What the business is
Screens and underwrites prospective tenants for real estate brokers and promises to cover rent if tenants stop paying, plus optional legal and insurance services.
The bet
That selling rent underwriting to brokers, not to Mexico's fragmented 'mom and pop' landlords, opens a large market of excluded renters.
Starting capital
$5.6M Series A co-led by Flourish Ventures and Cometa, with Clocktower, Picus and Y Combinator
How it started
CEO Santiago Morales moved to Mexico in early 2020 to help LatAm marketplace Loft expand there, but COVID-19 dried up those plans. The experience introduced him to co-founders Ines Gamboa Sorensen and Diego Llano; MoradaUno was formed in 2020 and launched its product in 2021.
What happened
MoradaUno screens tenants with background checks and income verification, and takes on rent payments if a tenant defaults. It has worked with more than 4,500 brokers and helped close more than 20,000 rentals, now processing about 1,000 leases a month.
How it ended up
Per TechCrunch it is live in four Mexican cities, plans six more and aims for 3,000 leases a month by the next summer.
What has to be true
Large deposits and local guarantor requirements make about 40% of potential renters ineligible, according to Morales.
Landlords in Mexico are fragmented, so brokers are the efficient point at which to sell tenant underwriting.
Landlords lack trust in who they rent to, and MoradaUno's guarantee uses technology and vetting to bridge that.
What can be applied
Where the supply side is fragmented, sell trust to the intermediary who touches everyone rather than to each individual owner.
Aftermath
As of 6 November 2024, MoradaUno was live in four Mexican cities with plans for six more, and said it may later offer advance rent payments or an AI model for brokers. TechCrunch listed competitors Aptuno ($7M raised) and Houm (over $44M raised).
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