Press & Media
Built to fix what the big players broke.
Varden Homes is an all-in-one property management and listings platform built by a 21-year-old, designed for the millions of independent landlords who can't afford enterprise software.
Founders
Kennedy Maombi
Founder
Kennedy founded Varden Homes at 21 years old after recognizing that independent landlords (who own over 17 million rental units in the U.S.) were being forced to choose between expensive enterprise software with unreachable minimums, or managing properties manually with spreadsheets and bank transfers. He designed and built the entire platform: rent collection, tenant screening, AI maintenance triage, contractor dispatch, digital leases, credit reporting, and a consumer listings marketplace.
"The big platforms charge hundreds of dollars a month whether you have a tenant or not. That cost flows straight to renters. We built Varden so the platform only wins when the landlord wins: zero cost during vacancies, no minimums, no contracts."
Approved for press use. Contact press@vardenhomes.com for interview requests.
Re'Auna Jones
Co-Founder, Head of Partnerships
Re'Auna leads partnerships, landlord onboarding, and business development at Varden. She manages relationships with property management companies, contractors, and strategic partners, including Varden's integration with Experian RentBureau for tenant credit reporting. Her outreach work focuses on bringing independent landlords and small property management companies onto the platform.
Story angles
We're happy to provide data, interviews, or platform access to support any of these stories.
A 21-year-old built the property management platform the big players refused to
Kennedy Maombi started Varden Homes after watching small landlords get priced out of tools built only for large operators. AppFolio starts at $280/month and requires 50+ units. Varden has no minimums and charges nothing during vacancies.
The housing affordability crisis starts with landlord software
When property managers pay $500/month in software fees regardless of occupancy, those costs flow directly to renters. Varden flips the model: landlords only pay when rent is actually collected, aligning the platform's revenue with tenant success.
One platform to rent, buy, sell, and manage. Why does everyone else need three?
Varden is the only platform that combines a consumer-facing listings marketplace (for renters and buyers) with a full landlord management suite. Competitors do one or the other. Varden does both, with an active listings marketplace that grows as landlords onboard.
AI-powered maintenance triage is cutting repair costs for independent landlords
Varden's built-in AI diagnoses maintenance requests before dispatching a contractor, reducing unnecessary service calls. Paired with Varden Dispatch (an integrated contractor marketplace) landlords get repair quotes without phone calls.
Fast facts
Press boilerplate
Short (1 sentence)
Varden Homes is an all-in-one property management and listings platform co-founded by Kennedy Maombi and Re'Auna Jones, built for independent landlords and small property management companies with no minimum unit requirements and pricing aligned to rent collection success.
Long (paragraph)
Varden Homes is an all-in-one real estate and property management platform that serves independent landlords, property management companies, and renters. The platform offers automated rent collection via ACH and card, tenant screening through TransUnion SmartMove, AI-powered maintenance triage, integrated contractor dispatch, digital lease signing, credit reporting to Experian RentBureau, and an active consumer listings marketplace for rentals and home sales. Unlike enterprise platforms that require large unit counts and charge fixed monthly fees, Varden charges 2.5% of rent collected (nothing during vacancies) with no setup fees, no contracts, and no minimums. Varden was founded in 2025.
Media inquiries
Interview requests, platform demos, photography, and additional press materials. We typically respond within 4 hours.