How Grant Cardone built a real estate crowdfunding empire (using other people’s money)

Welcome to the inaugural September 2022 edition of “The GowerCrowd Real Estate Crowdfunding Newsletter.” This week, we’ve got a lot to get to, including the now open-for investment Fountain Bridge Farm in Randolph County, Georgia, and a New High-Target IRR Multifamily in High-Demand Location – The Royce at Trumbull over at RealtyMogul. 

We’ll also look at a new long-form article at TheRealReal that discusses real estate crowdfunding impresario Grant Cardone’s rise to the big stage, How Grant Cardone built a real estate empire with other people’s money, as well as a look at Groundfloor’s effort to Raise $5 Million on Wefunder and a brand new podcast for your listening pleasure, Ep 113 – The Crowdfunding Revolution Comes to Real Estate with Levi Brackman.

Let’s get into it.

New Crowdfunding Platform Deals

First up is the Fountain Bridge Farm, a 246-acre corn and soybean farm that benefits from the rich soil and strong agricultural base in Randolph County, Georgia. The farm is lucky to have some of the most highly rated soils in Georgia, particularly well-suited to corn and soybean production, largely due to its high moisture retaining clay and loam compositions. In addition to soybeans and corn, the land is also excellent for cotton and peanut production- almost a necessity in Georgia, home of peanut farmer and former President Jimmy Carter. 

Take a look for yourself at AcreTrader, here.

Next, we’re going to check out a New High-Target IRR Multifamily in High-Demand Location – The Royce at Trumbull. The project sits in Trumbull, Connecticut, a boasts a high target IRR (21.2%), solid target cash on cash (7.5%), and a target equity multiple of 2.48x. The property was purchased via an off-market deal for $101,100,000, which equates to $297,000/unit.  This sits well below comparative sales in Fairfield County, which has seen several similarly-appointed assets sell for as much as $400,000 to $500,000 per unit. See for yourself on RealtyMogul, here.

General Crowdfunding Industry News

News involving real estate investment guru Grant Cardone has made several issues of this newsletter, including today, with an excellent writeup about the real estate crowdfunding investor on TheRealReal. The piece, How Grant Cardone built a real estate empire with other people’s money, examines how Cardone rose through the ranks of the real estate investing space by leveraging other people’s money- including via sponsorship of real estate crowdfunding deals, like the ones we cover every week here on the newsletter. Read on at TheRealReal, here.

Crowdfunding Platform Updates

In other news, crowdfunding platform Groundfloor seeks to raise $5 Million on Wefunder. According to the offering page, the firm plans to raise equity at a pre-money valuation of roughly $234 million/ As of the writing of this newsletter, the company has raised over $700,000 form more than 450 investors, almost hitting 1/5 of their goal of $5 million, which is the funding cap under Regulation CF. 

The platform recently issued a release that covers the company’s operations reporting. In the report, Groundfloor claims that more than $800 million has been invested via the platform, which investors earning, on average, 10% on debt issued for real estate. See the raise on Crowdfund Insider, here.

Also, if you have the time, you should definitely read the September Edition of Lay of the Land – AcreTrader’s Investor Newsletter. In it, the folks at AcreTrader outline the basics of fractional farmland investing as well as bring new farm-focused deals to your attention. The newsletter is a must-subscribe for anyone thinking about a crowdfunded investment in productive farmland. Sign up on AcreTrader, here.

Multimedia Links (Videos, Podcasts, etc.)

Finally, we’re going to look at a new podcast,  Ep 113 – The Crowdfunding Revolution Comes to Real Estate with Levi Brackman. In the latest episode of Elevate Your Equity, Invown CEO Levi Brackman covers some of the fundamentals of the real estate crowdfunding space, including what crowdfunding and syndicated funds are, as well as a look at some of the most common misconceptions in the sector. Brackman has spent almost two decades in the real estate business, is a bestselling author, and holds a Master’s degree for University College London. Listen for yourself on Listen Notes, here.

That’s it for this week- but we’ll be back with all of your favorite new deals, news stories, platform updates, podcasts, and more. Ciao!