P2P property lending has been providing steady returns in the UK, according to a report from rating agency, 4thWay; since 2013, UK P2P property lenders have lent £1.6 billion with returns ranging from 2.25% to 12.7%; lenders in the category have achieved success through thorough underwriting processes with maximum loan to value ratios of 70% to 80% and most loans secured by the property. Source
Christian Faes, the CEO and Co-founder of UK property lender LendInvest, discusses tech, investment channels, the UK housing crisis, Brexit,...
Roofstock, an online marketplace in the single-family rental sector, raised $20 million in Series B funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Khosla Ventures, Bain Capital Ventures, Nyca Partners, QED Investors and SV Angel; they plan to use the proceeds to ramp up national expansion, invest in product development and roll out an asset management platform as they intend to reach domestic and global investors. Source
New York-based commercial real estate developer Tishman Speyer has partnered with CreditEase Wealth Management to invest $1.4 billion in China and other countries within the next three years; according to Tang Ning, CreditEase founder and CEO, the partnership will focus on long-term development, providing clients with globalized and diverse portfolios. Source
Money360-affiliate M360 Advisors has registered with the South Korea Financial Supervisory Service; the registration allows institutional investors from South Korea to invest in the firm's real estate fund; the fund invests in secured US commercial real estate properties through bridge loans and offers global investors a high yield fixed income alternative; the fund has already received $65 million from a South Korean institutional investor and is planning for investment of $250 million in the first half of 2017; the fund is managed to provide international tax efficient investing along with high yield fixed income returns and has a number of other foreign investors including investors in China, Singapore, South Africa, Europe, Canada, the Netherlands and Kuwait. Source
LendingOne has launched a lending system for fix and flip lenders in the real estate industry; according to the firm's press release, the platform provides originators with advanced technology to streamline all aspects of the loan-underwriting, closing and servicing processes; with the launch, private lenders can now utilize the LendingOne system to offer more competitive pricing for borrowers; through the system lenders can also subordinate a portion of fix and flip real estate loans. Source
StackSource has launched an online lending platform for commercial real estate; the company provides a marketplace for connecting owners and developers with banks and non-bank lenders for credit financing; the multi-lending platform connects borrowers with lenders through the StackSource proprietary lender database; StackSource was developed from the TechStar accelerator program and was founded by Tim Milazzo. Source
Fundrise began its crowdfunded initial public offering (IPO) on February 1; the investment has been oversubscribed and the company has paused the offering due to high demand; it has reported it will increase the available shares to three million from two million; in an updated offering circular the firm says it will offer three million shares at a price of $5.00 which brings the total expected fundraising to $15 million. Source
Coming up with a 20% down payment on a home can be quite a challenge, San Francisco based Unison is looking to offer help to these prospective buyers; a Unison deal typically involves the homebuyer putting down 10%, Unison putting down 10% and the remaining 80% would be borrowed; Unison charges a 2.5% fee and shares in 35% of future appreciation or depreciation; this allows for the homebuyers to keep payments lower and save on private mortgage insurance (PMI), which is required if the loan to value exceeds 80%; "We are partnering with the homeowners by investing alongside them in the house," Unison Co-CEO Jim Riccitelli told the San Francisco Chronicle; the Unison offering looks to replace local bay area assistance programs offered to lower income household and first time buyers. Source