If you ever interact with Renters Warehouse, a curious term is likely to stand out.

The phrase “Rent Estate” is strategically used throughout Renters Warehouse’s website, blog articles, and social media, beckoning visitors to learn about its mission to revolutionize the single-family rental industry. The term, which was trademarked by Renters Warehouse in 2015, is a part of the company’s goal to transform how everyday Americans perceive real estate investing as unattainable and risky.

Think Realty spoke with Renters Warehouse CEO Kevin Ortner about the origins of the phrase and why the company created it. Here are some excerpts from that conversation.

TRM: What is Rent Estate?

KO: Rent Estate is essentially using real estate over the long term to create wealth. Rent estate is real estate for the rest of us. It’s about democratizing real estate investment, and making it less scary or unknown to the ordinary American.

TRM: Why did you create the term?

KO: It helps differentiate us within real estate investing. When we talk about real estate investing, it’s different from what so many people think of. In the era of HGTV and all these flipping shows, many people think how you invest in real estate is to buy a piece of property, fix it up, and sell it. That’s not what we believe in and that’s not what we do. Our approach is less sexy than that because it’s not $25,000 or 50,000 profit in a couple months, but it’s much less risky and it’s easy for everyone to execute.

TRM: What was the trademark process like?

KO: We’ve tried to trademark other terms and we weren’t successful because they were too general and had to be used in the industry. We were really excited we were able to trademark this one. We had some legal counsel involved, and it was about a six-month paperwork process before waiting on the government.

TRM: Why should investors consider Rent Estate?

KO: Rent estate is a long-term play that takes advantage of all the great things that come with owning real estate, including income on a monthly basis. You can depreciate the home on your taxes and you can build equity over time. You’re also going to get the appreciation that comes from the market and you can leverage that.

TRM: How is Rent Estate more accessible?

KO: Rent estate is the only investment an ordinary American can walk into a bank and borrow money to buy. If you went to your banker and said, ‘I want to borrow $100,000 to buy Apple stock,’ they’re going to laugh you out of the bank or call security. But if you go to that same banker and say, ‘I want to borrow $100,000 to buy an investment in real estate,’ you’d get the money right away. Why that’s important is because you can buy into this type of investment for much less cash down. You don’t need $100,000 to buy that $100,000 investment. You can have $20,000 and then on top of it, you use someone else’s money — your tenant’s — to pay that mortgage down.

Categories | Article | Profiles
Tags | Rentals
  • Bobby Burch

    Bobby Burch is the Founder of Bobby Burch Creative, a small business storytelling studio. Learn more about bobbyburchphotography.com and contact him at bobbyburchcreative@gmail.com

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