Rental Property Investor · Long Island, NY · Member since 2015 · 434 posts · 495 votes
9y
I've used Roofstock and have posted a review on Bigger Pockets under Reviews & Feedback --> Ask About A Real Estate Company.
I haven't purchased a property through Homeunion yet, but I am a member on their site and find their process a bit confusing. Their website isn't clear on how their bidding process works, but my understanding is that when you are ready to bid on a property through Homeunion on a property, they will have you execute a power of attorney and they will negotiate on your behalf based upon a range you agree on with Homeunion (I found this not on their website, but from someone's review online after searching on Google). When you first sign up they have someone with a title of "solutions manager" contact you, but they have no real information, their sole purpose seems to connect you to a "real estate expert" who will go over what you are looking for. Meanwhile, I have already indicated my desire to bid on a property and just wanted to know specific financial details about the rent and if the HOA had any restrictions on renting and they are bothering me with scheduling an initial phone consultation instead. I'm already not too impressed.
Rental Property Investor · Long Island, NY · Member since 2015 · 434 posts · 495 votes
9y
I've used Roofstock and have posted a review on Bigger Pockets under Reviews & Feedback --> Ask About A Real Estate Company.
I haven't purchased a property through Homeunion yet, but I am a member on their site and find their process a bit confusing. Their website isn't clear on how their bidding process works, but my understanding is that when you are ready to bid on a property through Homeunion on a property, they will have you execute a power of attorney and they will negotiate on your behalf based upon a range you agree on with Homeunion (I found this not on their website, but from someone's review online after searching on Google). When you first sign up they have someone with a title of "solutions manager" contact you, but they have no real information, their sole purpose seems to connect you to a "real estate expert" who will go over what you are looking for. Meanwhile, I have already indicated my desire to bid on a property and just wanted to know specific financial details about the rent and if the HOA had any restrictions on renting and they are bothering me with scheduling an initial phone consultation instead. I'm already not too impressed.
Campbell, CA · Member since 2016 · 35 posts · 4 votes
9y
Thanks Jason, seems you had a better experience with Roofstock. Does the projected financial of your purchase through Roofstock meeting your expectations or have you seen increase in expenses subsequently?
Tom, I meant online providers like Homeunion, Roofstock etc
Rental Property Investor · Long Island, NY · Member since 2015 · 434 posts · 495 votes
9y
I had the conference call with Home Union today and what I was told is that when you are interested in a property you need to send them a mortgage pre-qualification letter and let them know the maximum amount you are willing to purchase the property for and then you will execute a limited power of attorney and negotiate on your behalf. All the properties listed are from MLS except for new construction where they have a relationship with the builder. They will not even attempt negotiations at a price twenty percent below list price. I'm told they believe the list price is fair based upon their analysis so they won't waste their time giving what they believe will be low ball offers. With respect to the new construction listed on the site, those prices are more or less what they will go for with little or no negotiation available. Once an offer is accepted they do a due diligence inspection and have their contractor quote a price for any rehab needed. If the amount is above $11,500 then Home Union will not proceed unless the seller repairs the issues so the rehab amount isn't greater than $11,500, decrease the sale price to make up for the increased rehab cost, or Home Union walks away, with you with them. Like Roofstock their closing will be done remotely at the location of your choosing. The property I was interested in on the site was a duplex in GA listed for $120,000. Comparable duplexes in the area sold between $80,000 to $90,000, and when I mean comparable, I mean within several square blocks of the listed duplex. Since it seems the minimum they would even offer is $96,000, I passed. With Home Union's fees of Asset Acquisition (3.5% of the purchase price) and Asset Management (10.5% of monthly rent), the numbers need to be just right for it all to make sense going through them.