News > Blog Article > Q&A with Tom de Lucy - …
As someone with extensive entrepreneurial experience in both real estate and technology, Tom saw that Real Estate Crowdfunding was the perfect marriage of the two and an ideal way to utilise new technology to bring investment opportunities to more people than ever before. Co-founder of two start-ups and an investor in Latin American property and technology, Tom quickly recognised the opportunity of real estate crowdfunding to offer unique stable returns, low investment costs, streamlined processes, and completely revolutionise real estate investment in Latin America. Tom and Sofia Gancedo (Bricksave’s current COO and co-founder) then met in Buenos Aires and they began working on the platform with the ultimate goal of providing the Latin American market with a new way of earning secure returns that doesn’t require massive amounts of capital upfront.
Because investing with Bricksave gives them access to properties that have been handpicked by our team of real estate professionals and local experts. Every property we offer up for investment is in the higher/core end of the market, meaning that they enjoy an exclusivity and desirability that helps secure good returns; they also all have existing tenants, which ensures rental income from day one. On top of that, the Bricksave platform is quick and straightforward, both in terms of the investing process and monitoring your investment once it’s made.
Most governments in Latin America are starting to see the benefits of Real Estate Crowdfunding, and legislation is being put into place to help promote new fintech such as this. In fact, we have been using our international experience in the tech and investment space to assist the Argentinian Comisión Nacional de Valores on how best to approach the arrival of things like equity crowdfunding – our suggestions were mainly based around increased regulation. There is more work to be done, but I think we’ve made a good start towards establishing Real Estate Crowdfunding as a lucrative method of investment.
People are definitely starting to realise that investment isn’t just something reserved for high-net-worth individuals. A good indicator of changes in the public attitude towards investing is the type of person that invests: we’re now seeing a lot more young people (20s-30s) taking part in investment, and retirees are also recognising the potential that Real Estate Crowdfunding has to boost their retirement plans. People still don’t trust banks, so they’re looking for alternatives, and Bricksave is an ideal choice that allows them to achieve secure returns from an internationally diversified portfolio.
It’s all about the type of properties we select – we have a team of experts that look closely at where the properties are, what type of market they exist in, and what indicators demonstrate that they are likely to increase in value. We start with the location, choosing world cities like London or New York that have a proven track record of steady property value increases; we then assess the market and identify which areas/property types are doing well; and finally we look at the city’s luxury and core market to find the properties that offer the most in terms of desirability – highly desirable properties in highly desirable places will always be in demand. The other aspect of the process that’s key to good returns is the investment horizon: unlike other platforms, we don’t go for short-term fix-and-flip options, but instead focus on long-term, stable gains that accumulate over time, which helps cement the security of the investment.
Investing carries risks, including loss of capital and illiquidity. Please read our Risk Warning before investing.
