Top 5 things you didn't know about City Expert
You probably wondered what is like to work in an online real estate agency, how can we rent apartments without commission and how did we manage to become an IT real estate agency. Find out everything you wanted to know about City Expert!
1. There are a lot of us
There are 40 people in City Expert, working in 6 different sectors. When you think about it, that's quite a lot of people for one real estate agency, but we are not just any real estate agency. Our business model is based on the joint effort of several different sectors. We have real estate agents, customer support, an entire sector responsible only for marketing and advertising and several other departments that work in development and on optimization of our services.
2. The company was founded because Darko couldn't find an apartment
Four years ago, Darko was a fresh graduate from Faculty of Mathematics who was looking to rent an apartment. After browsing through online ads with blurry images, visiting apartments that he knew nothing about and wasting so much precious time, Darko come up with the idea of City Expert! Shortly after, the rest of the team joined in, including Igor and Milan (our CEO and COO) who also didn't have much luck in finding an apartment. That's how the entire crew started working on City Expert website and the first business model.
3. We are the first prop-tech startup in Serbia
You might have heard about a new type of companies that use modern technologies to improve their businesses and offer fast and better service. Nowadays, we have fin-tech companies that use software, applications and entire business models based on new tehnologies. Likewise, prop-tech companies are using technology to optimize user experience and to improve overall functionality. In our case, we wanted to improve property viewings and to introduce a new system of booking viewings online.
4. Everyone wonders how we became succesful
It's not really a secret that we get lots of questions about financing, investments and our online business model. We like to talk about what's going on behind the scenes, and there's nothing we won't share with the public (except how many cups of coffee does 40 people have during one week). We raised our first investment from the South Central Ventures, an international fund that invests in startups in our region. Those who feel like they have an entrepreneurial spirit should know that it's possible to get investment if you have a good product and if your product solves specific problems. On top of that, when it comes to asking for an investment, timing is everything! Everything else is just a matter of trying and failing. Some will call it luck, but those who've been through both success and failure know that in order to succeed you need will and determination.
5. We don't charge commission to tenants
Okay, you already knew about this. But we always find it fascinating when we hear about people wondering about our no commission policy for tenants. Simply, we offer brokerage services for property rent, and we provide those services to property owners. We charge the commission to property owners. We work hard to find a suitable tenant and to help them rent a property. To rent an apartment, we need to find a tenant. That's why we need to work for both. To help users find what they are looking for, we publish all information and photos online, so our users can book a viewing with just one click.
You may want to know where we're located, how good can we ride a hoverboard, what is Jimmy up to these days, why do we always organize team building near water, or maybe you have a custom question you would like to share! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram and give us a shout! Ask anything!