Nomad

Nomad (Nomad Labs, Inc.) operates a digital property-management platform for owners of long-term residential rentals, primarily individual and small-scale landlords. The platform covers the full leasing cycle: AI-assisted listing creation, professional photography, syndication to more than 30 rental sites including Zillow, Redfin, Trulia and Zumper, inquiry and showing management, applicant screening across identity, income, credit and background checks, digital signing of state-specific leases, and ongoing management functions such as maintenance triage, repair coordination, vendor sourcing, inspections and rent collection through owner and resident portals.

Alongside the software, Nomad sells financial products for landlords: Guaranteed Rent, under which Nomad pays the owner on time each month at the owner-set rent even if the resident pays late or misses payments (up to three months of delinquency); Property Protection of $500,000 for real property, $100,000 liability and $10,000 personal property, backed by Lloyd's of London, plus $5,000 of eviction support and pet damage protection; and Rent Advance, which lets owners draw up to 11 months of future rent without credit checks. Owners can either self-manage digitally with Nomad's tools or hand the property to one of Nomad's local property-management partners (typically around 10% of rent, varying by partner) while still receiving guaranteed rent. Nomad also offers brokerage services for buying and selling homes and consumer-facing programs for residents, including credit reporting of on-time rent payments and rebates toward first-home closing costs. The company operates licensed brokerage entities, Nomad Brokerage LLC and Nomad Brokerage California Inc (California DRE # 02230490), and references Texas Real Estate Commission disclosures.

Founding story

Co-founders PJ O'Neil and Matt Thelen started Nomad after leaving operating roles at Opendoor, where O'Neil was a general manager, and Twilio, where Thelen was director of business operations. O'Neil serves as CEO. The company describes its products as created by landlords who had experienced the problems themselves.

Business model

Nomad monetizes a subscription-style platform fee charged as a percentage of rent, positioning itself between do-it-yourself landlording and full-service local property management, and layers financial products (rent guarantee, property protection, rent advance) and brokerage services on top of the software.

Platform fee of 4% of rent when paid upfront or 6% of rent when paid monthly, with a $75 per month minimum and a $99 one-time onboarding fee. Tenant placement/showing packages start at $0 (DIY, resident-led and agent-led showing options), with optional add-ons such as professional photos and Professional Tenant Placement starting at $900. Local property management partners typically charge around 10% of rent.

Traction

The company reports more than $250M of total rent guaranteed and over 10,000 customers served, with a 4.6 Google rating and 4.8 Trustpilot score. In 2021 it reported 8x (700%) year-over-year growth, more than $10 million of rent processed, guaranteed rent for a portfolio of homes valued above $250 million, and more than 1,000 customers; headcount grew from 12 to 40 over that period, and the About page cites 40+ employees across 9+ states.

Latest developments

As of the current site, Nomad offers two service tiers — digital self-management with Nomad's tools or a local property-management partner — both carrying Guaranteed Rent, alongside AI-powered listing and copilot tools, Rent Advance of up to 11 months of future rent, and tiered showing packages including resident-led self-guided tours.