Landa is a fractional real estate investment platform that started in late 2019. Founded by current CEO Yishai Cohen and former CTO Amit Assaraf, it currently faces major operational hurdles that have raised eyebrows within the en route industry. The platform uniquely empowers anyone to start their real estate investment journey with as little as $5. Consequently, it has attracted more than 766,000 registered individual investors who want to get in on the action. As of today, most of those investors say they can’t get their money back or get payment in dividends.
From the users’ perspective, frustration is building. The Landa app is completely inoperable, and the investment portal website now displays a maintenance message. This disruption sadly continues a more worrisome trend. In January, Landa was said to have stopped dividend payments entirely to at least one investor, triggering more than 130 complaints filed against the company at the Better Business Bureau. Investors point to problems including not having enough access to their invested funds and not being able to cash out with dividend payments for several months.
Platform Disruptions and Investor Concerns
The issues with Landa’s platform are indeed alarming, especially for the constituency using it. And investors are saying they have been shut out of their accounts. They can’t get at their investment or any future returns they were promised. One user shared their experience:
“They have essentially frozen me out of my funds and just shut down the app.” – User
As of May 23, Landa’s investor portal remains frozen on a “come-back-soon” screen. That shows you right there that we continue to have problems with the basic functionality of this platform. Affected users have told us about contacting the company to confirm this and only getting non-answers in return.
“I repeatedly emailed them about it and just got deflecting answers, nothing real,” – User
In response to the mounting concerns, Cohen acknowledged the issues affecting the platform, stating, “We are aware of the issues currently affecting our platform and product, and want to assure all investors that we are actively working to restore full functionality as soon as possible.”
Legal Challenges and Financial Complications
Landa’s operational issues are only worsened by legal trouble the company has recently faced. The company was ordered by a court to hand over 119 properties to a lender, raising questions about its financial stability. Cohen is singularly at the moment, facing a lawsuit of savvy creditors. Only then, they allege, did Landa direct tenants to start mailing their rent checks to a new bank account. Such conditions have led a federal judge to order Landa to come explain itself in federal court over property management policies.
Compounding these issues, Amit Assaraf, the CFO, left the company in December 2023 according to his LinkedIn. His exit raises important questions about Landa’s operational strategy and what it means for investor confidence going forward.
Commitment to Investors and Future Outlook
Though these are indeed ominous signs, even in the face of crisis Cohen has tried to convince investors that the company is focused on service restoration. He stated, “It’s unrelated to dividends. It’s from our servers. We are on it.” But even these promises have left many investors wondering if these companies can deliver after the months long downtime and evasive public communications.
Cohen’s generous statements are just par for the course as he tries to continue building trust with investors while public anger mounts. He expressed appreciation for the continued support from investors and reiterated Landa’s vision: “We remain committed to delivering on our vision of making real estate investing accessible to everyone.”
As Landa continues to face these challenges, the future of her platform is anything but certain. Investors are looking forward to a final, detailed closure and resolution. In the interim, the company is making real strides both in tackling its operational woes and legal troubles.
