Comments on: How I Lost £3,000 in a Day in Property Crowdfunding (And Lessons Learned From This)

By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 11:11:31 +0000

Thanks, Antony. I agree, it’s very disappointing. I did wonder why Crowdlords were writing about this again two years on, but co-founder Richard Bush tells me it was done at the request of some large investors who wanted formal confirmation so that they could claim the loss against tax.

I still have one investment with Crowdlords (Trent House) which I am told should be transferred into a new REIT being set up by the Brickowner platform, along with some other Crowdlords BTL properties. So hopefully I will get that money back eventually.

I do understand that you now regret getting involved with property crowdfunding. I certainly regret some of my investments too, though I do still have money in Kuflink and Assetz Exchange, both of which appear to be doing well. I am, though, investing much smaller sums per project than I used to and diversifying as much as possible.

Thanks again for your comments, and good luck with all your financial dealings.

By: Antony Socrates

Antony Socrates — Mon, 11 Sep 2023 20:36:00 +0000

I have now received formal confirmation from Crowdlords that there is no return from Kennington Road whatsoever – loss of both capital and the promised interest.
Sadly no explanation about where the money went, what happened to the eco-build apartments, no cash flow figures so I am very disappointed by the lack of information. It also means I won’t be investing in property again – I had assumed it was safer than other investments.

By: Nick

Nick — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 18:56:16 +0000

In reply to Antony Socrates.

Sorry to hear this, Antony. That’s a big chunk of money to lose, and like you I’m not fully satisfied with the account given by Crowdlords. I still have £5,000 owing to me on another project of theirs (Trent House). Richard gives me updates when I ask him, but it’s still not clear to me when I’m going to see any return from this. I have given up expecting to make any profit from it. If I get my capital back, even with a small loss, I will be delighted at this point.

The one thing I will say in Crowdlords’ defence is that thus far they have avoided going into liquidation which has happened with other crowdfunding platforms such as The House Crowd (and yes, I invested with them too). It’s been an expensive lesson for me and I am a lot more cautious about investing in P2P property platforms now. I do still have some money in Assetz Exchange and Kuflink, though, both of which have been doing well for me. I also invested in Property Partner (now called London House Exchange) in the past and made a decent return from that as well

By: Antony Socrates

Antony Socrates — Wed, 18 Jan 2023 12:29:07 +0000

I lost £6250 in the same project – invested in Kennington Road in 2016 and it wasn’t till this week I realised there nothing coming back not even my capital.
No news from Crowdlords till I specifically enquired why it was taking so long to get my return.
Richard asked me to claim off inland revenue but that only works if I made a profit somewhere else to offset this huge loss. No such luck.
Is there any audit of this failure? Where did the money go and what happened to the eco-apartments?
Can anyone do this – borrow money then say it’s all lost with no repercussions?
I just ignore or delete all requests for P2P lending – once bitten twice shy.

By: Nick

Nick — Fri, 20 May 2022 15:52:21 +0000

In reply to mark Graves. Hi Mark. Yes, sadly that mirrors my own experience with Crowdlords. The platform is now closed to new investments. I have my fingers crossed that the final one I have with CL will be repaid before too much longer. They have at least avoided going into liquidation, which has happened with some other property crowdfunding platforms.

By: mark Graves

mark Graves — Fri, 20 May 2022 12:14:49 +0000

I have made over 20 investments with Crowdlords – initially the return was good but the last 3 years (before covid and since) has been an absolute disaster – both with a loss of equity and massive (years not months) delays in the investments paying out. I would strongly advise people not to invest as there is a high risk of capital loss.

By: Nick

Nick — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 10:46:05 +0000

In reply to Rhian Westbury. Thanks, Rhian. Yes, that was a bad day! Most of my investments are in equities (in the form of investment funds, ETFs and so on) and I agree that (other things being equal) this is likely to be the best place to start investing. I am a fan of Nutmeg, as you may know, but many other platforms are also available :-)

By: Rhian Westbury

Rhian Westbury — Mon, 25 Jan 2021 10:35:39 +0000

I’m so sorry to hear about your loss, that must have been tough to find out. And you’re right they should have communicated things better so it wasn’t as much of a shock. I want to start investing but think I’ll stick to shares which cover a range of business’ just in case x

By: Nick

Nick — Sun, 24 Jan 2021 22:29:54 +0000

In reply to Rebecca Smith. Thanks, Rebecca :-)

By: Rebecca Smith

Rebecca Smith — Sun, 24 Jan 2021 22:07:12 +0000

I’m so sorry you lost money on this but I’m glad that you are taking lessons from it to avoid in the future. It would be easy to be super negative but I admire your positive outlook.