Prominent players in real estate and finance get behind new technology firm

• One-click buying: The Dot Button enables global investors to finance and acquire British and American properties seamlessly online

• A new way to hold property: The Dot Container solution streamlines how real estate is held, managed and transferred

• Dot closes $1.5M seed round lead by Stage Dot O, an LA based venture-build fund established by Roofstock.com co-founder Devin Wade

If only buying a property was as easy as ordering online. That concept has now become a reality with the launch of Dot’s online property investment system.

Dot enables anyone with a 30% deposit to become a professional property investor instantly, with none of the hassle of being a landlord. Dot streamlines the buying process by providing UK and US estate agents and property developers with a pre-approved finance and management solution, a Dot Container, that can hold any suitable property. Agents can then offer Dot as a payment option (via the embedded Dot Button), turning their previously static listings into turnkey investments that anyone, anywhere can buy online on a fully-financed and managed basis.​

Every Dot Container comes complete with a pre-approved mortgage, insurance, legal/conveyancing, tax compliance & reporting, lettings & management, furnishings and everything else required to turn that property into a compliant, well-managed and good looking rental home. Dot takes care of the entire end-to-end process...and because it is lending a large portion of the total cost, Dot has a vested interest in managing the property well.

Dot is initially launching in key regional cities throughout the UK, and in the states of Florida, Georgia and Texas (with new states being added progressively throughout 2018). Approved listings can be marketed by agents and developers through their preferred media channels to investors globally, making Dot a truly cross-border solution.

What Dot offers property investors
When you Buy with Dot you are provided with all of the tools to become a professional property investor, but with none of the hassle of being a landlord.

Dot does this by condensing the entire property investment lifecycle into a single checkout experience, delivered seamlessly at the point-of-sale.

• An investor reviews the Dot-approved property listing online; this shows the amount of the deposit required, accounting for all costs, fees and duties

• Dot uses real-time market data to analyse each investment, determining yield, liquidity and value and its potential net cash-flow after estimated management costs

• Ready to buy? The investor simply clicks the Dot Button, reviews the Investment Memorandum / Terms & Conditions and pays their deposit. The purchase is then completed by Dot on their behalf

• The property is simultaneously moved into a passive investment structure - an SPV known as a Dot Container. This structure holds the asset on behalf on the investor who becomes its beneficial owner/shareholder

• Each Dot Container includes many professional investor benefits as standard, including a fully-financed and compliant structure (an investor only needs a 30% deposit); stylish furniture and appliances; turnkey lettings and management; buildings, contents and rent guarantee insurance

• Ready to sell? A Dot Container can move from owner to owner seamlessly, without conveyancing and can be refinanced without requiring new mortgage documents (via Dot’s mortgage marketplace, Dot Platform)

• Dot removes all traditional friction points: no banks, lawyers or messy paperwork

Why estate agents and developers love it

• Dot turns any property listing into a passive investment that can be bought and financed with online

• It offers agents and developers the opportunity to make more money from more sales by providing an elegant online buying process that streamlines all aspects of the property buying transaction

• It enables agents and developers to access global investor markets without leaving home
   

Gray Stern, CEO & Founder at Dot: “Dot has a long term goal of improving housing through efficiency. The first and most important ingredient in our ecosystem is the mortgage, so we’re excited to have created a financing solution that’s faster and more flexible than anything else in the market. When you add in the other services that we’re providing, both directly and through awesome partnerships, we’ve removed all of the friction points from a typical property transaction; the end result we hope for is a better return for investors and homes that tenant’s love.”

Devin Wade, General Partner of LA-based venture-build fund Stage Dot O: “Dot has developed a new funding system and related infrastructure that enables it to deliver a cross-border mortgage instantly at the point-of-sale, something that has never been done at scale before. Coupled with their unique real estate container model, this business has the potential to truly transform the way the global housing market functions.”