Before you invest
Most frequently asked questions
Launching Jan 2027
Property crowdfunding, compared.
How a property-backed investment sits beside real estate crowdfunding platforms, property bonds, and shares or funds: what you hold, and what stands behind it.
01 · Comparing
How do I choose the best real estate crowdfunding platform?
Compare what secures your money first: whether each loan is secured against the property, and how much of its value is lent. Then look at how the projects are checked, whether the platform puts its own money into them, what fees you pay and when your money comes back. On Watson Capital Partners, each loan is secured against the property with at most 75% of its value lent, every project passes the same nine-step review, Watson AM puts at least 5% of its own capital into every case, investors pay no fee, and each case runs for a fixed term of 12 to 36 months.
What is the difference between property bonds and a property loan?
A property bond usually lends to a company that owns or develops property, so being paid back depends on that company as a whole. With Watson Capital Partners you invest in one loan for one named project, set out in its case file, and that loan is secured against the building or plot itself. You know which property stands behind your money before you commit.
How is this different from property crowdfunding?
Like real estate crowdfunding platforms, Watson Capital Partners lets many individuals invest together in one property project. Here each investment is a share of a loan secured against the property, usually with a first claim on it, never a share of the building itself. We lend at most 75% of the property's value, Watson AM puts at least 5% of its own capital into every case, and investors pay no fee.
How is this different from investing in shares or funds?
Shares and most funds are priced every day, so their value moves with the market and you can usually sell when you like. A property-backed investment has no daily price: it pays the interest set in the case file over a fixed term of 12 to 36 months and repays your capital at the end, when the project is sold or refinanced. You give up the option to sell early, and in return you know the term and the property behind the loan from the start.
What happens to your money.
How much to put in, how the interest reaches you, spreading your money, and tax.
02 · Your money
How much of my savings should I invest?
That depends on your own situation, and we don't give personal advice. What we can say is that it should be money you won't need for the whole term of a case, which runs for 12 to 36 months, with no early withdrawal. Savings you may need at short notice are better kept where you can reach them. The minimum is EUR 10'000 a case.
Can I spread my money across several projects?
Yes. Each case has a minimum of EUR 10'000 and you can take part in as many as you like, so EUR 50'000 could go into one case or be spread across several properties. Spreading it means no single project carries all of your money. Every case stays a separate decision, made with its own case file in front of you.
How is the interest paid?
The case file sets out the interest rate and when it is paid before you commit, and the interest is paid during the term on that schedule. Your capital comes back at the end, when the project is sold or refinanced. The typical target interest is 6% to 15%+ a year, set per case.
Do I pay tax on the interest?
Usually, yes. Interest is generally taxed in the country where you live, under the rules that apply to you there. We can't advise on tax, so ask a tax adviser or your local tax office how interest from a property loan is treated in your case.
Risk, and what stands in its way.
What could go wrong with real estate crowdfunding and property loans, and what sits between your money and a loss. For the detail, the Casebook explains how a first-rank mortgage works.
03 · Risk and security
Is property crowdfunding safe?
No investment is free of risk, and property crowdfunding carries real risk: if a project goes badly, you could get back less than you put in, or lose your capital. What we do is reduce that risk before a project reaches you. Every case passes the same nine-step review, each loan is secured against real property with at most 75% of its value lent, and Watson AM puts at least 5% of its own capital into every case, on the same terms as yours.
What happens to my money if property prices fall?
We lend at most 75% of what a property is worth, so its value would have to fall by more than a quarter before the building no longer covered the whole loan. Across the projects Watson AM has funded, the median loan is 65% of the property's value, which leaves a wider margin still. A steeper fall, or a sale at a poor price, can still mean a loss, which is why the property's value is checked during the review, before any case is offered.
What does a first claim on the property mean?
It means the loan is registered against the property ahead of anyone else's, usually as a first-rank mortgage. If the borrower can't repay and the property has to be sold, the holders of the first claim are repaid from the proceeds before anybody else. The security is registered before any money is paid out, and the case file shows exactly what secures each loan.
What is the nine-step review?
It's the check every project goes through before it reaches you. It starts with an assessment of the project and legal checks by Swiss and local law firms, then confirms the conditions that must be met before any money moves, reviews the finances and the property's value, designs the security and has it registered with a notary. Anti-money-laundering and identity checks follow, then final approval, and the loan is monitored for as long as it runs. Projects that don't pass aren't offered.
From the list to your first case.
What joining involves, the checks the law asks for, and what happens before the platform opens in January 2027.
04 · Getting started
What do I need to do to join the list?
Fill in the short form with your name, your email and the amount, term and return that would suit you. It's free, it commits you to nothing, and you can come off the list whenever you like.
Why do I need to pass identity checks?
The law requires us to confirm who you are and to understand your financial situation before you invest, for your protection and ours. The checks come before your first case, and case files only reach you once they are done.
What happens between now and the launch in January 2027?
Until January 2027 the list is open for pre-registration and nothing is invested. From launch, once your identity checks are done, the cases that match what you told us reach you as they clear our review. You read each case file and decide whether to take part, one case at a time.
Who is behind Watson Capital Partners?
Watson AM AG, a Swiss company registered in Basel (UID CHE-368.490.535). Watson AM arranges secured real estate financing across eleven European countries and has arranged CHF 88M to date. It runs Watson Capital Partners for private individuals, and puts at least 5% of its own capital into every case offered there, on the same terms as yours.
Something we haven't covered? Write to us and a person will answer.