The 5 Broken Promises of Real Estate from Rob & Chad at Swyvvl

Some inefficiencies in real estate are just part of the game. Others feel like broken promises to the people the industry is meant to serve.

That’s what Swyvvl’s founders, Chad Link and Rob Brower, argue. Between them they’ve run brokerages, trained agents, and overseen thousands of contracts. Their conclusion? Buyers and sellers are being misled.

Swyvvl’s mission is to cut out the middlemen, strip away the hidden costs, and put power back in the client’s hands.

Here are five promises the industry keeps breaking - and what UK PropTech founders can take from it.

1. “We’re working in your best interest”

Referral fees and kickbacks tell a different story. Every handoff moves money around, unseen.

“When I pay that client referral fee, the client has no idea. It’s buried in the process. But it’s money moving around, and it’s costing them.”

UK founders: if your model relies on clipping the ticket, you’re not aligned with the customer.

2. “Your data is safe with us”

In reality, billions are made each year in the US from selling client data to agents. UK portals and lead-gen platforms do the same, packaged differently.

The promise of safeguarding data is broken. For founders, the opportunity is clear: transparency on data ownership builds trust faster than any marketing campaign.

3. “We’ll guide you through the process”

Rob’s experience of running brokerages is that clients are left in the dark. Swyvvl’s answer is the “five-day share experience,” where buyers test out agents before choosing who to stick with.

It flips the dynamic from being pushed into a relationship to actively choosing one. In the market, any product that makes accountability visible (response times, fall-through rates, upfront disclosure) will stand out.

4. “We’ll deliver when the time is right”

Some startups fall into the trap of waiting for perfect conditions. But Swyvvl are in-market, pitching, testing, and iterating.

In the UK environment (where procurement cycles often drag on... and on!) this lesson matters. Don’t polish forever. Get into the field, prove value, and refine later.

5. “You can trust us”

Trust is the promise most often made... and most often broken. When platforms monetise data, or agents hide kickbacks, that promise collapses.

Swyvvl’s bet is different: revenue models that align with the client, and partnerships that prove value shoulder-to-shoulder.

“Find the right partners and earn trust by solving concrete problems together.”

For UK founders, that’s the real differentiator. Anyone can sell software. Few can prove loyalty.

Chad and Rob aren’t talking about shiny disruption. They’re talking about fairness, and what happens when an industry stops keeping its promises.

The lesson for UK PropTech? Don’t just make transactions faster. Make them fairer. That’s where real change starts.

🎧 Listen to the full PropTech Growth Podcast episode featuring SWYVVL here → https://open.spotify.com/show/32VHInMxGq45LuKB4maYur