IPhone App To Help Apartment Hunters Work Out The 'Real' Cost Of Renting
Online, October 15, 2011 (Newswire.com) - As energy prices and commuting costs in major cities such as London, New York and Sydney continue to skyrocket unabated, apartment hunters and tenants are increasing looking for ways to to save money beyond the headline rent figure.
In response, an app developer from London has developed the first iPhone app to help apartment hunters grapple with the 'real' cost of renting and therefore identify ways to save money.
Smart Renter Pro app allows users to create profiles on the go when viewing apartments, noting rent related costs such as agent's fees, utilities, commute costs, Internet, council tax, annual professional cleaning, etc. The app then crunches the numbers along with the base rent and number of sharers to arrive at the user's 'real' cost of renting per month.
"Every year when I go apartment hunting, it's a time consuming process to work out which apartment actually provides best value for money, especially when some rooms are in high council tax areas, some cover bills but not gas and electricity, etc." says John Hsu, the developer of the app. "We hope our app will help apartment hunters organise information efficiently and find a place best suited to their financial circumstances".
If the user does not know the likely cost of electricity, gas and water, the app estimates average costs based on the number of bedrooms and sharers in the property. Data is based on London and is collected from public sources.
The app also allows its users to quickly locate profiles on a map, create rent reminders, share photos and notes via twitter, Facebook and generate PDF reports comparing up to three profiles which can then be sent via email. This is designed for situations when friends team up to find an apartment but not all can be present at the viewing.
Smart Renter Pro app for iPhone and iPod Touch is available on the Apple iTunes store. A lite version with less functionality is also available for free.