Scott L.
Good returns and communication
I have been an investor through Fundrise since nearly its inception. I have generally been happy overall, both with returns and communication. The process of investing is efficient and smooth. Returns are deposited into your bank account of record directly. The reason for the 4 star instead of 5 star rating is that the company has changed course quite substantially over time. At the beginning, investors had the opportunity to invest in individual properties, and were given all information to make an informed decision. There was an option to retain returns in an account within Fundrise, for easy and rapid reinvestment. Over time, they began offering REIT's, with fewer individual properties available. Now, they have completely moved away from offering investment in individual properties and only offer a handful of REIT's in which there is no control over which individual properties one invests in. They also did away with the ability to retain earnings within a Fundrise account, and all returns are deposited into our personal accounts. My perception is that they are trying to reach a broader base of investors (i.e. less savvy investors and people who do not qualify as accredited investors). The result of this has yet to be seen, but a concern is that returns will be lower. Another concern is that the company is still trying to find its way, and some of us older investors who started investing here are somewhat displeased about the inability to invest in individual properties. I personally have since allotted more of my money into another crowdfunding real estate investment company that does offer individual property investment, though at higher costs of entry. Nonetheless, I have enough confidence in Fundrise that I continue to retain investments here, and in fact purchased shares of the company itself through a recent online "IPO". To summarize, I have had very good experiences and returns here, but the changes raise some concern and warrant less than a 5 star rating.