Bushwick real estate is a jungle. Everything in Bushwick is so “hip” and “oh, so trendy” that everybody seems to want to own a piece of Bushwick’s real estate in hopes of a high return. Actress Zosia Mamet who plays Shoshanna in HBO Girls bought her Bushwick home only last year. This year she’s selling it for over $500k more than what she paid for it. The building of Colony 1208, Bushwick’s most controversial apartment complex, has been bought by developers for approx. $6M, and sold for $58M after the development. Wouldn’t it be nice to be on the investor side in these deals for once?
I know what you want to say right now. That you don’t have a couple of million dollars sitting in a bank waiting to be invested because you’re a “regular person” with a “regular income.” But still wouldn’t it be nice to have a stake in the neighborhood you live in and love? You could welcome the positive changes to the neighborhood rather living in fear of your increased rent and blame that new coffee shop on your block. But can a regular person even start dream about investing in Bushwick? Yes, she can!
Fundrise is a real estate crowdfunding platform, which gives public the access to great investment opportunities at a lower cost and with more transparency. After registration, you can choose individual properties and invest as little as $100. I know, right?! Recently, a Brooklyn-based real estate development company Cayuga Capital Management funded their project, a multi-family building at 290 and 294 Harman Street in Bushwick with contributions from 33 investors collected through Fundrise platform. “Investors provided anywhere from $5,000 to $500,000 and are projected to receive a 12 percent gross annual return on their projected three-year investment,” reported Crowdfund Insider recently.
A relatively low amount of $5,000 could buy you that piece of highly desired Bushwick real estate, and on a great 12% annual return, which means $1,800 over the course of three years! Now I bet you’re wondering, if there is a catch? Yep, there is a little, hopefully a temporary catch. Cayuga made this opportunity open to accredited investors only, and generally majority of investments listed on Fundrise are for accredited investors exclusively. And we all know that an accredited investor is someone a lot richer than you and I. To be exact, it is a someone whose net worth is at least one million US dollars (excluding the value of their primary residence) or someone who has an income at least $200,000 a year. But there is hope for brighter future!
Now, you probably heard of The JOBS Act. The JOBS Act, dear friends is awesome. It makes crowd-funding from non-accredited investors possible! However, the most important part of The JOBS Act is not in effect yet, and it’s been pending for two years now.
“The way the rules work it’s very hard to take non-accredited investors with whom we don’t have a pre-existing relationship,” told us Jamie Wiseman, principal of Cayuga Capital Management. “However, I could not put up a sign on the block and ask for investors. This would be a public solicitation to unaccredited investors. That’s the rub,” Mr Wiseman continued.
So while you’re waiting for The JOBS Act to allow us to invest through crowd-funding in Bushwick real estate, sign up for Fundrise, and start organize your personal finances, so that when the opportunity comes you’re ready to invest. Check out these smart books for starters.