My Roofstock Experience

Buying & Selling Real Estate
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My Roofstock Experience

Eran Withana
Member since 2018 · 9 posts · 25 votes

Since there are few threads requesting for roofstock experience, decided to share my not-so-good experience with them. 

Disclaimer: I might still work with them in the future, but definitely will not be my first or second choice to pick properties from them. 

First Property

I did some research on few properties and finally found a one in Minnesota (IIRC). The numbers looked good and roofstock had all the valuation reports and everything else marked as green. What could go wrong, right? But thankfully, I went through every line in the property inspection report and noticed that under "Basement has water damage" marked as Yes. I was happy, since I found it, and furious at the same time. How could they mark all green for a property with basement water damage. 

Second Property

I thought this was a one time mistake and then worked with one of their agents to identify another property in Indianapolis. Again, the numbers looked good and I submitted an offer. It got accepted and from that moment on, Roofstock assigned me an agent who was very responsive and dynamic (kudos to that). I carefully looked at the property inspection report and the images and every line item looked good and marked green. 

I then engaged my lender and they sent someone to do an inspection/valuation. This is where things started to go south. The property assessor was obviously a tough guy and had highlighted every little thing as a disaster. But ... he found cracks on the wall (with images), broken windows, fences, structural issues in the kitchen which raised lender's and my eyebrows. How did Roofstock missed these? We then contacted Roofstock and their managers apparently had said they standby with *their* property inspection report. How can they standby on their report when the pictures were showing otherwise. I had a bit of rough time convincing them and finally decided to give up. 

I did more research and found out that Roofstock bought this property for way less, spent few thousand $$ to renovate it and had added about 50-60% markup on the price. This was also obvious when the lender's property assessment came in low. 

Summary

I had two consecutive bad experiences with them. One of the key traits I rely on REI is trust and they lost it with me by not only putting false information on their website and valuation report AND standing by those erroneous reports. How can I trust them going forward especially when I'm buying a remote property without being able to rely on the provided reports.

Hence, I decided to not to work with them at least for sometime because I don't want to spend a lot of time going through each and every item myself and not relying on the info they are providing. 

This could be a one time thing for me but I warn everyone of you to spent extra time verifying the information they are providing and not solely rely on the numbers. 

Roofstock still provides a very good property buying experience - no question on that. But they need to spend more time on making their reports on properties more realistic and build trust with the buyers. 

Hope this helps someone. 

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Alvin LeePro Member
Monterey Park, CA · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 14 votes
7y

Hello Eran,

I've also had some terrible experiences with Roofstock. Right after closing on our property in Columbia, South Carolina, I've had to evict my tenant inside the property after she failed to pay rent for 2 months. Using a "roofstock certified" property manager (Marketplace Homes), I had to really push to start the eviction process. It was almost like pulling teeth to get them to start the eviction process after two months of nonpayment. I reached out to roofstock to help rectify the issue, which to their credit, they did. Roofstock offered a 6 month rent guarantee to help cover the costs of lost rent and the eviction process. Anyways, we are coming up on the end of the 6 month rent and we just got the tenant out late last month (December 2018). Getting updates from the, again, "roofstock certified" property management company during the eviction process was a total nightmare. I had to literally hunt down the the employees over there to get updates as to what was going on with my property. After about 4-5 months of having the property, the eviction process finally ended. It does not stop there though. I decide to terminate my partnership with Marketplace homes due to their lack of communication and professionalism. When I ask for my security deposit back to help cover the turn charges, the Marketplace Homes property manager turns around and says, "We don't have your security deposit on file. We never received one." Now, judging from their past performance with managing my property, I wouldn't put it past them to try to ookey-doke me out of my security deposit. I ended up calling my closing attorney to verify what happened with my security deposit. Sure enough, my closing attorney advised me that the security deposit was sent over to Marketplace Homes at the beginning of July and that it was cashed shorty after being sent. I called back Marketplace to advise them of the fact and was subsequently told that they double checked and saw that a security deposit was sent, but they did not know where it went. I am still in the process of trying to get my security deposit back from them, but it really makes me wonder about what it takes to be a "roofstock certified" property management company. Judging from marketplace homes' subpar performance and the fact that they lost my security deposit, it seems to me that it does not take much. I've reached out to roofstock to see if they can assist me in obtaining my security deposit back, but have yet to hear back from them. Marketplace has been doing the, "you should see it by next week" game for the past couple of weeks. Just a word of caution for those that do decide to invest with roofstock: the roofstock certification for property management does not mean much. It was an expensive lesson learned, but I do not think I will ever invest with roofstock, nor will I ever recommend anyone to do it based on my experience. Others might had a good experience, so its case by case. In my scenario, I was one of the "unlucky ones".

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  • Bjorn AhlbladPro Member
    Investor · Shelton, WA · Member since 2017 · 6k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    7y

    @Eran Withana thank you for your post. I will cross them off my list! ;<) 

    It is a wonderful thing you were not buying with your own cash!!

    1Reply
  • Peter Grange
    Investor · Holiday, FL · Member since 2018 · 63 posts · 15 votes
    7y
    @Eran Withana Thanknyou for the insight. We were really looking hard at using them. Your experience, along with other's, has certainly made us pause on that decision.
    1Reply
  • Jason G.Pro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Long Island, NY · Member since 2015 · 434 posts · 495 votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Eran Withana:

    Since there are few threads requesting for roofstock experience, decided to share my not-so-good experience with them. 

    Disclaimer: I might still work with them in the future, but definitely will not be my first or second choice to pick properties from them. 

    First Property

    I did some research on few properties and finally found a one in Minnesota (IIRC). The numbers looked good and roofstock had all the valuation reports and everything else marked as green. What could go wrong, right? But thankfully, I went through every line in the property inspection report and noticed that under "Basement has water damage" marked as Yes. I was happy, since I found it, and furious at the same time. How could they mark all green for a property with basement water damage. 

    Second Property

    I thought this was a one time mistake and then worked with one of their agents to identify another property in Indianapolis. Again, the numbers looked good and I submitted an offer. It got accepted and from that moment on, Roofstock assigned me an agent who was very responsive and dynamic (kudos to that). I carefully looked at the property inspection report and the images and every line item looked good and marked green. 

    I then engaged my lender and they sent someone to do an inspection/valuation. This is where things started to go south. The property assessor was obviously a tough guy and had highlighted every little thing as a disaster. But ... he found cracks on the wall (with images), broken windows, fences, structural issues in the kitchen which raised lender's and my eyebrows. How did Roofstock missed these? We then contacted Roofstock and their managers apparently had said they standby with *their* property inspection report. How can they standby on their report when the pictures were showing otherwise. I had a bit of rough time convincing them and finally decided to give up. 

    I did more research and found out that Roofstock bought this property for way less, spent few thousand $$ to renovate it and had added about 50-60% markup on the price. This was also obvious when the lender's property assessment came in low. 

    Summary

    I had two consecutive bad experiences with them. One of the key traits I rely on REI is trust and they lost it with me by not only putting false information on their website and valuation report AND standing by those erroneous reports. How can I trust them going forward especially when I'm buying a remote property without being able to rely on the provided reports.

    Hence, I decided to not to work with them at least for sometime because I don't want to spend a lot of time going through each and every item myself and not relying on the info they are providing. 

    This could be a one time thing for me but I warn everyone of you to spent extra time verifying the information they are providing and not solely rely on the numbers. 

    Roofstock still provides a very good property buying experience - no question on that. But they need to spend more time on making their reports on properties more realistic and build trust with the buyers. 

    Hope this helps someone. 

    Just a few thoughts.  The properties listed on Roofstock are not typically owned by Roofstock and are not "turnkey" properties.  The inspections are performed by third party vendors which Roofstock has stated they do not control or influence.  Not all inspectors are created equally and just like any other type of profession, there are those that provide higher quality work than others.  With respect to the first property, there is a difference between an active issue and a past issue.  If there was basement water intrusion, was this addressed by the seller and now evidence of water damage remains or was there active water intrusion?  If the former I wouldn't have an issue with the report indicating that area as green.  With respect to the second property, with Roofstock it is always important to view when the inspection report was done.  If a property has been sitting on the site for a period of time, damage can always occur at the property.  There is nothing wrong with requesting an updated inspection.  Lastly, make sure the seller fills out the disclosures.  Insist on it and do not sign the PSA without them doing so.  There are pros and cons to using Roofstock or finding yourself a buyer's agent.  I hope you find a method of acquiring properties that works best for you.

    3Reply
  • Eran Withana
    OP
    Member since 2018 · 9 posts · 25 votes
    7y

    Having owned few properties and doing couple of refinances, I totally get this. But when they say "we standby with our inspectors" even when there is evidence to prove otherwise, thats not the proper way to handle it especially if they want to stay unbiased. And, more importantly, when remote investors like us depend on the information on their site, if those are not binding or trustworthy, how can we make informed decisions? The other alternative would be to take everything on the site with a grain of salt and do our independent research - but this is not scalable. 

    yes - this is what I did (asking for an updated inspection) which they rejected. They and the seller also rejected to even look at the structural issues that was mentioned in the report.

    The funny thing is, soon after I dropped out from that property, they immediately re-listed it and sold it. Not sure whether they made any modifications requested but if not, I feel bad for whoever bought it. 

    Yep - this is what I learned from this experience. Roofstock is good for getting a preliminary list of properties and generating leads. After that, we have to do a significant amount of due diligence before going ahead with the properties since apparently we can not really trust some of the reports in there. 

    6Reply
  • Alvin LeePro Member
    Monterey Park, CA · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 14 votes
    7y

    Hello Eran,

    I've also had some terrible experiences with Roofstock. Right after closing on our property in Columbia, South Carolina, I've had to evict my tenant inside the property after she failed to pay rent for 2 months. Using a "roofstock certified" property manager (Marketplace Homes), I had to really push to start the eviction process. It was almost like pulling teeth to get them to start the eviction process after two months of nonpayment. I reached out to roofstock to help rectify the issue, which to their credit, they did. Roofstock offered a 6 month rent guarantee to help cover the costs of lost rent and the eviction process. Anyways, we are coming up on the end of the 6 month rent and we just got the tenant out late last month (December 2018). Getting updates from the, again, "roofstock certified" property management company during the eviction process was a total nightmare. I had to literally hunt down the the employees over there to get updates as to what was going on with my property. After about 4-5 months of having the property, the eviction process finally ended. It does not stop there though. I decide to terminate my partnership with Marketplace homes due to their lack of communication and professionalism. When I ask for my security deposit back to help cover the turn charges, the Marketplace Homes property manager turns around and says, "We don't have your security deposit on file. We never received one." Now, judging from their past performance with managing my property, I wouldn't put it past them to try to ookey-doke me out of my security deposit. I ended up calling my closing attorney to verify what happened with my security deposit. Sure enough, my closing attorney advised me that the security deposit was sent over to Marketplace Homes at the beginning of July and that it was cashed shorty after being sent. I called back Marketplace to advise them of the fact and was subsequently told that they double checked and saw that a security deposit was sent, but they did not know where it went. I am still in the process of trying to get my security deposit back from them, but it really makes me wonder about what it takes to be a "roofstock certified" property management company. Judging from marketplace homes' subpar performance and the fact that they lost my security deposit, it seems to me that it does not take much. I've reached out to roofstock to see if they can assist me in obtaining my security deposit back, but have yet to hear back from them. Marketplace has been doing the, "you should see it by next week" game for the past couple of weeks. Just a word of caution for those that do decide to invest with roofstock: the roofstock certification for property management does not mean much. It was an expensive lesson learned, but I do not think I will ever invest with roofstock, nor will I ever recommend anyone to do it based on my experience. Others might had a good experience, so its case by case. In my scenario, I was one of the "unlucky ones".

    5Reply
  • Joshua Bullis
    Investor · Chesterfield, SC · Member since 2016 · 38 posts · 8 votes
    7y

    Sounds like you need a different company that you can use. Unfortunately I do not know any good ones areound the Columbia area.

    0Reply
  • Brian Ploszay
    Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y

    I thought Roofstock was just a brokerage platform.  I did not realize they renovated properties.

    Anyone who sells you a property is going to give you information that is going to have to be verified and challenged.  Good that you hired your independent inspector.  Next, you should always visit properties that your purchase.  Not sure you did with these.  Know your market...

    0Reply
  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Brian Ploszay:

    I thought Roofstock was just a brokerage platform.  I did not realize they renovated properties.

    Anyone who sells you a property is going to give you information that is going to have to be verified and challenged.  Good that you hired your independent inspector.  Next, you should always visit properties that your purchase.  Not sure you did with these.  Know your market...

    .in my experience with them they don't buy and rehab properties they are a marketing platform.

    what sets them apart from the other marketing companies that we all know work in these assets. 

    they do their own in house inspections before they put them on the site.. they vette PM the sponsor etc.

    a lot of what they do though is large transactions between hedge funds and institutional or larger land lords.. you just don't see that on the one off website.. 

    And of course these are rental properties.. and as you know there is some misconception that buying a rental you should get rent every month and there should never be any maintenance issues.. or that once rehabbed the houses are perfect.  even new construction is not perfect.. so these home inspections show every blemish.. and those sitting 2k miles away they freak out.. simply because they lack experience in many cases with buying homes and understanding the difference between something that is a major issue.. Bad Roof HVAC 30 years old etc compared to a tub that needs caulking  LOL.. to them its all the same the house is a disaster 

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    1Reply
  • Steven N.
    Rental Property Investor · Charleston County, SC · Member since 2014 · 42 posts · 15 votes
    7y

    I just completed my first deal with them last month. You certainly have to do your own due diligence and not trust all of the numbers they listed on their website/calculator. For example, mortgage rates and property taxes may not be accurate or up to date.  The market rent they marketed the home at ended up being $50 more than what the place actually rented for. Use the calculator here at BP and look up market rents on your own. Look at crime maps /schools to confirm neighborhood rating.  One issue I had was the property I bought was listed as vacant but was actually rented out. But overall I am happy with the experience (so far) I got the property 5% below its appraisal value and the cash flow should be good. 

    1Reply
  • Will GastonPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Columbia, SC · Member since 2010 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    7y

    @Alvin Lee I'm curious as to where your property is located in Columbia? That will likely play a big role in what your experience will be like with Roofstock.

    2Reply
  • Alvin LeePro Member
    Monterey Park, CA · Member since 2016 · 21 posts · 14 votes
    7y

    @Will Gaston

    Hello Will,

    I am investing in the 29210 area code of Columbia, Sc.

    0Reply
  • Will GastonPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Columbia, SC · Member since 2010 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    7y

    @Alvin Lee there are certainly worse zip codes in Columbia than 29210. Are you required to use Roofstock's PM?

    1Reply
  • Ernesto Hernandez
    Realtor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2017 · 408 posts · 361 votes
    7y

    The biggest thing people need to understand about Roofstock is that they are simply a marketplace, an eBay, for Turnkey properties. 

    High probability none of their own employees ever step foot on many of their properties. 

    1Reply
  • James Wise
    Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 31k+ posts · 20k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Ernesto Hernandez:

    The biggest thing people need to understand about Roofstock is that they are simply a marketplace, an eBay, for Turnkey properties. 

    High probability none of their own employees ever step foot on many of their properties. 

     Yuppers. Roofstock is a lot more similar to Loopnet than it is to a turnkey provider.

    1Reply
  • Zach Evanish
    Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 185 posts · 105 votes
    7y

    @Will Gaston Roofstock provides two certified property managers for every property but the investor is free to use whomever they would like.

    0Reply
  • Zach Evanish
    Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 185 posts · 105 votes
    7y

    @James Wise Roofstock is a curated marketplace for residential investment properties. In order for a property to make it to on our marketplace the property must pass our certification process through which we certify the home, tenant, lease, title and property manager. Approximately 25% of properties make it through this. Properties can be purchased directly through our marketplace and come with a money back guarantee and rent guarantee if vacant. We have several different programs and most of the properties are exclusively listed with Roofstock.

    0Reply
  • James Wise
    Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 31k+ posts · 20k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Zach Evanish:

    @James Wise Roofstock is a curated marketplace for residential investment properties. In order for a property to make it to on our marketplace the property must pass our certification process through which we certify the home, tenant, lease, title and property manager. Approximately 25% of properties make it through this. Properties can be purchased directly through our marketplace and come with a money back guarantee and rent guarantee if vacant. We have several different programs and most of the properties are exclusively listed with Roofstock.

     What is all involved in the certification process?

    1Reply
  • Scott R.
    Investor · Beverly Hills, CA · Member since 2017 · 96 posts · 60 votes
    7y

    Just from what I've seen, I didn't see any great deals on roofstock. The great deals will be gone before the listing agent feels the need to put the property on the site. It's just a generalization but I think you can find way better deals by dealing  directly with a realtor that knows the area and has a good network set up.

    2Reply
  • Zach Evanish
    Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 185 posts · 105 votes
    7y

    @James Wise

    Below is an on overview of the certification process. The certification is done after the seller signs the listing agreement and before the home is listed on the marketplace. Approximately 25% of the homes make it through this process. This process is based on our team's experience acquiring, renovating and managing 50k+ homes over the last few years.

    Property Condition: An experienced inspection firm performs a multi-point property inspection for safety, habitability and risk, including external and major systems review and internal review of the property, along with an estimate of certain repair and “turn” costs. 

    Property Valuation: Conduct a property valuation and rental market analysis to ensure properties are priced fairly. This is done internally 

    Title: Obtain and review a preliminary title report to determine that there are no uninsurable encumbrances or liens, or preliminary title commitments, where applicable.

    Tenant/Lease: Review and summarize key lease terms including monthly rent, lease-end date, security deposit, and utility responsibility. Review tenant payment history

    Property Manager: Find recommended property managers with expertise and operations in the local area. Review their property management process and reporting to identify the most promising options. Personally interview the top managers to find the best.

    0Reply
  • James Wise
    Real Estate Broker · Cleveland Dayton Cincinnati Toledo Columbus & Akron, OH · Member since 2013 · 31k+ posts · 20k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @Zach Evanish:

    @James Wise

    Below is an on overview of the certification process. The certification is done after the seller signs the listing agreement and before the home is listed on the marketplace. Approximately 25% of the homes make it through this process. This process is based on our team's experience acquiring, renovating and managing 50k+ homes over the last few years.

    Property Condition: An experienced inspection firm performs a multi-point property inspection for safety, habitability and risk, including external and major systems review and internal review of the property, along with an estimate of certain repair and “turn” costs. 

    Property Valuation: Conduct a property valuation and rental market analysis to ensure properties are priced fairly. This is done internally 

    Title: Obtain and review a preliminary title report to determine that there are no uninsurable encumbrances or liens, or preliminary title commitments, where applicable.

    Tenant/Lease: Review and summarize key lease terms including monthly rent, lease-end date, security deposit, and utility responsibility. Review tenant payment history

    Property Manager: Find recommended property managers with expertise and operations in the local area. Review their property management process and reporting to identify the most promising options. Personally interview the top managers to find the best.

     It's not a knock when I say Roofstock is more similar to Loopnet than a turnkey company, it's just a fact. What you've got up here isn't anything special & some of it is pretty darn debatable honestly. 

    • Property Condition - Any seller would summarize the condition of a property being sold. Again nothing above what a listing or pro forma would do. What is actually really important is a 3rd party's summary of the property condition. As a company who is going to profit from the sale of a property Roofstock will earn revenue when the property sell. Investors are best served to get the opinion of condition from a disinterested 3rd party who's got no financial incentive for it to sell. This is not Roofstock specific, this is any seller including myself.
    • Property Valuation - The property valuations you guys provide are not always very accurate, at least from what I have seen in the Cleveland market. You are a national company so it's not even a reasonable expectation for you to have in depth market knowledge nationally, not a knock just a fact that many of your valuations on properties I have analyzed are off base from what else is being transacted in the market.
    • Title - A preliminary title report is a non factor. Any title co will run that when the property goes contingent.
    • Tenant / Lease - Summarizing the lease terms isn't anything different than what any listing agent or pro forma on an MLS listing or loopnet would do.
    • Property Manager - Come on now, this one is a stretch my man. Yes you've got an application process but all one really needs to do to qualify is be licensed, avoid doing anything illegal & most importantly provide premium pricing to Roofstock clients. Now don't get me wrong I see value in taking it that far but we need to call a spade a spade. Again speaking from experience in the market I operate in only, Roofstock isn't working with ANY of the biggest players in the Property Management space only the smaller operations who have a bigger need for another company to funnel them clients as they don't have a robust enough business to keep their pipelines full organically. No harm no foul but we can't say you only work with the best if you aren't.

    Again, nothing wrong with being a well organized & funded marketplace for Rental Real Estate. Cool idea that has value but it is clear to me that it is not a turnkey company & does not provide much more than what any other listing source or tech company provides.

    5Reply
  • Elise Hazzard
    Property Manager · Saint Petersburg, FL · Member since 2016 · 183 posts · 51 votes
    7y

    Interesting read. 

    Thanks to all contributors!

    2Reply
  • Zach Evanish
    Rental Property Investor · San Diego, CA · Member since 2012 · 185 posts · 105 votes
    7y

    Properties purchased through Roofstock also come with a Rent Guarantee (if vacant at close) and Money Back Guarantee.

    0Reply
  • Pinky Tahiliani
    Member since 2019 · 1 post · 0 votes
    7y

    Wow! What an insight! Just spoke to an advisor from Roofstock.have a webinar scheduled with him next week. I am planning to invest around 100-125k in rental properties. Being very new to this and this being  my first rental investment, like any new investor, I am a bit skeptical and overwhelmed. There are so many choices and markets!!! Especially, when you hear murmurs about a recession that is possibly close. Any suggestion from  experienced investors?

    0Reply
  • JC Wu
    Rental Property Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2018 · 48 posts · 199 votes
    7y

    @James Wise @Ernesto Hernandez Funny how the Roofstock PR guy keeps emphasizing on several BP threads that Roofstock is a marketplace, not a turnkey provider. Yet when "Roofstock review" is searched on Google, among the top search results is an article on ListenMoneyMatters with the title "Roofstock Review 2019: Turnkey Single Family Rental Properties" - most likely Roofstock paid $$$ to have this positive review written since there's advertising disclosure. No wonder why people get confused. Many investors get "a platform where TK properties are sold" and "TK provider" mixed up. Btw not all properties sold on Roofstock are TK properties. 

    "Roofstock certified property managers", LOL. From my painful personal experience, I can tell you that it doesn't take much to qualify. It appears that they don't even have to meet the standard of avoiding doing anything illegal. 

    My story eerily mirrors @Alvin Lee 's. The Roofstock certified PM I worked with seems to have had over 750 fake reviews written to cover up 100+ complaints against them, including reviews from its own executive team and employees impostured as investors and renters. This practice is illegal and deceptive - it violates a slew of advertising laws and Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. 

    I have yet to write about this part of my experience in detail on a BP thread I started https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/670569-roofstock-review-newbies-beware

    There're also some informative Roofstock related discussions on my thread. 

    I had to hunt down my portfolio manager from this PM company for any update and push her to take actions against the non-paying tenants from hell. She never first reached out to me about anything; I had to reach out to her about everything. She forgot to file eviction and I had to remind her later - during this time of delay, the tenants and the unauthorized occupants destroyed the property (>10K in damages) and the PM charged me management fee. 

    Upon me firing this Roofstock certified PM, their operations manager(OM) lied in writing against her own words from a previous email to rip me off a cancellation fee. I complained to her about the portfolio manager a few months prior to firing them - the OM was all apologetic and admitted the portfolio manager made a mistake. The service never improved. When I sent them the Notice of Default after the eviction, the OM's attitude got nasty and suddenly turned around and denied the portfolio manager made any mistake. According to the management contract, they weren't supposed to charge me a cancellation if I canceled with cause.  

    When I told Roofstock about the PM's shady practice, Roofstock kept it on their certified provider list. 

    2Reply
  • Tom Ott
    Equity Raiser and Turnkey Provider · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    7y
    Originally posted by @JC Wu:

    @James Wise @Ernesto Hernandez Funny how the Roofstock PR guy keeps emphasizing on several BP threads that Roofstock is a marketplace, not a turnkey provider. Yet when "Roofstock review" is searched on Google, among the top search results is an article on ListenMoneyMatters with the title "Roofstock Review 2019: Turnkey Single Family Rental Properties" - most likely Roofstock paid $$$ to have this positive review written since there's advertising disclosure. No wonder why people get confused. Many investors get "a platform where TK properties are sold" and "TK provider" mixed up. Btw not all properties sold on Roofstock are TK properties. 

    "Roofstock certified property managers", LOL. From my painful personal experience, I can tell you that it doesn't take much to qualify. It appears that they don't even have to meet the standard of avoiding doing anything illegal. 

    My story eerily mirrors @Alvin Lee 's. The Roofstock certified PM I worked with seems to have had over 750 fake reviews written to cover up 100+ complaints against them, including reviews from its own executive team and employees impostured as investors and renters. This practice is illegal and deceptive - it violates a slew of advertising laws and Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. 

    I have yet to write about this part of my experience in detail on a BP thread I started https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/670569-roofstock-review-newbies-beware

    There're also some informative Roofstock related discussions on my thread. 

    I had to hunt down my portfolio manager from this PM company for any update and push her to take actions against the non-paying tenants from hell. She never first reached out to me about anything; I had to reach out to her about everything. She forgot to file eviction and I had to remind her later - during this time of delay, the tenants and the unauthorized occupants destroyed the property (>10K in damages) and the PM charged me management fee. 

    Upon me firing this Roofstock certified PM, their operations manager(OM) lied in writing against her own words from a previous email to rip me off a cancellation fee. I complained to her about the portfolio manager a few months prior to firing them - the OM was all apologetic and admitted the portfolio manager made a mistake. The service never improved. When I sent them the Notice of Default after the eviction, the OM's attitude got nasty and suddenly turned around and denied the portfolio manager made any mistake. According to the management contract, they weren't supposed to charge me a cancellation if I canceled with cause.  

    When I told Roofstock about the PM's shady practice, Roofstock kept it on their certified provider list. 

     WOW That is horrible. It is good when people who have had bad experiences speak up. Especially since many people seem to think they do True Turnkey. Gives us providers a bad name. 

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