All Forum Posts by: Brad Helmink

@Ashish Wa they sign a 3-year lease, but it doesn't mean anything really, they still have no guarantee to have tenants filling your rooms. We have had such a terrible time finding tenants that they changed us to a guaranteed rent model, which at least we are cash flow positive now, but barely. And looking at our tenant statements they still only have 3 of 6 rooms rented so we'd be losing quite a bit of money over the last few months if we weren't on the guaranteed model. (they don't really do the guaranteed model anymore, as far as I know)

Typically, you only get your 85% of whatever the rent is so if you have 1 tenant, you only get 85% of that one person's rent, so the 3yr lease really means nothing.

As I posted this, we received an email that we have a second tenant who is moving in on Dec. 1 for 7 months. :)  Another has been approved and they are waiting for them to sign the lease and send it back.  We will still have negative cash flow if these 3 are in, but it's a start.

Update on our experience so far. We listed the home on Sept.1 and currently have 1 tenant who supposedly moved in on Nov. 1. Obviously that is not covering the mortgage.  I'm not in total panic mode just yet, but I'm definitely doubting this model so far.  Dec. 1 would be our 90 day mark that they estimate the house will be filled up, but I'd be shocked if that actually happens. 

They did, however, send us an email that said "congratulations, you have 0 tenants" last month. I saw the congratulations and got excited...then I finished the sentence :)

I really hope this model works out because I would love to be a passive investor and do more with them, but a lot needs to happen in a short period of time.

Anyway that's the latest, will keep you updated.

Anyone in the Houston area, I'm looking for a reliable contractor in the area to do some work on a rental property in Pasadena, TX.  Please reach out to me if you are one, or have one that you'd like to share.

I just came across this site today and am curious if anyone has invested. I just bought my first property last month and while waiting to get some cash from it, I was thinking this could be a good investment opportunity. I am wondering if anyone has any experience with them.

https://www.fundhomes.com/

Thank you for posting this!

I should have clarified on this part that I was referring to the SFH's they sent me not the room rental model. The SFH that I checked on the calculator was about $500 off IIRC.

Thanks @Johnny Wolff any help you can provide to get the place rented would be awesome. We have had zero interest so far.

Oh, also, I used the BP projected rent calculators on a few new properties they've sent me, and their estimate was quite a bit higher so be careful there. I don't know where they get their numbers and I asked my rep and he said they do their own data analysis...so make sure and do your own research on the numbers they provide.

We wrapped construction on a house with them on August 31, it has been available since Sept. 3 I believe. Not a tenant yet, but they did say it can take up to 90 days to fill it up. We shall see. They could be a bit more clear on their methods etc. and they are already offering 2 weeks free etc. to entice tenants.

The listing on the website is pretty terrible if I'm being honest. The pictures don't work properly so it's hard for the tenant to even figure out what their room would look like.

Also, be comfortable spending WAY more on construction costs, etc. than you would if you were rehabbing it yourself. They charged I think $9k to put up a couple walls, which I could have done for maybe $2k. Stuff like that will bug you, but I keep telling myself, it's passive income, you wanted to be hands-off...:) Hopefully it's rented out fully soon or we'll be looking to do a SFH with another management company most likely.

I've been a lurker for years, but mostly because I didn't have any money to invest in real estate (excuses, I know). But things are going much better for me for the last year or so and I've had my eye on investing with HomeRoom and did a LOT of research on them, including a great thread in this forum.  After seeing many homes in many different markets, I finally closed on a property in Houston, TX August 1. Updates are planned to be finished by August 31, and tenants are already expressing interest in the home.  It's scary, but it feels good, and I'd like to own 20 properties in 10 years. That's the plan at least.