Marine Corps Veteran’s Journey to Real Estate Crowdfunding

As temperatures cool down and we head into October, things are still pretty hot in real estate crowdfunding, with plenty of new deals, new happenings, and good news for real estate crowdfunding platforms. So without further ado, let’s look at some of the most important you might have missed- or you want to know more about- from the last week.

New Crowdfunding Platform Deals

In what is perhaps a sign of a bounce back from pandemic lows, retail shopping centers are popping up more and more on real estate crowdfunding platforms, often anchored by a large grocery store. The Village East Shopping Center, a high-volume specialty grocery and national-retailer anchored shopping center in Salem, Oregon. We covered this deal in a previous issue, prior to it going live.

Investors can now invest in this 20,520 SF property at CrowdStreet. It’s got a targeted investor IRR of 15.1%, a targeted equity multiple of 1.8x, and a targeted average cash yield of 10.8%. If you’re interested in investing or just learning more, head over to the fact sheet at CrowdStreet.

Also on offer at CrowdStreet is a property in the red-hot Southeast, the Artisan Flats Birmingham. While this region has traditionally been overlooked by many homebuyers and real estate firms, it is now having its moment in the sun, largely due to a growing and diverse economic base, strong population growth, and relative affordability compared to other major metros in the Northeast, West Coast, and prominent Southern cities like Houston and Atlanta.

The property itself is a 120-unit boutique multifamily development in the heart of Birmingham, the Lakeview District. On offer at the property are high-end apartment finishes and Class A amenities, available at lower rates compared to competing housing in the area. The Artisan Flats Birmingham has a targeted investor IRR of 19.8%, a targeted equity multiple of 1.7x, and a targeted average cash yield of 3.3%.

The project’s sponsor, Harbert Realty Services, is holding a live webinar and Q&A session on Monday, October 11 at 10:00 AM PST, which is also when the deal goes live. Take a look at this luxe Southern apartment complex, here.

And for a different taste of real estate crowdfunding, head on over to FarmTogether where their latest deal is the Goldenrod Pecan Orchard. The farm is an off-market opportunity to purchase 410 plantable acres that FarmTogether plan to develop to pecans. The property is located roughly 85 miles northwest of Dallas and 105 miles south of Oklahoma City, along Oklahoma’s southern border with Texas in the heart of pecan country. FarmTogether report that the deal is modeled as a 10-year hold with a target net IRR of 11.2%, a target net average cash yield of 6.1%, and a target multiple on invested capital of 2.7x. More info here.

General Crowdfunding Industry News

We love covering new deals and helping readers potentially hit that home run that helps them cement their financial independence with real estate investments. However, we find it just as important to cover stories that point out the socially positive ways that real estate crowdfunding is making our country a better place to live – especially when there is also an opportunity for you to participate. This story out of Jacksonville, Florida, about a U.S. Marine Corps veteran on a mission to improve veteran housing with funds raised through real estate crowdfunding meets that criteria.

John Morgan, a former Marine intelligence analyst, launched IzMaCo, also known as IMC Investments, in 2019 to fill a burning need in the market for high-quality, well-managed housing for military members and their dependents, who often suffer from poor quality housing through the government or the inability to afford quality housing near bases with a high COL. Morgan’s idea with IMC was to provide better housing and white-glove property management services to military members.

The firm purchases distressed properties, rehabs them into quality long-term rentals for service members. IMC Investments is using real estate crowdfunding to raise $5 million to expand their current real estate portfolio, including nine properties in three states. Want to learn more about IMC Investments, John, and his mission to house veterans and their families? Click on over to this article at JDNews.com for more info.

Crowdfunding Platform Updates

We’ll finish with two crowdfunding platform updates.

reAlpha, a real estate crowdfunding platform focused on expanding access to the $1.2 trillion short-term rental market, recently announced it will be sponsoring and participating in Equity Crowdfunding Week 2021, an industry conference dedicated to all things real estate crowdfunding. reAlpha’s CEO Giri Devanur and CMO Christie Currie also presented the company’s story at the conference this past Monday in a keynote titled: “From Reg A to NASDAQ.” Get more details at StreetInsider, here.

We’ll end on a high note. Crowdfunding platform Fundrise recently reported the successful payback of a New Jersey apartment complex, generating an annualized return of 10.25% for investors in the East Coast eREIT. In August of 2018, Fundrise invested $3.75 million in the construction of the Walcott Hackensack, a 235-unit apartment complex in Hackensack, NJ, just across the bridge from New York City.

Construction at the property is finishing up, and certificates of occupancy expected by the end of the year. The sponsor has refinanced the property as well as paid back the construction loan. Via a preferred structure investment, Fundrise earned an annualized return of 10.25% over the roughly 3-year life of the investment- not a bad haul.

That about wraps it up for the first week of October, but don’t worry- we’ll be back with plenty more updates for you next week. See you then and happy investing from all of us at GowerCrowd.