Former Chainbow owner Roger Southam is returning to the residential letting market with new company called Cohab.
Southam who sold residential property management company Chainbow to Savills in 2016 has teamed up with Canadian tech-entrepreneur Saveli Kotz, as Cohab’s chairman, and will charge an all-in lettings and management fee of 6%.
Southam said: “This is just what the residential lettings market needs. For far too long residential landlords have had to put up with exorbitant lettings fees from property agents that can be as high as 20% once tenant finding, management, contract preparation and referencing fees are taken into account.”
Southam says that Cohab has developed a new technology platform that delivers operational efficiencies and drives down costs.
He continued: “Saveli Kotz’s technology team has created an excellent and innovative software platform together with US-style efficient property show round techniques that drive efficiencies and allow us to disrupt the market with our 6% all-in fee.”
Cohab has an ambitious expansion programme. It will have over 100 properties on its books within the next two months with a target of 1,000 units in its first year and the goal of 30,000 units in the next two to three years.
“Initially we are doing deals with landlords on single units and blocks of flats but our goal is to target the major Build-to-Rent landlords over the next couple of years,” added Southam.
The idea of launching the new agency came to Kotz when moving his family from the Bahamas to the UK in 2021.
Kotz commented: “We found the lettings agency service in London to be seriously lacking and I decided that with my background in creating online businesses and then successfully selling them that this would be my next venture where I could drive business efficiencies and disrupt the market with a 6% all-in management and letting fee.”
