A licensed realtor built a Techstars-funded platform to take the hassle out of homebuying

A local startup trying to streamline real estate transactions is furthering that mission by launching a new mobile app.

Goby Homes is an end-to-end encrypted, B2B platform for real estate brokers and their clients to make the home-buying process easier, per founding CEO Terrence Nickelson. The company’s tools allow people involved in purchasing property to look at home listings, share documentation, schedule calendar events and create group chats. 

“We describe it as a next-gen collaboration platform that essentially improves how parties communicate and share information securely,” Nickelson told Technical.ly. “Our platform serves as an all-in-one hub, a centralized hub.”

The mobile app is expected to launch early next week pending approval from the Apple App Store and Google Play, according to Nickelson. The startup also just launched a second version of its web version. 

After releasing the beta version of Goby Homes’ desktop app in February, Nickelson solicited feedback from the brokers and agents using the tool to get ideas on how to improve the product. He said people especially pointed out the need for a mobile option, so users can have the flexibility to look at listings and message one another without being tied to a computer. From there, developing the mobile app began. 

There are not a lot of noticeable changes in the second version of the web app, Nickelson noted, and the core features are still the same. The main difference is that it will be easier to navigate. But, there will be new features in future updates that the team is currently working on, per Nickelson. 

The technology itself was built by an external team of developers. Goby Homes currently has a four-person team.  

Nickelson built Goby Homes off his savings, he said. He recently completed the Techstars Equitech Accelerator out of Baltimore, which granted him $120,000 to grow the startup. He used a small portion of those funds, less than $20,000, to build out the second version of the platform and the mobile app. Most of those funds went to the mobile platform, he said. 

Goby Homes does not have a physical office space yet, Nickelson plans to open one in the near future. He lives in the Shepherd Park area in northwest DC. 

Nickelson, a software developer and licensed realtor of about a decade, explained that he noticed “fragmented collaboration” in real estate because it requires so many different people to come together. This includes buyers themselves, agents, appraisers and attorneys. 

Security is also important to Nickelson — emailing or texting the sensitive information needed to purchase a home is risky, he noted, and encryption is necessary for privacy. 

The personal tie goes deeper: Nickelson lost a deal on a house for his aunt because of the many moving parts, which inspired him to create Goby Homes. 

“I noticed how real estate in a nutshell is basically a bunch of parties coming together on a bunch of different platforms to close a deal,” he said. “Sometimes information gets missed. And when things get missed … the deal completely falls through.”