Fintown review: 15% return on rental properties

The same applies to P2P lending: broad diversification reduces your risk. So why not invest in lucrative real estate lending? Fintown makes it possible and currently offers you returns of up to 15%!

I have been investing a larger amount on the Czech platform for some time now. Here, I will share my personal experiences with Fintown, the advantages and disadvantages, and what you should pay attention to.

What is Fintown?

Anyone looking for investments with high returns will sooner or later end up with P2P lending. These are flexible, high-yield and comparatively safe investments. You make your money available to other individuals or companies and receive attractive interest rates in return.

In most cases, you finance lending for private individuals in this way, but with the P2P provider Fintown, you have another exciting option available to you: real estate projects!

You can use your money to participate in various projects:

• Refinancing of already completed, rented buildings
• Construction of new flats and buildings that will be sold after completion
• Construction projects with subsequent rental or leasing
• Purchase of already completed properties that are intended to generate rent/lease income
• Furnishing/renovation of existing properties to generate or increase income

If you ask a financial advisor how to invest your money wisely, they will certainly recommend real estate in addition to shares and a good ETF selection. Unfortunately, however, buildings are extremely expensive and unaffordable for most investors. With the P2P platform, you can get started with real estate projects from as little as €1!

89/100

Points

Sustainable returns of 8-14% per year

Money available again every day

2% starting bonus on your investment

REDEEM BONUS*

About the provider

Fintown is a Czech P2P platform that has only been accessible to investors for a relatively short time. But don’t let that fool you! Behind it is the Vihorev Group, which has been developing real estate projects in the Prague region since 2014 and already has considerable experience in this business.

Particularly noteworthy is the fact that

• The Vihorev Group holds a 20 per cent stake in every loan on the P2P platform, so it has a strong interest in ensuring that projects are completed successfully and on time.
• In the past, the real estate projects have always been completed reliably and within budget.
• In recent years, the Vihorev Group has been very successful and has generated a reliable profit. This is testament to a good business model and underlines the provider’s experience.

Owner and namesake Maxim Vihorev has already proven that his concept works. This is particularly important as the Vihorev Group offers a guarantee: it would cover the payment in the event of a loan default. Of course, this only works if the group is profitable and has the necessary capital.

You will search in vain for further security or government regulation. However, as most projects are directly profitable rental properties, the specific risk depends heavily on your chosen investments.

In return, Fintown rewards you for any risks you take withvery high interest rates. Only you can decide whether this deal suits you and your financial goals. However, my test of the platform was very positive, and I will be investing more capital here in the future.

This is how Fintown’s business model works

Fintown’s business model is easy to explain: the Vihorev Group builds, buys, rents and sells real estate. You can finance these projects via their own P2P platform, Fintown, and in return you will be rewarded with interest.

A wide variety of projects are available, allowing you to put together a diverse portfolio:

• One focus is clearly on projects that are already generating profits. These are primarily completed and already rented properties or buildings that serve as holiday homes. As an investor, you can even stay in them yourself!
• Completely new buildings are also available, but naturally often have a longer term. They usually offer higher interest rates, but also corresponding risks.
• The projects are all located in Prague – with the exception of a single property, which I will discuss in more detail later. In my experience, this focus is positive, as the Vihorev Group knows this region very well. Never change a winning team!
• Due to the large selection, in my experience with Fintown, there is no cash drag. This phenomenon occurs when too much capital is available. Investors are then unable to find suitable loans and cannot invest their money, which reduces the overall return.

With currently 4,500 active investors, this is not surprising. However, for a platform that is still young, this manageable number is perfectly acceptable.

Interesting: Projects in Czechia are a welcome change from the usual providers from Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. Although I have had good experiences with platforms such as Peerberry and Lande, I am delighted about the additional market in which I can invest with Fintown!

89/100

Points

Sustainable returns of 8-14% per year

Money available again every day

2% starting bonus on your investment

REDEEM BONUS*

Register and secure your bonus

If you want to secure the attractive interest rates offered by the P2P platform, you must first register. This process is very simple with Fintown. The following requirements apply:

• Registration is open to all private individuals and companies.
• There are no official requirements for specific nationalities.
• You need a bank account in the EU.
• You also need an email address and a mobile phone number.
• You must also have an identity document (passport, identity card, residence permit, etc.).

Start by creating a typical account: enter your email address and choose a password. You will then receive a confirmation email that you must click on.

The next step is to enter your personal details. This is followed by a video identification process to confirm your identity. To do this, you need to hold your ID document up to your smartphone camera. A video call with a service representative is not usually necessary.

Everything is then checked by Fintown – in my experience, this only takes a few minutes – and your account is activated. You can now deposit money from your EU account and start investing. However, make sure you enter the correct reference for your transfer!

My Fintown portfolio

I have invested my money – currently over €3,000 – in various lending in order to achieve good diversification. The largest amount is €1,000 in the ‘Karlin’ project, for which I receive 10% interest.

My investments are mixed, as I want to test all aspects of Fintown. So I have invested in both risky lending with high interest rates and rental projects with lower returns.

Some of these investments have already reached their minimum term, so I can withdraw my capital at any time. You can easily recognise these lending by the green ‘Principal Pay-Out’ button:

89/100

Points

Sustainable returns of 8-14% per year

Money available again every day

2% starting bonus on your investment

REDEEM BONUS*

Example project “Flexi”

The building is already rented out and generates regular profits. Your investment allows you to participate in this and earn 8 per cent interest per annum. The minimum investment amount is particularly attractive: you can invest from as little as €1!

• In this example, you must be invested in the project for at least 30 days.
• Interest payments are calculated daily and distributed monthly.
• After the 30-day period has expired, you can withdraw your money at any time or leave it in the project.
• The short terms are particularly attractive for some investors.

In this specific example, over €160,000 has already been raised, which speaks to the great interest among investors.

Other P2P providers also offer regular interest payments. Particularly well-known examples include Bondora’s Go & Grow programme and Monefit Smartsaver. Unlike these platforms, however, Fintech offers a little more security, as you are investing in real, physically existing objects that generate tangible income.

The property is already in use and is being rented out to interested parties on property websites such as Booking.com. This is a project in which, rather than having one long-term tenant, the house is divided into several individual flats that are rented out on a weekly basis.

The rankings of the rental properties are particularly important in this context:

• The specific example currently has a rating of 8.9/10 stars based on over 2,000 reviews.
• The good ratings in turn ensure that other interested parties book and generate further income.

Personally, I think it’s very good that a lot of information is provided and every investor has the opportunity to view the properties – even in person! In my experience, this level of transparency is rare among other providers.

The ‘FLEXI’ project has been available on the website for some time and is generating regular income for investors. I am one of them: I have been invested in Flexi since 15 December 2023 with an amount of €500 and have earned just over €45 in interest so far.

New project “The Seed”

Fintown’s focus is and remains Prague, as the company has the most experience in this market and generates reliable profits. However, it wants to continue growing and has found a new target: Costa Rica!

Here, it is planning a mega-project called ‘the Seed’ for 75 luxury flats. These will be financed directly by several lending from investors like you and me, as well as the Vihorev Group.

I myself have been involved since Phase I and will continue to invest here. One reason for this is that ‘the Seed’ is secured by a first mortgage. In plain language, this means:

• Should the Vihorev Group go bankrupt, a long line of investors will demand their money back.
• In this case, the insolvency administrator will sell the land and buildings.
• The ‘first-rank mortgages’ will be repaid first. If there is any money left over afterwards, it will go to the ‘subordinated mortgages’.
• With the Seed, you receive a first-rank mortgage and are fairly certain to get your money back in the event of an emergency.

The risk associated with this project is nevertheless considerable, which also explains the very high interest rate of 15% per annum. However, according to its own information, the Vihorev Group has real estate worth €77 million, so that even a total loss in Costa Rica would be manageable.

Particularly exciting: in its project description, the company states that it would also finance The Seed entirely on its own if there is insufficient interest among investors. For me, this is a very positive sign that demonstrates how strongly the Vihorev Group stands behind the project in Costa Rica!

Guarantees and repayments: Is Fintown secure?

My Fintown test has been running since the end of 2023 and has been very successful so far: All projects have been repaid on time and interest has always been credited on time. The P2P platform has not yet recorded any loan defaults.

But even though – or perhaps precisely because – there have been no problems in the past, one should consider the security of Fintown. There are several points to consider here:

• Czech real estate serves as security for these lending.
• In addition, the Vihorev Group offers a buy-back guarantee. It steps in if a project is no longer profitable or should fail completely.
• An unaudited annual report from the Vihorev Group shows a profit of more than two million euros per year.
• According to its own information, the Group’s real estate has a value of over 77 million euros.

How secure Fintown is therefore depends largely on the results of the Vihorev Group behind it. I would currently rate the situation as very positive:

• The value of the properties is very high
• The investment platform is growing steadily and new investors are constantly bringing in fresh money
• Renting and leasing provide a reliable cash flow.

Investors should keep an eye on the long-term development of the P2P platform to avoid any unpleasant surprises.

89/100

Points

Sustainable returns of 8-14% per year

Money available again every day

2% starting bonus on your investment

REDEEM BONUS*

Advantages and disadvantages

Before we come to our conclusion, I would like to take a closer look at the advantages and disadvantages of the P2P platform Fintown. First, however, there is one point that is neither positive nor negative for me, but should be mentioned at this point:

There is no auto-invest function! If you already have experience with P2P lending, you are probably familiar with this useful feature offered by most providers. You simply set your parameters, such as the desired interest rate or maximum term, and the platform automatically invests your money for you.

Fintown does not offer this feature, as it only has a small number of high-quality projects available. As an investor, you are responsible for reviewing the extensive information on each loan and deciding whether or not to invest your money. sufficient interest. For me, this is a very positive sign that demonstrates how strongly the Vihorev Group stands behind the project in Costa Rica!

Auto-invest would therefore be out of place here. What may appear to be a disadvantage at first glance is actually intentional and has its positive aspects.

My negative experiences with Fintown

Let’s first take a look at the negative experiences I’ve had with the P2P platform so far:

• It is a relatively young platform with a correspondingly small user base, which can have a negative impact on long-term profitability.
• The German translation of the website is more than a little clunky.
• There is no secondary market. Early exit is possible after the minimum term has expired; before that, sales are only possible with deductions.
• So far, there have been no defaults or other crises to overcome. It is therefore unclear how the company would behave in an emergency and how well the security mechanisms would work.
• The platform is not regulated by a financial supervisory authority.

Positive experiences with Fintown

Now that we have discussed the disadvantages, we can turn our attention to the advantages. In my opinion, these currently outweigh the disadvantages and contribute to my positive overall impression:

• Good returns of up to 15% for riskier projects and around 8% for long-term cash flow projects (rental properties).
• Attractive selection of investment properties with different objectives (e.g. higher risk for one-off returns or long-term, solid cash flow).
• To date, investors have always received their interest payments on time and all projects have been completed on schedule.
• An interesting market that is difficult to find with other providers. This allows you to easily diversify your portfolio and add the attractive Prague housing market.
• Customer service is good. You can quickly reach the company with questions and problems, which, in my experience, is anything but a given.
• The Fintown website is simple and clearly structured, and investments can be made in a matter of seconds.
• With a minimum amount of only €1, Fintown is a sensible investment even for those on a very small budget.
• Comparatively short terms. In most cases, you can exit an investment after just 30 days and get your money back.
• With the new ‘Early Exit’ programme, you can now exit even earlier, but you will have to accept the associated costs.

Are there alternatives to Fintown?

Fintown has discovered a very interesting niche for itself, but its offerings are not entirely unique. Other P2P providers with comparable projects are available:

1. EstateGuru

EstateGuru is (still) the leading provider of personal loans for real estate. They have made the concept popular and have thousands of active users. Unfortunately, the P2P platform has recently had to contend with very high default rates, which have depressed returns for investors.

I have also been put off by the fees that investors have recently been charged: I will not be increasing my investment here any further.

60/100

Points

Return: 9% interest

Investors: over 158,000

0.5% bonus on investments in the first 90 days.

REDEEM BONUS*

2. Lande

One advantage of Fintown is the high level of security provided by real estate: in the event of insolvency, the properties can be sold and the investors paid out. The Latvian provider Lande relies on a similar concept: agricultural machinery, buildings, livestock, grain or farmland.

Here, you invest in the agricultural economy and are rewarded with up to 15% interest. Such P2P lending are an exciting addition to your portfolio. For more information, see my Lande experience report.

66/100

Points

11% interest with agricultural loans

Each project is secured with (LTV) 44%

3% cashback on your investment for the first 30 days

REDEEM BONUS*

3. Ventus Energy

Ventus Energy also offers tangible collateral: power plants, solar plants and the like are available as collateral. The company wants to establish itself as an attractive energy group in Latvia and needs investors to do so. In return, it offers very high interest rates: an incredible 24% is possible if you use my sign-up bonus!

My Ventus Energy experience.

58/100

Points

Up to 17% interest with energy projects

The energy projects are already generating profits

Get a 1% extra bonus (60 days) + 5% cashback

REDEEM BONUS*

Conclusion: My Fintown review – attractive return opportunities through interesting real estate projects

After my comprehensive Fintown test, which has now been running for over 1.5 years, I can say quite clearly: this P2P platform is anoffer with very good returns and reliable payouts.

Here, you invest in real estate projects in the Prague region and a single new property in Costa Rica. Each property generates a return for you, either through rental or subsequent sale. You can expect returns of up to 15%!

Extensive information is available for each loan, which you should review before investing. Once you have found a suitable property, you can invest in just a few clicks.

Security is provided in the form of a repayment guarantee from the Vihorev Group, which is behind the platform. This company has a property portfolio worth over €77 million and most recently generated a profit of over €2 million per year.

At present, everything seems to be sorted at Fintown. I myself have currently invested €3,000. Based on my positive experiences, I will be increasing this amount in the coming months. I consider the property market to be very attractive and see several advantages in P2P lending over buying a house or property shares!

FAQ – Frequently asked questions about Fintown