Turning one’s ‘dream home’ into reality can be a daunting prospect. After all, leaving one’s comfort zones can make doubts creep in.
Staying in parents’ homes or renting a place for some time, people tend to stick with what is familiar and convenient even if life could be better.
With a global health crisis keeping lives in a state of flux, most people know that they can only find stability and comfort in having their own home—a safe haven that provides ample space for work and leisure in the new normal.
However, purchasing a home in the Philippines can be complicated and challenging. It is an issue that Ohmyhome, an immensely successful proptech startup in Singapore and Malaysia, seeks to address after launching its application and website in the Philippines.
Ohmyhome’s efficient and easy-to-use platform is primed to help property seekers navigate the tricky process of finding and buying their ideal home.
Rhonda Wong, Ohmyhome chief executive and co-Foundef, says: “We built this platform with Filipino users who are at different stages of their housing journey. Some users might be exploring options, while others may have specific properties in mind. There are also users who may be too busy to get started. Taking all these scenarios into consideration, we built an O2O [online-to-offline] platform that provides self-help tools on our mobile app, as well as customer services support and in-house agents,” she says.
Ohmyhome, accessible through a website and its mobile application downloadable via Google Play and the Apple Store, offers a DIY option to property seekers that allows them to browse through genuine property listings, get a good idea of which property suits them and connect directly with homeowners on the app. The entire process is free, with no hidden fees.
Ohmyhome chief product officer and co-founder Race Wong assures customers that “with just a few clicks, they can also ask an in-house agent to assist in their property transactions.”
“On in-house agent services, fees are paid only after a successful selling transaction, assuring customers that above anything else, good service is the priority,” Race says.
Rhonda and Race say that Ohmyhome makes the transaction journey fairly easy and intuitive. They advise prospective buyers to have an idea on which locations in the Philippines they’re interested in. “Our app has a map feature that allows users to check properties in different radiuses from 2 km up to 10 km of a certain pinned location,” Rhonda says. “Ohmyhome also allows customers to filter through different property types and sizes, room configurations, and price ranges so that search results are tailored to their preferences.”
Looking for the ideal home is made even easier with the platform’s current reach, made possible through its real estate developer-partners like Vista Land International Marketing Inc. and Suntrust Properties Inc., among others.
“Right now, Ohmyhome has a very diverse selection of houses: condominiums, townhouses and house-and-lot packages. Our reach is nationwide for both our DIY platform and the properties we carry from our real estate developer-partners,” says Race.
Rhonda affirms this, adding, “Various properties are now for sale via the Ohmyhome platform to cover the different needs of varying Filipino households. The listings are constantly growing with more partnerships with housing developers lined up. We are confident that property seekers will find their next home with Ohmyhome.”