All Forum Posts by: Johnny Wolff

 Hi @Drew Sygit,

My apologies - I'm a bit late to the party here but wanted to address your bullet point concerns:
-We use internal models to forecast the total tenant roommate demand per zip code - and are mindful to not oversaturate a given area.  Investor returns over the long term are very important to us - and crucial to our long-term success and growth.  Your success as an investor benefits us too - because happy investors buy more properties :)
-We collect monthly service fees from the tenants to cover external yard care - including lawn, gutters etc.  This also includes monthly maid service.
-The liability insurance acts as a shield between owners and tenants - creating a legal barrier that doesn't typically exist in rental properties since tenant agreement with with HomeRoom and not the owner.
-We use Transunion premium for all screenings and do calls with all tenants (and they are also screened by the current roommates for fit)
-We have delivered on 100% of our guaranteed rent since inception (2018) - but we no longer offer that product to investors

We're here to help both new and experienced investors make the best single-family home investment of their lives.

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

I majored in finance and the background was helpful for my real estate investing career.

Hi folks,

I'm Johnny the CEO of HomeRoom.  Wanted to chime in and answer some questions from this thread in one place

1. @Fred Bowie - we don't ask for $100K upfront (we actually don't ask for any $ upfront).  The $100K is the amount we ask investors to be prepared to pay out of pocket for downpayment + rehab + coliving upgrades.  The dollars for the light renovations would be the only money you'd pay to us directly.
2. @Monica Lee - we transitioned to 75% upfront because when we did 50% (more standard) we realized that HomeRoom was fronting money for a portion of repairs and labor on behalf of the owners.  After talking to our advisors we agreed 75% was a good compromise.  We deliver premium work to our owners.  The properties look gorgeous  - and we have yet to have an owner that was dissatisfied with the final product.

Happy to help @Joe S. - this is our specialty.

Hey @Vann Calhoune - I'm a bit late to the party but we actually have a cool option that is a fusion of STR/LTR at HomeRoom.

Happy to share more details via DM if it interests you - but I think it might be exactly what you're looking for

Hi @Ann Nguyen,

I currently live and invest in the KC metro.  I think it really depends on your goals for your investment property.

I like that you're targeting B-class because you'll have a great tenant base to choose from and benefit from appreciation.  It will cost you a bit more - most B-class neighborhoods in the metro now start at $200K.

Happy to share my thoughts on areas/neighborhoods you're evaluating in more detail.

Hi @Kelly McJunkin.  If your life-stage allows for house-hacking (or a live-in flip) that is usually my top recommendation for newer investors.  Like you just experienced - owning a house in an expensive market can really pay off.

If not - I think it's important that you understand how different the three categories are that you mentioned:

1)  Rental properties: This is an investment - and can be very close to passive.  Can be local and self-managed or out of state and managed.  Any of these options requires market research and running your own numbers, but the time commitment is still relatively minor.  You can likely self-manage 10 units either locally or out of state with a couple of hours of your time a day.

2)  Whole selling:  This is a business (is that what you are looking for?).  As a business, it requires a fairly substantial commitment of time.  If you want a business, great.  This might be a good place to start.  But it will take substantial time as you get started.  Because there is a massive inventory shortage right now (driving the seller's market) this has become much more difficult / as great deals are becoming rarer and rarer.

3)  Flipping:  This is also a business.  This is likely the most challenging of the three since it combines key aspects of the other two, as well as construction project management skills.  This should not be entered in lightly.  Some people think it's fun - but it's a ton of work from finding the off-market property to flip, to bidding out the work, to managing the contractors, etc.

Hi @Nicholas Di Giugno - finding both is difficult (just like finding stocks that rapidly appreciate AND pay dividends), but it not impossible.  If you focus on areas with good population and income growth (recommend using ARC GIS if you have access), at <$300K pricepoint you should have a good shot at doing this.

A house hack is THE real estate strategy IMO.  Everything else is a distant second.