In the real estate world, where stress can feel as tangible as a mortgage, two visionaries decided to flip the script. Alex Aguelles, founder of Sell2Rent, and Jerry Katz, CEO of Premier Protection Insurance Services, sat down to talk about how their companies not only coexist but complement each other to change lives. One offers a way to free up capital without leaving home; the other turns insurance into a tool that supercharges investments.
What happens when you combine a sale-and-rent-back platform with an asset-optimization mindset? Spoiler: sparks fly… the good kind.
Sell2Rent was born with a simple yet revolutionary mission: help homeowners unlock their equity without moving. Its sale-leaseback platform connects homeowners with investors so they can sell their house and rent it back. This marketplace model means investors can bid on your property, potentially leading to better offers even though the process may take longer. The company is available in all 50 U.S. states and buys homes in nearly any condition, takes care of repairs, and covers taxes and maintenance.
For many families under pressure, selling through Sell2Rent is a way to liquidate their biggest asset without saying goodbye to their house. Among its perks are avoiding marketing, staging, tours, and haggling; using the cash for other projects; and renting back the home at a fair market price while someone else covers taxes and repairs.
It’s not all roses, though: you give up any future equity growth and move from paying a mortgage to paying rent without building equity. Transaction fees can reach up to 6% of the sale value, and there’s no option to buy the property back.
While Sell2Rent frees up equity, Premier Protection Insurance Services (PPIS) focuses on optimizing the value of high-net-worth real-estate assets. The firm, led by Jerry Katz, creates innovative insurance and risk-management solutions for investors, brokers, lenders, and entrepreneurs. Their goal isn’t just to sell policies: they strive to increase property value and reduce costs, and currently insure more than $4.5 billion in real estate.
For high-value property owners, the key is the Total Asset Optimization (TAO) Strategy. This method aligns insurance with your risk tolerance and investment goals, optimizing coverage, uncovering savings, and managing your portfolio to boost income. TAO unfolds in stages: organize and analyze real risk, audit to uncover credits and improvements, develop tailored strategies, and maintain optimization over time.
In the end, PPIS isn’t just an insurance agency; it becomes a member of your investment team, integrating real estate, insurance, and financial strategies to help you make smarter decisions.
Behind this vision is Jerry Katz, an entrepreneur with more than two decades of commercial real-estate experience, including two eight-figure exits. Katz revolutionized the sector by turning insurance from a mere expense into a tool for maximizing net operating income (NOI), closing deals, and increasing property value.
During their interview, Alex and Jerry agreed that the future of the real estate market demands creative, collaborative solutions. For Sell2Rent clients, freeing up capital is only half the story. Once you sell and lease back your home, new questions emerge: how do you protect your cash flow? How do you manage risk if you’re an investor buying those properties to rent them out?
This is where Premier Protection, with its TAO, demonstrates that well-configured insurance isn’t a drain; it’s a value lever.
For example, an investor who buys homes through Sell2Rent gains rental income. If PPIS audits their portfolio, it can uncover tax credits, negotiate terms with lenders, and adjust coverage to reduce premiums and increase NOI. In turn, Sell2Rent helps stabilize properties and reduce vacancy risk—something insurers love.
Though their models differ, both companies share values of integrity, empathy, and a relentless search for solutions.
The conversation between Alex Aguelles and Jerry Katz wasn’t just a corporate crossover; it was a call to rethink how we view home and protection. Selling your home and staying in it may sound radical, but with the right guidance, it becomes a lifeline. Optimizing every policy and every insurance dollar may seem tedious, but it translates into more profitable, resilient properties.
If you’re a homeowner, investor, or simply intrigued by the future of real estate, this mash-up of ideas proves that financial imagination is trending. As Jerry noted, insurance is no longer the villain that eats margin; with the right strategy, it can be the hero that closes deals and multiplies returns. And as Alex put it, selling no longer means packing boxes and saying goodbye; with Sell2Rent, you can watch the tree in your yard keep growing while your capital works elsewhere.
To explore more of Jerry Katz’s insights and interviews, check out his YouTube channel Jerry Katz: Real Estate Profit Boost.
So if you want more juicy details, don’t miss the full interview and explore how these companies are rewriting the rules. The future of real estate is collaborative, and here are two pioneers proving it.