All Forum Posts by: Zach Lemaster

@Alicia Harrington

Thanks for the interest!  We have hundreds of excellent reviews on BP.  Let me direct you to some forum posts where you can see investor experiences firsthand.  You can also visit my personal page where I have over 100 references from investors, or you can simply search rent to retirement in the BP search section to see more.  I'm more than happy to answer any specific questions you have as well.  Just let me know.  ; )

@Joseph Schweizer Do you care to add in on your experience?

Other forums to check out:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/ZacharyCole/references

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/518583-feedback-on-renttoretirement-and-zach-lemaster

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/765347-rent-to-retirement-review

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/893621-rent-to-retirement-review?highlight_post=5222888&page=1#p5222888

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/808479-rent-to-retirement-experiences

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/533693-anyone-worked-with-renttoretirement-turnkey

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/581730-rent-to-retirement-zach

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/874096-reviews-on-r2r-and-nch?page=1&utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Transactional:%20topic_notification&utm_content=Transactional#p5123754

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/883772-turnkey-investing-renttoretirement-feedback-reviews?highlight_post=5171720&page=1#p5171720

https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/ZacharyCole/references

@Reem S.

Many many investors are going the TK route.  It really just depends on your goals & criteria.  TK is a great way to get started where you have an immediate support team to help you build an initial strategy.  This is a great way to dip your toes into investing where you have experienced investors assisting you in breaking into a market that has great returns, but you might not be local to, or familiar with.  We've had many investors that started with us, and then went on to build their own very successful portfolio taking a more active role.  We've also had many investors that are very busy professionals that don't want to be hands on, and want to minimize their time with their investments.  In this case TK is an excellent option for those investors.  You question is "why aren't more investors going the TK route" which I guess I'm curious where that question is coming from.  There are thousands of investors that successfully are investing via the TK route.  Maybe you just haven't networked with enough of them?  Below are some forum posts that will allow you to see other investors that invested via TK, and how their experiences have been.  I'm happy to answer any specific questions you have on anything.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/ZacharyCole/references

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/518583-feedback-on-renttoretirement-and-zach-lemaster

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/765347-rent-to-retirement-review

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/893621-rent-to-retirement-review?highlight_post=5222888&page=1#p5222888

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/808479-rent-to-retirement-experiences

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/533693-anyone-worked-with-renttoretirement-turnkey

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/581730-rent-to-retirement-zach

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/874096-reviews-on-r2r-and-nch?page=1&utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Transactional:%20topic_notification&utm_content=Transactional#p5123754

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/883772-turnkey-investing-renttoretirement-feedback-reviews?highlight_post=5171720&page=1#p5171720

https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/ZacharyCole/references

@Danny Terry

Lots of good questions. My opinion is that both SFR & MF have their place & benefits, but the question is where to start. For most newer investors we typically recommend SFR properties to start with the idea of building equity to scale up to MF over time. It's important to have a well diversified portfolio not only geographically, but also across different asset classes. In the markets we invest in SFRs typically have better quality tenants, longer term tenants, definitely better appreciation, better financing (20% down vs 25% down), and they are more liquid. When it comes time to sell the property you can sell to an investor or a residential buyer. SFR are more predictable starting out, but it is important to have multiple SFRs so you have multiple streams of income & you are not relying on just one stream of income. Then over time you can easily scale up to larger MF. Just one strategy we work with our investors on, but as long as you are getting started at some level that is the most important concept!

For your location question it really depends on your goals & criteria.  We strategically choose to invest in locations that have positive cash flow, landlord friendly legislation, low taxes, population & economic growth, etc.  California does not fit most of that criteria, and has many many challenges for investors in building a real successful portfolio.  It can take a ton of money to get into one deal that may not even be positive cash flow in CA.  The most successful investors invest where they can get the best returns, which more often than not is not their local market.  You just need the right local team to work with of course!  We've built a very successful portfolio this way that has allowed us to leave our professional careers as doctors.  Just my two cents, but I hope this helps.  I'm more than happy to answer any specific questions you have.

@Justin Mann

Thanks for the mention!  We very much look forward to hopefully working with you in the near future!

Here are some more references for us if anyone is interested in reading past investors' experiences: 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/ZacharyCole/references

@Lisa McClease-Kelly

We have hundreds of reviews from both recent investors as well as more seasoned investors that have been continually working with us for years!  I had two investors even leave me a personal reference on my BP page just today!  So you just have to know where to look.  One thing we are not short on is reviews from our clients as we have a very positive public reputation.  I've posted many links below for you to review many recent posts.  Of course, if you have any specific questions at all I'm more than happy to answer anything for you.  Just let me know.

Here are some recent threads to review:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/ZacharyCole/references

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/518583-feedback-on-renttoretirement-and-zach-lemaster

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/765347-rent-to-retirement-review

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/893621-rent-to-retirement-review?highlight_post=5222888&page=1#p5222888

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/808479-rent-to-retirement-experiences

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/533693-anyone-worked-with-renttoretirement-turnkey

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/581730-rent-to-retirement-zach

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/874096-reviews-on-r2r-and-nch?page=1&utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Transactional:%20topic_notification&utm_content=Transactional#p5123754

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/883772-turnkey-investing-renttoretirement-feedback-reviews?highlight_post=5171720&page=1#p5171720

https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/ZacharyCole/references

@Jordan Harrill You are absolutely correct on having the right team that operates at a high level, and is compatible with your goals!  Our inventory changes quite dramatically week to week as we have high demand for properties, so I would check back in a few days to see what has changed & been added.  The first step would be to schedule an initial consultation which can be done through the site.  We look forward to connecting with you to discuss all your questions in greater detail!  In terms of selecting the right team always check references to see what other's experiences have been.  Here are some good resources for you.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/ZacharyCole/references

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/518583-feedback-on-renttoretirement-and-zach-lemaster

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/765347-rent-to-retirement-review

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/893621-rent-to-retirement-review?highlight_post=5222888&page=1#p5222888

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/808479-rent-to-retirement-experiences

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/533693-anyone-worked-with-renttoretirement-turnkey

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/581730-rent-to-retirement-zach

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/48/topics/874096-reviews-on-r2r-and-nch?page=1&utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Transactional:%20topic_notification&utm_content=Transactional#p5123754

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/311/topics/883772-turnkey-investing-renttoretirement-feedback-reviews?highlight_post=5171720&page=1#p5171720

https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/ZacharyCole/references

@Jordan Harrill

Yes, Memphis is an excellent market for cash flow.  We work in this area as well as 11 other states.  Happy to answer any specific questions you have.

@Joseph Schweizer

Thank you for the mention on this thread.

@Shuo C.

I think you just need to understand the TK model in greater detail.  For example, we are professional investors in all these markets ourselves.  We've spent years developing our own portfolio, systems & teams in place to find, acquire, rehab & manage properties.  So we come across many properties that we don't need to add to our own portfolio, but if it's a good deal in a good location we can still offer it to an investor where it does fit their investment goals instead of doing nothing with those deals.

To answer your trust question, it's all about reputation.  We want you to have a good experience to come back & invest long term.  It's more profitable to sell you many homes over many years vs just passing one through.  Plus reputation is everything in today's public world.  I suggest simply researching a company that has a good reputation & that is congruent with your overall goals.  BP is a great source to simply search different companies to see what investors' experiences have been.  Feel free to check out personal reference pages as well:  https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/ZacharyCole/references

Happy to answer any other questions you have.

@Brian Hosier

Thank you very much for the mention!

@William White

Thank you for the detailed explanation of your goals. It does seem like TK investing would be a very applicable method to enter into the world of real estate while being a busy professional. Many people want to get started in RE investing, but they are unrealistic in how much time or effort they are actually able to commit! TK investing allows you to get into your first few rentals without taking up a ton of your time or risk, but still allows you to learn about investing while working with a team to ensure you are taking the right steps (assuming you are working with the right team of course). Many investors I've found start with TK properties to give them some confidence & experience in investing, and then go on to take on some of their own projects down the road if that is something they aspire to do. Since you were asking specifically about our model, I'm happy to share a few specifics about our team. We operate in the TK space of investing across 11 different markets! We operate in SFR, MF, Commercial (office/retail) & have new build & development projects! So we have a large diversity of locations & asset classes available to invest in. I'm personally currently buying a very large commercial retail strip center that will close out before 2020 to allow me to do a cost segregation study, and reduce my taxable income by at least about $500k. I'm happy to expand on this further if you'd like, but my point in saying this is that we are professional investors ourselves, and have built our business specifically because we've been successful investors. Something directly applicable to your situation is that I personally worked in healthcare for many years before retiring to be a full time investor. My wife & I are both Optometrists that owned multiple practices. I also was an Air Force Optometrist for 7 years as well. RE has allowed us to retire from those professional careers, and now we mainly just focus on volunteer based eye care. Anyways, I'll quit rambling, but I'm more than happy to have a deeper discussion with you about your specific goals & situation whenever you would like. Here is another good resource to look into as well: https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/ZacharyCole/references

To your success!

@David Robinson

Thank you for the mention!

@Jordan Gerkin

I received your message.  We look forward to connecting with you.

We've helped many investors just like yourself build a successful rental portfolio across numerous cash flow markets. It's all a numbers game, and the most successful investors invest in the markets where they get the best returns!

https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/ZacharyCole/references

@Rachel Santos

As long as you are investing in the right asset class where there will always be rental demand, and affordable rents, rental RE will be stable.  People always need a place to live.  Here is an informative blog post on the topic that might ad some insight:  https://www.biggerpockets.com/member-blogs/11965/89453-coronavirus-influence-on-re-and-why-sfrs-have-increased-demand