BitOfProperty

BitOfProperty emerged in 2017 as a property technology firm designed to lower the barrier to real estate investing. The company was founded by Karl Vään, Taavi Pettai, and Timo Kaus, who were motivated by their personal frustration with the high capital requirements and complexities of entering the property market. Vään, with a background in economics and commodities trading, along with his co-founders, brainstormed the concept in 2016 and officially launched the venture after securing initial funding in May 2017 from Spaze Ventures, followed by a seed round led by Japanese real estate information company LIFULL in May 2018.

The firm operates a real estate crowd-investment platform that enables individuals to purchase fractional shares of rental properties for as little as 50 EUR. This model targets ordinary investors worldwide, excluding the US, who seek to generate passive income from real estate without the burdens of property management. The platform's business model involves taking a percentage cut, typically around 10%, from the rental income generated by the properties before distributing it to investors. Additionally, a listing fee ranging from 2% to 10% is charged to property sellers on a case-by-case basis.

BitOfProperty's core service is its online marketplace where the company lists pre-vetted rental properties. The platform manages all operational aspects, including legal documentation, maintenance, and rent collection, offering a passive investment experience. A key technological feature is its use of the Ethereum blockchain to record transactions and ownership, aiming to provide transparency for investors. All investments are held in a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) for each property to structure the ownership. Investors receive monthly rental income and have the potential for capital gains when the property is sold, typically after a 3-5 year term. The platform also includes a secondary market where investors can trade their shares. In November 2021, BitOfProperty was acquired by the Lithuanian buy-to-let crowdfunding platform InRento. As part of the acquisition, the BitOfProperty platform and its user base were integrated into InRento's system.

Keywords: real estate crowdfunding, fractional property investment, PropTech, passive income, blockchain real estate, rental property investing, crowd-investment, property marketplace, real estate technology, financial technology, fractional ownership, property shares, investment platform, real estate due diligence, asset tokenization, European real estate, Estonian startup, angel investing, seed funding, InRento