A former real estate agent has developed an app to help professionals in the industry connect with one another.
Rachel White is the founder and chief executive of UnlockdBox, an Agoura Hills startup. She designed and prototyped the UnlockdBox app, which became active on July 27.
As a real estate agent, White said she knows that there are busy times and not so busy times for agents to make commissions. Finding success in the industry comes from bridging the gap between the two, she said.
“What I found in real estate is there was no real-world tools as an agent to bridge that gap in a digital way,” White added.
As an example, she told of having a client up in Palmdale who wanted to see homes all the time.
“I couldn’t quite get out there as much as I would like to for my client,” White said. “I thought to myself, ‘There has to be a better way.’ I realized there was a huge need for a tool to connect all real estate agents.” So she came up with the idea for UnlockdBox specifically for real estate agents to perform duties for other agents. They must verify their real estate license when signing up on the free app.
The tasks that agents can perform for others include unlocking doors at a house for prospective buyers to enter and sitting in on open houses, either in person or virtually.
If an agent needs a house unlocked and cannot get there in time, the agent sends out a request to another agent, who responds to the request. The agent pays the other agent a small fee starting at $30 for unlocking the house, White said.
The company makes its money by charging a small percentage-based transaction fee for paid gigs. There are no fees for in-app networking and other opportunities such as sitting for open houses, she said.
Using the app is a good way for new agents to answer the question of “Now what do I do?” after receiving their real estate license, White continued. “UnlockdBox is that ‘Now what.’ They can join the network, they can do real estate-related tasks for another agent, they can make some extra cash and really start out their real estate career on the right foot,” White said.The app is all drawn together with a networking portion where one can add other agents in the area and communicate with them. The app is customizable, so the agent is in control of how he or she uses it, she continued.
“They can control who gets a request and who they want to do a job for them,” White said.White designed the app herself and then hired a couple in Libertyville, Ill. to do the coding for it – Fred and Liz Kestler, of Tiny Screen Labs.
“If you are searching for an amazing development team with great communication, vision and skill, look no further,” White wrote in a testimonial at the developer’s website. “They walked me through every step of the way and didn’t stop until we ended up with a fantastic app.”With UnlockdBox, she is hoping to change the landscape of who is entering the field of real estate and letting agents stay in the industry by changing the stability of real estate in general, she added.
That is a huge part of her business, White said.“It is a driving force for me,” White added. “I am passionate about creating more opportunities for people to be really successful being an agent.”