Knowledge center

 
About RealtyBundles
What is RealtyBundles’ mission? RealtyBundles is a crowdfunding investment marketplace for real estate portfolios. Our mission is to provide investment at a distance with reduced risk
No single point
of assets failure
in a diversified portfolio, the underperformance of any single asset is compensated for by the remaining assets in the portfolio
and improved success. Our marketplace connects investors with real estate portfolios from agencies located all over the world. We provide a transparent service, conduct evaluations of our deals, and supervise agencies’ activities. Using our services, investors can browse, select, invest, and manage their account. 
What is RealtyBundles’ investment model? The RealtyBundles crowdfunding platform offers equity and debt-type investments. The real estate properties that form our Property Bundles are purchased by a special purpose vehicle (SPV) in which investors buy shares and bonds. As a result, investors are joint owners of the portfolio’s assets. The real estate agencies are the service providers who manage the assets so they generate a return, based on the performance of the bundles' assets What services do RealtyBundles provide? RealtyBundles provides services to both investors and real estate agencies by bringing them together in the one marketplace. RealtyBundles selects and supervises real estate agencies and controls the process of buying and selling properties, making sure assets are bought below their market value. We also monitor and control renovations and the day-to-day activities of the agencies, ensuring properties are kept in a good condition, and organise periodic asset evaluations. As a result, investors get turnkey bundles to invest in, and benefit from hassle-free and diverse investments. What regulation and legislation do RealtyBundles comply with?
Bundles&Properties
What are Property Bundles?The key innovation of the RealtyBundles service is the concept of Property Bundles. Property Bundles are a curated set of real estate assets grouped together for investors as a single investment package. Property Bundles contain properties brought to the platform and managed by local real estate agencies. Property Bundles can be as small as a single property or as large as hundreds of properties. A Property Bundle can have characteristics such as containing properties in specific or diverse locations, commercial or residential properties, long or short-term rentals, historical or new buildings, and more. Property Bundles provide investors with diverse investment options in a single investment vehicle. What benefits do Property Bundles provide investors? How are properties selected for inclusion in Property Bundles?The real estate agencies that provide services for the Property Bundles are constantly searching for and proposing real estate deals. We engage real estate experts and certified evaluators to analyse the profitability of the proposed real estate deals. The Bundle Manager will select and offer what they deem to be the best assets to shareholders.
Investors markets
USA investors?Unfortunately, we do not currently support investors from the USA. European investors? We support investors from all EU countries, including the UK. The rest of the world?If you come from outside the EU, the local laws, rules, and regulations of your country will determine whether RealtyBundles can support you as an investor.
 
Investment Vehicle and Process
What is the investment process? You can become an online investor in just a few minutes. To make your first investment you will need to complete the following steps:
  • Complete the registration process by categorising yourself as one of the applicable investor types, completing the investor quiz and then providing the anti-money laundering (AML) and know your customer (KYC) documents requested.
  • Browse and select a Property Bundle to invest in.
  • Decide on the amount you would like to invest and pay through the RealtyBundles platform using the MangoPay custodian system (www.mangopay.com).
  • Within 5 business days you will receive the Share Certificate and Bond Certificate to your e-mail address.
Why do investors have to provide AML and KYC documents? To comply with regulatory requirements, investors must complete an identity verification check, which includes AML and KYC processes. This is required by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for all investors. What is a share and bond certificate? After the investment completes, we will send investors share and bond certificates to their registered email. The certificates will specify the number of shares and bonds they have purchased, their purchase values, and the main attributes of the investment.
What securities do investors get when they invest? The investors are granted with both shares and bonds in the SPV that owns the Property Bundle assets. SPVs may have different ratios of shares and bonds based on their respective policies and management decisions. Why provide both shares and bonds?  By offering both shares and bonds, we can provide you with a better service. Shares are an equity-type investment and provide investors day-to-day control over strategic decisions. In contrast, bonds are easy to deal with and allow us to sell assets so we can buy back your bonds from you should you wish to sell them. Additionally, the interest paid on bonds is an expense and reduces the corporation tax payable by the SPV, thus increasing your net income.
Realizing the Investment
How can I sell my securities?  After a minimum investment duration of 180 days, you will be able to indicate in your account that you wish to sell your investment. We support the following three sale options:

Secondary Market: Selling on the secondary market involves selling your securities to other investors for their fair market value. Under this exit strategy, the SPV acts as an agent and matches your sell order with purchase orders in the bundle.

*Note: when selling shares, the 0.5% stamp duty tax, if applicable, is payable by the seller.

Buy-back: Buy-back involves selling your securities back to the SPV at their fair market value minus reasonable buy-back expenses. It is anticipated that buy-backs will be organised from time to time, such as once every year or two, by the SPV directors to allow investors who can’t sell their shares on the secondary market to exit their investment at a fair price. A buy-back of shares can be achieved using company profits or by reducing a company’s share capital. The SPV directors will follow the required steps to free up cash for the buy-back. This may include selling off one or more of a bundle’s assets. The directors will organise a vote of the shareholders to approve the buy-back.

*Note: the time it takes to free up funds by selling assets may vary but will typically take 3-9 months.

*Note: the expenses incurred by the buy-back procedure will be payable by the sellers.

Quick Exit: Although property investments are usually considered long-term investments, we understand that there are certain times when investors may need to sell their shares quickly. For this reason, we have introduced a conditional quick exit, where you will be able to sell your securities to us at their fair market value minus a commission fee of 5%. We will process your request for a quick exit within 48 hours and, hopefully, we will then be able to immediately satisfy your request.

*Note: this option is conditionally supported and depends on the availability of funds among other constraints. It may not be possible for all Property Bundles to support this exit strategy. 
What is the minimum investment duration?  The minimum investment duration is 180 days.
How do investors make a profit?  Bundle Managers work closely with local real estate agencies to try create value for investors. Investors can benefit from any capital gains and net rental yields.

Capital gains

Capital gain is a rise in the value of a capital asset (investment or real estate) that gives it a higher worth than the purchase price. Any gain is not realised until the asset is sold. A capital gain must be recorded on your tax return.

Net rental yield

Net rental yield shows the profitability of a rented property and is calculated as net rent divided by the investment asset. Net rental is derived from gross rent, deducting relative operating expenses (management fee, repairs and maintenance, utilities, insurance, taxes, and so on).
Do investors receive dividends or debentures?  Investors who have invested in shares own a portion of the company’s equity and can expect dividend payments should the company make a profit and if the directors decide to pay dividends.

A dividend is the distribution of a portion of the company's earnings which is decided and managed by the company’s board of directors, and paid to a class of its shareholders.

Investors receive dividends in accordance with the percentage of shares they hold in the bundle. The distributed dividends are calculated as a fraction of the bundle’s net rental income (typically 80%). Before any dividends are distributed, the company will hold a directors’ meeting to declare the dividends as required by statute and company articles.
Fees and Taxes
Investor fees We charge a service fee of 2.5% of the investment plus VAT for arranging deals between the investor and the SPV. This is the only direct fee investors are charged (additional SPV fees are charged by the SPV for the day-to-day operations of the Property Bundles). SPV fees We only charge SPVs success-based fees. If investments do not perform, no fees will be paid.
  • Promotion and regulation fees: the SPV will be charged a success-based promotion fee to be paid at a rate of 3.5% of the investment plus VAT from any invested money. An asset management fee will be charged for managing and supervising the partners and their asset management on behalf of the investors. This fee is 8% + VAT of actual received gross rental income.
  • Buying and selling fees: a success-based fee is charged for working closely with the agencies and supervising the sales and purchases of properties in the bundles. We charge 3% of the gross purchase/sale price for purchases and 1% for sales (plus VAT). Finally, a property renovation fee is charge for creating value for investors via planning and controlling renovations. This fee is 15% plus VAT of the renovation costs.
 
Glossary
What is Property Bundle Liquid Cash Value? Property Bundle Liquid Cash Value is the current amount of cash and other cash equivalents in the applicable Property Bundle, including but not limited to rents, investments, and other profits related to the properties within the bundle. What is Property Bundle Monetary Commitments? Property Bundle Monetary Commitments refer to all the monetary commitments of a Property Bundle, including but not limited to the tax to be paid, commitments and debts to third parties and sellers, mortgages, loans, leases, fees, salaries, and bond debentures to be paid to shareholders. What is Property Bundle Share Value? Property Bundle Share Value is the sum of all Property Share Values for all properties in the applicable Property Bundle plus the Property Bundle Liquid Cash Value and the Property Bundle Receivables, minus the Property Bundle Monetary Commitments. What is Property Fair Value? Property Fair Value is the Property Market Value of the relevant property minus its monetary commitments and plus any set-up costs related to the property. What is Property Market Value? Property Market Value refers to the value of a property as reported by a property valuation performed periodically by one or more external certified real estate experts. What is Property Set-Up Cost? Property Set-Up Cost is a fixed value calculated when a property is included in a Property Bundle and equals the sum of all actual costs paid by the SPV to include the property in the Property Bundle after the Property Market Value is deducted. The Property Set-Up Cost includes but is not limited to the purchase price for the property, tax and transfer costs, renovation costs, legal fees, agency fees, promotion and regulation fees, and other necessary professional services fees. What is the Property Set-Up Cost Reduction Procedure? According to the Property Set-Up Cost Reduction Procedure, the evaluated Property Set-Up Cost will be gradually deducted over time. The full Property Set-Up Cost is applicable at the time the property is included in the Property Bundle, and a reduction in this cost will be accounted for over time so that after five years from the inclusion of a property in the Property Bundle the Property Set-Up Cost will be zero. What is Property Share Value? Property Share Value is the Property Fair Value minus the mortgage, loan, and lease commitments related to a property.
 
 

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