Apt. 306, The Club at Bay Harbor

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is Bricksave?

  Bricksave is an online real estate crowdfunding platform designed to make investing in residential properties around the world simple and affordable. Bricksave allows investors to:

  • Browse and review available property investments located in different geographical locations.
  • Complete an investment entirely online including identity verification, signing of legal documentation, provision of details for funds transfer and confirmation of investment and ownership.
  • Access large real estate assets with investments starting from $1,000.
  • Capitalise on our partnerships and association with reputable property developers, operators and other institutional associates or partners in order to maximise value for each real estate investment.
  • Capitalise on our Management Teams’ industry experience and extensive contacts in an effort to maximise value for each real estate investment.
  • Be confident that when making an investment they are going through a secure investment process that protects them and their investment. In conjunction with our partners, Lemonway, an EU payment institution accredited by the ACPR (French Prudential Supervisory Authority) all funds received are held in a segregated holding (escrow account) until Bricksave notifies the third-party escrow agent that the Property has been fully funded and that we are ready to close the purchase.
• How are the investments structured?

  Each investment in a property on the platform is made via the purchase of shares in a special purpose vehicle which is a registered Company, created for the sole purpose of purchasing the designated property.

  There is a different structure for each and every property and depending on regulations each company owns the property through a local LLC; therefore you will always know that you are investing in the exact property as chosen by you.

• How do I earn an income?

  You receive a rental return equivalent to the proportion of the property that you own. Every month, your Bricksave Member’s Account is credited with a share of the dividends proportionally to your ownership of the Company that owns the property.

  Dividends are calculated as the Gross Rent collected from tenants, minus property-related costs (such as management fees, insurance, maintenance and taxes).

  At the end of each year you then receive your annual rental returns from the property and when the property is sold at the end of the investment term you receive the additional capital gains from the sale of the property.

• When will Dividends be paid?

  Dividends are paid out to crowdfunders annually from the date that each project is closed.

• Will I need to put in further capital?

  No, investors will not have to contribute further capital. All costs including bills and fees are funded from the Gross Rent. The risks of most large unexpected costs (such as flood or fire) are mitigated through property insurance.

  Certain other costs, such as roof maintenance, are also forecasted and communicated via our website to investors at the point of investment.  To deal with this we either (i) raise a work provision during initial crowdfunding or (ii) set aside a certain amount of Gross Rent.

• How do I exit my investment?

  The standard investment exit is to exit after four years at market value.

  On each fourth anniversary of the completion of the transaction on the platform, Bricksave will put the property on the market for sale under the following conditions:

  (i) The property is inspected and valued by an independent Chartered Surveyor with reference to factors such as recent transactions and the condition of the property, adjusted for any potential liabilities that the LLC may have, such as taxation.

  (ii) Once the property sale has completed investors will receive the dividend relevant to their share in the property.

  Bricksave will administer this process and is obliged to act in the interests of investors to maximise financial return. On successful completion of the sale, all Investors in that property will be exited and net proceeds will be distributed to investors. Note that third-party costs, such as legal fees, will reduce the proceeds available for distribution to investors, but Bricksave will not charge any fees or make any profit margin on the third party fees.

  It should be noted that this process will take as long as required and typically the sales process is between 3-4 months. However, there is no guarantee of this as the sale could take longer.

The Team

Tom de Lucy, CEO

Tom has 8 years of experience in business development with a focus on real estate & technology firms, including rolling out an international property portal in Latin America and commercial property portal in the United Kingdom. He is Co-Founder of 2 start-ups.

Sofia Gancedo, COO

Sofia has over 15 years' experience with internet start-ups, online marketing research and the real estate market. She is Co-Founder of Dinero Mail, the largest online payment platform in Latin America.

Marie Buffiere, CFO

Marie has 12 years' of international finance experience in multinationals in London, Paris, Sydney and Buenos Aires. Marie has spent the last 3 years working with successful start-ups and digital technology companies.

Jorge Castellar, Head of Sales

Jorge was formerly Head of Sales at LATAM's largest offshore investment sales company as well as a fully qualified IFA and experienced sales professional. Throughout his career, Jorge worked as an IFA helping his clients to reach their financial objectives through a mixture of market analysis and research.

Stephanie Bouchet, CMO

Stephanie is a marketing connoisseur with over 16 years’ experience working with blue chip corporations in the telecoms (British Telecom) and entertainment (Warner Bros) industries. 10 of these years were spent working with successful start-ups (Skype) in the areas of digital, real-estate Fintech and e-commerce.

What exactly is Real Estate Crowdfunding?

Crowdfunding is a system in which people collectively network and pool their funds in an effort to raise money for a project or organisation, usually via the internet. The idea behind Crowdfunding is simple: like-minded people can group together small amounts of money enabling them to invest into larger, previously unattainable projects, and when they do, large sums of money can be raised quickly.

Real Estate Crowdfunding allows money to be collectively raised from many investors and used to fund the purchase/construction of a property. Each investor owns a percentage of the property in proportion to their initial investment. The benefits are clear to both the real estate market and investors. Capital for projects can be raised quickly and investors can get access to the real estate market with small amounts of money.

Bricksave allows investors to collectively buy the property on a buy-to-let basis (with Bricksave doing all the legwork and legal organisation), and then collect a proportional share of the rental income, as well as a share of the capital gains once the property is sold after four years.

The Bricksave Advantage

• Deep Focus - we leverage our extensive network in the global real estate market to locate the best properties for investment with a focus on achieving the highest yield returns at the lowest possible risk for our crowdfunding investors.

• Due Diligence - utilising our management team’s expertise, Bricksave completes a thorough audit of the property and physically visits the location to evaluate the market value, location, quality, etc.

• Ongoing Management - all administration in regards to fees, recurring insurance, maintenance, etc. are taken care of by Bricksave, allowing investors a hassle-free, great value investment.