Flatlooker uses HelloSign to make life simple for renters and landlords
Flatlooker, an online marketplace bringing together long-term renters with landlords and property managers, reduces rental agreement turnaround time from 30 days to just 10 using HelloSign.
Managing multiple contracts and platforms
When it comes to renting property in France, the administrative tasks are burdensome for both tenants and landlords. So, in 2016, digital native real-estate agency Flatlooker set a path to change all that.
Flatlooker recognized the heavily regulated nature of the market and the almost endless amount of documentation requiring signature, countersignature, secure storage, and management. “In France, for the last several hundred years, there has always been a manual, administrative role to manage this process,” explains Nicolas Goyet, co-founder and CEO at Flatlooker. “We’re basically replacing that with a digital solution.”
To help digitally facilitate, collect, and manage signatures between tenants and landlords, Flatlooker deployed a stand-alone solution using DocuSign—but the customer experience fell short.
“When sending documents like contracts or guarantor agreements, our previous solution would send links that took the signee outside of our platform and onto a separate website to complete the signing process. The inconsistency in branding was distracting and confusing for our customers. We wanted a solution without a redirect"
Then COVID-19 hit, and Flatlooker found itself as the only solution that allowed people to rent during lockdown. This led to significant growth, so Flatlooker needed a new agreement-workflow solution to match. “COVID actually helped change people’s mindset from the traditional ways to rent a flat. Before, everyone wanted to see a flat before renting. Now they’re happy with our virtual tours and 100% digitized rental agreement process.”
To keep up with its newfound growth, offer a simpler way to manage its contracts, and deliver first-class customer experiences for renters and landlords, Flatlooker set out to find a new solution. It found HelloSign.
“We found HelloSign was easy to integrate, priced well, with a good feature set. We deployed the solution across a few of our document flows and immediately found the experience more professional, and our customers enjoyed the new process.”
HelloSign helps get properties rented faster
Flatlooker’s initial HelloSign integration helped onboard new landlords onto its platform. In-depth research uncovered how Flatlooker could improve its user experience during the final stage of its agreement workflow, when landlords are required to sign a contract and join. “It was critical for Flatlooker that we delivered a seamless experience for landlords during the onboarding process. It may be their first interaction with our brand, and first impressions are important. HelloSign has been a great success in this process,” says Nicolas.
With its suite of easy-to-follow documentation in the right programming language, the HelloSign API proved simple to integrate into the workflow, and upon testing was found to perform faster and require less effort from landlords to fill out the contract than the previous solution. “The UX is much better. Before, every second person was confused about how and where to sign,” explains Nicolas. This learning experience proved the value of HelloSign and inspired Flatlooker to identify other use cases across the business where it could streamline operations and document flows.
Another complexity to manage was the handling of multiple signatures for one property. Whether it’s a couple or an apartment amongst friends, each tenant must sign the contract. But managing multiple versions of the same tenancy contract, and tracking which tenants had and hadn’t signed, was time-consuming and a resource drain. Using HelloSign’s API, Flatlooker’s teams can now request multiple people to sign at the same time or request that documents be signed in a specific order. “We can even see where a contract might be held up and send a reminder to that person,” says Nicolas.
More than 2,000 signatures are required every month, and automation of agreement workflows is reducing the number of support requests—which means staff can focus on more-valuable tasks that will help the company grow.
“We are systematically replicating or enhancing the previous system’s workflows, providing an increasingly seamless experience across every touchpoint with renters and landlords. Contracts are signed quicker, we have fewer questions throughout the process and we are able to significantly reduce the manual intervention and support needed."
Tenancy applications reduced from 30 days to 10
Typical flat rentals take approximately 30 days to complete, but with HelloSign’s API, Flatlooker’s customers are able to secure properties in just 10 days. The digitization of contract flows and the immediacy of the platforms help landlords and renters come to an agreement much faster.
Automatically manage over 2,000 signatures a month
Automating the contract process by integrating HelloSign’s API with its internal systems, Flatlooker has significantly reduced the admin burden and cost of managing more than 2,000 signatures a month.
100% auditable, even more secure
Integrating HelloSign’s API with its existing platform has given Flatlooker a comprehensive digital footprint and secure audit trail for the thousands of contracts it turns around each month. Now when regulators come and check that everything is running as it should, it’s a simple process to prove adherence to guidelines, policies, and legal requirements.
What’s next for Flatlooker
In its relative infancy with HelloSign, Flatlooker is looking to expand its use of the platform across the organization. “We are excited to eventually migrate fully to HelloSign and automate all of our contracts and document workflows. It’s proven incredibly valuable for us to streamline our existing processes, and we look forward to seeing how it can help us across more areas of the business,” says Nicolas.
Interested in seeing results like Flatlooker?
HelloSign is the easiest way to send, receive, and manage legally binding eSignatures for business. Voted #1 for Ease of Use from G2 two years in a row, our eSignature solution can make your most important workflows fast, easier, and more secure. Sign up for a free trial today to start digitizing your business.
Contact us
