The Truth About Most Turnkey Real Estate Providers
Most people out there instinctively know the value of real estate. After all, we want to own our own homes. We like watching our equity grow. For real estate investors, the appeal is even more intense because we understand how a good investment can not only yield immediate returns but also cash flow.
However, real estate is a time-consuming investment. It can be very hard to invest in real estate while also working at your “day job.” In fact, a lot of real estate investors report that they felt like they were working two full-time jobs when they started investing.
While many people ultimately opt to leave their previous profession in order to become full-time real estate investors, not everyone wants to do this. Does that mean if you are passionate about your non-real estate career that you cannot benefit from the potential gains associated with sound real estate investments like tax deeds and tax liens and their conversion to, say, rental properties?
Of course not! You absolutely can have your career and your real estate portfolio too. However, you will likely have to take a more passive role in your real estate investing by working with a turnkey service provider who will facilitate your real estate investments.
The Truth About the Term, “Turnkey”
When I meet real estate investors who have worked with other turnkey providers, I often find they are not as excited as I believe they should be to learn that SPI offers turnkey real estate investing services. This used to hurt my feelings, but then I started asking, “Why?”
It turns out that many “turnkey” service providers are really not doing much more than acting as the middleman in real estate transactions. This is bad for a real estate investor who believed they would not have to participate in the active investing process. Investors who hire this type of turnkey operator actually still have to manage, for example, the repairs and marketing for resale or deal with placing tenants and rent collections after buying the property! Doesn’t sound very turnkey to me.
There is another type of turnkey provider whose title is a little bit misleading as well. These are “turnkey cash-flow providers.” They sell the property to a passive investor after they have fixed up the property and, usually, installed a tenant that is paying rent. This is definitely more turnkey than the first kind. However, the only thing that is really turnkey about this operation is that there is a tenant in place because once you buy that property, the tenant is your problem. And, as we all know, your tenant’s problems also become your problems.
Strategic Passive Investments does turnkey differently. We believe a true turnkey servicer does not act as a middleman and does not mark up the property so they can turn a quick profit and walk away. Turnkey service means you get service! You invest with us, then we handle due diligence, acquisition, repairs, management, marketing, and (if appropriate) the sale of the property. Our profits are a result of your property’s performance, so you are never left on your own.
Not everyone wants full service. Some people really prefer a middleman, a markup, and then an exit. However, they are not passive investors, and they are not looking for truly turnkey service. If you want your money to work in real estate while you work (or otherwise occupy yourself) elsewhere, then you need a truly turnkey service provider. Fail in this, and you will find yourself without nearly enough hours in your day.
