Owning a home is a dream many of us share. The tragedy is the amount of bureaucracy and inefficiencies that have crept into the system. Buyers are usually distrustful of real estate companies, and given the scary headlines that newspapers keep printing, they may be justified to do so. But the truth is that almost every real estate developer is working hard to help you fulfil someone’s dream.

It is with the intention to set this dynamic right that Near Estate was born. We are a young company, but our vision is focused firmly on the future. Let us explain.

• Hyderabad is poised for steady real estate growth in the foreseeable future
• A majority of the new launches were in the western zone of the city in locations such as Kondapur, Bandlaguda and Manikonda, which have gained prominence as residential neighbourhoods, on account of their proximity to employment hubs in the region

There are two major stakeholders involved in this interaction:

• Real estate developers
• Real estate buyers

The major source of friction is the miscommunication between these two. The developer’s expertise is in the area of real estate. He/ they might not be well-versed with understanding customers, sourcing leads, helping customers with the paperwork, planning with banks, marketing events and campaigns, etc.

The home buyers, on the other hand, are not exposed to this sector so have limited understanding of the regulations and requirements from their end. They may not even be aware of common house development terms such as carpet area, total build-up, etc. With mismatched expectations and commitments, there is bound to be dissatisfaction with both sides.

A REAL SOLUTION TO HYDERABAD REAL ESTATE

Venkata Ramana, founder of Near Estate, recalls the first time he faced this problem. “About 7 years ago, I was working in Australia and planned to move back to India in a few years. However, when I began searching for a property to purchase for my personal use, I was very frustrated with my experience with all the real estate developers and brokers. Even with so many portals, they just don’t seem to understand the kind of questions a potential home-owner would have in his or her mind. There were just so many inefficiencies that I wasted a lot of time and resources without finding what I wanted.”

This is when the idea began taking shape in his mind. Venkata Ramana, or Ramana as he is fondly known, had several relatives who were in the real estate industry in Hyderabad. He decided to leverage his corporate experience to solve the very real problem of Hyderabad’s housing real estate.

“The problem with real estate portals is that they are saturated with professional brokers hungry for numbers. They will list down dead leads and showcase non-existent properties to get clients to call them, so they can sell what they have. How does an employed family man spare the time to browse thousands of properties to find his dream home?”

Ramana says that Near Estate has solved this problem with the hybrid approach:

• An online directory of properties with information that a customer would want
• Dedicated personnel to speak to interested homeowners who want to understand the property or the process

This is the easiest way to connect the digital customer with physical real estate solutions. Though there is a great deal of potential for technology to transform this field (beyond what it already has), home buyers would be much more reassured by talking to a person who can guide them.

This basic framework has driven the successful rise of Near Estate as a solutions provider for the Hyderabad market. Until now, Ramana and his team have focused on transforming this idea into a successful business.

“Our initial launch itself required us to acquire expertise in a multitude of tasks right away! My team and I have put in continuous efforts to building a wide network and drawing up a detailed plan to accomplish our vision.”

Ramana himself bootstrapped the operations to get the startup off the ground. Today, Near Estate is running with profits after achieving breakeven within 6 months of operations.

Near Estate, which started with this noble goal has grown in leaps and bounds.

They tie up with real estate developers to partner with them on projects. Once onboard, Near Estate team will take over the entire responsibility for the marketing and sales of the project. Starting from arranging inspections to helping with registration to dealing with financial institutions, Near Estate has grown into a full-fledged real estate solutions provider for customers too.

From a simple desire to solve a huge existing problem, Near Estate is deservedly one of the biggest success stories in Hyderabad.