HomeViews: Residential Review Site Launches in Build To Rent

One of the biggest decisions anyone makes – both financially and emotionally is choosing our home. The mission of www.homeviews.com is to share valuable reviews and insights to support those looking for their new home within a residential development.

We have been fortunate this summer to have met with a wide range of people working within Build to Rent and we are so grateful for the time and advice you have given us. We will officially launch this October and in the lead up are sharing a series of blogs on the UKAA highlighting some of our initial insights – but first, for those members who we haven’t had the opportunity to meet first hand yet, here’s an introduction to HomeViews and an insight into how we believe we will support the objectives of the UKAA.

An introduction to HomeViews

Take a moment to consider – when did you last read a review and what was it for? Maybe your holiday, a restaurant or a new phone? 93% of us find online reviews helpful when making a purchasing decision and 88% of us trust reviews as much as a recommendation from friends and family.

On a daily basis we consume and value user generated content across social media channels – and no one more so than millennials – yet you have to search high and low to read reviews on the property or developer you might be buying from or renting with. Property reviews do exist, yet they are inconsistent, unverified and noncomparable.

HomeViews is launching with an initial focus on developments over 50 units and within London – but we will quickly expand across the UK. We allow developers, BTR operators, reviewers and all users to add their own developments, which we verify the details of before publishing. Reviews are clearly labelled if they are written by an owner, tenant, viewer or property professional and all these perspectives blend together to provide valued insights into what it is truly like to live in that development.

How we will support Build to Rent

Our aim is to create a platform focused on the experience of living within all developments which will allow BTR to be compared against other developments where tenants are not offered the service of a ‘complete landlord’. Below are three ways that HomeViews will help the aims and objectives of the UKAA:

1. Providing clarity to prospective residents
Build to Rent developments are labelled ‘Rental Only’ with an explanation of what Build to Rent means and who the BTR operators are.

2. Raising awareness of Build to Rent
We are profiling and featuring a number of news articles and interviews on the different experiences BTR provides tenants.

3. Giving customers and the industry comparative data
All residents of a development are asked to rate the development against a number of categories as well as rate their property management, and, if a tenant, to also rate their landlord. For the first time the industry will have comparative ratings from residents allowing us to create league tables on developers. From a renting perspective we will also be able to compare the rating of a tenant living within a BTR development compared with a tenant renting elsewhere.

We believe that over time, and as Build to Rent grows, HomeViews will become a powerful marketing tool to differentiate and demonstrate why renting can be better.

“I can proudly say this has been my best living experience throughout my whole life” Fizzy Lewisham resident.

Find your developments at www.homeviews.com and please contact [email protected] if you would like to find out more.