offer flexible
payment solutions that match the cash flow timing of their residents.
Q: Before we go is there anything else you’d like to
mention?
A: Financially healthier residents create
happier and healthier communities. So housing affordability issue is a
healthcare issue as well: low-income unstable household is 2X more likely to
be in fair or poor health than those in stable housing, and almost 3X more
likely to report depressive symptoms. I think we are all responsible for
taking care of our communities.
Philipp Postrehovsky | Zenbase COO
Philipp is a marketing leader, brand builder and product visionary who has been involved in the fintech scene for over 17 years. In 2013 he co-founded RentMoola, which continues to be one of North America's leading fintech companies with the mission to eliminate the rent cheque and modernize rent collection for the enterprise. Before that, he was a marketing leader for Mogo Technologies, Wonga Canada and began his career at Electronic Arts. Most recently he was SVP, Marketing at Progressa and VP, Digital Marketing at goeasy. He founded Grind For Kids, a program that raised over $1 million for BC Children’s Hospital Foundation and is a mentor to new entrepreneurs.
