
HomeUnion has announced that it has added Columbus, Ohio to its list of active investment markets. Investors can now find pre-vetted, SFR investment properties in the Columbus market on the company’s Web site. HomeUnion also announced that it has hired real estate investment veteran Janet Phillips-Plunkett, as investment location manager in Columbus.
HomeUnion chooses its markets and properties using proprietary models that factor in home prices, vacancies, historical income trends, employment, local economy and population growth among other criteria. Columbus meets HomeUnion’s criteria, with favorable cap rates (the relationship between rental income and purchase price) and a positive economic environment and outlook, the company said. Once a new market has been identified, HomeUnion hires real estate professionals, who have intimate working knowledge of the neighborhoods, property values and rent rates.
“SFR investing has become a high-yield alternative to traditional fixed-income investments, as people are now comfortable investing in houses remotely-as they are fully managed by HomeUnion. The SFR market now attracts a broad segment of investors who are looking to build a portfolio of investments based on cash flow and potential returns, not proximity,” said Don Ganguly, chief executive officer of HomeUnion. “After thorough research, we added a second market in Ohio, because its core manufacturing economy has been growing, surpassing 80 percent capacity in most sectors, which historically has meant steady or rising employment and income levels, key components to a healthy rental market.”
Phillips-Plunkett brings more than eight years of professional experience in the Columbus real estate market most recently with Carleton Realty LLC.