BTR means a single owner operating all units in the building, so it’s difficult to see how the individual investor can participate in this business model, other than indirectly through collective investment funds that target this sector.
Aside from funds, the closest proxy is probably the Property Investment Club model in the UK where individual investors buy units in a building that is collectively leased and managed for rental on behalf of all owners.
Unfortunately, this sector has something of a murky past where high returns were promised but not met, which left some small investors unable to service buy-to-let mortgages from rental yields.
Perhaps better providers coming into this space in future would a good way for small investors to compete and benefit from the growth of the BTR model.”
(Jonathan Gains, former director of UK real estate business LIV Group who helped to create a new operating model for Build to Rent (BTR), including the development of a proprietary mobile app platform to deliver resident services)
To invest in Build to Rent property, there are only a limited number of opportunities for individual investors to go down.
Most Build to Rent projects are held for rental income by developers or funds.
So in saying that you can invest in shares of a BTR developer. Some investors have made the mistake of investing themselves in student housing or buying serviced apartments, thinking this perhaps was Build to Rent.
Far from it! These investments have mostly been very unsuccessful for individuals in terms of capital growth, although very lucrative for developers.
