Zeehaus

Patented platform to buy a home digitally and help achieve homeownership through sharing equity!

Last Funded April 2024

$133,235

raised from 98 investors

Highlights

Fast Growth

Revenue growing 2X/yr for at least prior 6 months

Profitable

Profitable for prior 3 months and expect same in future

1
We turn a property into affordable home by our patented sharing equity between buyers and investors
2
$2M raised from ~2000 investors & $14M funding from CIBC Bank and investors for property purchases
3
High Dividends: We plan to invest 100% of funds in properties & 70% will be distributed as dividends
4
Combining investment & owner-occupied home lets us earn recurring service fees without managing them

Featured Investor

Our Team

We wanted to make homeownership more affordable again. The founder could not purchase his own home due to skyrocketing home prices. Now, high mortgage rate is making buying and investing in real estate even more difficult.

Invest in a mission that creates affordable homeownership through end-to-end platform!

Why Zeehaus?

Zeehaus is an innovative platform that digitizes end-to-end real estate transaction.

Our priority is on creating affordable homeownership, helping buyers achieve homeownership with 5% equity, and lowering the monthly payments in exchange of sharing home equity with investors.

We aim to solve one of the biggest problems facing our community: housing affordability.


Are you ready to disrupt the world of real estate? Look no further than Zeehaus – the groundbreaking platform that empowers us to turn a property into an affordable homeownership. With our proprietary technology, we're reshaping the market and inviting you to join us.


The Status Quo is Broken – Let's Fix It Together

The current real estate market is riddled with challenges. Sky-high mortgage payments and the exorbitant 20% down payment requirement prevent most aspiring homeowners from achieving their dreams. Existing solutions like down-payment assistance and lease-to-own programs do not address the issue with high monthly costs, leaving a void in the market.

Zeehaus steps in as the catalyst for change. 

A win-win proposition: We're here to bridge the gap between eager homebuyers and forward-thinking investors. By purchasing 5% equity in a house, buyers not only unlock affordable homeownership but also benefit from reduced monthly payments and an opportunity to buy the full property.


Existing Affordable Housing Solutions are Not Helping Achieve Homeownership

The government is investing significant resources and money into different models: down-payment assistance, lease-to-own, and below-market-housing, with limited success.


Housing Problems our Communities are Facing

It is Time for Drastic Change and Bold Innovation

Future generations and people serving the communities will likely not be able to catch up to increases in property prices and housing costs. We believe that buying and investing in a portion of a home is the best & likely only way to make homes affordable, as property value will continue to appreciate and the population will continue to grow in the next 10-20 years while incomes from middle-class and low-income earners will not catch up.

The Solution: Combine Investment Property with Owner-Occupied Homes into One!

While sharing equity among friends and family is nothing new, Zeehaus takes it to a whole new level. We have revolutionized the co-ownership process, creating a streamlined and secure digital platform that connects homebuyers with investors.

It's a breakthrough approach since creating a scalable, simple, and fair ownership process requires an end-to-end integrated solution and digital platform.

  • We provide a sustainable and affordable solution the housing crisis, one of the most important issues facing our communities


Our Secret Sauce: Property Managed by Buyers

Uniquely differentiated from other real estate platforms, Zeehaus earns recurring service fees without having to manage the property physically as each equity sharing property is an investment and owner-occupied home (homeowner is responsible for property upkeep) at the same time, thus enabling Zeehaus to scale an efficient business model with our patented technology!

Our platform takes care of complexities such as legal documents, funding, ownership management, and property sale.

Forward-looking projections cannot be guaranteed.

Why Invest in Owner-Occupied Homes?

Investing in equity sharing ownership is fully digital and transparent as investors can own residential properties securely with clicks of a mouse and helps a homebuyer at the same time!


Competition

Other fractional ownership platforms or real estate companies focus on buying rental or vacation properties, leasing them out, and collecting rents & management fees while taking on responsibilities of significant labor, overheads, uncertainty, and costs in property management and maintenance.

More importantly, none of them helps buyers or makes homeownership affordable. 

In fact, they make it less affordable.

Many platform have tried fractional ownership, with a few co-ownership platforms, and there are many REITs and rental platforms. No other entity has dedicated the necessary time, determination, and resources to develop a strong business model and sustainable way to solve our housing crisis.


David vs. Goliath: Together, We Can Prevail

The housing market is under siege by large equity funds gobbling up residential properties.

These behemoths, like Blackstone and other real estate investment giants, are driving up prices, taking away limited housing inventory, and diminishing opportunities for aspiring homeowners. 

Zeehaus stands as a powerful shield, protecting the dreams of countless Americans by reshaping the landscape of affordable homeownership.


First Mover in the Digitalization of the Real Estate Transaction

  • Real estate disruption in transactions is ahead: With a recent lawsuit won by home sellers against NAR (National Association of Realtors) regarding sellers having to pay buyer broker's real estate commission (up to 3%), we believe that buyers soon would be asked to make own decision about hiring buyer agent and paying buyer commission
  • This decision probably means that many buyers would want to buy a home without a buyer agent and how homes are purchased would change forever. We are in a position to be at the forefront of that digitalization as buyers will rely on an end-to-end digital platform to support them when working with listing agents directly.

** https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/05/homes/nar-verdict-real-estate-commission-fee/index.html *** https://cdn.nar.realtor/sites/default/files/documents/2022-home-buyers-and-sellers-generational-trends-03-23-2022.pdf


That is the reason we are taking it one step further than any other real estate firm by creating a proprietary platform that enables end-to-end features from buyer application, agent transaction platform, digital closing checklist, and integration with credit bureaus, lenders, and title & escrow agents, and most importantly a patented sharing equity platform to co-own a property fairly.

The Millennial Market

With millennials leading the charge as the largest group of homebuyers today, the demand for affordable housing has never been greater. Gen Z is following close behind, eager to make their mark in the real estate market. 

Zeehaus is perfectly positioned to meet these needs and seize the enormous opportunities that lie ahead.

We're focused on the colossal US residential properties market, valued at a staggering $8.6 trillion. By 2027, this figure is projected to soar to $12.2 trillion! 

With our innovative platform and forward-thinking approach, you can be at the forefront of this incredible growth.

In our first focused state, California, one million more middle- to moderate-income buyers can afford to buy a home using our homeownership model!

Our Business Model

We expect to realize a variety of revenue streams leveraging our proprietary equity sharing platform throughout the entire lifecycle (10 years is a typical term) of the property purchase, recurring service revenue, trading of property shares, sale of properties, external licensing revenue, and agent referral fees.

Win-Win-Win Model: Unlike other real estate investment funds or fractional ownership firms that want you to 'buy shares' or 'buy a piece of a city' of properties that require a full team of fund managers, property managers, buyers, maintenance teams, Zeehaus supports homeownership, enables investing in valuable assets, and earns a high-margin recurring revenue without costly upkeeps.

Forward-looking projections cannot be guaranteed.


We provide a true solution to housing crisis!

Zeehaus is the first and only platform that enables direct investment in owner-occupied homes ("equity sharing property"), using our simple, secure, and patented platform.

  • Each equity sharing property has a keyholder (homebuyer) and one or more investors
  • Investors do not need to worry about tenants not properly maintaining rental or vacation properties or investing in real estate funds that lack transparency.
  • Learn more about how equity sharing works.


Forward-looking projections cannot be guaranteed.



Dynamic Pricing Models for Equity Sharing Ownership

To take into consideration of the market conditions and slower return of low interest rates, we plan to rebalance the buyer's monthly payments and investor ROI to dynamically reflect the market condition.

Given the high interest rates and investor demand, the investor’s rate of return (buyer rental payments) will be changed from a fixed 2% to a “range of 4% to 5%” and a cap will be placed on the property appreciation shared with investors to roughly 2% to 3% annually. Essentially, we are flipping the two key metrics (guaranteed cash flow and potential property appreciation) so investors will receive higher monthly income upfront and potentially less property gain. When interest rates drop in the future, we will also adjust the two metrics periodically.

Assuming the current 30-year fixed mortgage interest rate is 6.5%. Here is an example how it works:

  • We will set the investor ROI to be 2% lower at 4.5% annually, which is the buyer’s annual rent,
  • Then the appreciation will be capped at 3% annually (when property is sold or refinanced).
  • The maximum investor ROI is therefore 7.5% annually.
  • We add a 1% premium to account for the additional risk that property might not appreciate.
  • This balance approach is to bring our model competitive due to the presently high interest rates, and always keeping it much more affordable to achieve homeownership by taking into account of the current market conditions.

While it is going to increase the buyer's monthly costs, our model is still significantly less costly compared with conventional mortgage loan payments in today's market. It is also a way for us to rebalance the supply & demand condition as we are getting lots of interest from prospective buyers on our sharing equity model but less capital supply due to high interest rates.


Pivoted & Tested: We have pivoted and learned over the past few years, it’s worth noting that we are no longer just an aspiring real estate or blockchain startup and we are not a concept anymore.

PayPal pivoted its business model around 5 times before creating one of the most successful companies. Airbnb was selling cereal at one point. Netflix started out as a mail-order DVD rental service. We have also learned and pivoted multiple times, from Cash Out equity option, blockchain ownership transfer, and Flip and Rehab model, and now we have found our footing.



Our Traction

Our platform has already made waves in San Francisco, and we've also tested a property in the vibrant market in Santa Fe, NM.

* Forward-looking projections cannot be guaranteed.


Approved Patent: Patent for equity sharing technology and buy-own-sell process was granted in 2022 by the US Patent Office. Patented technology also includes our “Click & Invest” model for investors to purchase “shares” of residential properties.

*Image is from actual Zeehaus patent page from Google Patent site: https://patents.google.com/patent/US11244413B2/

What's Next

Building For the Future: Having a full suite of real estate offerings should position us well in different economic cycles in times of lower interest rates and property market conditions.


We believe that our impacts will be felt in real estate industry everywhere, as we embark on a mission to provide housing solution, digital assets, and agent CRM, in a phased approach.

We are generating traction by working with local governments, lenders, real estate funds, and other real estate companies to drive our growth, then focus on B2C model.

Phase 1 (Homeownership):

  • Funding partners and investors: We are facilitating the purchases of multiple properties in San Francisco. Our go-to-market approach is creating a centralized platform to bring together lenders and banks (with Community Reinvestment Acts government credits) to make affordable loans loans to moderate- and low-income families.
  • Equity sharing ownership: In addition, we are also working with local governments, nonprofits, retirement funds to provide "down payment assistance" (essentially a smaller 10% equity sharing ownership investment) as investors will receive a 10% appreciation from these down payment loans. 

Phase 2 (Growth & AI):

  • Looking ahead, our expansion plans include communities such as Los Angeles, Dallas, Seattle, Phoenix, New York, Oregon, Nevada, and Colorado.  Stay tuned as we bring our transformative vision to these dynamic markets.
  • We intend to build & roll out more capabilities to automate our operations when we scale our growth, in the areas of prescreening buyers, validating required conditions and checklists to minimize manual work, helping buyers & agents with property recommendations, thus reducing our operational costs as we scale. We have already completed Blockchain technology to record property, which will provide tamper-proof ownership records for investors and buyers alike.

Forward-looking projections cannot be guaranteed.


Phase 3 (Licensing & B2C):

  • Enable full property shared ownership and diversify, while supporting young buyers achieve homeownership. We plan to expand real estate investment opportunities through retail investors. This should help reduce marketing costs initially.
  • With our proprietary digital platform, we expect to start charging a monthly SaaS fee to agents and OEM licensing fees to other platforms once we build up sufficient homebuyers.

Digital Tokens: We are working with exchanges to issue our digital tokens. 100% of the proceeds will be used to purchase properties and solve the housing crisis. The new digital token will be managed by a separate organization and not part of the Zeehaus entity. Zeehaus, however, is poised to benefit from the real estate funds from the token sale. Please note that there is no guarantee that the token will be listed by a major exchange.

Valuation

While we could raise this round at a higher valuation, we chose to price this offering very conservatively as building a crowdfunding retail investor community before we embark on growing our business is important to our mission of supporting homeownership. 

After all, Zeehaus depends on the support of the crowd to be a successful business, so we want to crowd-source our business, not just crowdfund it!

If you decide to invest, we believe that you would be joining us at the precipice of Zeehaus taking the business to the next level.

Exit Strategy

We have received ~$14 million in real estate funding and ~$2 million from ~2,000 investors into our mission to make homeownership affordable. We hope to justify substantial increase in our valuation as we engage with more partners, increase revenue, expand our partnership with banks, and roll out our SaaS software to real estate platforms & agents.

The goal for us is to go public by listing on a public market. While nothing is certain, we are working nonstop and diligently to deliver value to every Zeehaus investor. This is our commitment to you, and we’ll do our very best to ensure every shareholder is rewarded for the trust and support you thrust into our team.

Forward-looking projections cannot be guaranteed, and this only happens if we are able to execute our plan and continue growing a sustainable and performing business.

Investor Perks

Special Dividend Payments: We plan to distribute up to 70% of invested funds as “special dividend” payments as we are now expecting to use the funds to purchase properties to support additional pilot programs.

We expect to be able to pay these “special dividends” for new funding being raised since we plan to use the 100% of the funds (subtracting platform fees, real estate transaction costs, and potential property value decreases) to help one or more homebuyers purchase a home so we can kick-start more pilot programs. 

Why we are offering this:

  • The purpose of this plan is to raise funds, drive traction with starting one or more pilot properties, and reward our investors.
  • We are making this offer because up to this point we have not raised funding for our own property purchases, even though we are working with lenders and investors, who are funding buyers directly. So, we hope to start fundraise for a different goal of using this money to conduct more pilot properties so we can work with new local governments and organizations that are supporting homeownership for middle class, first-time buyers, first responders, and teachers.

How we execute this plan to purchase property is subject to the amount we raise:

  • We will work with a homebuyer to pick a property. The buyer will purchase 10% equity, while Zeehaus will take ownership of the property and give the buyer fractional equity.
  • The buyer will have 3 to 4 years to build up equity and buy out the property, or we expect to sell the home.
  • If we raise $300K to $600K, it can be used to purchase a ~$900K to $1M property (with a mortgage) in the Bay Area.
  • If we could raise $600K to $900K, we plan to purchase two properties.
  • For each additional $300K to $500K that we raise, we intend to buy one additional property.
  • Completing more pilot programs like this will support us to open up new partnership opportunities.

If we are successful with this offering, we plan to repeat the funding and property purchases for multiple homes in order to help us increase the pilot properties with various local governments and communities (like teacher and police unions).

The maximum funding for this “special dividend” offering is ~$500K on Wefunder as the purpose of this plan is to raise funds, drive traction with pilot properties, and reward our investors. We are also working with investors privately for additional funds to purchase properties.

We expect to make 4 dividend payments and they are to be distributed 2 years after the funding closes. For example, if our round closes in April 2024, dividends are going to be paid based on this schedule:

  • 5% of investments 2 years from the funding round closing date
  • 15% of investments 3 years from the funding round closing date
  • 25% of investments 4 years from the funding round closing date
  • 25% of investments 5 years from the funding round closing date

If we are unable to raise sufficient funds to buy a property (total funds raised < $300K) now, we hope to continue to raise funds privately or on another platform.

Dividends are expected be distributed pro rata to your investment amount. Please note that the dividend distribution schedule and percentages are subject to change, depending on our ability to raise sufficient amounts and property market conditions (i.e. property price drops). Please consult with a tax advisor on the impacts to your financial situation.

In addition, we are giving early Zeehaus investors utility tokens (subject to listing of the token on a major crypto exchange) for a very limited time (the bonus may be withdrawn at any time), as only a small number can be given away since we need to maintain the asset-backed economics of the tokens:

  • Invest $500, receive 100 housing tokens
  • Invest $1,000, receive 250 housing tokens
  • Invest $2,500, receive 700 housing tokens
  • Invest $5,000, receive 1,500 housing tokens
  • Invest $10,000, receive 3,500 housing tokens
  • Invest $25,000, receive 6,000 housing tokens



Don't Miss Your Chance to Shape the Future of Real Estate

Zeehaus is not just a company – it's a movement. We’ve meticulously crafted a business model that is legally sound and financially promising. With our cutting-edge technology and unwavering commitment, we're poised for explosive growth.

By becoming an investor in Zeehaus, you gain exclusive access to a variety of revenue streams throughout the entire lifecycle of property ownership. 

It's time to make a difference. Join the movement to create sustainable & affordable homeownership!


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