Investing in Miami, Florida’s booming real estate market just became easier with the launch of School of Whales, a financial technology start-up and commercial real estate fund that allows investments of as little as $500 in revitalization projects.
For years only accredited investors could participate in real estate investments. However, that’s no longer the case due to the passing of the JOBS Act of 2012 (a.k.a. The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act) in 2016. This change has allowed School of Whales to launch an innovative crowdfunding platform that it says democratizes real estate investing for everyone.
“The opportunity to invest in commercial real estate should not be exclusive to the wealthy elite,” said School of Whales Co-Founder and CEO Andrea Petersen. “School of Whales was designed specifically to make large-scale real estate investing more accessible than ever before. With our low barrier of entry of $500, we are fostering a community of new financially conscious investors and helping them take steps to secure their financial future by diversifying their savings.”
School of Whales’ partners have developed venues such as The Langford Hotel in Downtown Miami and Julia and Henry’s, an upcoming multi-level building that will house more than 25 food concepts, co-working spaces, recording studios and a rooftop restaurant in Downtown.
“With the money raised from fellow Whales, our fund will invest in transformational projects that are creating a measurably positive impact on neighborhoods across South Florida,” said Pena-Giraldi, co-founder and chief operating officer of School of Whales, who has worked in real estate development for more than 20 years. “We are excited to help unique projects become a reality by providing the necessary capital to up-and-coming developers who often struggle to find traditional funding for out-of-the-box concepts.”
When someone becomes a Whale, they are paid first with a preferred rate of return of 8%. Any returns above that are split 80-20, 80% to the investor and 20% to School of Whales.
