Roofstock takes virtually all the hassle and legwork out of residential property investing. Starting in 2015 with $133 of venture capital, it began transactions the following year.
Unlike other online property investment platforms, you are not buying into REITs, commercial property, or apartment complexes. And you are not directly buying land, industrial, or mixed-use property.
Instead, you are buying your property outright.
Roofstock makes the process of investing in single-family homes straightforward. Their website provides everything you need to know about each pre-vetted property listed on their website. Several online tools allow you to evaluate each property to work out if it is a good fit for you.
This platform was set up specifically as a rental home marketplace for investors and is now well-established with a successful history.
You can start by searching their website listings to view a range of single-family homes across the US that they’ve already vetted. You will find user-friendly search filters that allow you to choose properties with the features that are most important to you.
These criteria are:
- Pricing information
- Location
- Neighbourhood rating
- Gross yield
- Type of funding; and
- Estimated annual appreciation
After you have analyzed each home, you can make your decision and choose a property and make an offer.
Finally, when you close the sale, you can have a Roofstock-vetted property manager do all the Landlord duties for you. You could do it yourself, but that’s not easy if the property is in another part of the country.
Roofstock properties are located in major cities across the US, including:
- San Francisco
- Los Angeles
- Atlanta
- Chicago
- Miami
- Dallas
- Houston
It doesn’t matter where you live, with Roofstock, you are no longer restricted to an investment property in the same location as you. Instead, you can pick and choose from properties across many of the country’s biggest cities.
To invest you need to have enough money to at least put a deposit on a home. That will usually be 20% of the purchase price. That’s always a lot of money.
So Roofstock is suitable for investors who either have that sort of money readily available, or have the ability to finance a loan for a rental property.
Fees are simple, $500 or 0.5% of the purchase price (whichever is highest), and when you want to sell at some point in the future, you pay $2,000 or 3% of the sale price. Those are very low fees compared to average property commission rates.
Accredited Investors (those who earn more than $200,000/year – $300,000 for a couple – or with net assets of $1M) can invest via Roofstock 1 for as little as $5,000. This enables them to part-purchase a house. They can buy up to 10% of a property and receive a share of its profits.
A unique feature is Roofstock’s two guarantees!
If you’re not satisfied with your purchase within the first 30 days, you can get your money back. Or, if the property remains untenanted after 45 days, they will pay 75% of the rental for up to a year.
There are further conditions with both guarantees, but nobody else is doing this. It certainly reduces some of your immediate risks.
However, most properties are already tenanted, meaning you will get cash flow immediately.
Roofstock is a completely safe and reliable platform that you can trust. Their comprehensive certification process ensures all the homes offered are of a high standard. All properties are professionally inspected, and any repair costs are estimated with an accurate valuation.
In many instances, you can view a property inspection report, property valuation, title report, and insurance quote.
You also get to see photographs, floor plans, and title reports to ensure you have peace of mind before you invest.
Roofstock will refuse property listings where they believe the asking price is too high.
Since 2015, Roofstock has facilitated over $2 billion worth of transactions. This indicates that they are successfully delivering to investors.
If you are seeking a passive income stream, Roofstock is a super-efficient way to find an investment property without many of the property management hassles usually faced by landlords. These can include:
- Screening tenants and placing them
- Collecting rent
- Handling maintenance issues, and
- Managing turnover of tenants
It is these time-consuming issues that turn property investing into a second job. When properties become mismanaged you can quickly find yourself spending lots of time and money, making the whole investment seem like more trouble than it is worth.
This is where Roofstock can help.
They have a “preferred property manager” service with screened professionals who can manage the property on your behalf. That saves you time and effort if you’d prefer to avoid taking on landlord responsibilities yourself.
Plus, leaving the heavy lifting up to a property management company is a great way to ensure this becomes a truly passive income source.
Here is where you can learn more details about Roofstock.
The main advantages of investing in property through Roofstock are their property management services, in-depth vetting process, and low fees. The disadvantages are the large down payments, you can’t view the properties in person, and any repairs are still your expense to fund.
You can compare Roofstock against its main competitor.
To start viewing Roofstock’s currently available properties, click on this link.
