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All Forum Posts by: Grant McMillan
Grant McMillan has started 0 posts and replied 15 times.
Post: Detailed report of my recent (bad) experience with Rent to Retirement
- Investor
- College Station, TX
- Posts 15
- Votes 80
Mendy,
We are sorry to hear about the unfavorable experience you had speaking with one of the reps at RTR. While we always strive to do our best to set investors up for success, we are not perfect by any means. This post is the first time leadership is hearing about your concerns. We are happy to know that you were able to connect with our CEO, Zach, to learn more about the apparent miscommunication concerns so we can make internal improvements as necessary and ensure all our staff are operating at the highest level possible. And to ensure that you have accurate information. Zach thought it was a very productive call with you and appreciated your time/feedback.
We do wish that we would have learned about this earlier so we could have intervened early on. We have multiple investment reps that we can reassign when it is not a good fit for whatever reason. We also have a team specifically dedicated to client success that would have liked to know about this right away to get you assigned to the right person and manage issues immediately. We do have a very good reputation on BP as you have mentioned because we do care about investors' success, and we are deeply concerned that the representative you had interaction with at RTR was not up to expectations.
Please do reach out at any point to discuss further or see how we can remedy the concerns you have. We understand that you did not invest in a property through our platform, so it appears that much of the concerns comes from the individual you were speaking with directly.
----
For others reading/commenting on this thread, I would like to clarify a few items:
-We have hundreds of builders and property managers that have been approved to market their services on our platform. We do not select them. They apply with us and we either accept or deny them based on their track record and diligence. Yes, there are many builders, property managers, lenders, insurance providers, contractors, etc. that get immediately cut off from our marketplace when their performance lacks. There are many businesses that do good work for many years and then start to lack in performance over time. That is simply how business goes, especially in turbulent real estate and economic cycles. We keep close tabs on performance of each team on our marketplace and the RTR team is always quick to intervene to assist individuals when issues arise. Anyone can easily see that reading through the hundreds of reviews about RTR on BP for over a decade now.
-No, you cannot pay to have negative reviews removed on BP, BBB or any other site we are on. Yes, you can pay for advertising.
-For clarity, this particular review is referencing conversations with a single RTR rep that we are dealing with internally. The original poster did not actually invest through our platform, nor did they incur any costs whatsoever at any point.
-Yes, there are hundreds of transactions through our marketplace every month, and properties do sell very quickly, but there are always many other properties in each location to choose from.
-No, we do not price properties or rental numbers on the website. Those come directly from the builders/sellers listing on our site and the property managers that manage the properties (which there are always multiple management recommendations to choose from). You are not required to use any property management team in any location. This choice is completely up to you on who to use for management.
-Most importantly, this is a normal buying process. You will have an appraisal on each property (as required from your lender) to ensure properties are priced appropriately. <1% of homes acquired through our platform have a low appraisal, and when that does happen the seller is usually very good about lowering the price for the investor. There are always appraisal contingencies as well. There are large national and regional builders that list their properties on our platform to include some of the largest names in building like DR Horton, Toll Brothers, Lennar, LGI, Century, etc. These builders provide wholesale pricing through our network that they do not provide to the general public allowing the individual investors to obtain wholesale pricing on new construction properties below market value. This can be as significant as up to $50K below market value.
-Lastly, please understand that there are many pms and other businesses we do not have on our site that are quick to jump in and make negative comments in effort to drive business their way. This is easily identified by those who seem to comment on every thread where someone asks about RTR spamming the forums with the same negative comments over and over again. You will also get DMs from competitors soliciting anyone that comments about RTR (good or bad). We've been told this over and over again from BP users.
-RTR has been on the BP platform for over a decade now and has hundreds of 5 star reviews for a reason. We are not perfect and neither is investment real estate, but we are always involved with investors to do our best to set them up for success and get deeply involved to find solutions with any individual that experiences issues throughout their investing journey, even if it's issues that arise from initial conversations before any investment has actually been made. We just need to be made aware of the issues.
We are more than happy to connect with anyone that has additional questions.
-To your investing success, Grant McMillan - COO RTR
Post: RentToRetirement.com Review - Beware of this scam
- Investor
- College Station, TX
- Posts 15
- Votes 80
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
Post: Rent To Retirement Review
- Investor
- College Station, TX
- Posts 15
- Votes 80
Quote from @Mila R.:
@Diana Jing This is great to hear! I've invested with them a couple years now, and am still working with them today. I was able to acquire some cash flowing properties, but once we maxed out our capital to invest with we really didn't have many other options to continue to purchase rental property with. We were interested in wholesaling, so they gave us some mentorship on how we could creatively get started wholesaling to build up capital for our next investment property. We worked with , and within a couple months we have already completed a few wholesale deals giving us the necessary downpayment to purchase that next rental. Very happy with our experience so far!
We're so thankful to read comments like this because we know that we're helping real estate investors grow their portfolio no matter where they're at on their investment journey!
Post: Need advice on 2 negative cash flowing properties
- Investor
- College Station, TX
- Posts 15
- Votes 80
We wanted to jump in on behalf of RTR to add some clarity and see how we can participate in assistance in this situation where rents came in less than expected, as we are always happy to do.
Here are some clarification points to be aware of:
-We do understand that rents in SWFL have fluctuated over the past year, which does happen with dynamic markets like we are seeing nationwide currently.
-When this does happen, we always try to be involved with investors to come up with viable solutions, including rent gap coverage when needed. This is assuming we are made aware of the situation.
-RTR does not determine rent in any market, or for any property. Rents always come from the property management teams handling the properties. We require actual rent comps from them. We did verify many comps for these properties from multiple PM teams prior to allowing the builder to put them on our website. We are aware that rents have fluctuated in this area over the past year.
-Additionally, when one PM team fails to meet expectations, other PM teams are recommended. When Douglas PM seemed to struggle with renting homes at what they said they could, we specifically recommended another property mngt team that is consistently renting these same exact homes anywhere from $2,350 to $2,550. This mngt team is Logistical Choice mngt. These rents are still below what was anticipated, but much better than Douglas was doing. We recommended this change to Raghav in January.
-We did already offer some compensation to Raghav, but we have also booked a call with him and our CEO this afternoon to further discuss this. We hope he keeps this thread updated as we progress to further assist him on these properties to understand what the best options are and how we can be of assistance.
This is certainly good feedback for our team as we are always looking for ways to improve and we appreciate all the input. We continue to stay committed to offering excellent investment opportunities across the nation, and when things do not go as planned (which does happen from time to time in REI), we always want to be made aware of the situation and see how we can step in to assist.
Thank you,
Grant COO RTR
Post: Rent to Retirement New Build
- Investor
- College Station, TX
- Posts 15
- Votes 80
Hello,
Please understand that RTR is not a home builder and does not act as a broker representative. We are a nationwide marketplace that provides access to multiple TK investment opportunities, many of which are new construction. There are many builders that provide investment opportunities to our network. Some of which are national builders like DR Horton, Toll Brothers, LGI, etc. Some are more regional or local builders. At this time, we do not allow builders to market any more ground up construction projects (pre-construction) as we have been made aware that there are significant delays in the construction industry. We only allow for completed homes to be marketed, many of which are already rented.
We do understand that it is frustrating to have to deal with the delays of new construction as many homes are taking longer to be completed. We are always here to assist in guidance depending on the situation and what your ultimate goals are. All we ask is that you reach out to communicate this to us. Otherwise we may not be aware of the frustrustations you are dealing with. It would be important to note that while construction in Cape Coral specifically is taking longer than expected, there have many been hundreds of homes completed for many investors. Every single one of those has had a positive equity position once completed and still has positive cash flow if rented instead of sold. It is frustrating for everyone to deal with delays and escalations that accompany ground up construction projects. Unfortunately, that is something most everyone in the construction industry has experienced to some degree over the past few years in this dynamic market. While RTR cannot control any one particular builder, market changes, interest rate changes, etc. we are certainly here to offer guidance and resources however needed. This would include local resources with other builder connections should you want to consider switching builders, local property managers to assist with leasing of the home, local brokers to assist with selling of the home once completed or that can stop by to check on progress of the build, local insurance providers, lenders, CPAs, RE Attorney's, tax advisors, etc. All we ask is that you reach out directly to make us aware of the situation so we can review all available options and to fully understand what your goals are. Every person that has completed ground up construction in Cape Coral has turned out positive, but there have many been many delays and limited communication from specific builders that we are aware of and offering guidance on a case by case basis.
Please reach out directly with any concerns or situations so we can be made aware and see how we can offer assistance. Thank you.
Post: Rent to Retirement
- Investor
- College Station, TX
- Posts 15
- Votes 80
Quote from @Theresa Hansen:
Has anyone had any experience with the company Rent To Retirement? Just curious as to the groups feedback.
First of all thank you for your interest in Rent to Retirement. We love working with investors and would love to work with you in the future as well. @Riley Schaefer is a good example of one of our investors that has bought with us for years and has had a good experience purchasing multiple properties. We'd love to assist you as you reach your real estate investment goals as well. Please reach out to us. We're happy to help!
In the meantime, here's some resources for you regarding turnkey investing, Rent to Retirement, and the markets that we invest:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/765347-rent-to-retirement-review
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/1116050-a-huge-win-with-cori-from-rent-to-retirement
https://www.biggerpockets.com/co/RentToRetirement
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/808479-rent-to-retirement-experiences
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/67/topics/952977-turnkey-in-indianapolis-through-rtr-case-study
Post: Rent to retirement. Good or bad?
- Investor
- College Station, TX
- Posts 15
- Votes 80
Quote from @Taz Zettergren:
@Zach Lemaster Looks like I touched a nerve when that wasn't my intention. did not just ask about the experience of working with RTR but also "...Or, even if you haven't used it, what concerns do some of you more experienced investors have?" You and I don't know each other and while I am relatively new to being active on BiggerPockets, I've been in the industry for almost 10 years. I am an investor myself and have renovated roughly 300 properties for REI Nation, worked for the management company speaking with residents, spent a short time on the customer service side of the business working with existing clients and their portfolios after purchase and to this point have spoken to close to 6,000 interested investors answering questions about Turnkey real estate in general and REI Nation specifically. Today, I work with over 800 clients assisting them with building out or diversifying their portfolios.
So, I am lucky enough to talk to a lot of investors and have a lot of varied experience under my belt. I wasn't trying to attract business, but answer the man's question. Our owner Chris Clothier has been encouraging me for years to get on BP and share my experience and knowledge and I recently took him up on it. I did exactly what I thought he would do. I answered the question based on what I know and did it without disparaging or talking negatively. I even pointed out that in the service business you will always hear both positives and negatives.
Either way, I hate that you were so offended as that was not my intention. I'm not a fan of the referral industry and you are right about being biased. I've learned enough from Chris to know there are real differences between referral companies and actual Turnkey companies. However, I've also learned from him that he respects you and the business you've built and its clear that you want to jump in and take care of your clients. No malice intended. Outside of that, I stand by the statement that if I ever hear a negative, it's almost always what I stated above.
@Taz Zettergren
No one is dumb here. Your intention is solely to attempt to drive business your way instead of to RTR & to do this in a misleading way by inappropriately describing RTR & subtly promoting your team in a thread where someone is specially asking about RTR. It's not a coincidence that the majority of the recent posts about RTR you are there commenting in a negative way. Again, just poor form. You don't see RTR on here self promoting every time someone asks about REI. No one from RTR is hijacking forum threads mentioning how REI only has 4 reviews on BP while RTR has 226, or how REI has 4 complaints on BBB with 0 positive reviews, while RTR has 25 5-star reviews with 0 complaints. No one at RTR is sharing their opinion about your business, or bringing up old negative BP posts like this: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/791153-turnkey-real-estate-negative-memphis-invest-review-long.
Post: Where to invest my capital
- Investor
- College Station, TX
- Posts 15
- Votes 80
Quote from @Jorge Barboza Jr.:
Question team,
I am building capital, I have also listen to a million podcast, read the books, and have one rental. Right now my problem is time. I want to invest in either small businesses, real estate, or just the market. A mixture makes the most sense, but I would like your alls opinion. And specifically on REI what do you all think about using something like Rent to Retirement until I get more free time. Or should I just keep saving my capital?
What do you all think?
Thanks!
Hi @Jorge Barboza Jr.! Glad to hear that you're diving into the real estate journey!
You're doing it right by working on building capital and listening to podcasts. Outside of investing in real estate, educating yourself in real estate is the next best thing so great job on doing that. There are dozens of great podcasts out there that you can learn a ton from so I would encourage you to continue to do so.
Also, congrats on having a rental as well. That was one of the biggest landmark decisions my wife and I ever made when we decided to purchase our first rental property. That's a huge accomplishment and it sounds like you're hungry for more.
I'd recommend that you take a look at where you want to be in 6 months, 1 year, and 5 years when crafting your investing strategy. That's always a good approach regardless if you're wanting to invest in real estate, stock market, or other businesses. Once you have those goals in mind, then you can really figure out what makes the most sense based on your risk tolerance.
At Rent to Retirement, we do a lot of the heavy lifting for you whether it's your 1st property or 50th property. We have clients that are all across the spectrum when it comes to their investing knowledge and the stage of their journey. I think that's one of the things that sets us apart in this space. You can read more about us on this forum and many other blog sites. We're happy to help you in your journey and look forward to connecting with you soon!
Here's some resources for you regarding turnkey investing, Rent to Retirement, and the markets that we invest:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/765347-rent-to-retirement-review
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/1116050-a-huge-win-with-cori-from-rent-to-retirement
https://www.biggerpockets.com/co/RentToRetirement
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/808479-rent-to-retirement-experiences
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/67/topics/952977-turnkey-in-indianapolis-through-rtr-case-study
Post: Rent to Retirement Academy Experience
- Investor
- College Station, TX
- Posts 15
- Votes 80
Quote from @Parker Robertson:
Rent to Retirment (RTR) has very recently announced the RTR academy that investors can join for a one time payment to learn everything about investing. Additionally, the majority of the price is refunded if you invest with RTR. Originally, the entire price of the academy would be refunded if you invested with RTR, but from what I can tell that has now dropped from 100% to only 90% refund (not sure why they dropped it so shortly after launching). And only if you invest in the following 6 months after you join.
The numbers make this seem like an amazing deal, but I want to make sure it’s not just a way to grab my business and that it will actually educate me and provide long term value. Has anyone joined the academy that would be willing to share their experiences?
@Parker Robertson
Thank you for your interest in the Rent to Retirement Academy. We truly believe that you'll find significant value in the Academy program we have spent over a year producing. We created the Academy as a way to help those that are "on the fence" about when or where to purchase investment real estate as well as to help those that wanted to learn more about investment real estate prior to investing. We've already seen several of our Academy members accomplish their investing goals prior to even completing the course. This has been one of our goals since starting the Academy: to help our clients take that next step into purchasing investment real estate in an effort to create financial independence & generational wealth through cash flow, appreciation, and equity.
One of the key benefits for memberships is that it's a lifetime membership (no ongoing fees or expiration date). We're going to continue to add content at no cost to you. There are dozens of other benefits including a free SDIRA account to invest in real estate through a 401(k) or IRA, individual and group coaching, VIP access to off market deals, referral partner status,etc. The list goes on and on.
As always, please feel free to reach out to our team as they can facilitate any further questions. We certainly appreciate your interest in the Rent to Retirement Academy and look forward to helping you along your real estate investment journey.
Post: Lost in the crowd and cannot decide what is the best place to invest
- Investor
- College Station, TX
- Posts 15
- Votes 80
Quote from @Himanshu Das:
Hi All.
I am very new to real estate investing.
I went through many of the posts already in biggerpockets starting out forum and I see that many people have asked same question: what is the best place to invest ?
Most of the answers I see are from real estate agents recommending to buy in their local area.
I live in NJ and looking for out of state investment opportunities.
can you guys suggest some areas for long term rentals with good property appreciation ?
Is it good to start my journey with a turnkey company like "renttoretirement" to buy new construction SFRs ?
Hi @Himanshu Das,
First of all thank you for your interest in Rent to Retirement. We have a lot of experience in the BTR space and are so glad you've expressed interest in that arena. I'd love to chat with you to discuss your investment goals and strategy. Please reach out to us when you have a chance so we can discuss further!
In the meantime, here's some resources for you to research RTR and the benefits of partnering with us:
https://www.biggerpockets.com/users/ZacharyCole/references
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/765347-rent-to-retirement-review
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/1116050-a-huge-win-with-cori-from-rent-to-retirement
https://www.biggerpockets.com/co/RentToRetirement
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/92/topics/808479-rent-to-retirement-experiences
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/67/topics/952977-turnkey-in-indianapolis-through-rtr-case-study