EstateGuru

EstateGuru Review

I started using EstateGuru in March 2018, attracted by the positive comments in all blogs consulted. Since then, I have invested in virtually all the opportunities that have become available (with AutoInvest). At first, I spent significant amounts (several hundred euros), until I realized that with the huge volume of new opportunities, just by investing the minimum (50 EUR) you can quickly generate a diversified portfolio. My strategy is to continue investing in each project. Check my portfolio analysis for the latest updates.

During 2018, EstateGuru funded 356 property loans worth €52,5 million, an increase of more than 225% compared to 2017. They returned nearly €19 million worth of issued loans, paid out more than €3 million in interest and bonuses, and generated more than €73,000 in referral bonuses. The return from repaid loans was 12.02% in 2018. The investor base grew to more than 17,600 registered investors from 109 countries while they also managed to attract the first institutional investor to the platform.

• Platform Type: Real Estate Crowdfunding.
• Start: 2013, Estonia.
• Modalities: Fixed rate. Projects are mortgage loans of various types.
• Geographic focus: Baltic states – in Estonia (64%), Latvia (21%) and Lithuania (15%).
• Currencies: Euro
• Return rates: I have not yet reached the maximum profitability of the platform, which is historically 12.29%. The return rate per project ranges between 10 and 12% in general (a couple with 13%). The average of my projects is 10.7%. Returns and terms are fixed, agreed in advance. During certain periods or for certain opportunities you can get a bonus of return by investing above certain amounts (1000 EUR).
• Investment flow / Cash Drag: The most active of all real estate platforms by far with 25 new projects per month.
• Minimum investment (per loan): 50 EUR.
• Payment modality: Interests are paid at the maturity of the loan, or month to month, so it takes several months to achieve maximum profitability.
• Terms: Projects are generally 1-2 year long, but it is not uncommon to get early payments (around 4% in my experience).
• Defaults: The percentage of defaults according to statistics from round EstateGuru 0.7% since they began trading in 2013. There is always some project delays (about 5-6% in my case) that day, often end up being paid. The default does not mean that the investment is lost, but are in the process of recovering the warranty. I am informed of Estateguru, so far, investors have lost none of their investments. You can check the latest default rates and delays for all platforms on my last portfolio analysis.
• Buyback: None, like for other real estate crowdfunding platforms.
• AutoInvest: It has a basic AutoInvest (for investments of less than 250 EUR) that allows to choose only the amount to invest, the duration, and the type of loan. To qualify for advanced AutoInvest (and filter for interest rate, LTV and other characteristics) one must invest at least EUR 250 per project. The filter is particularly useful for not investing in multiple stages of the same project, which goes against the concept of diversification. Without AutoInvest, it is easy to miss opportunities because they are financed quite fast (usually in 1-3 days). The platform sends an email every time a project comes up.
• Secondary market: Doesn’t exist.
• Interface / Tools: Renewed in October 2018. Very complete. You can view and filter transactions and portfolio (and download them in PDF or Excel format) invest in automated format. Very comprehensive graphics of the portfolio, including delays, assets (by country, type of loan), and revenues generated every month. List of delayed projects (number of days) and defaults.
• Taxes: It doesn’t withhold taxes.
• Customer Support: The 2-3 times I’ve contacted them, they have responded within 24 hours, always satisfactorily and professionally.
• Languages: English, German, Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian.
• Welcome promotion: 0.5% of the amount invested in the first 3 months if you use this link or the code EGU00525.