Invest in Real Estate for as Little as $5,000
Diversify your portfolio by investing in real estate with as little as $5,000 How does RealtyShares work? 1. 2. 3. Browse Investments. You can filter by property type, returns and location. Invest in minutes through our simple and secure online process. Get 24-7 access to your investments and earnings through your secure investor dashboard. RealtyShares is an online investment platform that brings together investors, borrowers, and Sponsors. Accredited or institutional investors can invest in pre-identified commercial and residential real estate investment opportunities with as little as $5,000 (or, on certain selected opportunities, as low as $1,000). Legal document signatures and fund transfers can all be handled securely through the RealtyShares platform, so that investors can complete the entire transaction through the website. RealtyShares first reviews investment opportunities to confirm that they meet some threshold criteria for listings on our online platform. Once an investment is listed, the information will include not only the general information about the particular opportunity but also the legal documents that contain detailed risk factors and which investors should review carefully before making any investment. When an investor decides to invest, funds are transferred via the ACH inter-bank system directly from the investor s designated bank account. Once an investmet has been made, an investor s share of any distributions is generally transferred directly into the same bank account that was originally used to make the investment. RealtyShares investors in equity or preferred equity opportunities will generally receive periodic updates from the Sponsor as to the progress of the business plan and new developments for the subject property. Notifications of these updates are generally sent by email, and are also posted directly to the online dashboard of those investors who participated in the opportunity. This dashboard also tracks the earnings history and other aspects of the investments made, and contains the applicable year-end investor tax returns. 2
When I invest on RealtyShares, what do I own? For equity investments, RealtyShares sets up a separate Limited Liability Company (LLC), for each investment opportunity that is listed on the platform. That LLC in turn will hold equity in a real estate property. When you invest in an equity opportunity through RealtyShares, you own shares in that LLC. For debt investments, the investor receives securities of RealtyShares (or an affiliate) that are dependent for payment on payments from the underlying loan. Using these structures, you will have the benefit of limited financial exposure while also avoiding taxes at the entity. How do investors earn returns? The frequency of any investor returns depends on the type of investment. Typically, equity investments have distributions on a quarterly basis, while debt and preferred equity investments involve payouts on a monthly schedule. An investor s share of any distributions is generally transferred directly into the same bank account that was initially used by the investor for the contribution of the original investment amount, and typically occurs within a few days of RealtyShares receipt of such distributions. On debt investments, the monthly payments of interest are dependent on RealtyShares having received the correlating payments from the borrower on the corresponding borrower loan. Preferred equity investments are designed to have current payments made on a monthly basis and then an accrued payout that is payable at the expiration of the investment period. Normal equity investments are usually designed to have investors get quarterly distributions and also to participate in any net appreciation realized when the property is sold. An investor s share of any of these distributions will be deposited directly into the bank account designated by such investor. Payout schedules cannot be guaranteed, of course, nor can there be any guarantee as to return rates or the return of investor capital generally, regardless of the structure of any investment opportunity. How does the investment process work? RealtyShares first reviews investment opportunities to confirm that they meet some threshold criteria for listings on our online platform. If opportunities seem interesting, then background and credit checks are run on the principle executives of the sponsoring (or borrowing) real estate company. RealtyShares then reviews other Sponsor-provided information -- such as pro forma financials, title and inspection reports, comparable sales data, and other pertinent information -- and assembles such data on the platform so that investors can review the information directly. Once an investment is listed, the information will include not only the general information about the particular opportunity but also the legal documents that contain detailed risk factors and which investors should review carefully before making any investment. Each investment has a target funding amount, although the ultimate aggregate investment made may be more or less than this amount depending on the success of the raise and the other capital commitments of the sponsoring real estate company. 3
Because these real estate projects can be complex (involving lender financing agreements, etc.), sometimes several weeks will pass before a project closing is scheduled. In these cases, we typically will not debit funds from your bank account until the project is approaching the time of the expected closing. If RealtyShares falls significantly short of the expected raise or the transaction otherwise fails to be consummated, 100% of your investment commitment will be returned to you. Investors should review closely the information provided on each investment opportunity that is of interest, including the risk factors described in the investor package of legal documents. Your funds will be utilized only for the investment that you have designated. RealtyShares does not, of course, guarantee the performance of any investment. There is always the risk that returns may fail to meet projected amounts and even that investors may lose all of their invested capital. Is there a minimum/maximum investment amount? RealtyShares is perhaps unique among online real estate marketplaces in trying to keep minimum investment requirements as low as possible. On most transactions we have a minimum investment amount of $5,000, and for select investments this figure may be as low as $1,000. These minimum amounts may vary, however, as legal limitations affect the number of investors in any one opportunity and thus can also affect minimum investment amounts. There is no maximum investment amount, and investors can (and from time to time do) invest the full amount being sought. Persons investing more than 20% of the total amount raised by RealtyShares may, however, need to confirm that they are not a prohibited person under anti-terrorist statutes and to make representations as to certain other legal requirements. 4
Returns greater than the stock market Why should I use RealtyShares to invest in real estate? Real estate investing in other contexts often involves large investment amounts and limited regional opportunities. RealtyShares, on the other hand, allows accredited and institutional investors to invest for as little as $5,000, all from the convenience of an investor s laptop or tablet computer. This means that investors have the ability to participate in opportunities that historically may have been available only to large institutions. You ll also be investing passively -- similar to stocks and bonds -- so that you don t need to directly be concerned with the management headaches associated with a property. RealtyShares does some initial review of potential investment opportunities and then, with the ones it moves forward with, presents the relevant investment information in an easy-to-use format so that investors can make their own decisions about which opportunities they want to pursue. These opportunities involve a variety of property types, are across a number of regional geographies, and can relate to debt, equity, or preferred equity opportunities. Once an investment has been made, investors are be able to monitor the progress of an investment via an investor dashboard -- again, all from the convenience of your living room. These dashboards contain earnings history, management updates, and other follow-on information to be reviewed. 5
What happens if the target funding amount is not met? RealtyShares will usually agree with a sponsoring real estate company as to an initial targeted raise amount, but the actual raise amount may be less or more than such targeted sum. If the amount raised falls short of expectations, then it will be up to the Sponsor as to whether it wants to accept the lesser amount and look to other investor sources to make up the shortfall. If an investment opportunity is oversubscribed, then RealtyShares will discuss with the Sponsor whether RealtyShares might receive a larger allocation to RealtyShares investors, and if the Sponsor accommodates such request then the overall raise amount will be greater than originally anticipated. If the RealtyShares raise falls so short of the targeted amount that the Sponsor determines to reject the subscription from RealtyShares investors (or the project otherwise fails to be consummated), then 100% of any funds debited from investor accounts will be returned to those investors. Generally, however, since we do not debit funds until a project nears a scheduled closing date, we will know in advance of any such debit whether the investment subscription is going to be accepted by the Sponsor. Do I have to pay a fee to invest? There is no cost for registering on the RealtyShares marketplaces, and once you ve been qualified there is no cost for browsing through the various investment opportunities on the marketplace. There is also no cost for initiating an investment -- although RealtyShares does charge a small fee during the course of the investment. Once an equity or preferred equity investment has been made, RealtyShares will usually charge investors an annual fee -- typically 1% of the aggregate invested amount -- that is paid periodically to cover ongoing investor reporting and communications relating to the investment. In addition, the funds raised will typically include a slight over-raise amount to cover initial legal fees related to the particular investment vehicle and other immediate transactionspecific expenses. Please review the applicable investor package and the operating agreement for the investment vehicle for details on such fees. On debt investments, RealtyShares typically takes a servicing fee in the form of a spread between the interest rate being paid by a borrower and that being paid to investors. RealtyShares also generally charges of the borrower a loan origination fee and other charges typically associated with initiating a real estate loan. In the event of default or other special circumstances, certain fees and charges payable by a borrower will be shared among RealtyShares and investors, as such situations involve increased servicing duties on the part of RealtyShares. Details as to such fees and sharing arrangements can be reviewed in the applicable private placement memorandum and/or series note listing for a particular offering. Debt fees are between 1-2% of the investment. 6
What kind of updates will I get about my investment? RealtyShares investors in equity or preferred equity opportunities will generally receive periodic updates from the Sponsor as to the progress of the business plan and new developments for the subject property. These updates usually occur on a quarterly basis, although with certain investments they may occur as frequently as monthly. Notifications of these updates are generally sent by email, and are also posted directly to the online dashboard of those investors who participated in the opportunity. Investors will also receive tax documents for each calendar year in which there was a distribution or other taxable income from a real estate investment made through RealtyShares. We try our best to get you all required tax documents for your investments prior to April 15th, and generally include contractual provisions with sponsoring real estate companies to help us get your tax information to you well in advance of that date. Occasionally, however, a Sponsor may itself be late in developing the related entity tax returns, and as a result there can be no assurance that investors will not need to file an extension request with the IRS. Investors will receive 1099s for debt investments and a K-1 for equity investments for personal tax purposes. Are these Investments liquid? When will I get my investment back? Private real estate investments of the type listed with RealtyShares are not traded on a public market and involve transferability restrictions. As a result, your shares in these investments cannot be easily traded, sold, or otherwise converted into cash. Each investment has a unique projected hold period, which is the approximate period of time that investors can expect to hold the investment prior to any exit or maturity date. These hold periods vary by investment, and can vary from less than 6 months to greater than 5 years; they are also estimates only, and actual hold periods may be longer or shorter than the periods initially projected. Expected hold periods are generally described on the Overview tab of any particular investment opportunity. Investors should review such expected hold periods carefully and consider whether such hold periods are suitable for them in view of their own investment objectives. There are not, of course, any guarantees with respect to any of the investment opportunities listed on RealtyShares, and there can be no assurance that actual return rates will meet those that were projected or even that investors will have all of their investment capital returned to them. Investors should review closely the Risk Factors described in the investor package for any particular investment opportunity. 7
Over 1,500 properties worth over $500M What types of investments does RealtyShares Offer? Through the RealtyShares Investment Platform, accredited investors can access a variety of real estate asset classes, including: Single-Family Residential, Multifamily, Retail, Office, Hospitality and Mixed-Use. Investors can also access both debt investments in the form of first or second-position loans secured directly or indirectly by residential and commercial properties usually yielding a fixed interest rate of 8-12% annually as well as equity investments in residential and commercial properties offering cash flows during the hold period and/or a portion of the profits upon a sale of the property. TYPE OF ASSETS DEBT EQUITY SINGLE FAMILY HOMES MULTI-FAMILY (APARTMENTS) SINGLE FAMILY HOMES MULTI-FAMILY (APARTMENTS) HOTELS OFFICE BUILDINGS 8
How does RealtyShares review investment opportunities? INVESTMENTS CURATED BY OUR UNDERWRITERS Only 5% deals are approved 1. Application Submission Companies submit application for financing 2. Prequalification Applicants are prequalified based on track record, financial strength, and expertise 3. Project Due Diligence Detailed underwriting includes review of investment strategy, financials, legal standing, and property condition/location 4. Project Funding Approved projects are listed for funding on the RealtyShares platform Before listing an investment opportunity, RealtyShares reviews certain aspects of a proposed transaction for its general suitability on our platform, and we try to gain an understanding of the Sponsor s track record and experience. We also perform background and credit checks on the principals of the sponsoring real estate company. Where we re sufficiently interested, we review other transaction-specific data such as the Sponsor s pro forma financial projections, the market area in which the subject property is located, the apparent quality of the property, and the proposed investment structure. Ultimately, though, RealtyShares is not responsible for screening transactions for investors; our role, rather, is to assemble the relevant information (usually obtained from the Sponsor) for opportunities that we find suitable for the platform and to present that information in a way that helps investors understand, analyze and consider all the aspects of a proposed investment opportunity. The ultimate decision as to whether to participate in any investment opportunity is up to investors themselves. RealtyShares cannot, of course, guarantee the results of any investment, which indeed are risky and could result in the loss of an investor s principal. Investors should further note that our listings generally involve illiquid securities (usually to be held for extended periods) that involve transfer restrictions. RealtyShares as an institution does not act as either an investment, tax, or legal advisor, and investors should consult with their professional consultants and advisors with respect to any listed investment opportunity. 9
GEOGRAPHICALLY DIVERSIFIED REAL ESTATE OFFERINGS TO OPTIMIZE YOUR PORTFOLIO Over 1,500 Properties Worth Over $500M Total Returned to Investors $21,000,000+ Investment Opportunities 320+ LOS ANGELES, CA $800K Funded Annual Return: 14% Asset Type: Single Family Capital Stack: Debt BOSTON, MA $152K Funded Annual Return: 15-19% Asset Type: Multi-Family Capital Stack: Equity LOS ANGELES, CA $785K Funded Annual Return: 9% Asset Type: Single Family Capital Stack: Debt 10