Crowdfunding is rapidly becoming a popular trend, and is being used to fund everything from art shows to niche products. Commercial real estate investors and developers are also joining in, lured by the possibility of investing or funding a property that would have been otherwise attainable. But does crowdfunding really make it easier to invest, or does it just open up the door to unscrupulous developers to make a quick buck?

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2. Is Crowdfunding Safe?
5 Things You Should Know Before You Try Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is rapidly becoming a popular
trend, and is being used to fund everything from
art shows to niche products.
Commercial real estate investors and
developers are also joining in, lured by the
possibility of investing or funding a property that
would have been otherwise attainable.
But does crowdfunding really make it easier to
invest, or does it just open up the door to
unscrupulous developers to make a quick buck?

3. 1 Minimal Investment
5 Things You Should Know Before You Try Crowdfunding
To be sure, crowdfunding has several advantges
that make it appeal to investors, particularly
newer ones.
One of the most obvious is the minimal
investment required in order to get started.
Commercial income properties that can be
bought for as little as $1,000 make it easy for
even the cash-strapped to start making money.

4. 2 Rely On Other's Expertise
5 Things You Should Know Before You Try Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding allows investors to rely on the
executive team's expertise and judgement in
order to vet properties.
That means that newbies can skip the learning
curve and go straight to raking in a passive
income.

5. 3 Complete Transparency
5 Things You Should Know Before You Try Crowdfunding
Due to its nature, crowdfunding portals are
transparent, allowing all participants to see the
status of any campaign, as well as their
investments, at any time.
Plus, since everything is online, it's easy to get
real-time information on how a particular
property is doing, down to the last data point.

6. 4 Choose Your Property
5 Things You Should Know Before You Try Crowdfunding
Unlike REIT's, you can choose which property
you'd like to invest in, as well as choose to invest
in debt and equity deals.
You're also not limited in terms of geography -
the commercial income property can be
anywhere you choose- and you can pick which
asset class.

7. 1 Disadvantages
5 Things You Should Know Before You Try Crowdfunding
Even though you may have purchased a
percentage of a property, you don't have voting
rights on how to handle the investment.
You will also have no influence in decisions
regarding property management.
So if you're unhappy with the way things are run,
there won't be very much you can do to change
things.

8. 2 Dilution of Profits
5 Things You Should Know Before You Try Crowdfunding
If future capital is needed and therefore new
investors recruited, your profits may be so
diluted that it becomes impossible to make a
meaningful profit.
In such a case, it is likely that crowdfunding was
chosen as a last resort funding initiative.

9. 3 Equity Shares a Risk
5 Things You Should Know Before You Try Crowdfunding
Investors who choose to invest in equity shares
might be stuck holding them for an indefinite
period of time.
That's because at the present time there is no
secondary market for this kind of securities.

10. * The Bottom Line
5 Things You Should Know Before You Try Crowdfunding
Crowdfunding might be a great way for new
investors to get started in commercial real
estate.
However, it doesn't exempt you from making
sure you are thoroughly knowledgeable about
commercial real estate.
You still need to exercise the same level of due
diligence and caution as you would if you were
investing a larger sum of money.

11. Questions?
7 TIPS FOR REAL ESTATE INVESTORS
Still not sure what's best for you?
Contact an experienced real estate broker at
Westwood NetLease Advisors. You'll get a free
3o minute consultation, and solid advice on how
to get started investing in your income property.
Visit our site for more information on commercial
income property.