Chilean startup Houm seeks to accelerate growth in Mexico

Houm Group Inc., a Chilean startup specializing in property rental and purchase services, plans to expand to five new cities in Mexico before the end of the year and will study another round of financing in the next 12 months, according to its CEO and founder, Benjamin Labs.

Houm operates in four cities of Mexicoand three in Colombia and Chile. The company offers a digital platform for owners to rent or sell their properties.

Via Houm”you can buy a property either to live or as an investment”, Labra said via Zoom from Guadalajara, Mexico. “If you want it as an investment, we look for the tenant, we collect the rent, we guarantee the rent, even if the tenant does not pay”.

As an additional service, Houm plans to start giving six months of rent in advance to owners who require liquidity in exchange for a commission.

Houm was founded in 2018 and in January 2021 it was accepted by the startup accelerator Y Combinator. It subsequently raised $35 million in a series A funding round led by Goodwater Capital and Fifth Wall Ventures Management. Most of the funds were used to hire talent and open operations in new cities.

Houm has 650 employees and 400 independent contractors providing services.

The company does not need funds in the short term, but could make another round of financing in the next 12 months, said Labra, who declined to comment on the company’s valuation.

Houm started operating nine months ago in Mexico and it is already its second largest market after Chile.

Labra explained that Houm’s idea came to him after working in real estate investment funds and discovering that the most inefficient parts of the industry are in brokering and closing deals.

The industry has millions of informal agents and very little transparency, which lends itself to scams, bad experiences, and very poor service. “It is a sector prepared for disruptionLabra said. Houm plans to be a one-stop shop where everything offered has been pre-verified by the company, he said.