In Episode 22 of the Profitable Powerhouse Properties Podcast, we talk to Jason Green of Roofstock about the company’s growth, how their platform works and benefits new and experienced investors alike, the impact COVID-19 is having on the market, and more. Keep buying, keep learning, and keep earning!
Episode Highlights:
- AHI Properties has been partnered with Roofstock since 2017.
- Roofstock is an online marketplace for people to buy tenant-occupied rental properties, removing geographic barriers to investing in real estate.
- Roofstock is different from other aggregators because it is more full-service, walking buyers through the process and offering coaching.
- The platform is now in 35 states so you can compare properties across hundreds of markets.
- For a property to get listed on Roofstock, it has to first be evaluated against sales comparables and appraised.
- Roofstock partners with the property manager for every listing to do a third-party inspection.
- Without Roofstock, buyers often pursue buying a rental property with wildly inaccurate assumptions about what they could earn in rent in that market.
- Roofstock uses market rent estimates from many different data points to avoid inflated numbers.
- Zillow has an outsize impact on expectations of market estimates because people take the “Zestimate” as an objective fact.
- Roofstock is transparent about any repairs or deferred maintenance a property might need so buyers are fully informed, especially since maintenance is the biggest challenge for absentee landlords.
- Roofstock listings have remained steady throughout the pandemic, though there has been some buyer dropoff.
- Roofstock has adapted their home inspections for COVID, and both Roofstock and AHI Properties have seen some slowdowns because due diligences have had to be delayed.
- Some property managers are not renewing leases, but are just granting 2 or 3 month extensions so as not to disadvantage their tenants.
- Buying and selling portfolios of many properties at once can be a fun puzzle to solve.
- It isn’t the job of retail agents to know investors.
- Roofstock only deals with single family rental properties, not multi-family units.
- New construction homes are prevalent in the market right now and it provides peace of mind for remote investors.
- Roofstock would like to reach a point where they can pre-sell new construction before it’s complete, but Jason hasn’t really considered selling land itself.
- They’ve held off on working on properties under construction because they haven’t figured out how to track progress, manage vetting contractors, etc.
- Roofstock sold all of their 65 initial launch properties and were ready to launch the next product, but they were advised to hold off due to COVID-19.
- They will soon launch the ability to buy fractionalized equity of an investment property. Roofstock maintains ownership, insures it and manages it.
- They’re considering trying vacation rental management.
3 Key Points:
- Traditionally, people have only been able to buy and manage real estate near to where they live, and Roofstock opens up the market nationally.
- Most retail agents don’t know about the intricacies of investment property world.
- Maintenance, renovations, and construction are the hardest things for a property owner to manage remotely.
Tweetable Quotes:
- “We don’t change our underwriting or financials for anyone. It’s based on an algorithm, based on when the home was built, based on how large they are, & we’re not customizing those for providers that don’t feel like it’s showing their properties in the best light.” –Jason Green
- “The client level services versus consultant level services you provide, that’s what someone needs when they’re looking at either purchasing or selling investment properties.” –Jonathan Cook
Resources Mentioned:
- Check out our website ahiproperties.com
- Check out Birmingham Insurance Group online or call them at (205) 616-1107
- Buy, sell, and own investment properties the way the pros do it with www.roofstock.com
- Email Jonathan and Bryan at Podcast@AHIProperties.com
- Roofstock Website: https://www.roofstock.com/