RealtyMogul Launches Its First Crowdfunded Real Estate Investment Trust
MogulREIT I, to be sold through online crowdfunding, aims to help democratize real estate investing
LOS ANGELES - August 16, 2016 - RealtyMogul, a leading online marketplace for commercial real estate investing, today announced the launch of its first commercial real estate fund, MogulREIT I. Structured as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) with a minimum investment of $2,500, the fund is open to nearly all* investors and offers the potential for consistent cash dividends and equity appreciation.
MogulREIT I has been designed to offer investors a number of distinct advantages. By investing in the “REIT”, investors will gain access to a diversified pool of commercial real estate investments with one single investment. The fund intends to invest in a variety of commercial real estate, including multifamily, retail, self-storage and office.
The fund is also designed to have low fees. Traditional non-traded “REIT”s employ a highly manpower-intensive sales method, resulting in upfront sales commissions of 7 percent, on average, and total expenses of up to 15 percent.** By offering MogulREIT I exclusively on its platform, RealtyMogul affords investors direct online access to the product with no sales commission and offering expenses capped at 3 percent***.
“Beyond the zero commissions and lower fees, the fund’s strategy is exciting because it allows us to leverage RealtyMogul’s hundreds of inbound inquiries for financing on commercial real estate and curate them to find suitable opportunities,” said RealtyMogul CEO Jilliene Helman.
Within the universe of commercial real estate investing, RealtyMogul’s experienced real estate team takes a relatively conservative approach when selecting transactions to offer for investment: the platform only invests in cash-flowing properties and won’t invest in land or ground up development transactions. This approach will carry through to MogulREIT I.
“Through a flexible investment strategy, we can invest in both debt and equity as well as various property types and geographies, allowing us to be opportunistic. We’re looking forward to executing against our twofold objective for the fund: providing investors with both consistent cash distributions and the opportunity to benefit from potential appreciation in property values,” added Helman.
The launch of the “REIT” marks a new wave of opportunity to invest in real estate. Until recently, private investment markets have been off-limits to the majority of retail investors. However, recent legislation like Regulation A+ and Title III of the JOBS Act has leveled the playing field by allowing non-accredited investors making less than $200,000 per year to access these investment opportunities through online crowdfunding. Through Reg A+, MogulREIT I gives nearly all investors a new entrance to curated and pre-vetted private real estate investing. “Our members have demonstrated a clear appetite for a range of real estate investments, and we’re proud to be able to provide that opportunity to even more investors through our first “REIT” offering,” said Helman.
In May, RealtyMogul announced that, since its inception in 2013, the platform had surpassed $200 million in crowdfunded real estate equity and debt transactions.
About RealtyMogul RealtyMogul is an online marketplace for real estate investing, giving individual investors real-time access to commercial real estate and professional real estate companies easier access to capital. Through crowdfunding, RealtyMogul gives investors tools to browse investments, do due diligence, invest online and have 24/7 access to an investor dashboard to watch how their investments are performing. RealtyMogul partners with professional real estate companies to source investment opportunities and underwrites all of the investments. For these real estate companies, RealtyMogul offers JV and preferred equity as well as mezzanine and first position debt. For more information, visit www.realtymogul.com.
* An investor in MogulREIT I, LLC must be a qualified purchaser as defined under Regulation A. Investors must also meet applicable minimum investment amounts, and suitability, know-your-customer, and anti-money laundering requirements. Retirement accounts may not invest in MogulREIT I, LLC. We reserve the right to reject an investor’s proposed investment in whole or in part for any reason, including if we determine in our sole and absolute discretion that such investor is not a qualified purchaser for purposes of Regulation A.
** According to a 2012 study by the Securities Litigation and Consulting Group.
*** A detailed description of fees and expenses is available in the fund’s Offering Circular. An affiliate of MogulREIT I may receive fees related to the underlying real estate investments.