Introducing addy

Over the last year, we’ve been busy. Busy interviewing experts. Busy launching our first property. Busy growing our team. But mostly, we’ve been busy listening. Listening to Millennials and Gen Zers that grew up in a world where homeownership was a given, but now live in a reality where real estate is largely expensive, overwhelming, and inaccessible. We keep hearing that the traditional means of owning a home do not match up with the economy, budget, and lifestyle of today’s investors. We’ve learned that in order to make homeownership accessible to everyone, we have to redefine and reshape how everyone thinks about it. And, in gleaning this, we’ve also realized that we need to redefine and reshape who we are. So, we’re excited to share that IMBY is rebranding to addy.

Who is addy?

addy is real estate investment for real life. We understand that real life comes with a fair share of real obstacles. Student debt. Low minimum wage. The steadily increasing cost of living bloated by climbing transit, commuting, and rental costs. We also understand that real life comes with real temptations. The itch for travel. The thirst for that once-a-month splurge on “The Good Bottle” of wine that pairs perfectly with your “Treat Yourself” farmers market cheese. With addy, we want to create a space that allows you to invest in real estate with ease, without compromise, and at a price that fits your budget. Because we know you’ve been sacrificing enough already.

Why addy?

It’s no secret that Millenials are more than a little apprehensive when it comes to managing finances and considering investments. Between burst bubbles and market crashes that have been broadcast in the media over the past few decades, it’s no wonder anyone would be reluctant to dive into the investment world when exposure to it thus far seems altogether risky and unreliable. That’s why we tackle these hurdles for you. We leave no stone unturned to find and secure the best investments, because they’re our investments too. We’re partners with every investor, sharing in the risks and the reward. Our team is stacked with experts that have decades of experience profiting from the real estate market themselves, and trust our regional and global investment committees to rigorously evaluate each property before purchase.

Redefining Homeownership

Let’s face it. We’re not living in our parents’ market. We’re earning and saving more money than ever before, but we’re not seeing the fruits of our labour. This means that what most of us are able to accrue in our bank accounts typically doesn’t add up to enough to put a down payment on a house and become a homeowner. And even those that are lucky enough to scrimp and save to a $100,000 downpayment on a condo, and get approval for a 25-year mortgage–are we really homeowners? Or are we minority shareholders on a property that is mostly owned by the bank?

With addy, you’re an equal partner in a property and you set your own financial terms, and our experts negotiate the rest. No need to deal with house-hunting, contracts, closing, tenants, or repairs. Part of making real estate accessible to everyone is removing these burdens of ownership in addition to all financial barriers.

As I mentioned in my Call to Remake Capitalism, more than any generation before, millennials really seem to know what they want, and most have very little difficulty in articulating their goals and aspirations. The challenge right now is to create and implement a financial and social strategy to achieve these goals. With addy, we provide an easy solution to owning real estate investments for any dollar amount. We want to make getting into real estate possible without turning your life upside down. Without spending your life savings. Without compromising.

You shouldn’t have to put all your eggs in one basket. But you should be able to add guacamole once-in-a-while without feeling guilty about it. And you should definitely be able to do it while growing your portfolio with real estate.

Tangible Investing

One of the biggest joys of launching our first property was hearing all the feedback from our members. We’ve heard from many in our Trout Lake property, and one of the most common themes has been the pleasure they get out of driving by the property themselves. addy members from all over the Lower Mainland make a point to drive by their new investment, even if it’s the long route home. In fact, we have one member that makes trips into East Van all the way from Abbotsford just to revel in their little chunk of real estate.

This idea of tangible investing, really admiring your physical asset, is something that brings pleasure to all matter of our members, regardless of how large or small their share. What’s more, one of our addy Ambassadors, Connor, and I were chatting the other day and he was telling me how much it mattered to him, and many other young potential investors like him, to feel a strong connection with the brand and mission of the company that represents their investments, before they even invest. This connection may even be as important as the asset itself. Younger generations that are eager to invest want to make sure they’re putting their money in an investment they can trust. They don’t want to just invest in any stock or promising company and blindly send money overseas to a business or related manufacturer. Investing in real estate through a crowdfunded model invites everyone to become an investor, without diminishing assets in the market, or forcing investors to look outside their own backyard. With addy, you can invest in something real that you can point to and drive-by. And you can do it all with people like you.

Keeping Busy

So, yes. Our last year has been busy. But we can’t wait to tackle the even busier year ahead. More research, more properties, more growth, and of course, more listening. We can’t wait to keep pushing the traditional limits of homeownership, and continue our fight to democratize real estate. Most of all, we can’t wait to do it right alongside our members: you.

5 thoughts on “Introducing addy

    • Stephen Jagger says:

      Hi Addy – great question. We did a whole ton of research and dug into what our members were looking for in our platform. The end result was – addy – which is short for “address” or “additional”.

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