Lula, a smart property maintenance platform for single-family and multifamily rental owners, announced today that it closed a $3 million funding round led by RET Ventures, according to a press release.
Currently used in more than 40,000 rental units in ten U.S. markets, the Kansas City, Missouri-headquartered company says it will use the funds to continue growing its platform, expand its staff and roll out its technology into new markets.
“While today’s rental market features technology to manage everything from leasing to amenities and rental payments, the process of requesting property maintenance work and liaising with external vendors remains largely dependent on antiquated, inefficient systems. Lula is specifically designed to help both single-family and multifamily operators propel this outdated work process into the 21st century,” Lula founder and CEO Bo Lais stated in the release.
Through its technology platform, which integrates with popular property management software, Lula provides property managers and their tenants a streamlined solution for maintenance via existing management applications, which it states reduces the time spent on maintenance by almost 60%.
In addition to allowing coordinators and tenants to submit and review maintenance requests, the platform gives property managers the ability to dispatch on-site maintenance, through an in-house team or via Lula’s network of fully-vetted contractors.
The platform also provides real-time updates, pictures and service notes to all parties throughout the maintenance process, which the company says improves the resident experience, eliminates the need for multiple vendors, and reduces the costs for real estate owners, managers and investors.
“Property management has long been one of the most costly and labor-intensive aspects of operating a rental home. Our strategic investors have expressed a strong desire for a solution capable of streamlining and modernizing this antiquated process, and we believe Lula represents the most impactful solution on the market,” said Aaron Ru, Vice President of lead investor RET Ventures.
“Their platform has already attracted dozens of major owner-operators in the single-family rental market, which has been experiencing rapid growth and is poised for even more expansion in the coming years,” Ru said.
Lula has already formed partnerships with a number of owner-operators, investors and property managers, according to the release, including Pathlight Property Management, AMG Asset Management Group, FirstKey Homes and HomeRiver Group.
While the company turned profitable last year, Lais says that the capital infusion and a larger team enables Lula to roll out their product in a contracted timeframe and scale their growth across the country.
“Although several companies are taking a similar tack to improving real estate maintenance, we’re proud of the unique approach, technology and user experience we’ve developed. Based on client feedback, the Lula platform is unrivaled when it comes to coordinating ongoing work orders at single-family and multifamily properties, and we’re eager to scale our growth and streamline maintenance operations,” Lais said.
In other recent proptech news, Wilshire Lane Capital launched its debut fund aimed at proptech, following $40 million in LP commitments. MoxiWorks also continued its proptech consolidation efforts, acquiring lead nurturing platform ActivePipe.