Rental auctions software proptech firm launches to help agents see off Rentberry threat

A start-up proptech firm that enables tenants to bid via rental auctions for properties on letting agents’ websites is about to launch into the London market. Founder Spencer Rose (pictured, below) says LetsBid4Lets.com’s software will help agents market properties directly through their own websites rather than relying on the big portals for leads. “The software is built, but we are looking to raise funding from investors to pay for marketing activity to attract tenants to the websites of the agents who sign up with us,” he says. eBay-style bidding For a fee the company will supply letting agents with white-label auction software to market their rental properties through an eBay-style bidding process. During the auctions tenants will be invited to bid for properties and, if they win, secure them for an agreed rental period. Spencer, who has a property development background from his time at investment firm Palmhurst Group, says tenants using the site will be pre-referenced by FCC Paragon before being allowed to bid. “These references will last for 60 days so if a tenant doesn’t win on one property then they will be able to use the same reference to bid on another, which will be a first…