Lofty is a fractional U.S. real estate investing platform where visitors can browse property shares, learn about rental property investing, review calculators and guides, and access support for marketplace orders and account activity.
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Real Estate Platform Comparison· Updated July 15, 2026
A side-by-side breakdown of returns, liquidity, fees, and trustworthiness to help you decide where to invest your money.

Groundfloor is a strong, transparent option for investors who want short-term, real-estate-backed yield without picking properties. ~10% historical returns, zero investor fees, and 6–18 month terms are excellent, but you're a lender, not an owner, so upside is capped and default risk is real.

Landa pioneered $5 fractional shares of single-family rentals, but the platform has been effectively frozen since spring 2025: no deposits, no secondary trading, and halted dividends for many investors. A New York court placed 119 Landa properties under an independent manager in February 2025 amid a lawsuit over $35M+ in defaulted loans, and Landa's own SEC filings have since flagged substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. Do not deposit new money. Existing investors should treat this as a wind-down and monitor SEC filings.
At a Glance


Pros & Cons

Zero investor fees
Groundfloor charges investors nothing, no AUM, no transaction fees, no closing costs. Borrowers pay 2–4.5% origination plus closing fees, so the entire interest yield flows to investors.
$10 per-loan minimum
Investors can spread $100 across ten loans, making real diversification accessible. Groundfloor's account minimum is $100 and individual loans go down to $10.
Short hold periods (6–18 months)
Most Groundfloor loans mature in 6–18 months, dramatically shorter than the 5–7 year holds typical of equity-style platforms, making it a useful complement to longer-duration real estate.
Transparent, A–G grading
Every loan is graded A–G with corresponding interest rates and risk factors. Loan documents, project details, and borrower track records are published before funding.
Capped upside
You're a lender. If a property doubles in value, you still only earn the interest rate on the loan. None of the appreciation upside flows to investors.
Lump-sum and deferred payouts
Many loans are deferred-payment, meaning interest accrues but isn't paid until the loan is fully repaid. That hurts compounding versus monthly- or daily-payout platforms.
Default risk is real
Groundfloor's reported default rate has historically been higher than peer platforms. Recoveries through foreclosure can take time and erode returns. The collateral is the property itself.
No early withdrawal
Once you fund a loan, capital is locked until the loan repays. There's no secondary market for Groundfloor LROs.

Lowest historical entry price
Landa's signature feature was $5 share prices, which made it one of the most accessible fractional real estate platforms ever launched, and proved real demand for low-minimum property investing.
Sun Belt single-family focus
Landa concentrated on cash-flowing single-family rental markets that remain popular with rental investors: Atlanta, Tampa, Orlando, Charlotte, Birmingham, and Jacksonville, plus a Brooklyn portfolio.
Publicly documented offerings
Landa raised capital through Regulation A offerings, which means its financials and current wind-down activity remain publicly documented in SEC filings that investors can still monitor today.
Series LLC structure
Each Landa property is held in its own series LLC. In the current wind-down, that structure is what ties each investor's claim to a specific property rather than to the parent company alone.
Platform frozen: no deposits, trading, or withdrawals
Landa's app and investor portal have been effectively non-functional since around April 2025, per TechCrunch's investigation. The site states there are no active offerings and that deposits and secondary trading are paused. Many investors report halted dividends going back to late 2024, and 130+ complaints have been filed with the Better Business Bureau.
$35M+ lender lawsuit and court-appointed independent manager
In November 2024, lenders Viola Credit and L Finance sued Landa in New York State Supreme Court over more than $35 million in defaulted loans. In February 2025 the court placed 119 Landa properties under an independent manager, and court filings allege Landa diverted roughly $724,000 in tenant rent to accounts outside the court's injunction.
Going-concern doubt in Landa's own SEC filings
Landa's SEC filings through 2026 include a steady stream of foreclosure and property-disposition reports, and its auditors have flagged substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern.
Existing investors have no exit and no timeline
With the secondary market closed, current holders cannot sell shares on-platform, and Landa has published no restart timeline. Practically, existing investors are positioned closer to creditors in a wind-down than customers of a functioning platform.
Deep Dive
What You're Investing In
Three core products: Groundfloor Original (individual loans graded A–G), Stairs by Groundfloor (a savings-style product paying a steady rate), and Notes (short-duration debt instruments). All are real estate debt, no equity ownership.
Nothing, currently. Historically: fractional shares of single-family rental homes in U.S. Sun Belt markets. No offerings are active as of 2026.
Property Locations
Groundfloor lends in 45+ U.S. states, giving investors broad geographic diversification across one platform.
Atlanta, Tampa, Orlando, Charlotte, Birmingham, Jacksonville, and Brooklyn portfolios, 119 of these properties are now under court-appointed independent management.
Expected Returns
Groundfloor's historical average return is approximately 10% per year. A diversified portfolio across all available loans has historically produced around 10.7% annualized. Loans pay between roughly 5.5% (A grade) and 25%+ (G grade), and investors earn the same rate the borrower pays. Capital not deployed within 45 days returns to the investor with no interest.
N/A, dividends have been halted for many investors since late 2024 or early 2025, and no returns are being generated for shareholders while properties are foreclosed or sold in the wind-down. Historical dividend yields ranged roughly 3–6% and varied widely by property. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
Fees
Zero investor fees. Borrowers pay 2–4.5% origination plus other closing fees, all visible inside the offering documents but not charged to investors.
Landa historically earned revenue through property management markups and series-level operating expenses rather than an investor-facing platform fee. Fee structure is moot while the platform is frozen.
Liquidity
Holding period equals the loan term, typically 6–18 months. Investors can target shorter durations by buying into in-progress loans.
Indefinite. The secondary market is closed and there is no on-platform way to sell.
Who Can Invest
Open to non-accredited and accredited U.S. investors. International investors can participate but must email support to fund accounts and meet a $5,000 minimum transfer.
No one, currently, Landa is not accepting new investors or deposits while the platform is frozen.
The Verdict

Groundfloor is one of the cleanest options in real estate crowdfunding. Zero investor fees, ~10% historical returns, short 6–18 month durations, and full transparency on every loan make it a strong fit for investors who want yield backed by real estate without picking properties or signing up for a 5+ year lock-up. The trade-off is real: you're a lender with capped upside and default exposure, not an owner with a stake in appreciation.
Full Groundfloor review →
Landa is not an investable platform in 2026. The app is frozen, dividends are halted for many holders, 119 properties sit under court-appointed management amid a $35M+ lender lawsuit, and the company's own SEC filings flag going-concern doubt. Prospective investors should not deposit money. Existing investors should document their holdings, monitor SEC EDGAR and the New York court docket, and treat recovery as uncertain. Investors who still want fractional single-family exposure should evaluate platforms on the exact points where Landa failed: investor liquidity that doesn't depend on the platform's discretion, current audited disclosures, and clean separation between investor assets and platform debt. See how Lofty compares on those criteria, or review alternatives like Arrived and Ark7.
Full Landa review →Bottom Line
Groundfloor scores higher (4.0/5) and edges out Landa on our investment quality criteria.
Groundfloor is a strong, transparent option for investors who want short-term, real-estate-backed yield without picking properties. ~10% historical returns, zero investor fees, and 6–18 month terms are excellent, but you're a lender, not an owner, so upside is capped and default risk is real.
Frequently Asked Questions
Based on our scoring criteria, returns, fees, liquidity, transparency, minimums, and track record, Groundfloor (4.0/5) scores higher than Landa (1.5/5). Groundfloor is a strong, transparent option for investors who want short-term, real-estate-backed yield without picking properties. ~10% historical returns, zero investor fees, and 6–18 month terms are excellent, but you're a lender, not an owner, so upside is capped and default risk is real.
Groundfloor's minimum investment is $10 per loan ($100 account minimum). Landa's minimum investment is $5 (historical, no new investments accepted).
Groundfloor: Holding period equals the loan term, typically 6–18 months. Investors can target shorter durations by buying into in-progress loans. Landa: Indefinite. The secondary market is closed and there is no on-platform way to sell.
Groundfloor reports average yearly returns of ~10% historical average. Landa reports average yearly returns of N/A, dividends halted; historical yields were ~3–6% and highly variable. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
One of the most flexible ways to invest in real estate
$50 minimums · Daily rent payouts · No lock-up periods · 24/7 exchange