This week, in case you missed the news, we successfully funded our third property, a new condominium construction project in Powder Springs, GA. It featured an attractive rate, and many investors liked the fact that it was new construction. For some, "new" just seems more comfortable than renovation or "fixing and flipping."
But what is it that leads one to invest in any specific asset, opportunity, company or property than another? Sure, we all want to know that our investments are "smart" -- which for most means the opportunity to earn a fair return for a given level of risk. Sometimes people invest or donate out of care or concern for the cause benefitted by the investment. There's also ego, fear, image, opportunism and investing as a favor.
At GROUNDFLOOR, we believe everyone already is or can be an investor. We don't think that word should convey some special designation reserved for those who have elite skills in running numbers, doing diligence and keeping abreast of market developments. If you have a bank account, certificate of deposit, cash value life insurance policy, brokerage account or retirement assets, you qualify.
If everyone's an investor, then everyone also needs an investment strategy. That is, we all need a way to decide where to sock away our hard-earned money, and how much in which assets and types of assets. The path of least resistance isn't smart (such as leaving your money in the bank), but neither is winging it and taking risks that you don't understand. So what is a busy person without spare time, energy and interest to do?
GROUNDFLOOR is here to help. We started with a vision of helping to solve that problem for you, and have since built an investment product that delivers. How? Real estate is tangible. You know what you’re getting. Because you’re lending money (not buying into ownership), you know when you can expect to see it back, and how much you’ll be receiving in return. That much is easy enough to understand. But how can you go about choosing the right properties? Is that hard? Does it require expertise?
Take our 1429 Allene Ave Renovation project for example. Is it right for you? Give us three minutes with our new video (below), and we think you'll know. Do you trust the borrower? Do you like the property, and believe it could sell? As a lender, you just need to know that it would sell for more than the total amount borrowed. Perhaps you're concerned about the location anyway. At least one investor communicated that to us this week. Afterall, the zip code 30310 (which contains a great variety of neighborhoods, in actuality) doesn't have the best reputation--at least with the banks.
Each person has to decide for himself whether this or any investment, fits his or her strategy. For some, helping to regenerate such a neighborhood might be exactly the place they want to put their money to work--for the social good, but also because often that kind of context obscures the best opportunities that would otherwise be in plain sight. For some, the more conservative option of making a loan in that situation might be the perfect vehicle, rather than an equity investment. But most big banks certainly won't lend on a property in this neighborhood. What of that? For good reason? We think the Web is (all of you are) as good an arbiter of that as anyone--and in many ways a better one.
Watch the video, and tell us what you think in the comments below! And if you reside in Georgia, please consider joining us as we fund the property in the coming days and weeks.