How EvoEstate's Merger With InRento Affects P2P Investors
Founded in 2018, EvoEstate quickly gained popularity as a peer-to-peer real-estate investment platform, similar to sites such as EstateGuru and ReInvest24. In early 2022, however, co-founder Audrius Višniauskas announced the site would merge with another venture of his: InRento. "I feel that the merger of EvoEstate and InRento will contribute greatly to improving the way people invest in Real Estate," writes Višniauskas. The announcement, which appeared on the EvoEstate website, delineates all of the benefits of the merger including specific benefits granted to former EvoEstate investors.
General Benefits
First, and arguably most importantly, InRento is licensed and regulated by the Bank of Lithuania, and by extension by the European Union (EU). That adds a level of security for investors, because licensed peer-to-peer platforms must comply with a long list of financial regulations. There are strict guidelines for determining the credit worthiness of borrowers, which decreases the exposure faced by the investor. There are also very strict laws regarding how investor funds are secured, and how investor data (personal, financial, etc.) are protected.
To comply with financial-security regulations, InRento will work with payment facilitators Paysera and MangoPay. All users will open a personal account with one of the two options, and all transfers to and from will take place via that account. This is an excellent feature, given the reputations of both platforms in protecting their users' money via advancement encryption techniques, such as 3D Secure, authenticated API calls, and redundant servers.
Benefits For Former EvoEstate Investors
In addition to the general benefits enjoyed by all InRento users, those with EvoEstate accounts active as of February 2022 will enjoy special benefits. First, and more interesting, the minimum investment amount for a former EvoEstate user is only 100 euro, as opposed to the 500 euro minimum for new users. There's no disputing this 80% discount on minimums will make it a lot easier for EvoEstate users to invest on the new platform.
In addition, former EvoEstate users will enjoy cash-back payments on all new investments on InRento's primary market. The bonuses for the first year will be 1.5% of the invested among (distributed 5 weeks after the loan is funded), followed by 1% for the second year, and 0.5% for the third.
Lastly, the Secondary Market on InRento will charge 0% fees on all past investments, rather than the standard 2% fee for new investments.
Timeline of the Merger
The merger was first announced on February 2, and a short webinar with Q & A took place on the 7th of the month. A second notice appeared on the 14th, and on the 1st of March the initial stage of the merger was completed. Over the course of the next 24 months, EvoEstate and InRento will complete their merger, after which EvoEstate will be dissolved. As of this month it is no longer possible to purchase notes on EvoEstate.
Conclusion
It's important to understand that this merger wasn't the result of any failure or shortcoming. To the contrary, this merger only serves to decrease users' exposure and provide a better overall experience. EvoEstate was a good platform, and InRento is as well. Users should look upon this merger positively, and for EvoEstate users are advised to take immediately advantage of the benefits currently offered.