Promising 'No Bull, Just Build' StraightUp Launches Platform for NYC Real Estate Investing

NEW YORK, Feb. 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --  With the launch of StraightUp, access to high-potential, curated New York residential development projects is available to investors – those who are neither the well-connected and super-rich elite, nor large institutional investors – for the first time. The platform gives investors a new level of access, transparency and opportunity in the unbeatable, but previously unreachable world of New York City development.

StraightUp is an innovative platform that was incubated within a successful New York real estate development company – HAP Ventures – and has now been spun out. As a result of this genesis, StraightUp benefits from a savvy understanding of the local market, and demonstrable expertise in acquisitions, planning and construction.

Powered by a smart, elegant, proprietary technology platform, StraightUp is democratizing access to investment opportunities that, given the appeal and allure of the New York real estate scene, are in global demand.

Here are five ways that StraightUp is different than any other real estate investment platform:   

1) Each investment is already in pre-construction and permitting process has begun, so the way to ground-breaking is relatively short. This gives comfort to investors, given the well-known difficulties of New York's approval process. With other platforms, investors come in much later, after a large part of the appreciation has already occurred.

2) Investors share in both the common and preferred equity – the latter is that section of the "capital stack" that experiences the most appreciation – which formerly had been reserved exclusively for the developers themselves. It is part of StraightUp's commitment to transparency and being, well, straight up.

3) Uncommon blend of real world expertise and experience. StraightUp was incubated by HAP Ventures, a team of successful NYC residential real estate developers who understand the considerable complexities and nuances of the market; they are developing 11 projects, representing 1,600 units as of February 2018. By contrast, other investment platforms were started by fintech speculators who don't know a piling from a filing.

4) StraightUp has skin in the game: they invest alongside individual investors and make sure that any participating developers do the same.

5) Every developer and project that is invited onto the platform is and will be intensely vetted by the real estate experts at StraightUp – and the developers of those properties have their capital at stake as well.

"New York has always been a city of opportunity – of new, untapped potential.  We are incredibly proud to play our part in extending that tradition," said Omer Amsel, co-founder and COO at StraightUp. "We've successfully proven this concept in Tel Aviv – we were overwhelmed by the demand, investors have shown for NYC real estate – and it only made us more excited to bring this concept to accredited investors in the most exciting market in the world.  Real estate development shouldn't be the exclusive domain of the insanely wealthy – and now it isn't."

With current developments in Chelsea and TriBeCa open for immediate investment, StraightUp has plans to significantly expand its offerings, including quickly expanding to other large metropolitan areas.

"We are living up to our motto – 'no bull, just build,'" said Amsel. "StraightUp is disrupting traditional investment expectations and changing the game through transparency and accessibility."

For additional information on StraightUp, please visit its website here.

About StraightUp

StraightUp is an innovative real estate equity platform that enables accredited investors to participate in the high-growth potential of New York real estate opportunities with a new level of simplicity, transparency and access the largest appreciation layer of the "capital stack." The platform allows investors to be part of new real estate projects in prime locations, primarily within Manhattan. Unlike real estate platforms that don't stand behind their decisions by participating alongside their investors, StraightUp always has skin in the game. StraightUp was incubated within HAP before being spun out as an independent company.

SOURCE StraightUp