Marketplace Homes Atlanta (real estate, renter, mortgage)

[Adie's Daddy]

Marketplace Homes has recently blanketed Atlanta radio with ads about their guaranteed lease program that offers 6 years of rental payments on your existing home if you buy a new construction home from one of their partner builders. I recently talked to one of their representatives over the phone and the program seems legit. The only risk seems to be that the rental payment is based on market trends for rent. Has anyone gone through with the process or know someone who has. I am very interested in the program but would really love some feedback from others who have used the program before I consider it.

[Adie's Daddy]

Just wanted to get this back to the top of the forum. Any information or experience with Marketplace Homes would be extremely helpful.

[cittic10]

T.A.N.S.T.A.A.F.L.

Google it.


Just get them to lower the price of the doggone home.
It makes more sense than repaying those rental payments over 30 years.

[Adie's Daddy]

You are bringing back my ECON 101 days. I understand I may not have as much negotiating room with the house price, but it does give me some security by providing a rent check for the next six years. If I tried to rent it out myself, I run the risk of two mortgage payments if something goes wrong. I may be able to sell my house now and break even, but it would be nice to sell in the market that exists in six years (assuming it will be better than this one). Plus, by then, I will have paid down my mortgage by six more years.

[cittic10]

Originally Posted by Adie's Daddy

but it would be nice to sell in the market that exists in six years (assuming it will be better than this one). Plus, by then, I will have paid down my mortgage by six more years.

Don't assume that. Especially after it's been ravaged by renters for 6 years.

One thing you might try is getting the builder to buy the house from you. Again, no free lunch but if they're building houses in the over saturated cumming market, they might just be foolish enough to buy your house at a price that's favorable to you. Then they can rent it out and make a fortune!

[DebinFla]

Have you spoken to a regular Property Management company about the cost involved with renting out your 1st home & letting them manage it for you? Although they arent going to Guarantee the rent will be paid every month for 6 years, and you will be responsible for the routine maintenance (just as you would if you still lived in it); If you do your homework, you can probably find a very reputable company who does thorough tenant screening. You can ask to see a sample of a lease agreement as well.
As a Real Estate broker & Professional Property Manager, if a company refuses to show you an example of the lease agreement they will use, allow you to review their management agreement, overnight or longer, examine their tenant screeening process, etc., then their is a reason - they are hiding something. Just because a company operates in a legitimate fashion doesn't mean you will be happy with them. Six years is a long time to have someone in a lease agreement that you are unhappy with!

I have also seen a lot of talk about comissions, etc. which has nothing to do with any of this. The commission is already built into the price of the property and it is paid to the Broker who works for the Builder, whether the buyer has their own Realtor or not. If there is a second Realtor, then the commission is split. Why should anyone care how the Brokers get their paycheck? If they make $15k on a house, that they then have to pay taxes and other fees out of (Realtors are usually independent contractors), and they sell 2 - 3 for the year, that really doesn't amount to a whole lot of money. Then they are going to manage your old property for free? Sounds like a lot of work for very little money!

Personally I know nothing about the company in question. I have actually been looking into them as a place of possible employment but they would have to prove that their practices are ethical. I have read some bad reviews and I also heard they totally revamped their Property Management department because of it.

The best advice I could give you would be to weigh your options very carefully. All that glitters is not Gold but dont loose focus of what your goal is. Dont get hung up on how much commission the Builder is paying, worry about covering your assets.

[Angel322]

Originally Posted by Adie's Daddy

You are bringing back my ECON 101 days. I understand I may not have as much negotiating room with the house price, but it does give me some security by providing a rent check for the next six years. If I tried to rent it out myself, I run the risk of two mortgage payments if something goes wrong. I may be able to sell my house now and break even, but it would be nice to sell in the market that exists in six years (assuming it will be better than this one). Plus, by then, I will have paid down my mortgage by six more years.

Did you have any luck with Market place?

[USNRET04]

Originally Posted by cittic10

T.A.N.S.T.A.A.F.L.

Google it.


Just get them to lower the price of the doggone home.
It makes more sense than repaying those rental payments over 30 years.

Marketplace Homes is not exactly the same as getting a free lunch. While this is an older post, MPH had grown to #99 on the Inc Top 500 and have an A rating with the BBB.

What Marketplace Homes does is earn a commission off the new home with an approved builder. Then they guarantee you a rent check for 70 months at the agreed rate. After the first twelve months, MPH takes a hundred dollars from the rent check and sends you the rest. They will pay for utilities while the home is vacant and pay for the first $1000 in damages and repairs.

The program may not work for everyone, you still have to qualify for to mortgages. After six years, you either sell the house yourself, keep the tenant and rent it yourself or keep MPH as the property manager. But the guarantee will be over.

Meanwhile you have pocketed the difference in your current mortgage and new rent checks (or applied it towards paying down the mortgage). And hopefully in 6 years you can still sell the house and make a profit (or keep renting of course).

[noah]

In most areas renting your place is not hard in the current environment so I would do enough research and reference checks to feel comfortable that they are a top notch property management company. With this kind of promise that would be my concern -- they have incentive to put anyone in the house as a renter which any landlord will tell you is a disaster waiting to happen. What kind of screening do they do of potential tenants?