Wayne and Vickie started purchasing investment properties in the early 2000s. Their intention was to sell the properties when their two children went to college and use the money for tuition and additional expenses. Then the unexpected happened: the Global Financial Crisis hit just as their children started college in 2007. Wayne and Vickie turned to plan B, keeping their six rental properties and maintaining this nest egg for their own retirement.

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“The worst part is collecting rent when it is late or trying to fill a vacancy in a timely manner.”

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While working full-time, Wayne and Vickie self-managed the rental properties. Vickie oversaw all resident obligations, and Wayne took on property maintenance. With multiple properties across two states, management was not always the most convenient.

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The burdens of ongoing maintenance took a toll on Wayne for 20+ years. Some exit opportunities arose naturally, but as they got closer to retiring from their full-time jobs, they wanted to “be done with toilets” and find a way to retire from being landlords without losing their exposure to real estate.

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They thought about investing in REITs, but they found these investments too restrictive on redemption terms.

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When they first received Flock's mailer, the opportunity for a tax-deferred exit caught their eye. At the time, Wayne & Vickie were both working full-time, and a sale would have placed them in the highest tax bracket. After thorough deliberation, they decided to contribute their homes to Flock, and they haven’t looked back since. In addition to deferring their tax liability, the time they previously spent managing homes is now  spent traveling, taking better care of their elderly parents, and volunteering with non-profit organizations.

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“We were the perfect fit for Flock. We have been landlords and businesspeople for a long time. We were tired from that and wanted to retire. We wanted to hand over our properties and still hold value.”