Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How do I get more information if I am interested in one of your properties?

A. Two ways.  If you were referred to us by someone, get in touch with them and they will get you connected with the right person at Mason Hill (depending on the project or property you are interested in.)

If you weren’t referred by anyone, just go to the contact us page on this site.  You can call or email us with any questions, and we’ll get them answered right away.

Q. How often do projects / properties become available?

A. It’s very intermittent.  There are times when we have quite a few available, other times where we are ‘sold out’ and taking names for a waiting list.  Most of the time we are able to provide a property within a month or so.

Some of our projects include properties that we have available in inventory, and so you are able to acquire one immediately.  Others are identified, but may not be available to the public yet for one reason or another. 

It’s typical for us to ask for a deposit if we are sold out, and organize the waiting list according to the order in which the deposits were placed.  If there is inventory available, then the transaction can be taken care of immediately.  However, immediately simply means that you can determine which property you want ‘right away’, as opposed to waiting for one to become available.  It’s still likely that after you have identified a property that it will be a month or two before the transaction is completed.  This is generally do to the time it takes to get a renter in place and complete clean up, refurbishment, and related issues.

Q. What are the most typical locations?

A. Florida, the Midwest, and New England areas are the most typical locations for the properties we offer.  They are generally in moderately priced neighborhoods where most of the families are working class.  Many of the properties are in smaller or rural areas, as opposed to ‘big cities.’  In general, areas that offer a good rental market (on the one hand) but allow for acquisition prices that leave room for future appreciation are our target markets.

Q. Who manages the properties? What kind of repair bills can I expect?

A. The properties come with ‘property management’ in place.  These are property managers that work directly for Mason Hill.  You are welcome to use Mason Hill to manage the properties, or to use any property manager you choose.  Mason Hill property managers are in the area the home is located in, and have expertise in property management.  They screen the tenants carefully, check in at least every sixty days (with a physical, on site inspection of the property) and follow best practices for these types of rentals.

In the first year, if you acquire a maintenance agreement through Mason Hill, repair bills are basically zero, as most repairs for the first twelve months are covered under the agreement.  After that, you can choose to cover repairs as they come up, or you can purchase a maintenance contract from us for $1,200 to $1,500 a year.  This of course would ‘fix’ the costs of repairs at a flat amount per year, so you would be able to accurately predict and manage your repair and maintenance costs.

Q. How often do I receive income from the property?

A. Each month.  You can either receive the entire amount of rent, and then pay out insurance, property taxes, and management fees from that, or you can receive a ‘net amount’, with these costs deducted from the rent – whichever you choose.

Q. How many markets are homes available in? Do you have homes in “my area”?

A. Mason Hill analyzes approximately 500 markets around the US on an ongoing basis.  Based on our research, we focus on acquiring homes in the markets that we believe represent the best chance for future appreciation and high rental demand.  There are typically ten to fifteen markets at any given time that make our ‘list’.  They aren’t listed here because they change from time to time, but a Property Consultant with Mason Hill can tell you more about this.

Q. What is the cost for a home?

A. The vast majority of the homes you can acquire from Mason Hill are available for under $100,000.  We believe that this is the ‘sweet spot’ for generating high returns on investment oriented real estate.

Q. Can I get a mortgage if I want to reduce the amount invested?

A. Absolutely.  Through lenders we deal with, we are able to offer non-recourse mortgages at around 7.5% annual interest.  This applies to up to two thirds of the purchase price.

Q. Is Mason Hill a real estate brokerage?

A. No. Mason Hill is a company that researches real estate markets, acquires properties at below market prices, and offers them to real estate investors.  We own the homes that we offer for sale (either outright or through contracted offers to purchase.)  We are not a brokerage firm.  We are associated with a brokerage firm (another company) that in many states assists owners of properties acquired through Mason Hill reduce their re-sale costs, by providing a near free listing of the homes.  (So the cost to re-sell a property is closer to three percent than six percent.)

Q. Do you have homes in “my area”?

A. That’s highly unlikely. Unless you live in one of the top ten or fifteen areas that we are currently focusing on, it’s likely that the homes we offer will be nowhere near you.  One of the reasons we offer a property management service is to provide a convenient way to acquire investment grade real estate without the ‘hassles’ typically involved in managing properties.  As the purchase price of these homes is typically so low compared to their replacement costs, positive cash flow, even after the management fee (ten percent of the rent through Mason Hill’s property management services), is almost always the case.