Raise the Roof Leading the Series B Financing of Roofstock
When I moved our family out to the Bay Area just over two years ago, devising a plan that made the transition as painless as possible was a top priority.
“Rent first” was the advice I received. “Home prices are out of whack, you’re not locked into anything long term, property management and maintenance is not a hassle you want right now”.
So, we set about finding a single family rental (SFR) home after owning a home for the better part of 10 years.
We quickly learned that a lot of other people were thinking the same thing. In fact, SFR home occupancy rates are ~ 95% nationwide and rental rates have been steadily climbing year over year. This reality resulted in a pretty stressful process of closely monitoring Craig’s List for new listings and staying close with our real estate broker for any news on a potential home for rent. Everything worked out great in the end, but I was left wondering…who owns all these properties and how accessible are they as potential investments?
The single family rental home market is the largest underserved sector in the US real estate industry representing nearly 16 million single family rental homes and over $2 trillion in asset value. The vast majority of the sector is owned by small investors or mom-and-pop owners and to date, there is not an efficient way to buy or sell SFR homes despite growing investor interest.
I first met Gary and Gregor, the co-founders of Roofstock, over a year ago and immediately recognized that if anyone was going to successfully create a transactional marketplace, they were the team.
Gary and Gregor are the pioneers in introducing technology enablement to investing and managing residential properties. And they put together an amazing team intent on creating an integrated marketplace that makes investing in SFR homes as easy as using eTrade.
This is a tall order. I know this from my own personal experience, and that of my parents who owned a small apartment building growing up. We were over there all the time fixing things, making upgrades, finding new tenants?—?general property management functions that traditionally make rental ownership a local activity.
Roofstock abstracts away these headaches, allowing people like you and me to purchase income-producing homes across the country. The properties are certified by Roofstock, and buyers get access to exclusive inventory with property management in place. I should also mention the current occupants do not need to vacate the premises, a huge cost savings to sellers and an immediate income-producer for buyers.
We are so very excited at Lightspeed to lead the Series B for Roofstock and partner with Gary and Gregor as they continue to take this great concept and tap into a huge market. Beyond their exceptional abilities and vision, they are just good people who treat people the right way. They are magnets for exceptional talent, and as they grow both their team and the business, we’re excited to support them wherever and whenever we can.
To learn more about Roofstock and this week’s funding announcement, you can hear more about it straight from Gary and Gregorhere:
— Will