RadPad explained

RadPad
Location City:Dallas
Founded:January 2013
Defunct:January 2021[1]
Genre:Mobile app, real estate, apartments, rent payments
Key People:Copley Broer (CEO)

RadPad was a photo-based mobile application for home and apartment renters.[2] RadPad's assets were acquired by the owners of LandlordStation on December 31, 2016. As of October 2016, renters could no longer pay rent through the app. Pay With RadPad, however, was relaunched under new ownership in March 2017. In March 2014, RadPad was the largest rental service in Los Angeles, and the second-largest rental market in the country.[3] RadPad also offered additional real estate products such as renters insurance, credit reporting, and lease signing. Operations ceased in 2021.

History

Jonathan Eppers, Tyler Galpin and Tim Watson founded RadPad in 2012 after attempting to find an apartment in Los Angeles proved to be a terrible experience. Development began in July 2012 in Venice, California, and was released to friends on Facebook in October. In January 2013, RadPad had reached over 10,000 downloads and was invited to join the startup accelerator Amplify.LA.

In mid-2013, RadPad had raised over $800,000 in seed funding led by Deep Fork Capital, one of the first investors in Trulia.[4] RadPad announced in March 2014 that it had raised an additional $1 million in capital.[5] RadPad closed its seed funding in August 2014 with an additional $2 million investment round. RadPad had raised approximately $4 million in seed funding with the investor team including Michael Huffington, Mike Jones, Justin Fishner-Wolfson, Brian Lee, Tom McInerney, Nasir "Nas" Jones, Happy Walters (Co-President of Relativity Media), Deep Fork Capital, Post Investments, SG Acquisitions, Social Leverage, Siemer Ventures, and Queensbridge Venture Partners.[6] [7]

It was also announced in August 2014 that RadPad had declined multiple acquisition offers.[8]

In April 2015, RadPad raised an additional $9M in Series A Funding.[9] In December 2016, Radpad's assets were acquired by the ownership of LandlordStation. RadPad and LandlordStation operated under the umbrella of Priority Real Estate Technology.

Founders

LandlordStation acquires RadPad

In December 2016, RadPad was purchased for an undisclosed price by LandlordStation and its headquarters were moved to Dallas, Texas.[10] Pay with RadPad was brought back online in March 2017. RadPad began offering locating services as an additional product in September 2017 in Dallas and later in 2018 in Houston.

Acquisition and creation of Priority Real Estate Technology

In August 2018, RadPad and LandlordStation were acquired by Priority Technology Holdings and spun into a privately held subsidiary, Priority Real Estate Technology (PRET).[11] PRET sought to expand and accelerate the in-house RadPad and LandlordStation brands while forming partnerships and making strategic acquisitions across the real estate technology space. RadPad operated separately as its own real estate lifestyle brand with the same product offerings for consumers and landlords alike.

On December 16, 2020, RadPad announced operations would cease as of January 15, 2021.

Features

Listing photos and videos

Each property listing must have at least three listing photos. Property owners can also upload videos for a virtual tour.[12]

Verified listings

RadPad requires that property owners confirm their identities via a two-step authentication process that verifies their phone number and requires them to upload a valid, state-issued photo ID. RadPad also requires property owners to renew their listings every two weeks to keep them current.[13] [14]

Location-based search

RadPad automatically populates available apartments, condos, and homes based on where the renter opens the app. Renters can walk or drive through their desired neighborhood and see listings in real time.[12] [13] [15] [16]

Products

RadPad launched in 2012 with Browse & Search, enabling renters to scroll through geo and photo-based listings using an iPhone app or mobile browser.[17] [16]

Launched in 2014, renters can pay their rent one-time or schedule their rent with their credit cards, debit cards, or ACH.[18] Landlords will receive their monthly payments via mailed check or ACH bank transfer. This service was relaunched under new ownership in March 2017.

Property owners, landlords, property management firms, brokers and other real estate professionals can list available properties, manage listings and syndicate them to RadPad partners.

Launched in September 2017, RadPad offers apartment locating services in Dallas and Houston. Agents run customized searches for clients to find the right apartment and lower prices through knowledge of promotions and specials.[19]

User demographic information

Most RadPad users were in college or under the age of 35. Two-thirds of users were female.[14] [20]

Controversy

In 2013, Westside Rentals filed suit against RadPad alleging that they had improperly used Westside Rentals’ brand name by advertising that any apartment listed through RadPad would be automatically listed on Westside Rental's website. The suit was dropped by Westside Rentals later that year.[21]

Craigslist vs Radpad

In 2017, USSC found against Radpad in a lawsuit brought by Craigslist in excess of $60M damages were awarded.[22]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: RadPad. December 16, 2020 . FrequentMiler.
  2. Web site: Milchman. Eli. RadPad Is An Easy, Picture-Rich Way To Find An Apartment On Your iPhone [Daily Freebie]]. Cult of Mac. December 5, 2013.
  3. Web site: Santa Monica-Based RadPad Raises $2M in Capital After Declining Acquisition Offers. August 19, 2014 . Santa Monica Mirror. September 30, 2014.
  4. Web site: Kovalesky. Brian. Funding and Acquisitions Roundup: RadPad gets $200,000 to make finding a rental property less painful. StartUp Beat..
  5. Web site: Wiggin. Teke. RadPad, rental search app, raises additional $1 million. Inman.
  6. Web site: Primack. Dan. Fortune Term Sheet - Venture Capital Deals. Fortune. October 3, 2014.
  7. Web site: Santa Monica-Based RadPad Raises $2M in Capital After Declining Acquisition Offers. August 19, 2014 . Santa Monica Mirror. October 3, 2014.
  8. Web site: Parrott. Jeff. Elkhart native out to change apartment hunting, living. The Elkhart Truth.
  9. Web site: Weinberger. Matt. Now you can pay your rent with Apple Pay. December 15, 2021. Business Insider. en-US.
  10. Web site: Roof. Katie. RadPad gets acquired by LandlordStation after nearly shutting down. January 12, 2017 . Tech Crunch.
  11. Web site: Womack. Brian. Dallas startup using technology to simplify the rental process gets acquired. Dallas Business Journal.
  12. Web site: Himmelman. Chaya. RadPad: A Mix Of Instagram, Craigslist for Home Hunting In Santa Monica. July 2013 . Santa Monica Mirror. October 2, 2014.
  13. Web site: RadPad and the Rental Market: A Chat with Jonathan Eppers. Reyhani Law. October 2, 2014.
  14. News: Lora. Kolodny. Trulia Investors Back RadPad to Make Apartment Rentals Easier. Wall Street Journal. November 7, 2013 . November 7, 2013.
  15. Web site: Anthony. Ha. With $200K In New Funding, Photo-Centric Rental App RadPad Comes To Austin. TechCrunch. May 31, 2013 . October 2, 2014.
  16. Web site: RadPad Updates Make For A More Functional And Useful App. Renting in L.A.. Rental Girl. October 2, 2014.
  17. Web site: Milchman. Eli. RadPad Is An Easy, Picture-Rich Way To Find An Apartment On Your iPhone [Daily Freebie]]. Cult of Mac. October 3, 2014.
  18. Web site: This App Lets Renters Pay Even The Most Old-School Landlords By Credit Card. Business Insider. Kane. Libby. October 2, 2014.
  19. Web site: PRW. WEB. RadPad Launches Concierge Apartment Search Service in Dallas. PRWEB.
  20. Web site: Ervin. Jeremy. Purdue grad expands RadPad. Lafayette Journal & Courier.
  21. Web site: Scott. Hank. With RadPad, WeHo's Jonathan Eppers Aims to Make Apartment Hunting Easy. January 20, 2014 . Wehoville.
  22. Web site: Breyer. Charles. Craigslist v Radpad. Scrib'd.com. USDC Northern District of California.