KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Lula, a smart property maintenance platform for single-family and multifamily rental owners, announced today the close of a $3 million funding round led by RET Ventures.
Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., Lula is a technology platform that streamlines the maintenance process for property managers and their tenants, reducing time spent on maintenance by nearly 60%. It integrates with popular property management software solutions, thereby allowing maintenance coordinators and tenants to easily submit maintenance requests, which can then be evaluated and, if necessary, dispatched to on-site maintenance or a member of Lula’s large network of quality and fully-vetted contractors to complete the work.
The solution provides real-time updates, pictures, and service notes to all parties throughout the process — improving the resident experience, eliminating the need for multiple vendors, and reducing costs for property owners, managers, and real estate investors.
“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 Lula is specifically designed to help both single-family and multifamily operators propel this outdated work process into the 21st century,” said Lula Founder & CEO Bo Lais. “We are extremely excited to have the backing of an accomplished and thoughtful partner like RET Ventures, as they will play a critical role in introducing our unique solution to many of the country’s largest single-family and multifamily operators in the months and years to come.”
Lula is currently utilized in more than 40,000 rental units in ten U.S. markets, including Kansas City, Houston, Denver, and Atlanta. The company has formed partnerships with numerous major owner-operators, investors and property managers, including Pathlight Property Management, AMG Asset Management Group, FirstKey Homes and HomeRiver Group.
Lula will utilize proceeds from the fundraise to continue the growth of the platform, expand its staff and roll out its technology in new markets across the U.S.
“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 RET Ventures Vice President Aaron Ru. “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.”
Added Lais: “We turned profitable last year, but we realized that it would take a capital infusion and a larger team to roll out our product in a contracted timeframe. 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 for a growing group of residential operators across the country.”
For more info about Lula and its smart property maintenance solutions, visit lula.life.
About Lula
Lula is a technology platform that streamlines the maintenance process for property managers and their tenants, reducing the time spent on maintenance by nearly 60%. Lula also brings a large network of quality and fully-vetted contractors (plumbers, handyman, electricians, etc.) to complete the work. The company was recently named to the KC Business Journal’s “Fast 50” as the 3rd fastest growing company in Kansas City. Lula is currently active in ten markets and is rapidly expanding across the country into new markets, with plans to be operational in 20 markets by Q4 2022. For more information, visit https://lula.life/.
About RET Ventures
A leading real estate technology investment firm, RET Ventures is the first industry-backed early stage venture fund to strategically focus on helping build cutting-edge “rent tech” — technology for multifamily and single-family rental real estate. RET’s base of Strategic Investors includes some of the largest REITs and private real estate owner-operators and managers, who control approximately 2.4 million apartment units. Through its deep expertise and connections within the industry, RET has created a unique real estate innovation ecosystem that delivers significant value to the companies it backs, providing them with access to thought leaders, development partners and ongoing guidance. For more information, please visit www.ret.vc.
