Landbay founder launches property investment portal
LANDBAY co-founder Gray Stern has set up an investment portal that enables individuals to purchase properties in the UK and US with the click of a button.
The fintech firm, called Dot, has secured $1.5m (£1.1m) in seed funding and launches this week.
It is initially launching in key regional cities throughout the UK, and in the US states of Florida, Georgia and Texas, with new states being added progressively throughout 2018.
Approved listings can be marketed by agents and developers to investors globally.
Dot requires investors to provide a 30 per cent deposit and finances the remainder itself with what it calls a Dot Instant Mortgage. The property is then held in a special purpose vehicle (SPV) approved by accountancy firm EY and investors receive rent while the company organises the purchase, lettings and property management process.
Read more: Landbay ready to seize lending opportunities as cheap bank funding ends
“Dot has a long term goal of improving housing through efficiency,” Gray Stern, chief executive and founder at Dot, said.
“The first and most important ingredient in our ecosystem is the mortgage, so we’re excited to have created a financing solution that’s faster and more flexible than anything else in the market.
“When you add in the other services that we’re providing, both directly and through awesome partnerships, we’ve removed all of the friction points from a typical property transaction; the end result we hope for is a better return for investors and homes that tenant’s love.”
Dot is backed by LA-based venture capital fund Stage Dot O.
“Dot has developed a new funding system and related infrastructure that enables it to deliver a cross-border mortgage instantly at the point-of-sale, something that has never been done at scale before,” Devin Wade, general partner of Stage Dot O, said.
“Coupled with their unique real estate container model, this business has the potential to truly transform the way the global housing market functions.”
Read more: Gone in 98 minutes! Blend Network sees surge in property loans
Read more: Investors face tax quandary on defaulted property loans
