RealWealth vs. MartelTurnkey: Which Is Right for Your Investing Strategy?

If you’ve been comparing turnkey real estate companies, RealWealth and MartelTurnkey may have come up in your research. On the surface, they look similar; both connect investors to turnkey rental properties for sale. But the way each company is structured, how each one makes money, and what that means for your long-term returns are fundamentally different.

To be transparent, this comparison is written by RealWealth. We think the most useful thing we can do is give you a genuinely fair look at both models, including where MartelTurnkey does things well, so you can make the right call for your strategy.

Please note that fees, market availability, and third-party ratings referenced in this article reflect information available as of the publication date in August 2026 and may have changed since publication. We encourage you to verify current details directly with MartelTurnkey before making any decisions.

By the end of this RealWealth vs MartelTurnkey comparison, you’ll have a clear picture of where each model excels, where it falls short, what long-term investors have experienced with both, and which one is built to serve your interests as an investor.

Features	RealWealth	MartelTurnkey
Best for	Vetted, off-market access + syndications	Single-family turnkey in 4 select markets
Fees	No transaction fees (referral-based)	Built into acquisition + renovation vs. sale price spread
Inventory	Off-market, renovated and new construction properties to REAL Income Standards, vetted teams, including Cleveland & St. Louis	Renovated SFR, tenant-occupied, 4 markets only: Memphis, TN; St. Louis, MO; Cleveland, OH; and Detroit, MI.
Syndications	Yes, RealWealth is the sponsor	No
Post-closing support	Ongoing investment counselor	Third-party property management

For the purposes of this article, and since MartelTurnkey does not offer real estate syndications, we’ll focus on the turnkey real estate investing branch of RealWealth, RealWealth Realty. We’ll refer to RealWealth Realty as RealWealth from here on out for brevity’s sake.

MartelTurnkey sources distressed properties in its four markets, Memphis, St. Louis, Cleveland, and Detroit (two of which, St. Louis and Cleveland, are also among RealWealth’s 15+ researched markets, through independent property teams), renovates them through its affiliated flipping operations, places tenants, and sells the properties to investors already cash-flowing. That’s a legitimate business model, and it means MartelTurnkey profits from the spread between what it pays to acquire and renovate a property and what it sells it for. Once the sale closes, though, MartelTurnkey doesn’t manage the property itself; it refers buyers to a third-party property manager it says it has vetted, and states it receives no commission for that referral.

RealWealth works differently. We don’t own the properties we recommend or manage them. We spend months independently vetting local turnkey property teams, connect RealWealth investors with those teams, and earn a referral fee from the team, not by marking up your purchase price. You pay the same price as if you went directly to that team yourself. And because we’re not the seller or the manager, we have no financial incentive to push one property over another.

That’s not a small distinction. It’s the foundation of our RealWealth model and how we advise our investors.

RealWealth was founded in 2003 by Rich and Kathy Fettke and has helped 90,000+ investors build wealth passively ever since. RealWealth operates as an independent matchmaker, vetting local turnkey property teams across 15+ markets, connecting investors with those teams, and earning a referral fee from the team rather than marking up your purchase price.

Set side by side with MartelTurnkey, RealWealth can look like just another company connecting investors to turnkey rental properties. What it misses is who’s actually doing the vetting, for the turnkey operator and the property management team, and who’s on the hook if that vetting turns out to be wrong.

Here’s how the full model works:

• Turnkey rental properties across 15+ researched markets through RealWealth Realty
• All turnkey inventory is off-market, which means you’re not browsing the MLS or competing with retail buyers
• Teams offer single-family and small multi-family (2-4 units) across cash flow and growth markets
• New construction is available through select vetted property teams
• Properties are never marked up, which means you pay the same price as going direct
• Throughout the year, select property teams may offer buyer concessions across all property types. These may include below-market interest rates through preferred lenders, rate buydowns, and reduced property management fees, depending on what each team is offering at the time
• Every market was selected based on job growth, population trends, landlord-friendly laws, and long-term appreciation fundamentals

• RealWealth isn’t just a referral to someone else’s real estate syndication or fund; we are the sponsor
• RealWealth Developments creates, underwrites, and operates its own deals
• Investors invest alongside RealWealth as the general partner
• Available for accredited investors looking for 100% passive, institutional-style real estate exposure

• Becoming a RealWealth investor is free; it always has been
• Every RealWealth investor gets access to complimentary strategy sessions with experienced investment counselors
• Counselors are not on transaction-based pay; their job is to help you figure out the right path, not close a deal

For a deeper look at market cycles and investing strategy, RealWealth co-founder Kathy Fettke hosts The RealWealth Show, the first podcast about real estate investing, and Real Estate News for Investors.

This is the part most comparison articles skip entirely, because most companies don’t have a structured process for vetting turnkey property teams and property management teams. RealWealth does, and our REAL Income Property Standards™ are the only named, enforced turnkey rental property standard of its kind in the space that we know of.

Before a turnkey property team is ever introduced to a RealWealth investor, they go through a 90+ day vetting process that includes:

We conduct extensive research on top-performing markets by evaluating local economic conditions, job growth trends, population growth, affordability metrics, and landlord-friendly regulations. If the market doesn’t pass, no team in it gets considered.

Our team conducts on-site visits to each market to inspect rehabs and new construction projects firsthand, meet property teams and tour their operations, evaluate neighborhoods and property conditions, verify construction quality and standards, and assess property management operations.

We conduct thorough due diligence on every turnkey property team in our network, including historical performance and a portfolio review, comprehensive background verification of owners and key personnel, reference checks with past clients and industry partners, and evaluation of property management operations and systems.

Our team physically spends time in each market and inspects everything the turnkey property teams do, including on-site evaluation of construction quality and standards for both rehabs and new-build projects. Every team must adhere to our REAL Income Property Standards™, which set the quality standards that RealWealth and our investors expect.

All property teams in our network are held to our proprietary REAL Income Property Standards™, a named, structured framework covering four areas: Renovated or Built to standard (with specific minimum requirements for roof, HVAC, plumbing, hot water tank, foundation, electrical, flooring, kitchen, bathroom, and interior paint); Examined through inspections and due diligence; Appraised at or below market value; and Licensed property management that meets national industry standards. To our knowledge, no other turnkey real estate company, including the ones in this comparison, has an equivalent named, enforced standard.

We conduct a comprehensive review of all contracts to ensure specific contingencies, such as appraisal and inspection contingencies, are included. This is not a legal review, but an additional layer of oversight before any investor moves forward.

Vetting doesn’t stop at approval. We monitor and report on issues experienced by our investors through a documented process, use that feedback to refine our referral list, and require continued positive feedback for teams to remain in our network. We also maintain transparency regarding new property teams that are still in the evaluation phase.

If a property team stops performing or communicating, we remove them. We can do that because we’re independent. We have no operational ties to the turnkey teams we recommend, so there are substantially fewer conflicts of interest in removing any of them.

For a full breakdown of our vetting standards, see our vetting process page.

MartelTurnkey is a family-run turnkey provider founded by Eric Martel and his sons, including Antoine Martel, operating in four markets: Memphis, TN; St. Louis, MO; Cleveland, OH; and Detroit, MI.

MartelTurnkey’s founders also run FlipSystem, a separate paid real estate education and mentorship program. FlipSystem has mixed reviews on Trustpilot, including complaints about repair estimates and support responsiveness. This article compares MartelTurnkey’s turnkey rental property business specifically, not FlipSystem. However, the same family runs both, and it’s worth knowing that some properties sold through MartelTurnkey today are renovated by FlipSystem students rather than by MartelTurnkey itself, a distinction MartelTurnkey discloses on its own site.

Here’s how their model works:

• MartelTurnkey states on its own site: “We earn our money by seeking out distressed properties in economically viable markets across the U.S. We fully rehab those properties, put a property manager and tenant in place and then sell at a profit as turnkey rentals to real estate investors.”
• MartelTurnkey states it originally owned and renovated every property it sold, but now some properties sold on its site are renovated by FlipSystem students rather than MartelTurnkey itself, with MartelTurnkey helping facilitate the final sale.
• MartelTurnkey does not manage properties in-house. It states buyers get the same third-party property manager MartelTurnkey uses for its own properties, and are free to choose a different property manager instead.
• Property management fees, per MartelTurnkey’s own site, run 10% of collected rent, plus a first month’s rent fee for new tenant placement and a $100-300 fee for lease renewals.

• Renovation quality concerns discovered after purchase, including undisclosed roof issues that led to a dropped insurance policy in one case by an investor on BiggerPockets
• Property management performance concerns tied to specific MartelTurnkey-recommended managers, including one company named directly by an investor on BiggerPockets
• Tenant screening concerns, including a reported eviction process that took several months due to inadequate background and credit checks prior to sale
• Due diligence friction during the sales process, including a canceled deal after coordination and disclosure issues surfaced during the inspection period by an investor on BiggerPockets
• Unresponsiveness from Antoine Martel directly, reported by multiple investors after a purchase was already complete
• One reviewer’s account of a specific property manager was directly disputed by Antoine Martel, with both sides offering conflicting detail in a public forum on BiggerPockets

Real estate outcomes vary with any company, and these patterns don’t reflect every MartelTurnkey investor’s experience. The concerns noted above, particularly around property manager quality and pre-purchase disclosures, are worth understanding clearly before committing.

Independent investor reviews exist across BiggerPockets. Here’s what investors have actually said, along with MartelTurnkey’s own responses where they exist.

• After closing on two Alabama properties, his property manager became unresponsive for months. His RealWealth adviser intervened, the local team proactively switched management companies, and the situation was resolved without Kyle paying a dime or fighting for it.
• On a post-close sewer issue: “They definitely had my back. Had I gone alone, I would have been replacing the sewer line and fixing the tub myself, and never gotten reimbursed rent.”
• Credited RealWealth specifically for finding a property team he would never have found independently.

• Attended a live RealWealth event in Tampa, expecting a hard sell and hidden fees. Got the opposite — a free two-day event with no sales pitch, just education and property tours.
• “Every single team we’ve worked with has been professional, transparent, and a pleasure to do business with. All our properties have appreciated nicely and continue to perform well, and we’ve always felt supported by RealWealth before, during, and long after the purchase.”

• Bought two rental properties in Ohio through RealWealth over 12 years ago. Both appreciated and generated healthy cash flow.
• “One of my best decisions was to buy through RWN (RealWealth, formerly known as RealWealth Network) instead of directly from the provider. This gives you much more leverage when issues arise, and when you own a real asset, issues do come up.”

One honest RealWealth review note: A BiggerPockets reviewer had a negative experience with a specific Ohio property team, in which properties were marked up roughly 30% above local market value with poor follow-up after closing. His complaint was directed at the property team, not RealWealth’s model. That kind of situation is exactly why our ongoing monitoring and removal process exists.

A second honest RealWealth review note: Not every investor’s experience with RealWealth’s recommended teams has been positive. On Yelp, one investor described serious issues with a Baltimore property management team, including billing errors and a lack of accountability during a management transition. Another long-term investor reported disappointing returns across multiple markets and, over time, frustrations with property team relationships.

In both cases, the underlying complaints were about specific third-party teams, not RealWealth’s model. The Baltimore team is no longer part of our network. For other markets, our team relationships and standards evolve over time, and investor feedback is the primary mechanism that drives those changes. No vetting system eliminates all risk, and we think investors deserve to know that upfront.

“I found him to be curt and quite disinterested in getting to know me, and it didn’t feel like he was trying to start a long-term business relationship with me.”

• Reported a purchase contract for a Detroit property despite having flagged concerns about that market; the property manager wouldn’t be named until after signing, and there was no response to coordinate the home inspection during the 10-day due diligence period.
• An independent inspector he found separately flagged freeway noise as a concern Antoine hadn’t disclosed.
• Canceled the deal; reported Antoine wrote to his lender “sorry for wasting your time” afterward.
• MartelTurnkey team member Lynn Milos responded directly, defending the inspection timeline and calling some of his expectations unrealistic

“I made a purchase from Martel Turnkey recently and have had quite a bad experience. Antoine will not respond to my emails…My property is on its 7th month and does not cash flow, and that was before the tenant stopped paying rent because of the furnace that was part of the rehab.”

“I purchased two properties from Martel Turnkey via Antoine Martel, and it has been an absolute nightmare of an investment. Antoine lied about the condition of the properties and rehab work, and set me up with what has got to be one of the worst property management companies out there, despite his reassurance that they were a great company to work with.”

• Reported buying two properties and being told a roof had been patched and was leak-free; his insurer dropped coverage over the roof’s condition shortly after, and leaks began. Reported roughly $8,000 in unexpected repairs.
• Named the recommended property manager, Trek Property Management, describing one employee managing 300+ properties, 8-10 day response times.
• On the second property, an eviction took 8 months after tenants were placed with no credit or background check.
• Antoine Martel responded directly in the thread: “This is completely false.” Jeremy maintained his account and offered documentation.

Real estate outcomes vary with any company, and these patterns don’t reflect every MartelTurnkey investor’s experience. Positive, long-term client testimonials exist alongside these complaints. The concerns raised above center on property manager quality, rehab disclosures, and post-purchase responsiveness. Regardless of which company you use, it’s worth verifying all data independently.

Here’s the question worth asking before you work with any turnkey real estate investing company: How does this company make money, and does that align with my interests as an investor?

For MartelTurnkey, the answer is straightforward: they profit from the spread between what they pay to acquire and renovate a property and what they sell it for. Once that sale closes, their financial stake in the property mostly ends. Property management is handled by a third party, not MartelTurnkey itself. That’s a different incentive structure than a fully vertically-integrated company. Still, it also means the party that sourced the property, oversaw its renovation, and set its price has little ongoing accountability for how it performs after closing

• We earn a referral fee from turnkey property teams, not from marking up your purchase price
• Investment counselors are not on transaction-based pay
• Your relationship with your investment counselor doesn’t end at closing; RealWealth investors have access to ongoing support
• We have no inventory to push and no financial incentive to favor one property or market over another
• Because we’re independent from the teams we recommend, we can remove underperforming teams without any operational disruption to our business

• RealWealth Developments is the general partner and sponsor of its own real estate syndications and real estate funds
• Our returns come from deal performance, not deal volume
• When a RealWealth syndication succeeds, we succeed alongside our investors
• There is no equivalent at MartelTurnkey

One incentive structure is built to stay involved. The other is built to close the sale and move to the next one. For a long-term investor building a passive portfolio, that difference compounds over time.

Features	RealWealth Realty	MartelTurnkey
Business model	Independent matchmaker connecting investors to vetted turnkey property teams, real estate syndications and real estate funds	Sources, renovates, and sells distressed properties directly; some units renovated by FlipSystem students rather than MartelTurnkey itself
Founded	2003 (as RealWealth Network)	2015
Cost to investor	Free to become a RealWealth investor, no transaction fees	Purchase price set by MartelTurnkey; no separate joining fee
How they make money	Referral fees from property teams; no property markups; affiliate relationships with vetted investor service providers, including lenders, attorneys, and 1031 exchange facilitators	Spread between acquisition/renovation cost and final sale price
Property markups	None. Properties are never marked up. You pay the same price as if you went directly to the property team. RealWealth Realty earns nothing from your purchase price or repair bills	Not disclosed as a specific figure; built into the sale price by design
Inventory type	All off-market; mix of SFR, multifamily, new construction, and rehabbed properties held to REAL Income Property Standards™	Renovated single-family and small multifamily properties, tenant-occupied at sale
New construction	Yes, through vetted property teams	No; MartelTurnkey renovates existing distressed properties
Financing incentives	Yes, buyer concessions are sometimes available across all property types through select teams; they vary by team	MartelTurnkey states it has lenders available for conventional and retirement-account financing
Markets	15+ researched markets based on economic fundamentals (including St. Louis and Cleveland)	4 markets: Memphis, TN; St. Louis, MO; Cleveland, OH; Detroit, MI
Property standards	REAL Income Property Standards™, proprietary, named, enforced, verified in person	No named, independently verified standard. MartelTurnkey describes inspection reports, renovation logs, and rent-ready certifications on its own site
Vetting process	7-step independent vetting with 90+ day process, in-person market visits, quarterly audits, and ongoing monitoring	MartelTurnkey is the seller; property management is third-party, though the extent of MartelTurnkey’s own vetting of that manager is not independently confirmed
Removal process	Yes, underperforming teams are removed	N/A; MartelTurnkey’s role largely ends after the sale
Syndications	Yes, RealWealth Developments is the GP and sponsor	No
Investment counselors	Yes, complimentary, not transaction-based	Sales-focused acquisition support
Public review presence	Reviews on Yelp, BiggerPockets, and Trustpilot	Reviews on BiggerPockets; no confirmed BBB or Trustpilot presence for MartelTurnkey itself, but you will find reviews for FlipSystem
Years in business	23 years	11 years
Investors	90,000+ investors	Not publicly disclosed
Best for	Investors who want vetted guidance, off-market access, multiple market options, and a full path from first rental to real estate syndication	Investors comfortable independently verifying renovation quality, property management performance, and pro forma projections in one of four specific markets

You pay the same price as if you went directly to the property team. RealWealth earns nothing from your purchase price or your repair bills. MartelTurnkey’s profit is built directly into the sale price, the spread between what it pays to acquire and renovate a property and what it sells it for.

Every team in our network must meet a named, enforced standard for property condition covering roof age and condition, HVAC systems, plumbing, electrical, and structural integrity, verified in person. To our knowledge, no other turnkey real estate company, including MartelTurnkey, has an equivalent named, enforced standard. MartelTurnkey describes inspection reports and renovation logs on its own site, but doesn’t publish an independently verified, itemized standard.

Throughout the year, select property teams in our network may offer buyer concessions that can include below-market interest rates through preferred lenders, rate buydowns, and reduced property management fees across all property types. What’s available depends on what each team is offering at the time.

We don’t have sellers paying to list with us. Our only financial incentive is connecting you with a team that delivers, because our business is built on long-term relationships with our investors and the property teams who serve them well. MartelTurnkey sources, renovates, and sets the price on every property it sells, and some of that renovation work is done by paying students of its founders’ separate education program, not MartelTurnkey itself.

When a property team stops performing, we remove them. We can do that cleanly because we have no operational ties to the teams we recommend. MartelTurnkey’s financial stake in a property largely ends at closing, property management is handled by a third party, and MartelTurnkey has no removal mechanism of its own to fall back on if that manager underperforms.

MartelTurnkey operates in four markets. RealWealth investors can access off-market properties across 15+ researched markets, reducing concentration risk in any single city or region.

MartelTurnkey has no syndication offering. For accredited investors who want institutional-style passive exposure, where the company you trust is also the GP on the deal, there’s no equivalent at MartelTurnkey. Explore current open syndication offerings available to investors.

RealWealth’s track record is built on vetting and monitoring independent teams across multiple markets. MartelTurnkey’s track record is built on its own sourcing, renovation, and sales process in four markets, with no independent party checking that work before a sale closes.

RealWealth co-founder Kathy Fettke co-hosts BiggerPockets’ “On the Market,” one of the largest real estate podcasts in the world, and hosts The RealWealth Show, the first podcast about real estate investing. She has been featured on CNN, CNBC, NPR, and Fox Business, and is the author of the best-selling book “Retire Rich with Rentals.” Co-founder Rich Fettke is the author of “The Wise Investor” and co-authored “Scaling Smart” with Kathy, and was featured on CNN discussing real estate market trends in 2025. MartelTurnkey’s founders are active in real estate media through their own channels, though we found no comparable mainstream media presence for MartelTurnkey in our research.

This section exists because a fair comparison requires one.

MartelTurnkey states its properties are sold with tenants already in place, meaning cash flow can start on day one rather than waiting through a vacancy or lease-up period.

MartelTurnkey’s own site describes third-party inspections, scope-of-work documentation, and stress-tested pro formas as part of its acquisition process, along with what it calls “local boots-on-the-ground underwriting” for property selection.

MartelTurnkey states it has lenders available for both conventional financing and retirement account purchases, and confirms buyers are free to use their own lender instead.

Unlike companies that manage properties in-house, MartelTurnkey states buyers can use the property manager MartelTurnkey works with, or select a different one entirely.

• Want a vetted, off-market path to investment without paying a premium for someone else’s inventory or a markup on every repair
• Value knowing exactly how the turnkey real estate company you’re working with makes money, and that it isn’t from your purchase price or your maintenance bills
• Want access to multiple vetted property teams across 15+ markets, not one company’s pipeline in select cities
• Want every property you consider to meet a named, enforced property standard — RealWealth’s REAL Income Property Standards™. To our knowledge, no other turnkey real estate company in this comparison has an equivalent
• Want to take advantage of buyer concessions available across all property types through select teams, depending on what each team is currently offering
• Are building toward a diversified portfolio that includes both rental properties and passive real estate syndication opportunities
• Want an investment counselor whose job is your strategy, not your transaction
• You are an accredited investor interested in participating in institutional-style real estate deals where RealWealth Developments is the sponsor

• Want a tenant-occupied property from day one in one of four specific markets: Memphis, St. Louis, Cleveland, or Detroit
• Are comfortable independently verifying renovation quality and property manager performance before and after purchase, rather than relying solely on the seller’s figures
• Want the flexibility to choose your own property manager rather than being tied to an in-house team
• Are comfortable with a smaller company that doesn’t have the same volume of public reviews or years in business as some other turnkey providers
• Are not interested in real estate syndications or a broader advisory relationship

If you want a property that’s already tenant-occupied and cash-flowing on day one, and you’d rather choose your own property manager instead of being tied to an in-house team, MartelTurnkey’s model has real appeal. Their four markets, Memphis, St. Louis, Cleveland, and Detroit, are ones they’ve operated in consistently, and for an investor who’s already comfortable evaluating renovation quality and vetting a property manager independently, working directly with a smaller, founder-led company can mean more direct access to decision-makers than a larger operation might offer. For an investor who specifically wants exposure to one of these four markets and prefers flexibility over an integrated, all-in-one setup, MartelTurnkey can be a genuine fit.

Yes. You could work with MartelTurnkey for tenant-occupied properties in its specific markets, while also working with RealWealth for access to a wider range of vetted property teams across 15+ markets and, for accredited investors, real estate syndications and funds.

Rather than concentrating your capital in just four markets, pairing the two can offer both a fast-start, tenant-in-place property through MartelTurnkey and broader diversification through RealWealth’s other researched markets and syndication opportunities.

When comparing RealWealth vs. MartelTurnkey, you’ll find two companies serving a similar investor audience through very different structures. MartelTurnkey offers tenant-occupied properties in four specific markets, with the flexibility to choose your own property manager rather than being tied to an in-house team. For investors who want that flexibility and are comfortable independently verifying renovation quality and property management performance, that model can work.

Investing through RealWealth is built for the long game. Off-market inventory across 15+ researched markets, proprietary REAL Income Property Standards™ that every team must meet, a vetting process with a named structure and a removal mechanism, no markups on properties or repairs, buyer concessions available through select teams, investment counselors who are paid to give you good advice rather than close your deal, and real estate syndication opportunities where we’re the sponsor, not a middleman.

The right company isn’t the one with the fastest path to a tenant-occupied property. It’s the one whose structure keeps someone else checking the work, from the first conversation to the final closing.