RentToRetirement.com Review - Beware of this scam

[Vivan Bhalla]

Hi all,

So I was reviewing a list of reviews given by people on RTR (Rent to retirement) and was surprised to found not even one negative, which made me think of my experience and I decided to write a review so as to save people from this scam.

I came across RTR in 2022 through a referral, I researched their reviews and decided I will use them for my first real estate investment which is a turnkey property. I saved some money and decided to pull the plug in April 2024. They identified a property for me and sent me a house in Akron, OH. The point of contact for me was Adam. He gave me some pointers on how Akron is an upcoming city and investment here will be very good. They told me about this area Kenmore which is the next area to be transformed by the city and my investment will be very fruitful. I decided to go on with the property in Kenmore and went through the process. The seller was Steve Yoak from Yoak enterprises who bought the house and renovated it. I was told his work is the best and all his houses are top notch quality, I trusted their word thinking that things will come up in appraisal as well as inspection. the inspection was good, nothing negative was on the inspection, the appraisal was also correct. I was very happy but little did I know the worst was yet to come.

Steve Yoak got me in touch with KS Yoak enterprises who he said was his uncle and PM. RTR told me I should take them as they are good. I finalized the property on May 3rd and they told me they already have a tenant ready to move in (they did not take my approval or anything or even informed me their background). I was super happy. I thought this is so smooth. I got my first rent cheque in june for may rent and everything was good. From mid july I started noticing I have not received any deposits and I thought it might be a delay since it is a new property. Late july I tried to check in with KS yoak and they were confused. After 1-2 weeks they told me the tenants stopped paying rent after the first month. For the next 6 months, I had to deal with the incompetent behavior of KS yoak who could not solve my tenant issue and they had no idea what was going on. After I raised this issue with RTR, they knew they fu*ked and they paid me some money as compensation and asked me to stay quiet and not post anything negative (which I am clearly not doing). Till April 2024, I was the one who managed everything with the tenant and got all the rent and made them pay back. KS yoak basically made the situation worse. I cancelled their contract and when I asked them the security deposit be mailed to me in NJ, they sent the security cheque to some address in Philly. Overall, it was the most stressful investment I had.

Coming to 2024, I decided to sell this property as I am done with this headache. I bought it for 135k and the realtor is saying it will go for max 125k. The property has so much issues now, the basement which Steve Yoak worked on has openings and there are rodent issues. the air conditioning does not works, the house is having other issues with fridge as well. It is shocking that this TURNKEY PROPERTY is anyhing but turnkey.

Overall, I would very much avoid anyone who is using them. They are a scam and they make the most money. I know I am at fault here too that I trusted them blindly. I would appreciate people who can help me on what I do with this property.

[Grant McMillan]

To all reading this thread, I am the COO of RTR and responding on our behalf.
It's important to point out a few key facts in this case since this is not simply a review. Yes, making statements about being a "scam" and using profanity like this is both unprofessional and against BP forum posting rules. It certainly does impact our business for anyone considering using our services and there are many facts that are misrepresented or omitted.

RTR serves as a turnkey and new construction marketplace that researches various investment markets throughout the country and connects investors and sellers. We always encourage investors to conduct full due diligence on any property, team & market they choose to work with. We do our best to help set them up for success with many tools and resources made available to them. We also do our best to help navigate any issues investors may encounter throughout their ownership. After all, this is real estate, and it would be unrealistic to expect that things like tenant issues or other issues do not ever occur, even in TK or new construction investing.

Some notable items to understand:
1) This investor independently chose to move forward with this Akron property on his own. Our team discussed multiple investment options with him, including new construction homes in nice areas that likely attract better quality tenants. He had the opportunity to interview the seller and mngt prior to closing on the home and chose to work with them.
2) As always recommended, this investor conducted full due diligence by having an inspection and appraisal. As he stated, the inspection came back in good condition, and the home appraised at full value without any identifying issues at the time of purchase.
3) RTR was made aware of issues that the investor was experiencing with the tenant. We communicated both with this investor and mngt to help find a solution for a tenant that was struggling to pay rent. Over the past year, RTR has over 50 emails back and forth with this investor and mngt, attempting to sort out solutions. We have had multiple phone calls with all parties, and our owner has taken time to personally speak with him as well. During this time, this investor stated he was very happy for the support. Furthermore, while not obligated, RTR financially contributed to help this investor offset missed rents from the tenant, which it sounds like the investor later recovered from the tenant eventually. We also assisted to have mngt contribute thousands to the investor as well. A resolution agreement was signed and this investor notated that he was very satisfied with this outcome at that time.

In summary, RTR has been on BP for close to a decade now helping investors identify attractive markets across the country and build investment strategies to achieve their goals. We have an exceptional reputation that we have worked very hard to achieve. We know that we have helped more people than those dealing with challenges. No, we are not perfect like any business, and we always welcome feedback as long as it's constructive and professional. This is real estate investing and there are multiple variables that affect the performance and outcome of any investment property over time, both for the positive and negative. Anyone investing in real estate needs to be prepared for that.

It sounds like this investor was able to make significant progress with this tenant to get caught up. We wish him the best success with this property and his future in real estate. Despite this negative post, we are still willing to assist in any way we can, with the understanding that everyone interacts in a professional manner.

Grant McMillan, COO Rent to Retirement