You are making real estate investing accessible to everyone through secure blockchain technologies. Could you tell us more about it?
InvestBay makes it possible to invest in real assets without the worry of owning them. You can thus acquire a share in a property that appreciates just like the property itself. At the same time, we take care of their economic operation, so that these properties generate continuous income from short-term and long-term rentals.
You were chosen among the 7 participants of the Mastercard Fintech Engage pitching competition in Prague in March 2023. What does this mean for you? Where has it moved you?
It was a success for us to be chosen from more than a hundred companies. It shows that we are heading in the right direction. Thanks to MC Fintech Engage, we were able to present our proposition to a wider expert audience and get their feedback.
You are the first real estate investment platform to offer retail investors both profitability and liquidity through tokenization. What is tokenization and what makes it unique?
Tokenization is the creation of tokens and assigning them some specific value; in our case it represents a share of the returns from the invested property. The technology itself, though, is not so important; what is primary is what it allows us to offer investors. The purchase of small shares and their subsequent transferability, which ensures better liquidity.
The InvestBay platform finally opens up real estate as an investment opportunity for everyone. Is it really for everyone? What is the basic or minimum deposit?
The minimum investment amount is 500 EUR. People can choose which of the investment opportunities they like and which will better diversify their portfolio. It is an investment for everyone; thanks to this opportunity, people can spread out their investment portfolio, which can then easily include real estate as well.
By dividing a property into acquirable tokens, retail investors can benefit from the higher returns and lower risks of real estate while still maintaining liquidity through a dedicated payment card facility. So how does it work?
A payment card will be issued for the investment. Its available balance will be determined both by the income from the given property and by the option to borrow short-term against the share in the property.
What kinds of properties are you interested in? Which are in the greatest demand?
We are interested in properties for long-term rentals as well as for short-term stays in tourist-attractive locations.
Do you deal only with the Czech market or globally? Where all?
The launch will be in the Czech Republic first, Czech properties for Czech investors. We are already searching for foreign properties too, for which we see demand today. The plan is then to expand to other (not only) European markets and to offer investments to consumers there.
Domestic savings worth many trillions of euros are tied up in either low- or zero-interest bank accounts. Is this a suitable form of investment, including as a way to secure your retirement?
Real estate in general shows long-term stable growth without short-term extreme fluctuations. We believe it thus forms a suitable part of a portfolio for investors who have a long-term investment mindset and at the same time do not want to deal with much else around their investment.
You also help educate and build a thriving community of global investors. How can an individual become a global investor? What does it take?
In our concept, it means the ability to get involved and invest in properties abroad as well, which will soon follow in the offering. Spain, Portugal, Austria or Dubai - those are the countries where we are currently evaluating opportunities and returns, and we will offer some of them.
You believe you will change the way people look at property ownership, so that properties no longer have to be sold and bought as a whole. So who will be the real owner of the properties? And who will decide on them, take care of them and maintain them? And what about, for example, entries in the land register? Will owners be anonymous?
We are the owner of the property in the land register. We take care of the property for the entire duration of the investment, we ensure its economic operation, the tenants, and everything connected with it. That is also our main expertise and experience. Thanks to this, each investor can deal with their share individually without having to reach an agreement with the other investors. This differs from a situation where you would have the property registered jointly directly together with another hundred co-owners.
Won't problems soon arise if there are multiple owners of the properties?
The safety and security of the real estate is ensured for investors by means of a security agent, which is a contract between us and a law firm that holds the security interest. In the event of a problem, the lawyer has one main task: to sell the property and settle the money with the investors.
You are a successful entrepreneur and visionary. What else do you dream about?
InvestBay is now both the main dream and the reality I live. The goal is to build a successful and global investment service that earns money for clients. At the same time, to build a large community around it, so that we can reach big and interesting opportunities and, besides individual apartments, invest in, say, an entire resort or even an island.
Thank you for the interview.
Source: Rénata Lucková, e-news.cz
Wow, this is such a great article that I just have to share it.
