Rent To Retirement Review

Rent To Retirement Review

Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2019 · 48 posts · 121 votes

Hi BP! I recently just closed on my first 3 turnkey homes with Rent To Retirement after being referred to them from a colleague of mine who had invested with them for a few years now. I thought I would start a forum to let others share their experiences, and to keep a log of how my experience is going since I see a lot of people asking questions about working with them. So far I've had a great experience. Communication is very important to me! I worked with Zach who is very responsive, knowledgeable, and willing to assist throughout the process as I was new to purchasing out of state. All my homes are rented, and I'm off to the races in building my passive income portfolio! They put me in touch with lenders to finance the properties that had better rates & fees than any other lender I checked with, which was great. They also had recommendations for insurance providers, and referral for a legal team to assist in setting up my LLC, which I am currently working on. Overall the closing process was very smooth, and did not take up a ton of my time. This was exactly what I was looking for since I still work my full time job. I've done a few flips in the past, which was a huge time commitment & definitely more headache than I cared for. Not to mention I lost money on some of my past flips or barely broke even. I got discouraged with real estate after the long and stressful time of trying to flip real estate on my own while balancing my full time job & family life. So I was very relieved in how easy they made this process to invest in cash flowing properties where the returns were significantly better than anything I found locally, and the process is much more passive! I look forward to continuing to invest with them in the future! I'll share more updates as I grow my portfolio. Big thanks to Rent to Retirement for getting me back into the game of real estate investing where I'm not doing everything on my own!

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Investor · Cheyenne, WY · Member since 2017 · 14 posts · 53 votes
7y

@Diana Jing This is great to hear!  I've invested with them a couple years now, and am still working with them today.  I was able to acquire some cash flowing properties, but once we maxed out our capital to invest with we really didn't have many other options to continue to purchase rental property with.  We were interested in wholesaling, so they gave us some mentorship on how we could creatively get started wholesaling to build up capital for our next investment property.  We worked with @Zach Lemaster, and within a couple months we have already completed a few wholesale deals giving us the necessary downpayment to purchase that next rental.  Very happy with our experience so far!

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  • Investor · Portland, OR · Member since 2020 · 19 posts · 16 votes
    5y

    @Diana Jing Would you mind if I DM'd you about your portfolio and experience with RTR. I'm looking at working with them and have a similar goal to you in creating that cashflow

  • Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2019 · 48 posts · 121 votes
    5y

    @Victoria Knutson

    Absolutely!  Feel free to DM me.  We've had a great experience so far with RTR, and highly recommend them.  Great communication, service, properties, etc.  They've helped us take advantage of a lot of strategies on how to expand our portfolio that we weren't even aware of as being an option.  We are currently purchasing two more properties with them now & will continue to work with them long term!

  • Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles · Member since 2021 · 6 posts · 8 votes
    5y

    @Diana Jing thank you for sharing your experience! I have been speaking with their team about purchasing a property and would love to hear about your inspiring strategy and journey. Would it be ok if I send a DM to get a bit more insight? Thank you! 

  • Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2019 · 48 posts · 121 votes
    5y

    @Jennifer Hung

    Sure, feel free to message me with any questions you have.  I'm not on this site all the time, so my apologies if I don't respond right away.  I'm glad you found my story inspiring.  I feel like we are still in the early stages of what we ultimately want to accomplish, but we are trying to stay consistent in buying more rentals each year to get us closer to our goals.  Working with RTR has definitely helped to give us some guidance, and made it significantly easier to acquire more RE than we likely would have on our own.  We were kind of all over the place in the beginning, but now I feel like we have a clear direction in our investing efforts!

  • Member since 2017 · 2 posts · 3 votes
    5y

    @Diana Jing good to hear about your experience with R2R. I'm currently under contract on a property with them and wanted to see how your experience compares to mine regarding inspection items. I ordered a 3rd party inspection and a list of items came back that needs to be (leaking pipe under sink, rodent infestation in the attic, downspout that needs securing, sewer vent pipe out to the attic, missing smoke detectors in a unit, loose material from basement wall which can compromise foundation if not fixed, etc...). Of the close to 30 items that came back, the seller only agreed to fix about 5 (and none of the ones I listed above). I had to come out of pocket to fix the rest which came as a surprise to me, because many of these items are not what I'd consider a "nice to have", but are necessary.

    Of the properties that you've bought from them, did you have to pay for additional fixes? Or did the team take care of them?

    Do you interact with Scott at all, or mainly Zach?

    Others who've invested with them, feel free to chime in. I'd love to hear about your experiences and see whether my expectations just needs to be adjusted.

  • Zach LemasterBusiness Member
    Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    5y

    @Eva C.

    Hi Eva.  Your post was a little premature here.  Scott has tried to reach out today to connect with you to discuss your inspection report.  Inspection reports will always be a very meticulous report of all items that need to be repaired, or suggested to be repaired in a home.  Some of them necessary, and some of them not.  We have actually agreed to cover everything you mentioned in your post along with all other necessary items to ensure you are purchasing a home that is suitable condition to be a successful rental.  Scott has reached out to communicate this to you, and I've asked him to follow up again this afternoon to discuss.  Again, all these items were agreed to be repaired, and you are not being asked to pay for repairs.  We are here to work with you as much as needed, but do ask that you have all the information about a situation before drawing conclusions.  Things like leaking pipe under sink, downspout that needs securing, sewer vent pipe out to the attic, missing smoke detectors in a unit, loose material, etc. are all very easy fixes that we would be happy to make for you.  We encourage you to get an inspection report to identify all these items so we have the chance to go in to address them.  Every inspection report you receive on any property will always be a long list of items that need to be addressed, even on a brand new build.  We are here to work with you to ensure expectations are met, and you are set up for success.

  • Member since 2017 · 2 posts · 3 votes
    5y

    @Zach Lemaster Thanks for responding so timely! I didn't get any communication from Scott earlier today, and because it has been a week of waiting for a quote from the seller on items I may need to come out of pocket for, I decided to ask around. I do agree that many are simple fixes which is why I was taken aback when I was told the seller wouldn't cover them. Whether you did plan on covering the expenses, that wasn't communicated with me earlier so my expectation was that I would be responsible.

    I was able to speak with Scott a few hours ago and he explained the full situation to me regarding this specific property. There was some misunderstanding between R2R and the seller, but R2R was able to remedy the situation. Thank you and Scott for clarifying that the repairs will be covered, and that this is not the typical investor experience. I am happy with the outcome and look forward to closing this deal and being a repeat investor.

  • Zach LemasterBusiness Member
    Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    5y

    @Eva C.

    Of course.  Sometimes it just takes a little time to ensure everyone is on the same page.  We appreciate your patience on this.  We look forward to seeing this property through closing, and working with you on many future properties as you scale your portfolio!

  • Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2019 · 48 posts · 121 votes
    5y

    @Eva C.

    Just as @Zach Lemaster mentioned, every time we receive an inspection report we provide a list of fixes we would like done to the RTR team, and they have been very good to be able to work with the local teams to accomplish the vast majority of everything we ask for assuming it's something that needs to be done.  I would say they are very easy to work with on this.  I know when we had an inspection on our primary residence the seller came back and said "too bad" they were not willing to do any repairs at all.  So I think working with a TK provider like RTR the inspection process is much easier, and they are more open to making repairs that show on the inspection with reason.

  • New to Real Estate · AZ · Member since 2020 · 26 posts · 11 votes
    5y

    Hello Everyone,

    I am looking into investing with R2R and I was wondering if the estimates that they provide on their website are accurate. For example, the amount of rent that can be collected from each property or the amount of maintenance they recommend to put away is a reasonable amount.

    Thank you for your time everyone.

    Brandon Terrazas

  • Rental Property Investor · Northern, NJ · Member since 2019 · 34 posts · 41 votes
    5y

    @Brandon Terrazas Hi there! I would definitely double check  ALL of the info they provide especially rent collected. Also, you can do quick google searches to get a sense of what comparable homes are renting for in the area. I found that some of their calculations were off when I was looking at certain properties. Ultimately, it's up to you to research. Good luck to you! :)

  • Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 96 posts · 102 votes
    5y

    @Brandon Terrazas

    We have purchased over 10 properties with RTR over the past few years so I think we have a pretty good perspective on actual performance.  Generally I can say that most numbers have panned out as expected.  There are always going to be some variability in performance.  The biggest variable is probably the tenant, but I think they do a very good job leasing properties quickly & keeping tenants in place which is the most important aspect in my book in a successful portfolio!  Lending rates are always changing, and taxes may vary year to year, but this is going to be the case with any property you purchase.  Some of our properties have done way better than projected, and a couple have slightly underperformed, but nothing dramatic.  This is why I feel it's important to have multiple streams of income across multiple properties as it all balances out over time.  Pro formas are just projections for numbers, not guarantees, so go into it knowing that.  Ultimately if you have a solid team in place that helps you navigate issues that arise you will be successful.  We are still buying with RTR, and still recommend them to anyone considering buying with them.  The ongoing assistance, mentorship & guidance has been tremendous throughout the years I've been investing with them!

  • New to Real Estate · AZ · Member since 2020 · 26 posts · 11 votes
    5y

    @MelissaPerez

    Thanks for the info.

  • New to Real Estate · AZ · Member since 2020 · 26 posts · 11 votes
    5y

    @Eric Nguyen

    Thanks for the info.

  • San Francisco Ca · Member since 2020 · 30 posts · 17 votes
    5y

    @Diana Jing Thanks for posting! I've been looking at them for a while now, so it's nice to have a live feedback review about the process. 

  • Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2019 · 48 posts · 121 votes
    5y

    @Andrew Maxion

    Glad you found my post useful!  We are still actively investing with them, and still recommending them.  I will do my best to keep this post updated with how other investments are going.  We are doing our best to continually grow our portfolio as quickly as we can to reach our goals.

  • Real Estate Investor · Cypress, CA · Member since 2017 · 14 posts · 15 votes
    5y

    @Diana Jing

    How is your new build property in Florida going so far? And your other investments with R2R?

    Thank you!

  • Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2019 · 48 posts · 121 votes
    5y

    @Elsie Q. we completed our first build and actually had a tenant lined up before the house was even completed.  So we had zero downtime in renting it once completed.  The rent projected on it was $1,850, but they actually rented it out for $2,050 which was a big win for us!  The value on appraisal also came back much higher than expected.  So overall we are very happy.  The build took a bit longer than expected, but I think that is the case everywhere right now with material delays.  We actually went under contract to do two more builds with RTR after seeing how well this first one performed.  I wish we had more capital to do more!

  • Clear Lake, TX · Member since 2018 · 76 posts · 33 votes
    4y
    Originally posted by @Diana Jing:

    @Elsie Q. we completed our first build and actually had a tenant lined up before the house was even completed.  So we had zero downtime in renting it once completed.  The rent projected on it was $1,850, but they actually rented it out for $2,050 which was a big win for us!  The value on appraisal also came back much higher than expected.  So overall we are very happy.  The build took a bit longer than expected, but I think that is the case everywhere right now with material delays.  We actually went under contract to do two more builds with RTR after seeing how well this first one performed.  I wish we had more capital to do more!

    Was this on one of the properties in Florida? If so, how were the insurance costs looking on these homes? I'm slightly worried about flooding and hurricanes (a little ironic considering I currently invest in Houston lol). 

  • Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2019 · 48 posts · 121 votes
    4y

    @Whitney Breedlove Insurance on the homes is just under $700 annually which is very reasonable.  This includes normal wind/storm covering hurricanes.  There was no additional insurance required for that.  We did not purchase lots in flood zones so flood insurance was not a requirement.  Rent To Retirement had a few different insurance company recommendations to refer us to that we contacted to see who offered the best policy/premiums.  We could have actually gone cheaper on insurance, but thought this quote had the best coverage & was still very reasonable.  The homes are also built structurally differently to withstand strong winds, etc. even though I think that would be a fairly rare occurrence to encounter that over the next 5-10 years.  Hope this helps!

  • Clear Lake, TX · Member since 2018 · 76 posts · 33 votes
    4y

    @Diana Jing That's super helpful! Thanks so much. 

  • Member since 2020 · 6 posts · 2 votes
    4y

    I'm in the process of closing now and awaiting for my R2R rep to get back to me with insurance company recommendations for investors. @Diana Jing would you mind if I reached out to you as well for recommendations?

  • Specialist · Member since 2021 · 37 posts · 211 votes
    4y

    @Tamara M. - you should have received an email on this yesterday, but I have messaged you the information as well - let me know if I can be of further assistance on this!

    Eric

  • Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2019 · 48 posts · 121 votes
    4y

    @Whitney Breedlove 

    Happy to help!

    @Tamara M.

    Of course.  Feel free to reach out & I'd be happy to assist however I can.

  • Member since 2020 · 6 posts · 2 votes
    4y

    @Account Closed

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