Real Estate investments are one popular way to build wealth. But this opportunity can seem out of reach to many potential investors without thousands of dollars to commit.

If you're interested in investing in real estate, but don't a large lump sum available to commit, HappyNest provides a unique opportunity. It allows you to get started in real estate investing with as little as $10 per month.

Let’s take a closer look at how HappyNest can help you start to build a robust real estate portfolio.

What Is HappyNest?

Jesse Prince founded HappyNest in 2017 with the simple goal of helping investors make money with real estate.

The idea of creating an opportunity for everyday investors to dive into the world of real estate started with a desire to help fellow military families to tap into this powerful wealth-building tool. From there, HappyNest expanded and can now help anyone to harness the power of real estate.

HappyNest emphasizes the opportunity that real estate can provide. It touts the idea that real estate investing can be less volatile than investing in the stock market and could be an excellent fit for those seeking a painless passive income stream.

What Does It Offer?

HappyNest meets hopeful real estate investors where they're at, regardless of how much money they have to invest. It's offerings are open to both non-accredited and accredited investors. Let’s take a closer look at how this company may be able to help you.

Dive Into Real Estate With Just $10

Real estate investing has long been a tried-and-true way to build wealth. But in the past, you'd usually need to buy an entire property outright before you could start generating an investment return. And that would require large amounts of capital.

HappyNest's model is completely different. Instead of needing hundreds or thousands of dollars to get started in real estate investing, HappyNest gives you the opportunity for just $10 per month. You can build your investments at your own pace with no maximum investment.

Wondering how this is possible? HappyNest offers the opportunity to invest in a REIT (real estate investment trust). When you own a share of a REIT, you don’t own the property itself. Instead, you own a share of the company that owns these income-producing assets. Currently, HappyNest's REIT is primarily composed of commercial real estate.

Long-Term Investment Requirement

Although you may not have to put up a large sum to invest, the investment is highly illiquid. HappyNest says its shares are long-term investments of approximately three years. And unlike some of its competitors, HappyNest has no share redemption program and doesn't allow any premature withdrawals.

Very Passive Opportunity

Real estate investing often has a reputation for requiring extensive hands-on management. But that isn't the case when you invest with HappyNest.

Once you purchase your REIT shares, you can see photos of particular properties, but you won't have any responsibilities that come with managing them. Since you won’t have to keep up any details on a day-to-day basis, HappyNest could be a great opportunity for busy investors who prefer a hands-off investing approach.

The dividends you earn from the REIT are distributed or reinvested quarterly. HappyNest targets a 5% annual yield on its shares and it's most recent dividend announcement meets that benchmark. So that's $50 in dividends per year on a $1,000 investment, or $12.50 per quarter.

Goal Setting

Everyone should have unique personal finance goals. And when you join HappyNest, you can map out your real estate investment goals in an easy-to-follow format. Essentially, you’ll set up what you'd like your account balance to look like in a certain number of years.

From there, HappyNest will help you see how much you’ll need to invest to make that happen. And with the option to put your investment on auto-pilot through recurring deposits, you’ll be on your way to your goals faster than you might think!

Are There Any Fees?

HappyNest advertises that you won’t encounter any broker or platform fees. However, the platform still has to make money. According to its SEC filing, HappyNest's had a plan "Sponsor" and "Advisor" that covered most of the REIT's initial costs. And both are entitled to compensation.

Reimbursement to HappyNest's sponsor is limited to a maximum of 3% of the aggregate gross offering proceeds. Sponsor reimbursements also cannot cause the value of one HappyNest share to fall below $10. The Advisor will receive a 0.0417% monthly asset management fee and a variety of fees (that range from 3% to 6%) when properties are acquired or sold.

To be clear, none of these fees will be deducted directly from your account. Instead, they will simply reduce the growth of your shares and the percentage that you receive back in dividends. This is similar to how the expense ratio works on mutual funds and ETFs.

Ultimately, we're not fans of this type of fee structure for investment offerings. It's not very transparent and makes it more difficult for investors to really get a true gauge for how much they're paying in administrative costs.

HappyNest's SEC filing also says that the Sponsor has the right to charge shareholders up to $1 per month as an administrative fee. But, for now, it doesn't appear that investors are being charged this fee.

How Does HappyNest Compare?

HappyNest isn't the only platform that offers REITs to crowdfund real estate purchases. Other platforms like Fundrise and RealtyMogul also allow you to buy REIT shares to create passive income streams with a long-term outlook.

Fundrise offers a low minimum investment amount of $10. But other platforms like RealtyMogul will require an investment of at least $1,000.

HappyNest places emphasis on commercial real estate investments. Fundrise and RealtyMogul present opportunities for both commercial and residential real estate investments.

In terms of liquidity, HappyNest offerings are relatively limited. Fundrise offers more liquidity by allowing withdrawals with a 30-day notice. Ultimately, the best platform for your real estate investment needs will come down to your unique goals.