Property Ownership 2.0: The Next Generation of Real Estate Investment

Remember when buying a house meant squirreling away a massive down payment, begging a bank for a mortgage, and crossing your fingers? Those days aren’t exactly over, but there’s a revolution brewing in the world of real estate that’s turning the traditional path to home ownership on its head.

Breaking the “Bank of Mom and Dad” Dependency

Here’s a mind-bending stat: half of today’s first-time homebuyers are getting a boost from their parents. “If you have rich parents, great,” says Frank Rohde, CEO of Ownify, with a hint of frustration in his voice. “But if you don’t, you’re kind of at the back of the line.”

Ownify’s solution is fascinating in its elegance. They’ll buy any home on the market (typically in the $250,000-$750,000 range) as an all-cash buyer on your behalf. Each property is divided into 10,000 “bricks” – think of them as shares in that specific house. You start by buying 200 bricks (2% ownership) as your down payment, then purchase about 13 bricks each month. Over five years, you’ll work your way up to 10% ownership.

The clever part? Your rent decreases as your ownership increases – you only pay rent on the portion you don’t own. Plus, Ownify handles all maintenance, repairs, property taxes, and insurance during your journey to ownership. When you’re ready, you can buy the remaining equity at market value or continue building ownership at your own pace.

From Rental Prison to Property Partner

In Atlanta, Invest with Roots is taking a completely different approach to the same problem. Instead of focusing on individual homes, they’re running a privately held REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust) that turns renters into investors from day one.

Here’s how it works: When you rent with Roots, instead of paying a security deposit, you can invest that same amount into their property portfolio. You immediately start earning appreciation and distributions just like any other investor. But it gets better – their “Living it Like You Own It” program rewards responsible tenancy. Every 90 days, if you pay rent on time, avoid lease violations, and complete a unit survey and video, you earn additional investment benefits.

“We wanted to remove that adversarial [landlord-tenant] relationship and make it an aligned interest play,” explains Daniel Dorfman, Roots’ CEO. The results are impressive: an 83% renewal rate and returns between 12-15% annually for investors. The company now has over 9,000 investors from every state, adding 100-150 new investors weekly.

Real Estate Investment for the Mobile App Generation

Real Bricks takes yet another approach, focusing on making real estate investment as easy as using a retail investing app such as Robinhood. Their platform allows you to buy shares in properties with minimal investment, but what sets them apart is their focus on liquidity and user experience.

The company has built a sophisticated secondary market where investors can trade shares instantly. “You want shares on your app, swipe up, done. Your shares are bought. You want to sell them in the secondary market, swipe done, sold,” explains Chris Gerardi, Founder and COO. The platform can even pull near-live data feeds for property values, so you always know what your shares are worth.

What’s particularly innovative is their approach to property ownership structure. Each property is placed in its own LLC, which issues 10,000 shares. This clever workaround allows for true fractional ownership without getting tangled in the complexities of traditional property title management.

The Future Is Already Here

These aren’t just theoretical models. Ownify is expanding from Raleigh into Nashville, Atlanta, and beyond. Invest with Roots is exploring opportunities across the Southeast while maintaining their disciplined approach to property selection. Real Bricks is building partnerships with major real estate companies and developing APIs that could see their platform integrated into mainstream investment apps.

The implications are profound. Instead of saving for years for a traditional down payment, you could start building equity immediately through Ownify’s brick system. Rather than watching your rent disappear each month, you could be building wealth alongside your landlord with Roots. And if you want to dip your toe in the real estate market with just a few hundred dollars, Real Bricks makes that possible.

The American Dream isn’t dead – it’s just getting a much-needed upgrade for the 21st Century. And this time around, you might not need rich parents to achieve it. Whether you’re looking to gradually own your home, turn your rent into an investment, or simply want to participate in real estate returns without the traditional barriers, there’s now a path forward. The future of real estate ownership is looking increasingly accessible, flexible, and, dare we say, actually achievable for the average American.