2 New Apps That Will Change the Way You Design Your Home
By Lucas on Mar 23, 2015
The world is going the way of smart technology - there’s no debating it. There’s an app for everything these days, and we recently learned about two new ones that just launched. RENOMii and Mii Casa are two apps by RENOMii CEO and Co-Founder Scott Barker, and they aim to alter the way home renovations are conducted and how features and finishes for a new condo are selected.
It all began with RENOMii. With a history in the industry, Barker recognized that there are three points of success in the renovation business. First, you need to get the job with a competitive quote. Second, you need a clear line of communication with the client, And finally, the most important thing - you need to get the referral. The renovation business thrives off referrals and word of mouth promotion.
RENOMii is an app that contractors and their clients can use to keep track of a project. The platform allows you to share images and documents, and also allows for text-based conversation and commenting.
Barker claims that contractors are losing money by being talked down at the end of jobs, and they waste entire days sorting through paper work and trying to find emails. RENOMii keeps things tidy by keeping all comments and paperwork in one place where everyone can see it, so there are no surprises at the end of a job.
The development of RENOMii lead Barker down the path to creating Mii Casa. “Gone are the days of having condominium buyers go through traditional catalogues to decide on upgrades,” Barker says. “Mii Casa takes a page from today's online shopping experience and makes the decision of everything from colour selections to faucets and cabinetry into a simple click. Condominium buyers can access the software from home or at work on any device to make their selections. There is no software to download. It is all in the Cloud and accessible at all times.”
When we spoke with Barker, we asked if Mii Casa was intended to replace the purchaser’s trip to a decor studio, because we found it difficult to believe that anyone would select thousands of dollars of finishes without seeing them in real life and coming in contact with them. Barker explained that 3D imaging is in the works for the software, and Kara Smith, Co-Founder and COO of RENOMii, followed by explaining that Mii Casa is a way for purchasers to browse the selections in the comfort of their home before making the trip to the decor studio. It also gives the decor professionals an idea of what the purchaser has in mind before they meet to select the finishes.
“The selections software from Mii Casa is very easy to use and has really made my job easier,” said Peter Whitby, sales consultant, Momentum Developments, in Kitchener-Waterloo, ON. “I work with condo buyers on their selections and have received compliments praising the software. They appreciate the ability to see the options from home, have the costs updated, and overall, feel comfortable with how their condo will turn out before they visit our office.”
Whitby says that there have also been a few purchasers that have selected their features and finishes without even visiting the decor studio because they were either non-residents of Canada or they were investors that didn’t plan on living in the units and just needed the standard package.
Renovators, will you try RENOMii? Condo developers, is Mii Casa something you would use in your presentation centres? Share your opinions on Facebook and Twitter!
