Top real estate crowdfunding platforms today and investment opportunities: Personal income fees (state): These are the fees which are charged by real estate crowdfunding platforms, but this is something you have to consider before choosing a real estate crowdfunding platform. Depending on the country you live in, interest revenue will be considered as taxable income and taxed based on the local legislation. This is not platform specific, but fall under fees section. User experience and additional functionalities: These days users are used to certain user experience standards, therefore it is quite costly for some of the to maintain the top level. Nevertheless pay attention at this while choosing a real estate crowdfunding platform. Read extra info at real estate crowdfunding platforms tracker.
Crowdfunded real estate providers can offer investors access to exclusive private market property investments that may otherwise be unavailable to general audiences. Likewise, they tend to offer higher returns than publicly traded REITs, reflecting the higher degree of risk that may be associated with these investments. As with any private investment holding that you’re considering money behind though, it’s important to do your research and homework up-front, and not to overextend yourself financially. Rather than serve as a primary way to generate wealth, real estate crowdfunding is typically used as a way to expand and diversify one’s financial holdings while also maintaining an overall balanced portfolio of financial investments, including stocks, bonds, and other equity holdings.
DiversyFund’s model is unique in the real estate crowdfunding space. Instead of serving as a broker that connects investors with projects, DiversyFund buys, develops, and manages a portfolio of properties, collects the cash flow, and divvies up the profits amongst its investors. Unlike some crowdfunding platforms, it doesn’t charge any management or broker fees. Currently, you can invest in the DiversyFund Growth REIT ($500 minimum).
Real estate project LTV (loan to value ratio): LTV is a loan to value ration, which calculated as the proportion of loan size compared to total value of pledged assets. This is a typical ratio, which originated from banking, where it was used as a risk assessment KPI. In real estate crowdfunding projects LTV is varying between 50% and 80%. The lower the ration the higher value asset is pledge for the loan. Therefore lending for a real estate crowdfunding project with lower LTV brings lower risk. In case project will have to be liquidated there is a higher probability that investors will recover the money as asset value is covering loans at a higher extent. Also, if project developer is failing to return the loan, there is a higher probability, that developer refinances existing loans via other financing options by offering higher LTV for them. The lower LTV ratio, the better.
EquityMultiple: Although it requires a minimum investment of $5,000, EquityMultiple (which aims to make real estate investing simple, transparent, and more accessible to everyday investors) allows you to invest in privately managed commercial holdings. Sample real estate investment opportunities include office spaces, assisted living facilities, hotels, data centers, and more. Open to accredited investors, minimum investments can range from $10,000 to $40,000, and look to range in duration from half a year’s time to upwards of a decade. If you’re a wealthy investor looking to increase your exposure to new opportunities and overall deal flow, it could be a first port of call.
Of course, one of the biggest risks or drawbacks to crowdfunding is that investors are putting money in a company that is fairly unknown. In other words, the company doesn’t have a lot of financial history. As a result, there’s the risk that investors could lose all of their investments. Given the relative novelty of the practice and the lack of official regulation of this space, any team can come forward with a project without the right ethics or skills to manage the raised money, and you can imagine the rest. You should run your research and do your due diligence on the team behind the project even if your ticket is $1,000 only. Crowdfunding came about from the passage of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS), which allowed crowdfunding to aid small and mid-sized companies with their capital needs. Read even more info at crowdbulls.com.
How to invest in real estate crowdfunding process? First of all, an investor should select a preferred platform, where he or she wants to invest. A broader description and comparison of various platforms could be found here. Secondly, each regulated platform applies a KYC procedure, which usually contains a self onboarding process with taking a picture of yourself, filling up a questionnaire and supplying additional information. Onboarding process can take from 15min mins to 24 hours depending on the platform and KYC provider platforms are using. After onboarding yourself, you can select the preferred project and invest. Depending from the platform, minimum investments start with as little as 100 EUR.