Family business empires and well-connected agents tend to crowd the real estate market. One of the hardest investments markets to buy into is the real estate market. The combined residential and commercial real estate market is worth about $40 trillion. That’s a lot of money for people already operating in the market, and it’s a statistic that can feel like a barrier to non-investors.
Many Americans are too gun-shy to try real estate investing. Over 70% believe it is too difficult, citing bureaucracy, paperwork, and the capital needed for investment. Only about 11% of Americans ever invest in real estate in their lifetimes, even though the real estate profession has over 7 million agents currently operating in the country.
In the digital age, and with the advent of crowdfunding, some companies, like Realty Mogul, are making real estate investing more accessible to the uninitiated. But, what are Realty Mogul returns like? Let’s take a look.
What Is Realty Mogul?
Realty Mogul is an online crowdfunding platform that allows investors, sponsors, and individuals to pool their resources to invest in properties through the company. It was founded in 2013 by Jilliene Helman and Justin Hughes. They aimed to simplify the real estate investment process and make it less prohibitive to newcomers.
Instead of directly investing in a real estate property on your own, you can pool your investment funds with other investors. That way, the risk of investment is shared and reduced. You can use reality mogul to diversify your investment portfolio, create new incomes, and safely dip your investment toes into the real estate market.
You and other similarly minded crowd-investors can invest in office buildings, single family and multiple family dwellings, medical facilities, retail spaces, storage unit facilities, industrial areas, and more. Realty Mogul even allows you the opportunity to invest in so-called, “fix-and-flip,” properties.
Realty Mogul has over 130,000 accredited and unaccredited crowd-investors using its services. It has facilitated over $280 million in loans for over 350 properties and counting. It is an online functioning real estate investment trust or REIT. Most Realty Mogul investors are accredited, but unaccredited investors can invest via Realty Mogul’s Mogul REIT initiative.
The Process
You never invest directly into real estate through Realty Mogul but through its crowd-investing initiatives. Basically, you purchase shares in a Realty Mogul LLC or limited partnership that owns the title of the real estate property of interest. This process cuts down on paperwork, fees, processes, and allows more unencumbered access to the real estate market.
The minimum investment is at least $1,000. You also must also make at least $200,000 a year or be worth at least $1 million. The REIT account management fees range between 0.30% to about 0.50%. The length of investment can be as short as six months or as long as a decade, so you should expect to be in it for the long haul.
Additional Benefits
Realty Mogul makes the real estate property browsing process easier and quicker. Investors have access to investment progress status reports 24-hours a day and seven days a week. Then there is the benefit of monthly or quarterly distributions. Realty Mogul properties are pre-vetted, meaning they are insured by the company and are viable for investment.
Real Estate Investing Made Easier
You should always do your own research when it comes to investing in real estate. I have never invested in real estate before but may do so now through this company with some friends. Use Realty Mogul to simplify an expensive, serious, and time exhaustive process.
Have you invested in real estate through crowd-investing? Share your experience in the comments below.
Read More
Allen Francis was an academic advisor, librarian, and college adjunct for many years with no money, no financial literacy, and no responsibility when he had money. To him, the phrase “personal finance,” contains the power that anyone has to grow their own wealth. Allen is an advocate of best personal financial practices including focusing on your needs instead of your wants, asking for help when you need it, saving and investing in your own small business.
