When you invest, your money is held safely in an escrow account (which Small Change doesn't control) until the funds are raised or the target offering date is reach. Then the funds are sent to the project developer. If the the offering target amount is not reached, the full amount you invested will be returned to you. You won’t own real estate directly in your own name, the way you own your home. Instead, you’ll own an indirect interest in real estate. Often, you will own an interest in a limited liability company that itself owns real estate. In other cases, you will own a promissory note that is backed by real estate. In still others, you’ll own an interest in a limited liability company that itself owns a promissory note backed by real estate. Small Change describes exactly what you own in the information they provide for each project.

There are no fees for investors on the platform. Small Change charges developers a fee based on the amount they raised for their project.

You should view these as very risky investments, much riskier than an investment in a stock market index fund, for example. The same is true for any direct investment in real estate. You could lose some or all of your money in any of these investments. Neither Small Change nor anybody else guarantees your investment.