Local startup RentalHouses.com brings 'bell-ringer of a price'

RentalHouses.com Inc., a growing Louisville company that maintains online listings of single-family homes for rent nationwide, has been acquired by Atlanta-based Consumer Source Inc.

Terms of the transaction, which closed Jan. 19, were not disclosed.

Consumer Source, a subsidiary of New York City-based Primedia Inc., produces free print and online guides across the country, including Apartment Guide, New Home Guide and Auto Guide.

Robert Turnbull, vice president of Consumer Source's rentals group division, declined to comment about how RentalHouses.com fits into the company's overall strategic plan.

But he did confirm that Consumer Source will retain the RentalHouses.com name and its Louisville offices, located at 950 Breckinridge Lane. The local operation will function as a sales center for Consumer Source, which has offered positions to all 30 RentalHouses.com employees.

David Richardson, a former Keller Manufacturing Co. executive who joined RentalHouses.com as president and CEO in January 2006, said he will remain with the company through February to oversee the ownership transition.

RentalHouses.com has been one of the success stories in the Louisville business community.

Founder Rob Massey Jr. began developing the concept about seven years ago. In 2004, when an updated version of the site was launched, the company started to charge listing fees for rental properties.

In early 2005, the company received a boost with a $1.5 million capital infusion from several investors, including Louisville-based The Yearling Fund.

Since then, the number of listings, revenues and site traffic seemed to skyrocket. And under Richardson's leadership, 2006 proved to be another stellar year.