Andrew H., successful entrepreneur and father of four, discusses his investment in Equity Residences.
Andrew was looking to spend quality vacation time with his his wife and four young children. He invests in real estate for his business, but is not excited about the costs, management headaches or limited flexibility associated with traditional vacation home ownership. He has also tried VRBO and vacation rentals, but has experienced mixed results, saying "it's hit and miss, you get some good ones and you get some bad ones".
A Problem Investors Face
Andrew states, “If you’re an investor, and you’re getting to the point where you have additional cash, you want to get a second home and you want to have those vacations.” He continues, “To me, to spend the kind of money that it takes to have a second home and then to have to take someone to clean it, to deal with the management of it, to try to rent it yourself, it becomes a big amount of work.”
Like many accredited investors, Andrew wants to invest in real estate and earn potential returns while having the ability to take vacations in a variety of places. His interest was sparked when he came across Equity Residences, which is a solution that captures his investment criteria and his family’s vacation dreams. "To have Equity Residences, to be able to go to different places, to be able to have different experiences and have somebody else take care of all that work, is a huge driver for me," says Andrew.
Considerations Before Investing
Andrew did his due diligence on Equity Residences stating, “I wanted to make sure it was a true investment and not a gimmick and definitely it’s turned out to be fantastic for us.” Each investor should examine their options, to discover the true benefits of this investment opportunity.
Role of Partnerships
As a newer fund, Equity Residences doesn’t have as many homes relative to some older funds. However, Equity Residences does have partnerships with Elite Alliance and Third Home. These partnerships give investors access to 9,000 luxury homes in Third Home and luxury resorts in Elite Alliance. He says "I learned about the partnerships that Equity Residences has with Elite Alliance and 3RDHome, when we started looking at these vacation opportunities, we wanted to go have adventures as a family, and this gave us the best opportunity to do that."
Dividends and Flexibility
One of the most attractive features of this fund is the flexibility compared to other investment opportunities. According to Andrew, “With Equity Residences, I could say you know what I can’t vacation this year. I’d like to turn that time into extra dividends for me, and I thought that was fantastic. I mean great flexibility.”
Watch the full interview in the video above.