All Forum Posts by: Saul L.

 Idaly, 

Sounds like you are looking to raise money through CF. If thats the case I doubt very much you will find a reputable platform that will work with someone with no experience.

@Nick McCandless - I assume you are an accredited investor otherwise nearly all of the CF opps out there are not available to you. I am invested through several platforms and love the passive income generated. 

One of the great pros of CF is the ease of diversifying across geographies, sectors (MF, Industrial, office, retail etc.), and methods (debt, equity, etc.). instead of sinking all your hard earned savings in one or two properties.

An excellent place to begin learning and assessing is on @Ian Ippolito s site: https://www.therealestatecrowdfundingreview.com/ and here http://www.crowddd.com/

 Devin, this is a really old thread. Unfourtunatly my opinion of Castle has since swung in the complete opposite direction. They mismanaged one of my sec 8 properties into abatement, thereby losing the tenant and the worst part is that they then calmly informed me that they were resigning and walked away leaving me holding the wreckage they had created. Sadly-  despite the slick image and fancy technology platform, when it came down to the bread and butter of managing the property and taking responsibility for their actions, turns out that they are no different from many of the other lousy PM's that are a dime a dozen in Detroit. I am not surprised at the negative Yelp reviews.

@Guy Yarkoni - as far as I know there are no official BP meetups in Israel. BP is US based platform and focused solely on US RE investing. As mentioned above there are other local RE meetups - normally flogging someones wares. As I am sure you know investing in Israel is a very different ball game to the US markets.

@Jay Hinrichs - Great to hear you are visiting. I follow your posts avidly and really appreciate all the knowledge and experience you bring to the community.  Thoroughly enjoyed your podcast as well- (especially buying the land, flogging the lumber and pulling most of the money out almost immediately- loved that) . Am always looking for that creative angle in an RE investment that no one else sees, and gives you the hidden value for thinking out of the box.

If you have time when here I would be more than happy meet and compare notes over a drink or a meal.

@Jeff L. - Aside from Ground floor which has its own thread- you can take a look at Holdfolio- also been extensivly disscussed in the forums.

Thanks @Craig Tork - had a quick look. There are a lot of these kind of slick marketing "RE investment" opps in the UK- Ive seen this a lot with student housing and generally prefer to stay away. I noted that nowhere do they say its a 10% guaranteed return. If you want to look into this further do proper due diligence on the operator and management and subscription documents- You are tied to them for 10 years and not sure if there is any way out, if for whatever reason they don't perform.  I have also come across regulations not permitting US investors into certain RE syndicates in the UK for tax reasons. You might want to confirm that issue before proceeding with any DD on potential UK investments. 

IMHO there is no shortage of opps in the US and generally of higher quality and better returns than what I am seeing in the UK.

@Craig Tork - I invest passively in the UK (as well  as in the US) but haven't come across  these opportunities -so cant really comment. Would be happy to take a look though. Can you post or link us to more information ? 

Very negative and very disappointing.

I no longer hold properties in Detroit and couldn't be happier. I came to the conclusion that these kind of properties are just not worth the headache long distance.

@Nick Yates to get back to your OP and question- I used Castle for a period of time- (also reached them through recommendations on BP) and they were ok for a while but ended up  disappointing me dismally-  mismanaging a cash flowing sec 8 property of mine into abatement, which resulted in the tenant being permitted to break the lease and leave, and thereafter instead of pulling their weight and turning it around, they simply resigned and left me holding the pieces. Unfortunately I went through 3 different property managers in my time in Detroit and cannot recommend any of them. Self management is an option if you live close enough, and have the time and stomach for it.

Good for you @Shalom Shore, an inspiring story. 

Kudos for following your dream, and putting in the sweat time and effort. Really like the fact that you realised, that what you were lacking in funds or experience, you could make up for by bringing other assets to the table- web design, networking etc and spending your weekends on a building site. I am certain the education you got there will be priceless going forward.

Best of luck and kol ha kavod.