Real Estate Investing 2.0: Unique New Approach Goes Beyond Crowdfunding

By FastCo Works

A combination of legislative reform and advances in cloud-based digital technologies has made crowdfunding a reality in real estate investing, but it has done little to overcome other barriers to entry. Now, a new business model is taking things to the next level.

While companies like RealtyMogul and Fundrise used crowdfunding to make real estate investing more financially accessible, many investors still consider it too daunting a prospect to venture into. Crowdfunding marketplaces require individual participants to choose the ideal investment and assume most of the risk themselves, and many people are simply not comfortable doing that.

Recognizing those barriers, entrepreneur Eran Roth came up with a plan to take real estate investing to the next level. Iintoo, the company he founded, is built around a REIMCO (real estate investment management company) business model and only offers deals that have gone through a rigorous vetting process based on a data-driven methodology. It actively manages those deals through their entire lifespan (typically 36 months), and underwrites every project on a firm commitment basis, so it has real skin in the game.

Active management makes a difference

The active management component is one of the most significant differentiators between iintoo and crowdfunding marketplaces, Roth stresses. “We had a student housing project in Georgia where the developer passed away suddenly. Foreclosure typically follows in a case like that, but given our hands-on model, our team traveled to the site, helped find a new developer, and made sure the bank would continue working with us. In a marketplace model where the platform is hands-off, the investors would simply have lost their money, but that property ended up returning a 20.82% yield to iintoo’s investors when we exited.”

While all investments, including iintoo’s involve risk, iintoo has come up with a unique way to address investors’ concerns about risk, with a program called epiic (Equity Investment Protection Community*). Epiic offers investors two kinds of protection against loss of principal. The first is a social community pool funded by a small percentage of each initial investment. The second is a $150 million insurance policy underwritten by Everest Re Group, one of the largest reinsurance companies in the world. Focused on deals lasting 18 to 36 months, epiic provides a seamless and easy investment option for  investors looking to make one contribution into a diversified, risk-mitigated real-estate fund. There are risks associated with investing and principal loss is possible. Certain restrictions and limitations apply. 

“Initially, I learned of iintoo’s platform through a friend. It seemed like a new way to invest in real estate,” says investor William Raff. “The more I learned about iintoo, and especially its equity protection, the more interested I became. Since then, I’ve invested in a number of geographically diverse residential properties in the U.S., including student housing and multifamily apartments. iintoo’s expertise lies in this area, and it provides an easy-to-use platform that enables individuals to efficiently access these investments.”

Diversification 

Financial strategists have long recommended alternative investments such as real estate to increase portfolio diversification and potentially boost returns. Accredited investors ($200K individual/$300K joint annual income or $1M household net worth) can now access this market through iintoo with a minimum investment of $25,000. Average historical annual returns on iintoo’s full-cycle investments have averaged 16.63%* since the company’s launch four years ago.

Becoming an iintoo member is easy. It’s free to join, and there’s no commitment. Simply go to www.iintoo.com and sign up. Within a matter of minutes, you’ll be opening the door on an investment world once available only to the world’s elite.

This is an advertisement for iintoo.com. Securities offered through Dalmore Group LLC, a registered broker-dealer and member of FINRA/SIPC.

The testimonials contained in this article may not be representative of the experience of other customers. The testimonial is no guarantee of future performance or success.

This is not an offer to buy, sell or trade securities.   Investments are not FDIC insured, have no bank guarantee, and may lose value.

*When we refer to “Equity Protection” we are referring to an arrangement between an affiliate of Everest Re Group, Ltd. (“Everest Re”) and iintoo epiic GP LLC, the general partner of each covered issuer (“Covered Issuer”), pursuant to which the latter promises that, even in the event the underlying project is not profitable or records a loss, the investor in the Covered Issuer shall receive a specified amount equal to the original principal investment he/she/it provided (less other amounts already received by such individual investor during the course of the investment).  Equity Protection has significant limitations, including, but not limited to, repayments for losses in the Covered Issuer are only made up to a maximum amount of funds available from the retention account and the policy, repayments are on a first come, first serve basis, and risk is pooled across Covered Issuers subject to the same retention account and policy. Iintoo epiic GP LLC, and not the investors, is party to the policy with Everest Re. As a result, investors have no direct legal rights under the policy. In addition, beyond use of the Equity Protection proceeds from the retention account and the policy, neither iintoo epiic GP LLC nor the Covered Issuer has any obligations to indemnify investors for losses. For more information, please see “Business of the Company—Equity Protection” and “Risk Factors—Risks related to the Equity Protection” in any of our issuers’ private placement memoranda.

** The exit annual yield is equal to the ratio between the total profits from the equity investment (before tax) and the total raise (amount invested by iintoo’s equity investors in the project) divided by the investment term.

For more information please read our full disclaimer.

 

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