NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Feb 25, 2013) - RentHop, the smarter apartment search marketplace, announced today it has been contracted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide information on available apartment listings for the tri-state area, to aid disaster survivors impacted by Hurricane Sandy find housing.
RentHop's data on apartment listings is one of many resources now incorporated into the FEMA Housing Portal www.fema.gov/housingportal. The FEMA Housing Portal is intended to help individuals and families who have been displaced by a disaster find a place to live. RentHop is one of three New York Metro area commercial vendors selected to supply apartment rental data to FEMA.
The FEMA Housing Portal consolidates rental resources identified and provided by federal agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Veterans Administration (VA), private organizations, and the public, to help individuals and families find available rental units in their area.
Unlike existing apartment search alternatives that simply sort by price or posting date, the RentHop ranking incorporates dozens of factors that can be categorized into three distinct dimensions: publicly available information gauging the quality, timeliness, and completeness of the listing; the internal track record of the listing within RentHop; and the previous behavior of the broker or landlord offering the apartment. The three dimensions combine to form a holistic view for identifying the most appropriate apartment listings and displaying them in search results.
"We take a data-driven approach to sorting apartment listings, to separate the good from the bad and help renters cut through the clutter to find a decent place to live based on timely, accurate information," said Lee Lin, CEO and Co-Founder of RentHop. "We are proud to partner with FEMA to help disaster survivors with their housing search, and the time-consuming process of finding the right apartment, and hope that our data gives these renters a faster timeline to find decent housing."
About RentHop
Founded in 2009 by Lawrence Zhou and Lee Lin, RentHop simplifies real estate decisions using technology and data analysis. It offers the most sophisticated apartment quality ranking algorithms, helping apartment hunters quickly sift through large pools of inventory to find the most appropriate listings. RentHop is funded by Y Combinator and currently serves the NYC, Boston and Chicago metro areas. For more information, please visit www.RentHop.com.
RentHop is a registered trademark in the U.S. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
Contact Information:
For information, contact:
Michelle G Faulkner
Big Swing Communications
+1 617-510-6998