Tag Archives: property

New investment project in Latvia announced by Bulkestate – Nometnu Street – Launch 28 august 2018

Bulkestate logo

Bulkestate announced today that it is preparing to launch a new investment project in Latvia, Riga.

Launch time: Tuesday / 28 August 2018 / 17:00 (EEST)

Project

Bulkestate OÜ has signed a purchase agreement for a property (land 2,077 square metres and building) located on Nometnu 18, Riga. The property is a part of Riga’s famous Art Noveau collection, a 4-storey apartment building in the Āgenskalns district. The surrounding area is a mix of residential houses and light commercial facilities. It is a convenient location, only 10 minutes away from the city centre and 15 minutes from the Riga airport. The building was owned and managed by the University of Latvia as a residential property.

The property includes 12 apartments and two commercial premises as well as an adjacent wooden building. All apartments and the wooden building have been reserved by buyers with contracted sales revenue 866,000 euros and 86.6 thousand euros paid to Bulkestate as a reservation deposit.

Location, quality of the building and significant discounts to the market price have facilitated fast sales process and high commitment from the buyers to complete the purchase.

Commercial premises will be sold after completion of apartment sales process. The expected sales price for these is 250 thousand euros.

Loan

The loan amount will comprise EUR 800,000 and will carry a 17% annual interest rate.

The loan will be used to finance payment of purchase price and transaction costs and will be repaid by payments for sold apartments.

Security

The loan is secured by a first rank mortgage on the building. The market price of the building has been defined as EUR 1,400,000 (LTV ratio is 57%).

The borrower

For technical reasons, loan agreement will be signed by LP Private Property SIA (a company controlled by Bulkestate OÜ) who will lend these funds to Bulkestate OÜ to pay the sellers of the building and associated transaction costs.

All funds received by Bulkestate from investors will remain at Bulkestate and will be directly used to complete the acquisition of the property.

Repayment schedule

Loan and accrued interest will be paid within 3 months.

*Bulkestate incentive payment

For this project Bulkestate offers the following special incentive pay (cash-back) for investors:

  • Investors making EUR 10,000 or larger investment will receive 1% incentive payment from the invested amount (representing 4% annual interest rate), while
  • Investors making EUR 25,000 or larger investment will receive 2% incentive payment from the invested amount (representing 8% annual interest rate).

 

New investment project in Latvia announced by Bulkestate – Barona Dainas II – Launch 10 july 2018

Bulkestate logo

Bulkestate announced today that it is preparing to launch a new investment project in Latvia.

Launch time: Tomorrow / 10 July 2018 / 16:00 (EEST)

The second phase of the project ‘Barona Dainas’ follows as the borrower has successfully completed the purchase of the property.

Interest rate: 18%

Investment target: 50,000 EUR
Loan period: 12 months
Future loan to value: 33%
Security: Equity

5 essential steps to invest buying a property

Real estate invest

The first steps as an investor in the real estate world can be risky and complicated. Like any new approach, there is a learning process and by allocating time and studying the problem, the results will be positive. Before you buy a property, here are some steps to keep in mind.

Prepare the advance and set the rates for the loan

Financing through a loan an investment in a property is not the same as the financing of your own home. If you decide to invest and buy a property, expect a fairly important advance. Get ready the advance and study bank lending offers. Funding conditions are very important.

Decide if you want to rent or sell the property

Renting or selling an investment involves different strategies, so it is important to know what method you intend to apply. If you bought a property and you want to sell it after you arrange it, it is a quick way to earn capital. Renting requires shorter repairs and smaller investments, but it has a much lower return. The gains accumulate over time and the investment is amortized over a long period of time. Rental properties involve long-term commitments to keep tenants, but provide a long-term secure income.

Understand the local economy

Studying the current situation may be helpful. If you intend to rent, it is important to think long-term. Is the city potentially economical, or is the local economy declining? You need an economy that attracts potential tenants who will pay for long-term rent or you can always find quality buyers. Researching this economic situation will take time. Nobody knows the situation better than a local. Create relationships to understand if it is advisable to rent or sell a property. You can start investing in real estate in an area that will be familiar, close to your resentment.

Study the market

If you like a building, look for similar properties on the market. It is helpful to orient yourself according to the market price. Make a comparative study to see at what price you could rent your property, compared to other similar properties. Do not focus only on pricing. Verify if certain properties are for long available for sale on the market, then there are reasons why they are not leased. If real estate agents offer discounts, this indicates a market with few buyers. If the prices are high and few properties are available then the market is weak in quality offers and there are many buyers, that is, you have to compete.

Find out the costs for repair and maintenance

When buying a property, you also have to estimate the costs for repairs and improvements so that it is suitable for rent or later sale. Call a specialist who can find hidden building defects. If you intend to resell, evaluate correctly what costs are involved in the arrangement of the building. External repairs, painting, overhauling are much cheaper as structural defects or electrical network reconfiguration. Take into account not only repairs but also maintenance costs. If you want to resell, then you have to include these expenses in your plans, so you will not to lose. If you want to rent, avoid major repairs and renovations. Renting will bring long-term income, and the investment should not involve large expense.

EstateGuru secures its first institutional credit line from a German bank

EstateGuru New Logo

EstateGuru, the European leading cross-border marketplace for short-term property loans has secured its first institutional credit line to be invested into loans originated in the Baltic market.

EstateGuru CEO and co-founder Marek Pärtel comments:

“Establishing the EstateGuru – Varengold cooperation is a proof of having found a mutually beneficial cooperation model between a traditional financial institution and a fintech company. This is a clear sign that building a diversified portfolio of property backed loans is a very appealing instrument for institutional investors. Our Pan-European retail investor base is still the main source of capital. However, establishing a cooperation with Varengold Bank and other institutional investors enables EstateGuru to grow faster by offering a wider variety of property backed loans to our entire investor base and raise the flexibility of loan terms to our borrowers. Without a doubt it is an important milestone for EstateGuru in moving closer to our goal of becoming the leading provider of flexible property backed finance solutions in Europe. We still see many SME-s and property developers who are struggling to get property backed finance from traditional financial institutions due to highly regulated and lengthy processes. EstateGuru has a clear vision and roadmap to bridge the gaps left open in the property finance industry.”

EststeGuru COO Mihkel Stamm adds:

“Establishing a cooperation with Varengold Bank is an unprecedented assurance of the quality of EstateGuru’s business processes. The due diligence process was thorough and lengthy, during which Varengold’s representatives were convinced of EstateGuru’s product, procedures and the people behind the business.“

Since the establishment in 2014 EstateGuru’s investor base of over 11 000 investors have funded in excess of €50 million of secured property loans in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland and Spain with zero losses to investors to date. With the recent developments, including entering 2 new markets in 2018 Q1, establishing an institutional credit line and an ongoing equity round, the firm is setting goals for the next European markets, to establish its Pan-European reach in coming years.

About Varengold Bank AG

Varengold Bank AG is a German private bank, headquartered in Hamburg. Varengold is the leading provider of products and services to the Marketplace Lending Industry

Founded in 1995 as an asset management boutique seeking to offer individual and high-performing financial products for private and institutional clients. In 2013, Varengold was granted a commercial banking license when it transformed into to fully fledged commercial bank.

Varengold Bank AG is registered with the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) under number 109 520 and has been listed at Deutsche Börse in Frankfurt since the 20th of March 2007 (ISIN DE0005479307, WKN 547930). Varengold Bank AG is also connected to the Compensatory Fund of German Banks (EdB).

EstateGuru peer-to-peer cross-border lending marketplace overview

 

EstateGuru New Logo

NEW: The peer-to-peer lending marketplace EstateGuru offers now a 0.5% bonus on all your investments made in the first 3 months. To receive it, you must register, comply with the terms and conditions and start investing. The bonus will be added to your investment account after the loan has been funded and transfered to the borrower.

EstateGuru is a leading Nordic online peer-to-peer lending platform established by property and FinTech professionals facilitating short- and mid-term property loans. The cross-border marketplace offers flexible terms for borrowers and premium interest to its investors. The loans of EUR 50 000- 3 000 000 facilitated through the EstateGuru platform are secured against property with a maximum LTV of 75%.

The mission of EstateGuru is to provide hassle free and flexible financing to property developers and entrepreneurs and property backed investment opportunities to its international investor base.

To date EstateGuru has been growing more than 300% a year and has established itself in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with more than 314 loans issued amounting to over €51 million. To date, EstateGuru has more than 11200 investors of different profile from 45 countries.

In the near future EstateGuru is launching the platform in Spain, Ireland and the UK.

How does it work?

A property owner, developer or entrepreneur proposes a business case for which they need funding. The professional team at EstateGuru will examine the application, and commission an independent valuation by a recognized third party.

If the independent review of the value of security, and the analysis of EstateGuru team’s due diligence, including of the borrower business plan and exit strategy is positive, the loan will be opened for investment. Within ten days of funding being successfully achieved through the platform, EstateGuru will set a charge on the property, releasing the funds to the borrower.

At EstateGuru Lenders earn interest on a monthly basis through the term of the loan, at rates that exceed most of the standard investment vehicles. Borrowers can quickly and efficiently raise competitively priced capital to bring their projects to life. Asset backed investing and borrowing has never been easier.

Who is eligible to invest?

You must be at least 18 years old and have a bank account any of the EEA member states or in Switzerland in order to lend through EstateGuru. EstateGuru also have to perform certain “know your customer” checks on you before you can start investing.

Using this referral link when you signup you will receive a 0.5% bonus of the total amount invested within the first three months.

What type of projects can be founded on EstateGuru?

Real estate projects in Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania which are approved by our team can access funding through EstateGuru. However, there is no limitation on the type of projects that can be submitted for approval. As long as the project has a property element to it and the property is capable of being used as security for the debt, please feel free to submit it for approval.

Investing

EstateGuru makes it easy for investors to access a variety of real estate investments with a relatively small amount of capital. The minimum amount for investment is €50, which enables to create a diversified portfolio. All loans are secured with a mortgage.

The minimum investment amount is €50 and no fees apply to investors. All expenses are covered by the borrower.

Both manual and auto-investment are availabile. Auto Invest is a feature that allows you to invest your funds automatically in all loans available for investing on the EstateGuru platform.

The main keywords for the Auto Invest feature are comfort, speed and automatization.

• Auto Invest ensures you will not miss an investment opportunity due to high demand and the investment will be placed based on your chosen criteria automatically, without you having to stress about it;

• Auto Invest enables you to build a diversified portfolio, in which all the projects are chosen by a professional team who stands for the success of your investments;

• Auto Invest enables you to reinvest your income at the earliest opportunity. This way you start earning interest on committed funds as soon as possible.

EstateGuru in numbers

  • Money lent: 52 579 833 EUR
  • Total value of propertie funded: 101 878 932 EUR
  • Number of funded loans: 324
  • Number of repaid loans: 127
  • Number of loans in default: 2
  • Recovered loans: 1
  • Registered investors from 45 countries: 11 638
  • Historical annual return of repaid loans since 2014: 12.44%
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