Finding a flat in Bengaluru can be an entire hassle in itself. Even if you manage to find a flat that fits into your criteria of the ideal abode, the tenants’ bigger challenge is to make it through the metropolis’ highly inquisitive landlords who want to know every small detail about their tenants.
Neeraj Menta, a startup founder from Bengaluru, shared his woes on Twitter while finding a flat in Bengaluru, which went viral in no time. Menta said the experience of finding a flat in the city was nothing less than a nightmare and “more gruelling” than his startup’s seed round pitch.
“My tenant interview was longer and more gruelling than my seed round pitch. I recently started househunting in Bangalore and one owner wanted to interview me before saying yes,” he tweeted.
He said that he had to send points about their background and his LinkedIn profile through the broker. Once shortlisted, the broker wanted to set up a call, as per Menta. He said he was asked detailed questions about his background, family size, and his retail startup SuperK Stores.
He wrote: “Interview- he asked me detailed questions about my background, family size, etc., then moved to my startup. He asked me questions about the business model, burn rate, last-round investors, etc (he had already checked Crunchbase and pulled all the data)”.
He added they also wanted to ensure the startup owned by Menta had enough runway for the couple to continue paying rent, to which Menta said his wife pays rent.
The landlord also moved onto check the LinkedIn profile of Menta’s wife, which wasn’t updated. After this, the landlord said he preferred to give his flat to high-pedigree folks.
Menta said the landlord advised him on being careful in running a business and ensuring good unit economics and sound operating model. He added that while the landlord was well-meaning and said reasonable stuff, he was surprised at how long the conversation went.
“And after all this, he said that he will come back to me in a day or two after having calls with a few other candidates who were interested to take the house. My wife thought I was in a fundraising pitch and asked how it went- I said “It went viral, fingers crossed” (sic)”.
Did Neeraj Menta and his wife get the flat after all the hassle? Replying to a Twitter user, Menta said they got the flat at the end.