Romulus Management and Boom partner to reduce evictions and build resident credit.
This case study is based on an interview with John Kaufmann, Chief Operating Officer of Romulus Management. All quotes are attributed to him unless stated otherwise.
Romulus Management oversees the operation of multiple manufactured housing communities in upstate New York. As certain renters become financially eligible, they are given the opportunity to purchase their home from Romulus. John called out New York rental laws as one of the reasons he decided to implement rent reporting. “In New York and certain other states, there are limited remedies available to landlords for delinquent payers. Late fees, that are non-compounding, are capped at 3%, and sometimes, the only available option is eviction, which is especially difficult.” Rent reporting is an “in-between” solution that creates a more transparent and accountable rent payment environment without resulting in consequences as harsh as eviction. Similar to other obligations the credit bureaus track, rent payments are considered late 30 days after the rent due date.
“The closest competing quote was 2.5x more per resident per month than what we are paying now with Boom. I’m a small operator, so that adds up. In mobile home parks, you tend to have more tenants with fewer individual payments. So if you’re paying per tenant, that difference in price per renter is significant.”
With Boom, renters can build their credit over time as they make consistent, on-time rental payments.
Boom reports rent payments to all three major credit bureaus—Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.
All renters using Boom can track their reported payments and credit score progress via the Boom app.
At Boom, our goal is to make housing more flexible, affordable, and rewarding.
Boom was started in late 2020 as one of our co-founders, Rob Whiting, helped two of his family members navigate housing instability due to
COVID-19 - related job loss. During this time, he saw just how archaic and difficult renting remains for the majority of the 110 million renters in the US like his family members. And the rent payment is at the center of this.
Not only has rent increased >4x faster than income for the majority of renters since the early 2000s, but the tools available to renters and landlords alike has similarly stagnated. Rent remains one large lump sum, with no additional benefits on top of paying rent - a fact that can make renting feel like money down the drain. At Boom, we believe that housing can be more flexible, affordable, and rewarding. We’ve started by enabling you to build credit with the rent payments you already make.
Starting Line
Ezra Galston
Clocktower Ventures
Ben Savage
Company Ventures
Matt Harrigan
Gilgamesh Ventures
Andrew Endicott & Miguel Armaza
Chingona Ventures
Samara Hernandez
Affirm syndicate
Jeffrey Shu
William Hockey
Plaid co-founder
Zach Perret
Plaid co-founder
Siesta Ventures
Pau Sabria (Olapic co-founder)
Sergio Furio
Creditas founder
Misha Esipov
Nova Credit co-founder
Cyril Berdugo & Tom Petit
Landis co-founders
Will Lucas
Mint House co-founder
Todd Benson
Citi private equity co-founder
Romulus Management, LLC is committed to providing clean, safe, and affordable housing for people who need it. The company oversees the operation of a portfolio of manufactured housing communities in upstate New York. Their properties include Pleasant View Mobile Home Park in Dryden, NY and Floral Estates Mobile Home Park in Watertown, NY. Romulus Management is run by John Kaufmann, Chief Operating Officer.
Boom is on a mission to level the playing field for the 110+ million renters in the US by making housing more flexible, affordable, and rewarding. Boom is building a suite of rental financial services for renters and property managers, including rent payment reporting, rent reporting-as-a-service, and a number of integrations for the largest property management systems (PMS). Now serving thousands of renters, Boom is led by second-time founders Rob Whiting (ex-BCG, Rubicon) and Kirill Moizik (ex-Eco, Technion, Grubhub).