How to tell if a corporate investor owns the North Carolina rental house you like
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Security For Sale: Converting NC homes to rentals
Institutional investors have bought at least 40,000 single-family homes across North Carolina in the past decade and now rent them out. The industry — primed for continued growth — says it improved the rental experience, providing safe, affordable houses that were previously inaccessible to renters. But owning a house traditionally offered financial security for most American families. And our investigation finds the business model of these companies is finely tuned to squeeze profit from the homes, often to the detriment of renters, neighbors or other would-be buyers.
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If you’re new to North Carolina, or are just looking for another place to live in the state, the housing market can be daunting to navigate.
If you’re planning on renting instead of buying a home, there are a few important things to consider, like the quality of local schools, access to transportation and overall quality of life. Also vital is the condition of the property and who your landlord would be.
Institutional investors have been purchasing homes across the country for years and converting them into rentals.
In North Carolina, about 20 corporate landlords now own tens of thousands of single-family properties. In Charlotte, that amounts to one-quarter of all the rental homes in Mecklenburg County.
Here are three tell-tale signs that you’re dealing with one of those investors.
On the list
Let’s say you found a rental home in a neighborhood you like. You notice a company’s name on the property listing but don’t immediately recognize it. It could be one of the big players in the state when it comes to investor-owned homes.
Take a look at our chart below to see if the name pops up there.
Alphabet soup
Oftentimes, these big companies purchase homes under various LLCs.
While there’s a chance companies like Invitation Homes and Tricon Residential will put their company name on an online listing, it’s important to be aware of these LLC names.
For example, American Homes 4 Rent owns some homes under the name AMH 2015-2 Borrower LLC. Tricon owns some properties under SFR JV-1 2021-1 Borrower LLC. One LLC used by Invitation Homes is IH6 Property North Carolina LP.
One other tell-tale sign of an investor-owned home? An out-of-state mailing address.
A virtual process
If you’ve ever rented, you probably remember sitting down with a property manager or landlord at some point to go over one of the most important documents: the lease.
You might, for example, meet at the property manager’s local office to have them answer any questions and, once it’s time, sign the document in person.
It’s more likely with investor landlords that you get through the entire renting process and sign a lease without ever meeting anyone in person.
The larger companies rely on technology to allow prospective tenants to view properties on their own and then sign a lease.
Invitation Homes, for example, has a process where people can apply for a rental home, pay the security deposit, sign the lease and make arrangements to move in within two weeks of the application date — all online.
This story was originally published May 1, 2022 at 6:00 AM with the headline "How to tell if a corporate investor owns the North Carolina rental house you like."
