It used to be that real estate investing was hard work. Back in the day, a budding real estate investor with a little savings had to:
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Learn his area in terms of crime, schools, attractions, commute, etc.
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Figure out home values to determine what constitutes a good deal
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Market through various means to find the good deal
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Negotiate with the seller
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Set up financing through one (or several) financing options
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Acquire the property
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Rehab the property
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Set up licenses if required
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Find and negotiate with tenants
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Manage the property
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Perform or hire out the required repairs
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Eventually sell the property
Although many of you Moguls do all of the above, one company claims to be a one-stop shop for ‘hands-free’ real estate investing.
It’s called ‘Homeunion.’
Homeunion has a network of real estate professionals around the country who will seek out investment property for you in what they see as good markets for cash flow.
Once they find a property, they will help you acquire it, do all the rehab and rent it out for you using local property management companies. They will give you projections ahead of time about what they think the property will yield.
The people who find and manage your properties will provide detailed reports on how well your property is doing or the potential for success. You evaluate the numbers and make decisions on all aspects of the property.
Here is a sample for several properties you may consider purchasing:
They will ensure they have done due diligence with all the people who find property for you, the contractors and the property managers.
When it comes time to sell the property, they will help you market and sell it using a local Realtor they have picked out to represent you.
So what’s the catch?
Before you start thinking that individual real estate investors have become obsolete, remember that Homeunion won’t do all your real estate investing for you for free.
Homeunion primarily makes its money through managing the property once you have it up and running as a rental. They charge $495/year for this service as of the writing of this lesson.
They don’t charge for the acquisition of the property, the rehab or the sale...
However, their Realtors, contractors and other people who help you do all these things will charge you – just as if you were working with these people yourself.
Homeunion can also help you with financing a piece of real estate.
It’s important to know that you are still the owner of the property and responsible for its upkeep. Ultimately you will be the seller of the property. Homeunion makes it possible for you to invest out of your local area, and let someone else handle the headaches.
Here are the markets Homeunion has identified as having potential cash-flowing properties from single-family homes up to 4 unit rental properties. If you click on any of the city links on their website, it will show you why the city is poised for growth:
Homeunion is different than investing in a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), which pools investors money to invest in a portfolio of real estate. In a REIT, individual investors don’t own individual properties.
There are a lot of testimonials on the site and elsewhere saying people are very satisfied with the returns they receive from Homeunion. Homeunion also has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, with no complaints filed.
As for returns, it looks like from their projections and from some feedback found on the web, you can expect yields between 10-15% on an annual basis. There are plenty of disclaimers on the site that say it will vary with each investment, and like every investment, there are no guarantees.
Homeunion also seems conservative in their estimates for returns…
For instance, their cash-flow projections include a 6% allowance for vacancies and repairs for a rental property. You may want to add in more or less in your own projections depending on the market and property history once you own it or have some experience.
For an additional fee, Homeunion can also prepare all the tax-related documents for your property.
But I’m already an accomplished real estate investor…
We know many of you are successful investors already and can do everything Homeunion can do on your own.
But just remember that the most valuable resource anyone has is time. As you build your real estate empire, you will find your team start to grow.
Your cash flow will grow as well. What will you do with it?
Why not grow your team AND your cash using Homeunion? Let us give you an example.
Lots of investors tuck a bunch of cash away into retirement accounts – in particular a Self-Directed Individual Retirement Account (SDIRA).
We don’t want to go into all the specifics about an SDIRA here, but let’s just say it is a way to invest in areas other than stocks and bonds in a tax-deferred (traditional IRA) or tax-free (Roth IRA) manner.
Homeunion is set up to use funds from a SDIRA and invest them in an income property. With a 10-15% return that is tax-free or tax-deferred, you are really achieving more like 15-20% if you had invested outside a retirement account and had to pay taxes on the gains.
So keep on doing what you’re doing to build your real estate empire. But as you sock more and more cash away, you can put it in a retirement account, invest that money in another real estate location and let someone else send you a check each month.
Obtaining multiple sources of passive income, especially in real estate, has been the road to wealth for many people in the history of this country.
Homeunion allows you to diversify into different real estate markets, without all the headaches of managing out-of-state rentals on your own. Instead of stocks and bonds, which you have barely any control over once you buy them, you can build an investment portfolio of passive real estate.
After all, think how good it will feel when you get one of the ‘absentee owner’ postcards from another real estate investor looking for a motivated seller. After reading it over and grinning, you can confidently throw it in the trash because you’re doing just fine.
Holla at Us
Thinking about using this company? Had experience with them? Share with us in the comments section below.
Outsource – Don’t try to do everything on your own. Think Donald Trump plunges toilets in his properties? Find what you’re good at and outsource the rest.
Diversify – Consider expanding your real estate investments to different areas. That way if one area suddenly starts heading down, it won’t wipe you out.
Consider the Homeunion Model – Perhaps you know people who have money, want to invest in real estate, but don’t have the time. How could you partner with them so you both make money?