Experience or thoughts on Homeroom?

Member since 2020 · 9 posts · 6 votes

Hello Everyone,

New to BP and real estate investing. Wondering if anyone has had any experience with https://livehomeroom.com ? If so, what was your experience like? They bring co-living to the Midwest and currently focused on Dallas, Austin, and Kansas City. They find homes, sell it to the investors, set up a lease with them with a set cash flow, and then lease rooms on behalf of their investors (100% turnkey during the lease, and free property management. Of course, repairs would come out of my pocket. It's an interesting model and considering it. Would love to hear your thoughts and experience, if any, with them. Thanks in advance!

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Account Closed

Member since 2018 · 1 post · 8 votes

Hi all, I'm a recent HomeRoom investor and want to chime in here to share my experience. I was interested in investing in the Austin area but obviously the market is really competitive and rents haven't gone up in line with the skyrocketing purchase prices so the numbers just weren't working. I was beginning to lose hope but then I connected with Johnny at HomeRoom and was immediately impressed. Although, to be honest, at first I thought it sounded a little too good to be true... totally passive investing? Guaranteed rent? I figured I would give it a shot and I'm really glad I did! The agent they connected me to was one of the best I've worked with - he knew exactly what HomeRoom was looking for and quickly found me a property that worked for them and for me. The house needed some work which normally would have been a pain for me but after close HomeRoom did everything. They acted so quickly the house was fixed up and I had tenants within 30 days of closing without ever having to talk to a contractor. Amazing! If you're considering HomeRoom I recommend you just reach out and have a call with them to see if it meets your needs. I'll definitely use them again in the future and I've recommended them to several friends. Good luck!

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Joseph Spear
Rental Property Investor · Oakland, CA · Member since 2021 · 22 posts · 61 votes
4y
What's up y'all.

So I made a trip out to Indy a couple days ago to finally see my property for the first time. It was really just a trip for fun, I bought it sight unseen, and have managed it from afar to this point with no concern at all. The reno is completed and it is furnished and new pics have just gone up on the website, 3D model coming soon. I just wanted to walk through my first house! It didn't disappoint. Finished product looks great, the furnished living room is so comfy and inviting. The new bedrooms look like they were always there. Seamless transition to the original work. I'm very impressed with the Homeroom contractor and designer team. But that's not what I came to talk about.

I had a thought the other day about the value of the property I just bought. I ran some numbers after I got my appraisal back. It appraised for $282,000 which was a nice surprise since I paid $274,000. Instant equity. It also appraised for an expected market rent of $2,240. I wanted to know at what cap rate I purchased the property.

Let's say $179 for property management at 8%. $100 for insurance, and $170 for property tax. Total $449

So $2,240 minus $449 is $1,791, x12 months equals $21,492 NOI

$21,492/$274,000 = 0.078 or 7.8% cap rate. That's not bad right off the bat. But here's where it gets interesting.

If I plug in the new expected rent with HomeRoom, what is the value of the property now, if I were to sell it at the exact same cap rate?

$3,300 gross rent

$495 for property management at 15%, $270 for property tax and insurance. Total $765

So $3,300 minus $765 is $2,535, x12 months equals $30,420 NOI

$30,420/(new value) = .0784/1

new value = $388,010 at the exact same cap rate I bought it, 7.84%

I think that down the road, HomeRoom will likely have an internal marketplace for properties that are under their management. If I were a new investor, I would be stoked to step up and buy a turnkey property, under management, with tenants, and no out of pocket costs because all the work was done previously, at a cap rate of roughly 8%.

When I was in Indy I also had the opportunity to meet in person with my realtor, Tyler Lingle, and we had a great conversation about all things RE and Indy. This was a topic that we touched on briefly and he actually had this thought as well. Just wanted to throw it out here because some folks have talked about the value of a HomeRoom renovation if you want to turn around and sell later.

Cheers y'all! Happy Friday!
4 Reply
Drew SygitBusiness Member
Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 12k+ posts · 9k+ votes
4y
@Joseph Spear
Good feedback, but would be careful about buying based upon Cap Rate with Homeroom as you outline.
Just have to look back at Airbnb history.
People started using Airbnb to rent extra rooms...
Then they started renting out entire homes...
Then investors started arbitrage, renting annually from and owner, then renting for more on Airbnb...
Then investors started buying homes with the intention of renting them on Airbnb for higher returns...
Only recently have investors started paying a premium to buy homes based upon expected Airbnb returns. Many investors learned a hard lesson when the STR market took a hit initially during COVID.
Until the shared living space concept matures, it's probably premature to skip the above investment evolution.
[email protected]248-209-6824
Logical Property Management4.9450 Reviews
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Joseph Spear
Rental Property Investor · Oakland, CA · Member since 2021 · 22 posts · 61 votes
4y
Quick update,
Less than a week has gone by since the property was made available, and 6 of 7 rooms have been leased! Wow! I knew it was going to be desirable, but dang!
I'll update after all the rooms are filled and give the final gross rent tally.
Cheers!
5 Reply
Amber Galloway
Member since 2022 · 1 post · 0 votes
4y
Eek, looks like that Homeroom investment is about to take a dip, considering the scrutiny over a new city ordinance in Shawnee. Not like anyone has to fill Bruce Wayne sized shoes but does real estate investing have to be this despicable?
0 Reply
Frank Salgado
Homeowner · Anaheim, CA · Member since 2009 · 20 posts · 9 votes
4y
What is despicable?
0 Reply
Joseph Spear
Rental Property Investor · Oakland, CA · Member since 2021 · 22 posts · 61 votes
4y
Hey y'all,

So I want to give an update and share some things. My 7th bedroom just got a tenant a few days ago, so fully occupied now. However, the transition from renovation to leasing has left a lot to be desired. The communication with HomeRoom fell off a cliff. For a while it was difficult to get straight answers from anyone, emails went unanswered for over a week. Once I did get someone to talk with me, details and information were often lacking, or outright wrong. There was a lot of confusion. I could not get a straight answer about which rooms were occupied, at what rate, and for what length lease. During this time, Homeroom ended up leasing almost all of the rooms below the rates we had initially agreed on, even though within a week we had 6 out of 7 rooms full. I also found out that they moved a tenant in on 4/28 and his bank transfer bounced a week later and they had to evict him because he refused to pay. Luckily that didn't turn into a more serious issue, and that room is now occupied by a paying tenant.

All this is to say that this time was the most difficult part of this whole experience. Once I found someone to be my point of contact who could finally respond in a timely and thorough manner, I was informed that part of the reason for this communication breakdown was that the person who's job it would be to stay in contact with Investors regarding leasing, had left the company, and they were actively trying to hire for that position, so they had various people trying to field communications, but no one person who's job it was.

What's done is done, and I'm not going to get upset about it. The numbers are below what they should be, but I will make it right when leases expire. 1 expires in 3 months, 1 in 6 months, the rest in 12 months. C'est la vie.

So, the new total rent is $3,050, not the $3,300 I posted earlier. New cash ROI as follows (see initial post for all details):

PITI will total $1,364

$517 for 5% maintenance, 5% CapEx and 7% vacancy allowance (HomeRoom gives 10% vacancy as a general estimate but my property is the best location of all the Indy properties, close to downtown and UIPUI campus, and discounted compared to room rates at other houses so I don't expect 10% vacancy) The house just underwent a complete top to bottom gut reno with new everything including roof, sewer, electrical, appliances, etc, so I'm budgeting low for CapEx.

$457 for 15% property management.

That puts total expenses at $2,338, out of GRI of $3,050, for a monthly cashflow of $712 (9.5% CashROI).

I'm not unhappy with that return, and the rooms filled up fast. Who knows what the wait might've been like at the higher rates. Considering how quickly they leased though, it's clear we were priced below market value.

This was a frustrating experience, but I am still pleased with this investment, and I know I will be able to get rates where they belong eventually.
Oh, one more detail I wanted to cover. Somewhere in this thread, Johnny Wolff had mentioned that HomeRoom requires 75% of renovation cost upon closing of the property, before work begins. I was asked to pay 100% upfront. I negotiated lower, but that's what they asked for. That would typically be a red flag, for any contractor to demand 100% upfront, so that was strange, however I'm pleased with all the finished product.
7 Reply
Frank Salgado
Homeowner · Anaheim, CA · Member since 2009 · 20 posts · 9 votes
4y

0 Reply
Frank Salgado
Homeowner · Anaheim, CA · Member since 2009 · 20 posts · 9 votes
4y

0 Reply
Frank Salgado
Homeowner · Anaheim, CA · Member since 2009 · 20 posts · 9 votes
4y
I'm closing this week on a Property, I hope the rents they projected to me are accurate. In a couple of years how much you think rents will go up? Hoping that cash flow will improve substantially as this is going to be a big part of my retirement.
1 Reply
Brent Noblitt
Member since 2019 · 2 posts · 1 vote
4y
How concerned are those of you that have invested with Homeroom about the potential for local governments to shut this type of rental down? When I met with them, it was mentioned that this has already happened in Kansas City and they had to remove rooms from a home where they were shut down. Their model is definitely interesting and I’m considering moving forward but this is my biggest hangup currently.
0 Reply
Brian Siu
Member since 2022 · 3 posts · 8 votes
4y
As an investor in HomeRoom, it has been a poor experience. Overall, I regret my decision to invest with them as there is too much risk to the investor (down payment, rehab costs, repairs, vacancy etc.)

Their model is based on taking single family homes and rehabbing them to expand the amount of bedrooms, from say 4 to 7, then renting each bedroom out separately, thereby increasing the available rent.

You pay for the construction costs, labor, and repairs. In my example there were repairs needed and walls to be put in, smart tech, new locks etc.

Rehab cost = 45k

My PITI is $2000 @3.75% interest and estimated rental projection for 7 rooms was $3600 (~$520 per room). Homeroom has 2 payout models, on their revenue share model (85/15) takes 15%, so they estimated I would make $3000 or $1000 net gross per month. In addition, they charge each roommate $140 for utilities, maid service etc. Their guaranteed model was a 65/15 split with guaranteed payments of $2300 total per month.

As what happened with user JosephSpear, HomeRoom reduced the rents without telling me. Their projected is now $3385 gross and they have only been able to fill 5/7 rooms in 3 months, meaning I am barely breaking even, since 85% of 5 rooms (some rooms are lower rent) nets me around $2012.

Worse yet, they continue to on board new houses, currently there are 20+ houses in the Dallas market with open rooms. They have zero incentive to fill every room in a house. To them 100 houses with 1 renter each is the same as 14 full houses in terms of profit. In fact, it spreads out their risk to have more renters spread between multiple houses than concentrated in less houses. Remember, HomeRoom profits off the individual renters, construction and fees. Therefore it is in their best interest to grow as fast as possible at the detriment on investors.

Even worse, if I want to back out, I now need to pay a contractor to remove 3 walls that homeroom installed along with the fees in breaking their lease. I am essentially stuck with this company with the hope that the rooms start to fill up.
So far, I'm down the rehab cost and barely breaking even on PITI. It may be several more months before it starts to turn a profit, with full rental room estimates ($3385 - 2000 PITI) it will take 3-4 years to break even on the rehab cost.
2 Reply
Bernard Joseph S.
Investor · NJ · Member since 2022 · 154 posts · 223 votes
4y
Quote from @Brian Siu:

As an investor in HomeRoom, it has been a poor experience. Overall, I regret my decision to invest with them as there is too much risk to the investor (down payment, rehab costs, repairs, vacancy etc.)

Their model is based on taking single family homes and rehabbing them to expand the amount of bedrooms, from say 4 to 7, then renting each bedroom out separately, thereby increasing the available rent.

You pay for the construction costs, labor, and repairs. In my example there were repairs needed and walls to be put in, smart tech, new locks etc.

Rehab cost = 45k

My PITI is $2000 @3.75% interest and estimated rental projection for 7 rooms was $3600 (~$520 per room). Homeroom has 2 payout models, on their revenue share model (85/15) takes 15%, so they estimated I would make $3000 or $1000 net gross per month. In addition, they charge each roommate $140 for utilities, maid service etc. Their guaranteed model was a 65/15 split with guaranteed payments of $2300 total per month.

As what happened with user JosephSpear, HomeRoom reduced the rents without telling me. Their projected is now $3385 gross and they have only been able to fill 5/7 rooms in 3 months, meaning I am barely breaking even, since 85% of 5 rooms (some rooms are lower rent) nets me around $2012.

Worse yet, they continue to on board new houses, currently there are 20+ houses in the Dallas market with open rooms. They have zero incentive to fill every room in a house. To them 100 houses with 1 renter each is the same as 14 full houses in terms of profit. In fact, it spreads out their risk to have more renters spread between multiple houses than concentrated in less houses. Remember, HomeRoom profits off the individual renters, construction and fees. Therefore it is in their best interest to grow as fast as possible at the detriment on investors.

Even worse, if I want to back out, I now need to pay a contractor to remove 3 walls that homeroom installed along with the fees in breaking their lease. I am essentially stuck with this company with the hope that the rooms start to fill up.
So far, I'm down the rehab cost and barely breaking even on PITI. It may be several more months before it starts to turn a profit, with full rental room estimates ($3385 - 2000 PITI) it will take 3-4 years to break even on the rehab cost.

I hate that this happened to you and covers the pitfalls of this investment model. I had high hopes for possibly pursuing this in one of my next investments but the more I see I like it less. It will work for many but not everyone. Hopefully you can cash flow comfortably out of this situation and I appreciate the update.
0 Reply
Joseph Spear
Rental Property Investor · Oakland, CA · Member since 2021 · 22 posts · 61 votes
4y
Hey y'all.

@Brent Noblitt, I have no concern at all about that one-off, strange "no roomates" law that passed in Shawnee. You can't ban having roomates. Other regulation could come along that works differently, but it's not even on my radar.

@Brian Siu, I'm really sorry to hear about your investment experience. I hear what you're saying and you make a lot of good points.

Expensive out of pocket reno costs can make a prohibitive investment, for sure.

Saturated, established market for co-living. That's tough.

Lower than expected rent totals, yup.

Right off the bat, when I started a dialogue with HomeRoom, the number one concern on my mind was occupancy. Basically we are relying on the word of HomeRoom that they have done the investigative work and market research, and are confidant in market demand for their product. That was always a concern. I managed to circumnavigate that to some extent by finding my own property, one that I believed in on it's own metrics and my own market research. I chose a place that was 8 minutes from downtown and 3 minutes from UIPUI campus. It wasn't being offered by HomeRoom, I asked them to check it out, and could I onboard it? Luckily they agreed, even though initially they were hesitant because it wasn't in the zipcodes they were currently working in. I've noticed HomeRoom tends to choose properties that are further out of downtown, more rural, more space. That may work fine, but as an out-of-state investor, it's harder for me to have confidence in demand in those areas. I just have to take their word.

At the end of the day, I am leaning away from HomeRoom for my next investment too. Not that I regret my investment, I just keep looking for the best investment possible, and I'm leaning the way of a BRRRR for my next go. Namely because I want to pick up the pace of purchasing, and BRRRR should give me a faster turnaround if done right
@Brian Siu, I hope the best for you and I hope it turns around soon.

4 Reply
Brian Siu
Member since 2022 · 3 posts · 8 votes
4y

@Joseph Spear Yup you hit the nail on the head. Location is key and you did your due diligence by finding your own property within the downtown area. Funny enough, my first investment was in the university district of a city and occupancy is essentially never a problem.
Even without homeroom, you would have had a successful rental. I trusted HomeRoom was a professional team, that had done their "market research" even if my gut was telling me otherwise. Occupancy is the biggest risk here.

Homeroom does lean towards suburban out of downtown houses (as you said, more space, less restrictions) for their investments, which ironically is the antithesis of where 20 to 30 year old student/young professionals want to live. My particular is 20-30 min from Dallas. I also did not anticipate that I would be competing with 20 other houses all within the same price point. The fact that your house is in a good location provides a shield from the competition.

I can only stay optimistic for now as clearly I am in it for the long run.
2 Reply
Sreedhar Dasi
Member since 2022 · 2 posts · 2 votes
4y
I closed my property with Homeroom in March. The house is located in San Antonio. I went with profit sharing model (85%/15%). Here is my experience so far.
- They asked for 100% upfront payment for the build and setup costs. Make sure to go through their estimates carefully as they may include some items that are not needed (e.g.: they added cost to board up fireplace but the house doesn't have one)
- Make sure to verify if all the work is complete as agreed. They told me that they had completed everything but some were not complete
- It has been more than 3 months and only 5 out of 7 rooms were leased so far. Most leases are for 6 months only and they do run promotions like first month free rent.
- I got used washer/dryer from them. But dryer lasted only for 2 months. My suggestion is to buy new appliances with warranty.
- They add 15% margin to the repair costs.
They don't have good accounting system to get good clarity on monthly transactions like rental payments, expenses, etc.
2 Reply
Frank Salgado
Homeowner · Anaheim, CA · Member since 2009 · 20 posts · 9 votes
4y
Quote from @Sreedhar Dasi:

I closed my property with Homeroom in March. The house is located in San Antonio. I went with profit sharing model (85%/15%). Here is my experience so far.
- They asked for 100% upfront payment for the build and setup costs. Make sure to go through their estimates carefully as they may include some items that are not needed (e.g.: they added cost to board up fireplace but the house doesn't have one)
- Make sure to verify if all the work is complete as agreed. They told me that they had completed everything but some were not complete
- It has been more than 3 months and only 5 out of 7 rooms were leased so far. Most leases are for 6 months only and they do run promotions like first month free rent.
- I got used washer/dryer from them. But dryer lasted only for 2 months. My suggestion is to buy new appliances with warranty.
- They add 15% margin to the repair costs.
They don't have good accounting system to get good clarity on monthly transactions like rental payments, expenses, etc.

Does anybody have any positive experiences with Homeroom?. I just purchased 2 houses and I would like to hear some success stories.
0 Reply
Frank Salgado
Homeowner · Anaheim, CA · Member since 2009 · 20 posts · 9 votes
4y
Quote from @Joseph Spear:

Quick update.
I signed closing papers yesterday!
Very excited!
Now that the property is mine, we will start getting to the more fun stuff, and I will post updates as we move forward with reno and make-ready for tenants.
More soon.

0 Reply
Frank Salgado
Homeowner · Anaheim, CA · Member since 2009 · 20 posts · 9 votes
4y
Quote from @Frank Salgado:

Quote from @Joseph Spear:

Quick update.
I signed closing papers yesterday!
Very excited!
Now that the property is mine, we will start getting to the more fun stuff, and I will post updates as we move forward with reno and make-ready for tenants.
More soon.

Do you get to write off all renovations on your taxes? I think you do if you renovate before tenants come in.
0 Reply
Allison Ortega
Member since 2022 · 2 posts · 1 vote
4y
As a tenant, I would have to say that I haven't had a great experience with the company thus far, and they don't seem to be a company that tries to do right by their tenants. Not an auspicious start for a company that is still in its infancy.
I was moving from out of state and had to rely on photos for renting. I will try to be as impartial as possible, but here are my notes:
* The listing I picked was inaccurate. They were leasing 1C, but the pictures were of a much larger room (1A). I only found this out due to the 3D model, but the fact that the listing was incorrect shows a lack of attention to detail or that they are
intentionally deceiving people. I liked the 3D model of the actual room enough to lease.
*On the website at the time, the only lease lengths that showed were 3 and 6 months. But the buttons don't work when I go to click.
* The pipeline secretary that contacts new leads texts me. Every text ends with ':)' and due to the poor grammar, it feels very scammy, and I think twice about looking somewhere else; she says that the minimum lease length that I can do without paying extra per month is 10 months-- but they haven't updated it on their website yet. Pipeline secretary is VERY pushy and texts me every hour to ask whether or not I've signed the lease.The only reason I signed is because they allow you to connect with roommates beforehand and they were able to answer my questions with some coherency.
* Day 1: I arrive at the rental. There's a Yale lock and I have the code, so far so good. The common areas "look" like the pictures, but the house could easily use another $80,000 in renovations. When you go inside, the floor is level, then as you walk closer towards the kitchen, the floor starts to slant. The counters are not level either. If there were an earthquake, the house would snap in half, and appears to slowly be doing so of its own accord. The house oscillates between cheap veneer "new stuff" that's already chipping/flaking/breaking and very old stuff that is in need of replacement. My actual room is littered with dead bugs, and instead of a carpet that shows in the pictures, there's veneer wood flooring, which no one notified me about, and there are no updated pictures for. There is a 1 inch gap between the baseboards and wall and the actual floor which presumably leads outside due to my having a room with 3 walls that lead directly outside. The baseboards are cracked and have presumably been there since the house was built in the 70s.
*Day 3: I come back to start unpacking. The strip of tape I left is covered in woodlice. I find 3 dead roaches in my room that were not there 2 days prior. I notify the company and try to call someone. Whereas they wouldn't leave me alone before I signed, now--- I can get no one on the phone, and am required to use a text line. I hear from other roommates that they have requested pest control as well. I buy my own insect spray and vigorously spray into the large gap to warn other critters away. I let it dry, then lay down copious amounts of diatomaceous earth into the gaps to discourage bugs.
* Day 4: Maintenance responds to my pest control request by spraying a $30 bottle of Walmart roach spray around the house like I couldn't and didn't do that already.
* Day 5: I find a live roach on my windowsill the next morning.
Currently: One bathroom is taped shut and not working. In the 5 days I've been there, maintenance has not dropped by to fix it.
Info from roommates on things that happened before I moved in: Worked on the plumbing while people were in the house, and the water was off for 1-2 days.
Officially considering calling this home "A Bug's Life" and warning as many people away from HomeRoom as possible. I've lived there for all of a week, and am already planning on moving out in a month or two.
1 Reply
Frank Salgado
Homeowner · Anaheim, CA · Member since 2009 · 20 posts · 9 votes
4y
Quote from @Allison Ortega:

As a tenant, I would have to say that I haven't had a great experience with the company thus far, and they don't seem to be a company that tries to do right by their tenants. Not an auspicious start for a company that is still in its infancy.
I was moving from out of state and had to rely on photos for renting. I will try to be as impartial as possible, but here are my notes:
* The listing I picked was inaccurate. They were leasing 1C, but the pictures were of a much larger room (1A). I only found this out due to the 3D model, but the fact that the listing was incorrect shows a lack of attention to detail or that they are
intentionally deceiving people. I liked the 3D model of the actual room enough to lease.
*On the website at the time, the only lease lengths that showed were 3 and 6 months. But the buttons don't work when I go to click.
* The pipeline secretary that contacts new leads texts me. Every text ends with ':)' and due to the poor grammar, it feels very scammy, and I think twice about looking somewhere else; she says that the minimum lease length that I can do without paying extra per month is 10 months-- but they haven't updated it on their website yet. Pipeline secretary is VERY pushy and texts me every hour to ask whether or not I've signed the lease.The only reason I signed is because they allow you to connect with roommates beforehand and they were able to answer my questions with some coherency.
* Day 1: I arrive at the rental. There's a Yale lock and I have the code, so far so good. The common areas "look" like the pictures, but the house could easily use another $80,000 in renovations. When you go inside, the floor is level, then as you walk closer towards the kitchen, the floor starts to slant. The counters are not level either. If there were an earthquake, the house would snap in half, and appears to slowly be doing so of its own accord. The house oscillates between cheap veneer "new stuff" that's already chipping/flaking/breaking and very old stuff that is in need of replacement. My actual room is littered with dead bugs, and instead of a carpet that shows in the pictures, there's veneer wood flooring, which no one notified me about, and there are no updated pictures for. There is a 1 inch gap between the baseboards and wall and the actual floor which presumably leads outside due to my having a room with 3 walls that lead directly outside. The baseboards are cracked and have presumably been there since the house was built in the 70s.
*Day 3: I come back to start unpacking. The strip of tape I left is covered in woodlice. I find 3 dead roaches in my room that were not there 2 days prior. I notify the company and try to call someone. Whereas they wouldn't leave me alone before I signed, now--- I can get no one on the phone, and am required to use a text line. I hear from other roommates that they have requested pest control as well. I buy my own insect spray and vigorously spray into the large gap to warn other critters away. I let it dry, then lay down copious amounts of diatomaceous earth into the gaps to discourage bugs.
* Day 4: Maintenance responds to my pest control request by spraying a $30 bottle of Walmart roach spray around the house like I couldn't and didn't do that already.
* Day 5: I find a live roach on my windowsill the next morning.
Currently: One bathroom is taped shut and not working. In the 5 days I've been there, maintenance has not dropped by to fix it.
Info from roommates on things that happened before I moved in: Worked on the plumbing while people were in the house, and the water was off for 1-2 days.
Officially considering calling this home "A Bug's Life" and warning as many people away from HomeRoom as possible. I've lived there for all of a week, and am already planning on moving out in a month or two.

What city were you renting in?
0 Reply
Allison Ortega
Member since 2022 · 2 posts · 1 vote
4y
Rowlett, TX. It's in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
My roommates have said that other locations might look nicer, but the maids that go around have said that the roommates at those locations are dreadful and leave huge messes for them to clean up. :/
0 Reply
Harrison Sharp
Real Estate Broker · DFW · Member since 2015 · 350 posts · 270 votes
4y
Quote from @Frank Salgado:

Quote from @Sreedhar Dasi:

I closed my property with Homeroom in March. The house is located in San Antonio. I went with profit sharing model (85%/15%). Here is my experience so far.
- They asked for 100% upfront payment for the build and setup costs. Make sure to go through their estimates carefully as they may include some items that are not needed (e.g.: they added cost to board up fireplace but the house doesn't have one)
- Make sure to verify if all the work is complete as agreed. They told me that they had completed everything but some were not complete
- It has been more than 3 months and only 5 out of 7 rooms were leased so far. Most leases are for 6 months only and they do run promotions like first month free rent.
- I got used washer/dryer from them. But dryer lasted only for 2 months. My suggestion is to buy new appliances with warranty.
- They add 15% margin to the repair costs.
They don't have good accounting system to get good clarity on monthly transactions like rental payments, expenses, etc.

Does anybody have any positive experiences with Homeroom?. I just purchased 2 houses and I would like to hear some success stories.

I have. I own a bunch of rentals and it is by far my favorite one. Completely passive investment and I don't have to do anything. Currently grossing 2,300 a month and my PITI is 1,650.
I find it funny that some people here are complaining about the setup costs. Yes they aren't ideal, but in DFW you're essentially using those costs to get cash flow for on market properties which does not exist anymore in DFW under the traditional long term rental model. That is of course unless you want to buy off market properties from wholesalers with no DD period...
2 Reply
Frank Salgado
Homeowner · Anaheim, CA · Member since 2009 · 20 posts · 9 votes
4y
Thanks Harrison I'm in San Antonio and I'm waiting for my 1st tenant it's been a couple of weeks.
I still believe in this model and hope that in a few weeks everything will be good.
1 Reply
Johnny Wolff
Investor · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2019 · 130 posts · 118 votes
4y
Quote from @Allison Ortega:

Rowlett, TX. It's in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.
My roommates have said that other locations might look nicer, but the maids that go around have said that the roommates at those locations are dreadful and leave huge messes for them to clean up. :/

Hi @Allison Ortega,

This is Johnny Wolff, HomeRoom's CEO. Thanks for sharing your experience and I'm very disappointed with how poor it was during your move-in process. From both myself and the team - we're sorry.

We take this kind of feedback very seriously and see it as an opportunity to make actionable changes to improve our offering to future tenants. We are actively looking at the processes that caused your negative experience - so we can improve them for future tenants.

I realize the first 5 days were far from ideal - and we'll do everything we possibly can to make the rest of your experience much better. Creating the best mix of affordability and experience is something we care about very much - and our team is appreciative of this detailed feedback. It's going to help us get better. And that's something we care about deeply.

I'll reach out via text with my contact information - so you can reach me directly if you have any further issues.

Sincerely,
Johnny Wolff
2 Reply
Harrison Sharp
Real Estate Broker · DFW · Member since 2015 · 350 posts · 270 votes
4y
Quote from @Joseph Spear:

So I just want to take this opportunity to give a shout out to my realtor, who helped make this all possible, Tyler Lingle.
He was instrumental, not only in doing a fantastic job negotiating with the seller, and closing on the property in well under 30 days, but he also made the deal possible from the very start. As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I had a property that I liked when I reached out to Homeroom initially. When I told Tyler about it, he was receptive from the jump. He did his own market research on the property, and got back to me right away with his thoughts, and his stamp of approval. He then passed that information on to Homeroom on my behalf, which made this all possible.
I'm so pleased with the property I landed, and pleased to have made it this far in my RE journey. I can thank Tyler for a large role in this process. Send him a message here on BP if you're interested in property around Indianapolis, whether with Homeroom or not. He has great knowledge of the area, he's a great communicator, and he's effective. Furthermore, I used multiple references of his which were also fantastic, for my lender and my insurance agent. I can't wait until we can work together again.
Cheers!

Tyler is great!
2 Reply

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