Profitus review: let’s take a look at one of the best real estate crowdfunding platforms currently available in Europe
Are you looking to invest in real estate in Lithuania? In this Profitus review, we look at a real estate crowdfunding platform that is changing the approach to real estate investing. Read on and find out if it is the best for you.
Profitus overview
Keeping money in banks nowadays is not a way to grow it as they barely pay any interest, and if you are not careful, you may even end up with less money than you deposited because of the fees and charges. Other forms of investments may also not be for suitable for you as they are either too risky or require you to be knowledgeable of the markets.
Most people prefer to invest in real things, tangible things. That is why real estate is one of the most popular methods of investing. Your money will not be affected by inflation, it will constantly generate additional income, among other benefits of investing in real estate.
However, there is a problem. Investing in real estate requires a large initial contribution. That is why the market was only open to banks and high net worth individuals in the early days. But that is before P2P real estate investing was a thing.
Profitus is a real estate crowdfunding and investments platform from Lithuania. It is still a new site by any means as it was founded in 2017 by Viktorija VanagÄ— started its operations in 2018. It acts as an intermediary between investors who want to make extra profits and borrowers who want funding for their real estate projects.
The platform allows you to invest as little as 50 euros in a real estate loan. Up to today, the platform has over 1,000 investors who have funded over 3,838,100 euros in real estate loans. Profitus is supervised by the Bank of Lithuania.
Opening an account on Profitus
To open an account on the platform, click ‘sign in’ and fill in the registration form. Choose the type of account you are registering, natural person or legal entity. The next step is to fill in your name, email address, telephone and setting a password for your account. Agree with the terms and conditions and continue.
The second form will require you to fill in more personal details including citizenship, personal number and address. The platform will ask you to confirm your identity via Paysera. If you do not have a Paysera account, the Paysera form will allow you to create one.
The platform uses the PAYSERA identification environment to verify your identity. Return to the Profitus self-service. If you can see the PAYSERA account balance, your identity confirmation was successful and you can now go on and invest.
How to Invest in Profitus
After funding your account, select ‘invest’ from the top menu and the page will display the available projects, coming soon projects and the already funded projects. Select the available project and click for more information. If it interests you, you can proceed to make your first investment.
The minimum investment amount may vary depending on the project. In some, it may be as low as 50 Euros and in others, it may be 200 Euros or more. If you invest more than 50,000 euros, you become a Profitus nominal investor. You will be able to earn more and participate in Nominal Investors’ meetings.
Types of Investments available on Profitus
Currently, the platform offers loans for real estate development projects. In all cases, the borrowers must pledge real estate as a guarantee.
Here is an example of a funded property, the amount of investors and the projected capital gain below:
Profitus Auto Invest Tool
The platform does not have an auto invest tool currently.
How much can you earn on Profitus?
The platform offers an average interest rate of 10.76% per annum. The loans on the platform range from 50,000 euros to 500,000 euros. The interest rates range from 9% to 13%. The return you earn depends on the risk you are willing to take. The risk levels are rated as A B C D with A being the lowest risk and D high risk. The platform does not allow D level projects to be funded.
The platform does not charge the investors any charges. However, the returns may be taxable.
Who can invest in Profitus?
The platform accepts investors from around the world. You must be over 18, and produce relevant identification documents. If you invest more, the platform may require you to justify your source of income.
Profitus Pros
- Low minimum investment amounts, starting from 50 EUR
- Competitive interest rates 9% -12%
- Loans are backed by real estate
- You can visit the real estate pledged to you
Profitus Cons
- Few loans available
Profitus Verdict
Profitus is a great platform to invest in, especially for beginners or anyone who would like a hands-on approach to real estate crowdfunding. Its website is simple and well designed, therefore easy to use.
The funding rounds do not take much time, if you look at the already funded projects, most are funded between 1 minute and 25 days of crowdfunding. However, there are other platforms in the same region offering higher interest rates, it will, therefore, be hard to compete with them. The platform is still new, let’s see how it evolves in the future.
Other Crowd Investing Resources
For those looking for other crowd investing platforms, you may want to read some of our other reviews. There are many real estate investing platforms and peer to peer lending and investing platforms currently available. You can and should diversify your interest income by using several of them simultaneously.
You can consider some other peer to peer companies checking our Mintos review and our Grupeer review. Check our post on the best peer 2 peer lending platforms in Europe, and the best real estate crowdfunding platforms in Europe.
Are you already investing in Profitus or in any other real estate crowd investing platform? Leave your thoughts and questions about this Profitus review below.