Roofstock Review: Investment Options, Fees, and How It Works

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I'm Donny. I'm a world traveler, investor, entrepreneur, and online marketing aficionado who has a big appetite to compete and disrupt big markets. I thrive on being able to create things that impact change, difficult challenges, and being able to add value in negative situations.

Roofstock has created a streamlined process that allows real estate investors to browse and buy listed properties all in one place.

Roofstock Roofstock
4.0
Minimum investment: $5,000
Management fee: Higher of 0.5% or $500
Pros:
  • Low fees for buyers and sellers
  • Pre-vetted properties
  • Offers property management
  • Passive investing options
Cons:
  • $5,000 minimum investment
  • Illiquid investments
  • Roofstock One is only for accredited investors

It is available for accredited and non-accredited investors, making it one of the most accessible real estate investment platforms on the market .

This Roofstock review will cover everything you need to know before you purchase your first rental property through Roofstock.

What is Roofstock?

Roofstock homepage
Roofstock.com website

Gregor Watson founded Roofstock in 2021. He wanted to make real estate investing as easy as possible and accessible to more investors.

To do this, he created a platform that would allow users to browse, buy and invest in properties all in one space, which is known as Roofstock.

Roofstock is a platform that allows users to invest in single-family homes, buy property portfolios and sell properties without the need for excessive transaction fees or real estate agents.

How Does Roofstock Work?

If you’re looking to sell your single-family home, you can put your property for sale on Roofstock. People looking to invest in single-family properties can look through these listings and choose which properties they want to invest in.

Most properties are available to non-accredited investors. Once investors have selected the property they would like to invest in, they can put down an offer.

If that offer is accepted, Roofstock will charge either $500 or 0.5% of the agreed-upon offer, whichever is higher. After the fees have been paid and the processing is finished, you are the sole owner of the property you purchased through Roofstock.

You are free to rent your property out to tenants or to hold and resell it later at a higher price.

Roofstock Investment Options

While single-family-home purchases are Roofstock’s primary option for investors, there are various ways you can make money on the platform.

Roofstock Marketplace

The Roofstock marketplace is an online marketplace of homes that real estate investors can buy. Each listing includes the following information:

  • Square footage
  • Bedroom/bathroom count
  • Photos of the property
  • List price
  • The required upfront investment
  • A thorough inspection report
  • A breakdown of potential profit
  • Details about current tenants
  • School and neighborhood ratings
  • Local market data

The information collected by Roofstock makes due diligence easy. Before buying, you are free to check through as many investment property options as you would like.

Once you have decided which home you want, you can make an offer directly through Roofstock’s platform. However, you will need to meet the minimum investment requirement, which includes the down payment, closing costs, loan fees and fees for any immediate repairs.

Roofstock also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on its marketplace investment options. This means if you have any problems with the property, Roofstock will re-list it for free.

Short-term Rental Marketplace

The short-term rental property marketplace on Roofstock works similarly to its regular marketplace. There are a variety of property listings, but instead of traditional single-family homes, properties on this marketplace are used as short-term or vacation rentals.

These properties include the same information as those on the regular marketplace (potential profit breakdowns, square footage, neighborhood ratings and other due diligence information).

Properties for sale through the short-term rental marketplace have higher prices and higher initial investment requirements.

While you may pay more for these investments, there is also a possibility of higher returns; short-term rentals tend to charge tenants more than long-term rentals.

Portfolio Marketplace

For investors looking to purchase more than one property, Roofstock has a Portfolio Marketplace investment option.

Portfolios have multiple family rental properties grouped together and listed as one. As with other marketplaces, these portfolios provide information on each home but with a few additional relevant details.

Information for each listing includes:

  • The list price for each building
  • The total list price
  • The average year built across all the homes in the portfolio
  • The average square footage
  • The average price
  • A complete financial breakdown of potential profits

Some portfolios can be broken apart, and you can choose to invest in only one or several listed properties. Other portfolios must stay together.

But don’t worry because each portfolio provides information on the number of properties you must purchase within that particular portfolio.

Due to the large upfront costs associated with buying multiple properties, it will take longer to profit from these investments.

However, you will make more money from portfolios than single-home investments.

RoofStock One

If you’re more interested in an investment that can generate passive income than direct ownership, Roofstock has an option called Roofstock One.

Roofstock One has two different investment offerings: Roofstock One Tracking Stock and Roofstock One Common Stock.

You will need to be an accredited investor to invest in either option.

Roofstock One Tracking Stock

Tracking stock through Roofstock One allows investors to work with Roofstock to create personalized portfolios.

Tracking stocks are a special type of equity that track a specific portion of the investment and recoup investors based on the success of that portion of the portfolio.

If you invest in the Roofstock One REIT through a tracking stock, you can work with the Roofstock team to decide which portions of the portfolio you would like to support.

The success of that portion of the portfolio will determine how much you receive in dividends. This investment allows you to invest in the Roofstock REIT, which is a passive investment with some ability to provide input into your portfolio.

Roofstock One Common Stock

The Roofstock One Common Stock investment option is another way to invest in the Roofstock One REIT.

Investors that choose this option will not be able to choose which portion of the REIT portfolio they wish to support, but will still be able to passively invest in a diversified multi-property portfolio.

Instead of receiving distributions based on chosen portions of the portfolio, common stock investors will receive distributions based on the success of the overall portfolio.

Institutional Services

Roofstock offers institutional services for large investors and businesses looking to invest in the single-family real estate market.

Through this offering, you can work with the Roofstock team to build a portfolio that works for your institution.

Roofstock can customize the experience and provide large-scale or institutional investors with the following specialized services:

  • Transaction management
  • Property management
  • Portfolio management
  • Customized acquisitions

SFR Portfolio Transactions

Roofstock has extensive experience running single-family residence portfolio transactions.

This expertise is perfect for anyone who needs specialist assistance managing a portfolio — whether you are a first-time portfolio buyer or an institution.

Roofstock Services

When you consider buying a property through Roofstock, the team has already done a considerable amount of the work for you, which continues after you decide to purchase.

All Roofstock properties are accompanied by a comprehensive overview of the information available. This includes details about the current monthly rent, estimated market rent for similar homes in that area and your potential profit.

Roofstock properties also come with information about the quality of the home and estimated repair costs.

If you require further details about a property, Roofstock has a Neighborhood Rating Calculator that can help you understand the market you’re looking at.

Additionally, Roofstock has a Financing Calculator that can help you better understand which kinds of property you should look for to ensure certain returns.

When you have looked through all of the information and decide to purchase a property, Roofstock will include a complimentary property inspection.

If anything untoward comes up in the examination, you can cancel your purchase free of charge.

Roofstock Academy

If you’re new to real estate investing and you’re not confident about owning your own investment property, our educational platform, Roofstock Academy, can teach you how to invest, so you feel ready to make your first purchase.

Roofstock Academy is a learning resource for new investors. It is run by industry experts, and signing up gives you access to lectures, coaching and a private forum where you can post questions to a supportive community.

The program is run by Michael Albaum, Ryan Minekime, and Dean West who, collectively, have twenty plus years’ experience in real estate investing.

Roofstock Academy has enrollment periods, so if you want to sign up, you will first have to check if they are taking new students.

Roofstock Academy is a one-time payment, offering a money-back guarantee should you feel you aren’t getting the information you require.

There are two available tiers at Roofstock Academy.

  • Self-study: In this tier, you gain access to videos, lectures, content, readings and the members-only forum.
  • The Workshop: You get the same benefits as in the Self-Study tier but with the addition of one-on-one expert coaching.

Shop with an Agent

While Roofstock makes it easy to browse investments alone with confidence, if you want the help of a real estate agent, Roofstock has agents available for select investors.

Every agent is a licensed real estate agent and a member of the Roofstock Certified Agent Network. These agents can provide personalized advice on your rental investment portfolio, giving you the confidence you need to take the next step.

These agents are available for markets in Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Ohio, South Carolina, Indiana, Mississippi, Florida, Arkansas, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Oklahoma.

To shop with an agent through Roofstock, you must be pre-approved for a mortgage and apply through its website.

Seller Services

In addition to services for those who wish to add rental properties to their investment portfolio, Roofstock also has assistance available for those looking to sell their investment properties.

As a seller, you can list your properties on their website for free. Roofstock provides many services to make the process as simple as possible.

Roofstock assists sellers by:

  • Taking professional photos of the property
  • Underwriting the property
  • Setting up home inspections
  • Listing properties on the marketplace free of charge

Once you’ve received an offer you’re willing to accept, Roofstock charges a fee of 3% or $2,500, whichever is higher.

On average, Roofstock homes are sold and closed in 30-45 days, including listing time. Most homes are on the market for just 3-18 days, which is far below the average of 22 days.

Overall, selling a home on Roofstock is far easier than selling through a traditional real estate agent. While this is obviously great for sellers, it’s also a great benefit for buyers, who have access to a wide array of homes to browse through from motivated sellers.

Roofstock Offers

In addition to the traditional listing and selling of properties on Roofstock Marketplace, certain properties are eligible to receive cash offers directly from Roofstock.

Cash offers are a simple and easy way to offload your unwanted rental properties without the headache of negotiating offers and dealing with multiple buyers or real estate agents.

Property Management

The biggest downside to direct ownership of rental properties is property management. To counter this, Roofstock has devised a form of property management for investors that makes taking care of tenants as simple as possible.

Roofstock’s property management experts can connect property owners with managers in their area. Investors can meet managers and get a feel for what they do before committing to any terms or services.

Prior to working with property managers Roofstock looks at candidates’ qualifications and expertise, including their:

  • Management license
  • Responsiveness
  • Past portfolio experience
  • Referrals
  • Recognition from industry organizations
  • Data regarding past work
  • Fees and pricing
  • Market experience

Those that purchase their investment properties through Roofstock can even receive discounts on its property management services.

Property managers are a great choice for those who want to turn their active investments into more passive ones and can free up valuable resources by taking care of time-consuming tasks, such as research and paperwork.

Property managers can also provide tenants and investors peace of mind by overseeing repairs through local area experts.

1031 Exchange Program

A 1031 exchange is a great way for investors to move into new property markets. Through a process known as 1031, investors can exchange property for one or more properties of equal value without paying capital gains tax.

If you want to exchange an investment property for a rental property for profit, Roofstock can help. It has homes that are eligible for a 1031 exchange, saving you money on taxes.

Eligible properties already have tenants, so you must exchange your property with Roofstock and start collecting monthly rent to increase your cash flow.

All eligible properties have been adequately vetted with due diligence already completed. In most 1031 exchanges, investors exchange one real estate investment type for another.

If you are moving from a large or expensive property and are concerned about finding a portfolio in single-family real estate that is of equal value, Roofstock can assist.

Stressa

The more profit-generating rental properties you own, the more tracking and tax analysis you have to do. You could hire a professional to keep track of your rental properties and profits for you, or you can use Roofstock’s Stessa.

Stessa is a financial platform that tracks real estate investments easily for free. You can use Stessa to monitor your occupancy rates, asset return, portfolio value, income and more.

Stessa also stores your financial documents, so you don’t have to keep track of tons of paperwork. Stessa can take care of collecting rent from your tenants without you having to deposit checks manually or keep track of a third-party app.

Unlike other investment tracking software, Roofstock designed Stessa to work specifically with owners of multiple residential rental properties.

Because it was designed with a specific user base in mind, Stessa focuses on the features that these users need the most.

Roofstock Fees & Investment Minimum

Marketplace FeeHigher of 0.5% or $500
Minimum Investment$5,000

Who Should Use Roofstock?

Real estate investors interested in direct ownership of single-family rentals, REIT investment, a 1031 exchange into residential rentals or selling their investment rentals should use Roofstock.

It offers investors an easy way to browse and consider various investment opportunities, along with a host of other benefits.

How Does Roofstock Compare?

Primary Rating:
4.0
Primary Rating:
4.5
Primary Rating:
4.0
Management fee:
Higher of 0.5% or $500
Management fee:
.85% to 1%
Management fee:
1% to 1.25%
Minimum investment:
$5,000
Minimum investment:
$10
Minimum investment:
$5,000
Primary Rating:
4.0
Management fee:
Higher of 0.5% or $500
Minimum investment:
$5,000
Primary Rating:
4.5
Management fee:
.85% to 1%
Minimum investment:
$10
Primary Rating:
4.0
Management fee:
1% to 1.25%
Minimum investment:
$5,000

Getting Started with Roofstock

Getting started with Roofstock is easy if you follow these steps:

  1. Create Your Account Profile: To do this, you will need your personal information for verification, your email address and your phone number.
  2. Build Your Investor Profile: Roofstock will ask you a series of questions to better understand the kind of investor you are and the kinds of homes you might be looking for.
  3. Start Browsing Properties and Portfolio Options: There are hundreds of properties listed around the country. You can look through as many of these properties as you like, using a variety of filters to help narrow down your search.
  4. Make an Offer and Begin the Buying Process: Making an offer on a home through Roofstock is easy, and you don’t pay any additional fees until your offer has been accepted.

Roofstock Reviews

Roofstock does much of the legwork to get you started down this real estate investing path. They have done so much of the preliminary work for you when normally you would have to pull this all together yourself.

Alex K. Roofstock buyer

I live in New York City where the upfront costs of investing in real estate are extremely high and Roofstock helped simplify the process of investing in other markets.

Bryce H. Roofstock buyer

Is Roofstock a Good Investment?

The rental properties that you can purchase through Roofstock are usually sound investments. Roofstock’s returns tend to be similar to those of other rental homes on the market, but with greater ease of use and fewer real estate agent fees.

While there is never a guarantee of return on any investment, rental prices have been on the rise as many would-be homebuyers have been priced out of the market, and this trend shows no signs of stopping.

Roofstock FAQs

Below are the most frequently asked questions about Roofstock.

Is Roofstock a company I can trust?

Yes, you can trust Roofstock to provide you with legitimate information to help you legally buy and sell rental investment properties.
 
Roofstock reviews show it has produced many happy customers who have found its real estate investment platform easy to use.

Can I really make money with Roofstock?

Yes, you can make money through Roofstock by buying a property and finding tenants to rent from you.

Can you withdraw money from Roofstock?

You cannot withdraw money from Roofstock. You become the sole property owner when you purchase a property through Roofstock and must list your property for sale if you wish to liquidate your investment.

Is Roofstock only for accredited investors?

No, you do not need to be an accredited investor to use most of Roofstock’s features. You only need to be an accredited user to use Roofstock One.

Roofstock

Explore the Roofstock online marketplace to invest in single-family rental (SFR) homes to build and grow your real estate portfolio.

We earn a commission when you create a free account and deposit funds.
Roofstock
roofstock review

Roofstock is an online marketplace for investing in leased single-family rental homes in a transparent and low-friction method.

Product Brand: Roofstock

Editor's Rating:
4

I'm Donny. I'm a world traveler, investor, entrepreneur, and online marketing aficionado who has a big appetite to compete and disrupt big markets. I thrive on being able to create things that impact change, difficult challenges, and being able to add value in negative situations.

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