Meet The 'E*Trade Of Real Estate'

Nav Athwal used to work as a private attorney representing REITs and private real estate investments.

He witnessed firsthand the problems people both trying to invest in real estate and those seeking capital from investors experienced when trying to connect with the other.

That’s why he decided to take it upon himself to bridge the gap between the investor and the real estate developer.

Related Link: Why This Hedge Fund Hasn't Purchased Atlantic City Debt

Athwal is the founder and CEO of RealtyShares. He recently joined Benzinga’s #PreMarket Prep to talk about why he started his crowdfunding real estate investment platform and how it solves those problems he saw.

“It hit me one day, ‘Why not bridge this gap between those looking for capital that have great projects and those looking to put that capital to work but not looking to put $100,000 or $200,000 at a time,” he said.

He explained that RealtyShares is an online real estate investment marketplace where individual investors can pool money and purchase shares in curated real estate properties.

Athwal said investors can choose from both residential and real estate properties, including single-family homes, apartment buildings, retail centers and office buildings.

“What we’re really doing is bringing real estate investing into the digital age the same way E*Trade and Scottrade brought stock investing into the digital age,” he said.

Athwal also talked about the difficulties of entering real estate investment and why the JOBS act hasn’t helped his company yet.

Check out his full interview here:

Tune in to Benzinga’s #PreMarket Prep broadcast Monday-Friday 8-9:45 a.m. ET for a live, interactive morning show with veteran traders and featured finance industry experts ready to answer your questions for the trading day.

Image credit: Philip Taylor, Flickr