All Forum Posts by: Robert Ellis

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.

hey everybody! i'm looking for recommendations on good and reliable contractors in the indianapolis area. So if anyone knows or heard about a reliable and trustworthy contractor, who generally does quality work, i would appreciate if you could send me his info:) 

thanks in advance! 

Hello Partners,

I am here to experience this amazing platform!

I am reaching out to explore potential partnerships that could impact the real estate market I'm specifically targeting in Florida (not Fort Lauderdale).  I currently have 2 preapprovals from HMLs with two offers in process needing Gap balance funding asap.  I would love to speak to Gap partners that would be interested in collaborting.

Thanks so much!

 You definitely can't build in the lesser areas.  Your costs to build are too high even if you're getting the land for free.   That being said, there are some significant benefits to building versus buying and rehabbing.

1) If you're building, you should be able to come in at 80% LTV or better assuming you're acting as the GC. If you can't do that, then something is wrong and you're not finding the right subs.

The benefit to that though is that when you refi you could refi at 75% ltv and only have 5% of the cost in the house.  So lets say you build a house thats going to be worth 300k and you can be all in at 240k and you refi at 75% or 225k.  That means you'll only have to be out of pocket 15k and you you'll have 75k in equtiy.    So if you had 150k, you could build and own 10 houses.  Versus if you buy a house for 240k and have to pay 25% down, you're looking at 60k out of pocket.  That 150k will only get you two houses.

The question there becomes will the property cash flow with a loan of 225k. If yes, thats good. If no, then thats a non-starter.

2) But it brings you to the next benefit.  Brand new construction rents at a premium.  I would say a 3 bed, 2bath, 1500 sq ft home that was 20 to 30 years old here might rent for 1750 to 1800.  But if it was new construction, I could get 2,000 to 2,100. I would estimate a 10 to 15% premium for rent for new construction so that helps overcome a little of the price difference.

3) Less repairs.  So thats the other benefit in terms of cash flow. Older homes have more problems.  New construction shouldn't have any major repairs for several years. And some of the biggest repairs not for some time (roof 20, hvac 10, etc) .

To me, building a new sfh should allow you to get a bigger discount than what is typically available these days unless you're really getting lucky.  But it requires way more work and way more risk as you have to manage the subs yourself and hope that they don't pull a fast one.  It also takes a lot more time than simply buying an existing house and rehabbing it.  2 or 3 months for a rehab? 9 to 12 for a new build? 

The key is to find the numbers in the areas that work best for new construction.  Find the balance where land is decent, but rents are high.  And I would probably look at the smaller houses where you can keep your unit costs down but still rent them at a higher price point relatively speaking.

BTR properties are great if you’re wanting to get into new construction with lower maintenance needs- plus, they could have potentially higher tenant appeal. Just be aware that upfront costs can be higher, and returns may take longer. Property management can vary—sometimes it’s included in the arrangement, but it depends. You should also ask about warranty coverage, lease-up periods, and what kind of rental demand exists in the area. I have a lot of experience in the field, so feel free to reach out if you need advice.

Hi Ivan, I'm in Miami area and would love to discuss further with you. Also looking at buying SFH and turn them into padsplits. How can I reach you?

I recommend converting an existing space, like a detached garage for example, rather than building from the ground up. The cost to build will be significantly more than the amount of "value add" of an ADU putting you in a negative equity position. Better to spend $60-80k for a conversion than over 120k.

Hello all, 

Is there anyone that is familiar or can guide me to the process of land development ? I really need help !! 

Hi everyone, my name is Juan, I'm located in Miami, FL, and I'm looking to begin investing in multi-family homes in Florida. I have wanted to get into RE for some time now and finally decided to take it seriously. 

I would love to hear any recommendations of online resources and/or podcasts to understand the market better, as well as RE investing in general. I would also love to connect with other investors in the area and hopefully get to exchange some ideas.