Local's app could be key to real estate

Sharif Fakhr spent most of his life in Manhattan’s Upper West Side before he moved to Riverdale. But when it came time to hunt for a new abode, Mr. Fakhr quickly learned that finding an apartment in the neighborhood was no easy task.

“I was having some issues trying to find an apartment and I had to move to a particular neighborhood and I couldn’t afford to pay a broker’s fee. And I said ‘How can I find out if any apartments are available in this area without having to pay a broker fee?’” he explained. “And then it kind of hit me. If I knew somebody that was moving out, if I knew somebody who could help me contact the landlord directly, that would do it.”

Mr. Fakhr found no such tool available online, so he decided to create the website Inside Digs in 2010. It officially launched in 2011 and currently shows about 30,000 active apartment listings across the country to close to 100,000 users. With interns scattered throughout the United States, Mr. Fakhr and his team are continuing to expand business in cities with strong rental markets.

“When I started this, I wasn’t really looking to make money. I wanted to help renters because I’ve been renting my entire life and I’ve seen how frustrating it is to do it,” he said. “I wanted to try and see how we could make it easier and the way to do that is to connect with other renters in the building.”

Users are able to browse listings based on personal criteria and connect with tenants directly through a chat feature in order to gain more intimate insight into what could be their next home. Although Inside Digs originally kept brokers and real estate agents off the website so users could escape fees, Mr. Fakhr has since decided to incorporate a select number of realtors for users to chat with on the site.

He is bringing his platform to the mobile world shortly. The Inside Digs app has been approved for Android and is awaiting Apple’s approval for iOS. The app will include a map of listings, chats and even a Tinder-like feature allowing users to swipe left or right on photos of apartments in order to build a more personalized profile. The app, however, was only a recent undertaking.

“I knew that with everything being mobile I’d have to invest in a mobile app at some point. It was like [$20,000 to $30,000] to invest in a mobile app,” Mr. Fakhr explained. “And I started to make a decision. If I’m really going to turn this into a real business, I have to get some knowledge. So instead of investing in the app, I decided to invest in myself.”

Mr. Fakhr chose to attend business school at Columbia University and received his MBA degree last May. Developing the mobile app has taken priority for Mr. Fakhr since graduating. He said he has learned a lot from navigating the world of tech start-ups in New York. Mr. Fakhr reasoned that the best thing young entrepreneurs can do when launching a business is to trust themselves.

“Everyone is going to try to give you a piece of advice. I would say the best thing for me is that you have to just follow your gut,” he said. “You have to stick to what you know and what you think is going to work but also be able to take criticism from people and be able to apply it.”

He added, “And as far as New York goes, I think it’s a great atmosphere because there’s a ton of avenues where you can pitch your ideas to people and get help and support. But it’s also very, very competitive so you have to kind of balance this game of trying to grow your business without giving too much away.”

Mr. Fakhr, 34, moved to the northwest Bronx almost five years ago with his wife. He said he sees Riverdale becoming a hub for other young professionals and hopes that his app can help build interest in the neighborhood he loves.

“I feel like a lot more people are starting to move up here to Riverdale. A lot of our younger friends are starting to move up. And because there isn’t a lot of information about the renter market in Riverdale, we want to be able to facilitate that,” he said.