EstateGuru Review
EstateGuru is the most popular and reliable P2P real estate platform in Europe. Since 2014 the platform paid out âŹ16.67 M in interest to over 54,000 investors. You can invest in property-backed loans with an average interest of 11.76%. How? Find out in our EstateGuru review after two years of investing.

EstateGuru News
- 13/01/2021 - EstateGuru's investors funded âŹ18.3M worth of loans in December 2020 (all-time record month)
Watch our latest EstateGuru review here:
EstateGuru in Numbers
Are you thinking about joining EstateGuru?
Great! But first have a look at EstateGuru's statistics.
EstateGuru Statistics | |
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Year founded: | 2014 |
Investor's earnings: | + âŹ22.7 M |
Total loan value: | + âŹ296 M |
Number of investors: | + 71,000 |
Loss of investors' money: | 0% |
Average portfolio size: | âŹ4,087 |
Latest financial report: | Report for 2019 |
So, what are some of the key points to draw from the above table?
- EstateGuruâs investor base is growing rapidly
- EstateGuru has no problem finding new development projects to meet investorsâ demands
- Despite fewer investment opportunities on EstateGuru, weâve never experienced any cash drag
Itâs worth noting that this is rare within the real estate P2P lending industry.
What's Cash Drag?
Cash drag is caused by a low availability of loans. Your uninvested funds donât earn any interest during this period. This is common in the real estate crowdfunding space.
The default rate on EstateGuru is around 5.8%. So far the platform has managed to recover more than 40% of the defaulted loans together with a 10% interest.
The average recovery period is currently around five months.
None of the investors ever lost money on EstateGuru.
Another positive aspect of EstateGuru is that their financial reports are audited by Ernst and Young.
There is only a handful of platforms that offer this additional trust factor. Many of the P2P lending sites do not provide audited financial reports.
Despite the fact that EstateGuru wasnât profitable in 2019, the platform has expanded their staff to support the growth of the platform and increase the availability of investment opportunities. The recruitment and salary expenses has more than doubled in comparison to 2018. To learn more about EstateGuruâs finances, refer to the above mentioned financial report.
EstateGuru Referral Code - Earn 0.5% EstateGuru Bonus
New investors on EstateGuru are eligible to receive an EstateGuru bonus. This is how the EstateGuru referral code works:
- With the EstateGuru referral code EGU12474 you will recieve 0.5% cashback bonus, calculated from your average portfolio size after the first 90 days of registration.

In order to claim your bonus on EstateGuru, you need to sign up with our link or use the mentioned EstateGuru referral code during your registration. Both methods will give you 0.5% EstateGuru cashback bonus.
You will receive the EstateGuru bonus even if you don't use the EstateGuru referral code. The only condition is to sign up with our exclusive link.
Ready to get that EstateGuru bonus?
EstateGuruâs New User Requirements
In order to sign up on EstateGuru and invest into property-backed loans, you need to pass the following new user requirements:
- Be over 18 years old
- Have a European bank account
That's it!
If you donât have a bank account yet, we recommend N26. We use this bank ourselves when testing various P2P platforms. The transfer of funds usually takes no longer than one or two days.
No EUR bank account? No problem
- Open a free N26 bank account
- Open a free TransferWise borderless bank account
You can invest on EstateGuru even if you reside outside of Europe.
In fact, EstateGuru offers significantly higher returns than most of the P2P lending platforms from the UK or the U.S. , which makes it an attractive alternative.
Keen to earn 12% interest per year?
Risk and Return
Wondering whether investing on EstateGuru is safe? Let's have a look at the securities.
Secured Investments
The biggest benefit of investing on EstateGuru is that your investments are secured by a mortgage.
This is much more valuable than any buyback guarantee that you will find on Mintos, TWINO or Lendermarket.
Assess the Risk Yourself
If you are cautious about money, you want to invest on EstateGuru manually and inspect every single project prior to investing. It's not required but it's good practice.
Keep reading or just click here! We will show you how to do it.
Is it too good to be true to earn 12% interest from real estate-backed loans? Watch our interview with EstateGuru to find out:
Is EstateGuru Safe?
Wondering who's behind the platform and whether the terms and conditions are legitimate? We have done the homework for you. Check out our results.
Who Runs the Company?
EstateGuru is led by Co-Founder and CEO Marek PĂ€rtel, who has been involved in real estate since 2002 and has been with the company since its inception in 2013. Marek is also an angel investor, speaker, and partner at several other Estonian real estate fintech companies.
Marek also invests with Startup Wise Guys, which is a popular B2B startup accelerator that also co-funded the real estate aggregator EvoEstate.
EstateGuruâs CEO is very active on professional social media networks like LinkedIn. He also gives talks on finance events like the Finanzmesse in Zurich, Switzerland and the World Real Estate Congress in Moscow, Russia.
Having a very active CEO is a good sign, as this builds trust with fellow investors.
Who is the Companyâs Legal Owner?
CEO and co-founder Marek is joined by Mr. Kristjan-Thor VĂ€hi, who currently acts as a passive co-founder within the platform.
Other partners and co-founders also include Mr. Marko Arro (whoâs responsible for the financial side) and Mr. Kaspar Kaljuvee (who takes care of the risk side).
Are There Any Suspicious Terms and Conditions?
Are you ready to read through 25 pages of fine print? No? We thought youâd say that, so weâve done it for you, and hereâs what we found.
Clause 12 - Debt Collection Explained
During our visit to EstateGuruâs office in Tallinn, we have had a chance to talk to Eric Noormets, who is the companyâs Debt Collection Manager. Eric described precisely how the debt collection process works and how EstateGuru managed to retrieve all investorsâ funds when projects defaulted.

Itâs good to see that this process is also mentioned in EstateGuruâs terms and conditions.

Here is one of the funded projects, we have had the chance to visit last summer.
Clause 4.5 - Storage of Funds
EstateGuru currently stores your funds at a EstateGuru's bank account which is separeted from other company's business accounts.

EstateGuru confirmed that it's currently working to introduce dedicated IBAN accounts in partnership with its partner Lemon Way.
Clause 15.1 - Amendments
EstateGuru can amend the terms and conditions without prior notice.

This is one of the few things we really dislike about EstateGuru.
Fortunately, EstateGuru listened to our suggestions and from now on, you will be notified about any changes when logging into your account.

While you won't be notified in advance, it's certainly a good step towards being even more transparent with you.
Do Investors Have Access to Individual Loan Agreements?
Investors on EstateGuru do have access to individual loan agreements. You can view them in the Documents section in your investorâs account.

When completing our due diligence of EstateGuru, we did not find anything extraordinary or suspicious about EstateGuru's team members.
Potential Red Flags
We have currently no knowledge about any potential red flags.What's Our Opinion about EstateGuru?
We have been investing on EstateGuru for several years now and even met up with the team in Tallin to visit some of the real estate projects and their premises.
EstateGuru is a legitimate business with a proven track record and a large team, which is why we are continuosly increasing our investment on EstateGuru.
The platform has an excelent track record and since 2014, none of the investors lost a single cent on EstateGuru.
Sure - loans can default. But EstateGuru always managed to retrieve the outstanding balance with a positive return for you.
That's truly exceptional, which is why we are using EstateGuru as one of our primary P2P lending sites for more than two years now.
Currently, we have invested more than âŹ5,000 in EstateGuru.

Here is a sneak peek into our current EstateGuru portfolio.
Ready to join as well?
Usability
Regardless if you are starting out or already investing on other platforms.
Investing on EstateGuru is simple and intuitive.
You can either invest manually (like we do) or set up your Auto Invest and let the tool do the work for you.
While the Auto Invest feature on EstateGuru can be used by anyone, advanced diversification options are only available to those who invest at least âŹ250 into one single project.
Basic diversification options arenât very useful as you can only define the loan amount, period and type.
Advanced diversification allows you to choose the preferred security, LTV, stage and interest.
Apart from the Auto Invest, every single project has a thorough description. When compared with platforms like Flender or Crowdestor, EstateGuruâs project descriptions are always on point and include all of the data that EstateGuru has ever gathered about the borrower.
This is super useful when investing manually and evaluating individual projects.

This is how it looks like when you unlock all of EstateGuruâs auto invest features.
If you aim to invest less than âŹ250 in one project, you are better off by investing manually. And thatâs what we do most of the time as well.
Wondering what's our investment strategy for EstateGuru in 2021? Watch the video below to find out.
Investing on EstateGuru Manually
Since EstateGuruâs Auto Invest wonât let us control our investments, we invest our funds on EstateGuru manually and these are the points we evaluate.
All of the eight factors will help us to determine whether the particular real estate investment is a good fit for our investment strategy on EstateGuru.
Our EstateGuru Strategy
We use EstateGuru to invest in property backed loans with a duration of around 12 months. This helps us diversify our risk within the P2P lending industry as we also invest in business and micro loans on other platforms.
Our Evaluation Methodology
Interest Rate
While we also look at the interest rate, it isnât such a big factor on EstateGuru as most of the projects offer annual yields between 12% and 14% anyway. There isnât such a huge spread in interest as you might be used to from platforms like Mintos or Bondora.
Loan-to-Value
What we prioritize is the LTV (loan-to-value). The lower the LTV the lower the risk of default. According to EstateGuru, the real estate market would need to drop by 50% to 60% in order for the investors to make a loss on their investments (in case the property would need to be liquidated, which is very unlikely). We aim to fund projects with a LTV of less than 70%.
Project Stage
In the next step we look at the stage of the project. Itâs common that in the real estate development industry, construction companies take loans in stages as they donât need the full loan amount at once. If we already invested in the same project but in a different stage, we only invest more into the same project if we havenât spotted any delayed payments from the borrower in the past.
You can look up your late loans in your portfolio.

Loan Period
We aim to not commit our capital for too long which is why we only fund projects with a period of 12 months or less.

Mortgage Rank
Always look at the collateral value and the mortgage rank. We exclusively invest only in first-rank mortgages. We don't see a reason to invest in second-rank or third-rank mortgages.
Valuator
The risk of your investment in real estate is always reflected by the valuation of the property, which is why you better look into the company who is evaluating the collateral.
In this case, the evaluation was done by Inreal, which is a licenced real estate company from Lithuania. Do a quick Google search about the validator to make sure itâs a legitimate and licenced company.

Note that the evaluation of the collateral (securities) is done by licenced real estate agencies. Those documents together with the borrower information and the business plan are double checked by the EstateGuru risk team (Credit Committee) who also sets the terms of the loan.
Location
The location is often the most important value-adding factor. Our strategy is to invest in metropolitan areas as the properties close to cities tend to not lose as much value during an economic downturn as compared to those in the countryside.
Google the address of the property which serves as a mortgage and check whether there is a good connection to the city.
Borrowerâs History
Would you like to borrow money to a company who had dificulties paying back in the past? Let's hope not. Have a look at borrower's history whether you can spot any delayes or defaults.

Unfortunately if you havenât invested in the previously funded projects by the same borrower, you wonât be able to see the loan details. What you can see however, is the status icon. If itâs blue it means there are no delays. If the icon has an orange part, it means that the loan is delayed. Red icon represents a defaulted status.
It might appear like itâs a lot of hassle to evaluate real estate projects but as soon as you get the hang of it, you can do your own evaluation in less than five minutes. This process will significantly increase the control over your investments as compared to using the Auto Invest.
You want to know where you invest your money into right?
The downside of not using the Auto Invest is that you might limit your diversification.
You might also encounter cash drag in case you end up with uninvest funds on your account. In order to compensate for this you can increase the minimum investment amount to âŹ100 or âŹ150, depending on your total portfolio amount.
If you have the time to spend ten minutes per week evaluating your real estate investments, we suggest doing so.
Investing on the Secondary Market
The above mentioned strategy applies for manual investments on the primary market, meaning you invest directly in newly originated loans.
EstateGuru has a dedicated secondary market, which you can use if you have uninvested funds in your EstateGuru account.
The secondary market is a place, where you can sell or buy investments before the end of the investment period.

You can use filters to sort offers based on your preferences (your investment strategy). You can also sort the columns as you wish.
If you click on the small shopping cart icon you will get some additional information about the real estate investment.
On the secondary market you can only buy the full investment and not a part of it. In case someone sells an investment for âŹ1,740 you need to buy the full amount.

You should also have a look at the âseller expected earningsâ and âbuyer expected earningâ and match this with the loan updates.
In this scenario, the borrower isnât able to repay the loan and EstateGuru is taking over the collateral.
While it seems like a good deal since the end of the loan term is within two weeks. The actual recovery of the loan principal can take months which makes the âbuyer expected earningsâ a very blurry estimate. Itâs very likely that you wonât receive the loan principal at the end of the official loan period if you invest in this loan.
Investing on the secondary market certainly takes more time. If you manage to spot a good deal where the likelihood that the loan is going to be repaid in time is very high, you can use the secondary market to increase your yields.
The secondary market could also be useful in case there arenât enough available loans on the primary market.
As there is currently no Auto Invest feature for the secondary market, manually investing is rather time consuming. The return on time spent doing your research might not be worth it.
How Fast Can You Cash Out?
Now itâs time to look at how fast you can withdraw money from EstateGuru.
Do you think about the liquidity when choosing their P2P lending platforms?
No? You should though!
With EstateGuru you usually commit your money for at least 12 months. You have, however, the option to use the secondary market and cash out before the end of your investment period.
Selling on the Secondary Market
You can sell your investments for a premium or discounted price. Sellers and buyers should know that this isnât a trading platform and that if you sell your investments you will be charged a 2% fee.
Buyers also cannot sell their claim within 30 days after purchase.
In order to sell your claims on the secondary market you will need to go to your portfolio and click on the shopping cart next to your investment claim.
In the next step you will be able to use a slider to adjust your discount or premium. By clicking on Sell My Claim your investment will be listed on the secondary market.

Note that your offer on the secondary market is only valid for 14 days. EstateGuru also applies a selling fee of 2%. In our case it would be âŹ0.73 in case we decide to sell our investment and reinvest the capital into new loans.
If you need to withdraw your investments fast a 2% fee won't break the bank.
EstateGuruâs Customer Support
EstateGuru's customer support is AMAZING.
When we reached out to EstateGuru to verify information or explain certain features in more depth, EstateGuru got right back to us.
Not only did the team respond within 24 hours but they were also keen to meet up with us during our trip to Tallinn to show us some of the projects they were working on.
There arenât many P2P platforms in Europe that are as transparent with their investors as EstateGuru. Weâre certain you wonât be disappointed with EstateGuruâs customer support.
EstateGuru Review Summary
EstateGuru is the best real estate P2P platform in 2021. On EstateGuru you can invest in loans protected by a mortgage. The P2P platform is one of the most transparent and user-friendly platforms to use. Our experience with EstateGuru has been very positive since we have joined the platform in 2018.
Main takeaways from our EstateGuru review:
- Legitimate platform
- Mortgage-backed investments
- Excellent risk assessment
- Professional debt collection
You still with us? Sign up on EstateGuru and get a 0.5% cashback bonus. It only takes 2 minutes.
Ready to become a real estate investor?
FAQs
What is the difference between bullet and full bullet loans?
The interest for full bullet loans is paid in full at the end of the loan period. Meanwhile, the interest for bullet loans is paid according to the loan contract, which could either be monthly or quarterly.
What is LTV?
LTV stands for Loan to Value. In the real estate niche, this represents the ratio of the loan to the estimated value of that property on the market. Most of the loans listed on EstateGuru have a loan value of 65%.
Should I invest on EstateGuru?
You should invest on EstateGuru if you are looking for P2P investments secured by a property, annual returns of more than 11%, automated investment strategies and a secondary market.
Is investing on EstateGuru safe?
Investing on EstateGuru is generally safer than investing in the stock market, investing in funds or even investing on other P2P lending platforms that list unsecured loans. Your investment on EstateGuru is backed by a property and therefore real value.
Company Information | |
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Company: | EstateGuru OĂ |
Address: | Tartu mnt 10/PÀÀsukese 2 Tallinn, 10145, Estonia |
Phone: | +372 6412 777 |
Email: | info@estateguru.co |
Live Chat: | Yes |
Opening Hours: | Weekdays from 9AM to 5PM |
Social Media: | Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram |