Has anyone tried Nobroker tenant plans for flat hunting? If yes, then which plan you opted for and would you recommend it?

I took the money back plan (7k) last month when flat hunting in banglore. The experience was not good at all. Right after I paid, I got 2 calls from their sales team and my RM's team lead explaining the plan details and said my RM will call me within 2 hours. The next day, I called the lead back, no response, got a callback in few hours saying RM would call immediately. One day later, no updates. Meanwhile, 2-3 flats that I had shortlisted personally had been rented out. Called the lead again, had some stern words and then in 10mins, I got a mail saying account activated, RM assigned, etc. The guy calls next day, asks for requirements, below average communication skills, I somehow manage to convey my requirements (Not too old Gated society with good car parking) to him and he adds 3 properties to my shortlist. 2 of them without my main requirement (a good car parking) and I went to visit the 3rd place (without pictures) and it was a very old place. Thankfully, I got another broker via a friend, who got me an apartment exceeding my expectations in 2 days. Signed the lease and stuff. The "MoneyBack" part horror begins now. When my RM called, I said I got an apartment, please issue refund. He asked to mail the rent agreement which I did. Within 10 mins, my account was moved out of premium and RM contact disappeared. But the refund never came. I started mailing them daily, no reply. For 2 weeks! Called RM, he said the team will fix in 2 days, a week passes, no update. Called RM, wouldn't pick up. Same thing goes on for few days, no response to emails either. Called customer care, said they'll check and call me back, no response. Repeat, a guy calls back, promise to call me back in 15 mins, no call back. Next morning, I get a callback, said they've forwarded my rent agreement to the verification team and I'll get an update in some time. I was totally expecting it to be rejected based on some shitty nonsense and had mentally prepared to go full blast. Finally, to my surprise, after almost a month of constant follow up, the money gets credited to my account.

Thank you for sharing your experience @glamorous-mouse-696. This is the first case where I am hearing it didn't go well as expected. I have been reading the reviews online, and most of them were positive, so I was a bit skeptical. I, myself, is looking for a flat in Pune but I don't want to go via broker, hence was looking into it.

the suggested flats from RM are almost always subpar

Okay, but do you think it is helpful? I mean are the leads helpful or the access you get to properties are useful for your purposes, and is it better than going via a broker?

the only reason you need to get tenant plans is to actually get contact details for the landlord/owner. it used to be 25 contacts for free on NB earlier, now they've completely removed that option. it is still better than going through a broker who charges nearly 1 month's rent as their brokerage

When I got my flats last two times, i went via nobroker. First time they didn't have a full blown payment based one and next time I got a trial. Experience of finding and calling by myself was pretty good. I always saw it as a listing where I have to do the work.

Okay, the RM that is assigned, how helpful they are while providing locality expertise and doing rent negotiations? Or, have you guys done that on your own?

the RMs generally sit at home (my flatmate's fiance was an RM). they do have some agents travelling around the city who might help you for 1-2 out of 10 properties you visit. but negotiation etc. still needs to be done by you

I didn't get any help from them. Maybe I had a bad RM, but the way the company handled the whole situation isn't confidence inspiring. I'd suggest you take the base plan to get contacts and be prepared to do all the work yourself.

Thanks you guys for your valuable inputs 🙂 🙏 I can do the heavy lifting as long as I get access to the relevant properties because that, in itself, is the most challenging and tiring task, and I am trying to avoid brokers. I visited a few properties before via brokers but, as expected, they were asking 1-1.5 month of rent (15K - 17K) which I am not willing to pay. Hence looking for alternates. I am also hunting via FB groups, but no luck so far.

what flats in blr have rent at 15k 😮

Not in bglr, I am hunting in Pune 😅

@quick-judge-84214 I did not go for the

money-back

plan. The RM wouldn't take my calls and would send me leads like 1-2 times a week. It was a horrible experience. Would have been more horrible if I had got the money back plan as I would keep running around. Don't pay them. They suck. Unfortunately, they didn't take Amex - and I filed a charge back with ICICI (my first experience) - which got rejected after 3 months. So overall a shitty experience all around. NoBroker is sort of OK if you use the free plan. Don't give them any money. Experience is from Pune.

Thank you @loud-glass-33663. Regarding brokers, I have a couple of questions:- • Do the brokers charge again once your agreement is about to expire? (this happened with one of my friends) • Is there a way to find these good brokers?

• Do the brokers charge again once your agreement is about to expire? (this happened with one of my friends)

Depends on your experience with them. You do not have to pay them and can ignore them. Just do the deal directly with the landlord and via an online rent agreement service. Broker need not be involved. But if you had a good experience with him, the 7-8K (50% of monthly rent) is worth it. They can really get you some excellent properties at a good deal. (All about relationships). We get 2 year's agreement done every time - I do pay him 50% of the monthly rent as a gesture of good will. (Paid 3 times so far).

• Is there a way to find these good brokers?

Trial and error. Speak to as many brokers as possible. Ignore and fire the ones that rub you the wrong way immediately. They probably don't have properties to your taste anyways. You may get like 1-2 decent brokers out of 10 you speak to.

Totally agree with Saurabh, good brokers are a godsend. 1. You'll have to check with the owner. I've not had that happen, but I've also heard that story. 2. Personal references from your network would be the best choice. I tried contacting many brokers from google and stuff, didn't have much success. My friend shared a broker that her relative had used to get a flat. That guy was super helpful and had a lot of connections, so getting the place was very easy. Many owners who are busy would just offload the work to a broker, so brokers will have good property that's not on any sites.

As an example, my dad has a bunch of properties. Never had to put it up on any website. Always a couple of brokers got the tenants. I think 80% of the people probably do this. We were looking for a very specific property for our school and the broker we found showed me places that I didn't know existed at all. All excellent. If you are looking for stuff in Viman Nagar / Kalyani Nagar / KP side of the town, I can refer you to one of my brokers. Unfortunately they work only this side of town.

I agree to your points. I had earlier visited some properties via brokers, and they were able to show me some really good budget friendly properties; my concern was around the brokerage charges, and if I had to pay it again. @glamorous-mouse-696, I will see if it is possible to get a broker via my network. So far, I have the following options to look for:- • Go via a broker (preferably referred one) • Go to societies of interest, ask the security for some openings and see where it goes. • Go via websites like 99acres, Nobroker, Magicbricks etc.

@quick-judge-84214 Get a 2 year's rent agreement. I does not change anything for you or your client, but you need to deal with the broker only once every 2 years.

Yes, that makes sense @loud-glass-33663 since post that time-period I will likely buy a flat, if I am staying in Pune. If I get a 2-year's rent agreement, then will the rent be increased by 10% each year, or will it be fixed for 2 years. I suppose this could be discussed with the landlord and a clause can be added in the agreement accordingly?

No. It is fixed for the 2 years. (Another benefit of doing this).

Terrible experience. The guy didn't even understand the requirements and only gave suggestions of places which are already listen on nobroker. Thankfully it was covered by my company. Pretty sure they would have not reimbursed.

Wow, looks like NoBroker is struggling bad. And they raised some 200M round last year? If it's in the 15-25% range, that's pretty close to a 🦄 valuation!

the platform still has value, just the RM/agent themselves aren't all what the website claims them to be

I remember way back when it was a small fb group for Bangalore. Even back then it was a pain because people wouldn't post useful information. In my search last year, I relied almost exclusively on commonfloor direct owner listings. Used NoBroker for movers and packers and they pretty much just passed lead on to a third party and tacked on insurance after the fact. This third-party was average-ish at best and actively undercut NoBroker. I see value in the problem statement. Their solutions on the other hand...

The tenant plan is basically you paying them to shortlist some random properties for you which does not even meet your requirements. I've had a horrible experience with their RMs and you can do a better job for free. They promise they'll guide you at each step until signing of agreement but don't expect any of that. I've had to escalate my issue up to the CEO via twitter to get some sort of response on my complaint on which no action was being taken. I was then also met with a call by my RM asking why I complained about him 😒 While you look up properties on your own you're bound to receive calls from the owner's RMs who will then guide you with properties that they're taking care of. Owner's RMs, in my experience, were much more helpful. Just shortlist/like some properties that you see on NB and you'll start receiving calls from Owner's RMs