Hey
northern Virginia landlords —
There’s new competition on the rental market block, and it may not be who you think.
Over the last couple of years, private equity firms and hedge funds have been building what can be called nothing less than a real estate empire. They’re buying houses in Phoenix, and in Los Angeles; in Atlanta, and in Chicago; and in Arlington and Alexandria and Fairfax, too! All in all, Wall Street’s biggest investors have bought more than 200,000 homes around the country, but not to flip; instead, they’re making a bid for tenants, and rent checks.
Equity firms and hedge funds… as landlord?
It sure seems that way, but will it last?
Or more importantly, is it a good idea?
The following text was originally published by Mother Jones.
Buying houses cheap and then waiting for them to appreciate isn’t the only way Blackstone [Group, one of the world’s largest private equity firms] is making money on these [real estate] deals. It wants your rent check, too. In November, after many months of hype, the firm released the first-ever rated bond backed by securitized rental payments. Joining forces with Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, and JPMorgan (which recently paid a record $13 billion fine to settle accusations of ripping off mortgage investors), Blackstone has bundled the rental payments from more than 3,200 single-family houses, offering investors its mortgages on the underlying properties as collateral. After investors tripped over themselves to buy into the $479 million bond, Blackstone’s competitors announced that they, too, would develop similar securities.
Plying investors with such upbeat projections creates intense pressure to keep houses occupied—even as residents are squeezed by higher rents and strict collections policies. In Charlotte, North Carolina, Invitation Homes raised rents by as much as a third and filed eviction proceedings against nearly 10 percent of its renters, according to the
Charlotte Observer.
CaDonna Porter moved into an Invitation Homes property outside Atlanta with her children in September. When part of her monthly payment was rejected because she tried to use a debit card, the company demanded that she deliver the remaining amount in person, via certified funds, by 5 p.m. the following day or incur a $200 fee and face eviction. Porter took time off from work to deliver a money order in person, only to be informed that the payment had been rejected because it didn’t include the late fee and an additional $75 insufficient funds fee.
Andrew Gallina, Invitation Homes’ vice president for marketing, says it treats all of its renters equally: “Under the law, we’re not allowed to make changes or exceptions. That’s just basic fair housing.” Invitation Homes has described its strategy as “a bet on America.” Rather than pricing buyers out of the market, Gallina says, the company is helping families who can’t get mortgages.
Only time will tell if the private equity firm landlord can be trusted, but as for now? Landlords and tenants alike know, the name for property management in northern Virginia is, you guessed it, the Real Property Management Pros.
