This Startup Is Making Long Distance Real Estate Investing Possible for Millennials
Real estate has often been touted as the recession-proof, wealth-building investment vehicle of the rich. Though investing in real estate is no longer limited to the uber-elite investors who pay the initial hefty capital. If you are looking to "dip your toes" in real estate investing, Roofstock has made it easy for non-accredited investors to buy long-distance, single-family-rental properties – that are also affordable. In fact, 75% of Roofstock users are first-time real estate investors, and more than half are under 35.
At a glance:
What Is Roofstock?
Roofstock is an online marketplace where investors can buy and sell single-family rental properties remotely. In other words, Roofstock offers an easier path to a more passive form of real estate investing than the traditional way of finding the agent, touring home after home, and of course – the hassle of fixing and managing a property.
Related: How Millennials Are Retiring Early by Investing in Turnkey Real Estate
Roofstock is a unique platform in the real estate crowdfunding market. Unlike the most real estate crowdfunded marketplaces, where investors loan money to a developer for a particular project, Roofstock gives the investors the freedom to buy the property outright. This is simply an easier and less expensive way to buy a rental property.
For busy millennial investors looking to invest in rent-generating single-family properties, Roofstock is pioneering remote investing – allowing you to buy out-of-state properties without ever having to physically visit them.
"I've never been to Memphis, we've never seen (the property we bought on Roofstock.) It appraised for $30k more than we bought it for before it even closed. Our renters have been great, we're cash flowing every month . . . it's just been wonderful," says Michael, a Roofstock investor who owns two properties in Georgia and Texas.
Apart from the ability to invest in rental properties right from your couch and diversify your portfolio across multiple locations and homes, Roofstock also offers:
- Free account: You can view properties on Roofstock without any membership or access fees.
- Certified properties: Roofstock verifies and reviews each property before listing it on the website. That means, as a prospective investor, you have access to all the property documents including property valuation, inspection reports, ledger, and so on, on each property.
- Rental Cash Flow and Property Appreciation: Similar to investing in turnkey rental properties, investors earn from monthly rents as well as capital gains from property appreciation over time.
- Property Technology: Roofstock leverages technology and data to create an online searchable database of properties allowing investors to choose/search properties based on neighborhood ratings, cap rate, annualized return, etc.
- 30-Day Satisfaction Guarantee: Roofstock gives a 30-day guarantee to buyers under a Roofstock Realty LLC Purchase and Sale Agreement. So as a buyer, if you are not satisfied with a property, you can notify Roofstock in writing within 30 days of the closing. Roofstock will re-list the property for free and will buy it themselves if it doesn't sell within 90 days.
Is Roofstock-Backed Real Estate Investing for You?
Roofstock has eliminated the major hurdles of real estate investing. Browsing through properties online, investing in out-of-state turnkey properties, and the 30-day satisfaction guarantee make the process of investing in real estate similar to buying a pair of Nikes online.
Now you can invest in affordable, long-distance rent-yielding properties simply from your laptop. They have hundreds of homes listed for sale in 70 US markets including Atlanta, Memphis, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, and the greater Chicago area, many of which are under $100,000. We even found one single-family rental for $38,000, earning $725 per month in rent.
Moreover, Roofstock connects you with vetted property managers to help ease the burden of fixing and/or managing properties. For millennial investors who are looking to diversify their portfolio and earn passively, investing in single-family rentals with Roofstock is the way to go.
You can sign up here for a free account with Roofstock!
The contents of this article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. It's important to perform your own research and consider seeking advice from an independent financial professional before making any investment decisions.
