Money360 has reported another milestone in the nascent online lending commercial real estate market; the firm has originated $100 million in new commercial real estate loans in the past six months, doubling its total from August 2016; four recent loan closings for a total of $38 million helped the company reach its $200 million milestone; Money360 says it expects to exceed $500 million in loan transactions by the end of 2017. Source
UK mortgage loan marketplace platform, LendInvest, has released its 2016 earnings; originations on the platform increased 84% to £320 million for the year ending March 2016; company grew revenue 133% to £32 million with a profit of £3.4 million; leads most of its competitors who have been consistently reporting losses. Source
Chris Lustrino talks with the cofounders of PeerStreet in a blog post interview on Simple.Innovative.Change; Brew Johnson talks about how his legal experience with real estate and work on a tech startup with his brother led him to found the platform; additionally, both founders discuss the PeerStreet platform and its innovative market positioning. Source
Patch of Land has filed a Form D 506c with the Securities and Exchange Commission; it seeks to raise $3.2 million in debt capital with a minimum investment of $250,000; the company has already raised $1.5 million; the company raised a total of $23.6 million in 2015 and has facilitated over $100 million in loans. 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
LandlordInvest has launched the UK's first secured property P2P lending innovative finance individual savings account (IFISA); the firm offers 5% to 12% returns on its loans and investors can now invest tax free with the IFISA; platform investments include bridge loans and term loans for buy-to-rent landlords; most of the firm's loans are for amounts ranging from 30,000 British pounds ($37,895) to 750,000 British pounds ($947,363) with a payoff term of five years; process for offering the IFISA took less than two months with approval obtained by HM Revenue and Customs shortly after the firm's Financial Conduct Authority approval in December. Source
Vesta Equity is a home equity marketplace that allows homeowners to access their equity without borrowing while providing tokenized, residential real estate investment opportunities. And it works because of its owners’ faith in the future of blockchain technology and Web3.
The primary focus in the online real estate market has been on consumer and residential products however a significant opportunity appears to exist in commercial real estate with the size of the market valued at approximately $3.5 trillion; HousingWire provides a recap of LendIt's commercial real estate panel featuring the three primary companies active in the space including: Cadre, Money360 and Plum Lending; panelists discussed the success of the their businesses and the main challenges for new entrants including the complexities of data sets and the lack of technology solutions for commercial market services. Source
Unison has reported new funding that brings its total capital raised to $300 million also announcing new leadership appointments; the new capital will help the company continue its focus on providing more affordable home ownership for US consumers; the funding round included Ron Suber of Prosper Marketplace who will also join the firm as a strategic advisor; the firm has recently added several new executives focused on sales and marketing. Source
California mortgage lender Opes Advisors is using proprietary software technology to help clients think more holistically about how buying a home fits into their financial plans; the company originates approximately $3 billion in mortgage loans per year and has built technology software that advises clients on comprehensive financial planning; also offering wealth management, the company provides comprehensive advisory services that are unique in the mortgage lending market. Source