Testimony of Julien D’Amore, Director of YADES Immobilier SA
I knew immediately that I was going to approach Foxstone for equity loans as well as for our real estate projects. We are in the business of sharing and I find it very interesting to allow individuals to invest in our projects through Foxstone.
Mr Julien D’Amore, director of YADES Immobilier SA.
Can you briefly introduce yourself?
I am Julien D’Amore, Director of YADES Immobilier SA, a dynamic, flexible and creative company active in real estate development in the cantons of Vaud, Fribourg and Valais.
How does your group stand out in the real estate ecosystem of Western Switzerland?
We have transferred the experience of my partner, Mr. Tolo, in the industrial field, where it is normal to share his skills with his colleagues who are no longer considered as competitors, to the world of real estate development in French-speaking Switzerland. With this method of working, we are constantly solicited for partnerships in new promotions where our technical, legal, financial and commercial skills are essential to the success of a real estate operation. Our flexibility and creativity make us an almost unique partner in the elitist field of real estate development.
What impact do you think technology will have on this sector in the next 10 years?
The impact of technology will be huge and it has already started! Brokerage has undergone a change in working habits and customs with digitalisation. This first impacted the publication of ads, then the improvement of sales CRMs. Today, automated hedonic estimation and proptech 2.0 brokerage are shaking up old practices.
In the areas of property management and administration, technology is making it easier for owners to access and personalise information, which in turn relieves the burden on managers who are overwhelmed with more and more administrative work. In addition, new technologies such as the Matteport full scan can be integrated into a building information modelling (BIM) system. The management of the future is slowly coming into place.
Finally, long-term construction that minimises the impact on natural resources is increasingly at the centre of discussions and concerns of the real estate industry. Thanks to technology, and in particular to the countless patents of the EPFL’s construction engineering department, new construction methods are being discovered, such as Medusoil, which allows accelerated calcification and thus replaces heavy, invasive and polluting work, or Enerdrape, which has created a heating panel using the principle of geothermal energy applied to all surfaces located underground (underground car parks, underground railways, public buildings, etc.). The transformation is therefore underway and the next 10 years hold the promise of change.
What is your opinion on real estate crowdlending?
It is a great idea to directly connect (without the intermediary of a real estate investment trust) “small” investors wanting to invest in real estate with professional real estate developers and/or owners who need funds to complement a normal mortgage. However, all of this needs to be diligently checked and orchestrated by a company such as Foxstone to ensure the viability of the investment and the creditworthiness of the borrower (developer and/or owner), as these investors are novices and are unlikely to have the network and skills to check these crucial points.
How was your experience with Foxstone?
Excellent. I had the pleasure of meeting Foxstone during a conference given within the framework of ARCID, an association of licensed and qualified real estate professionals. Foxstone presented its two main investment areas, co-ownership and crowdlending real estate. I knew immediately that I was going to ask them for equity loans as well as for our real estate projects. We are in the business of sharing and I find it very interesting to allow individuals to invest in our projects through Foxstone. It would have been simply impossible for me to do this on my own given the amount of administrative work involved in validating each potential investor.
So I approached Foxstone for a property development in Vallon, in the canton of Fribourg. Foxstone was able to raise the full amount of CHF 1.85M in just 36 hours after the offer went live; impressive! One of the reasons this was possible was that Foxstone provided us with all the information required from the outset and we were able to gather it easily as it was the usual information for a property development operation.
Finally, I highly recommend Foxstone and we will definitely repeat the experience, as the investment and the equity loan are fully in line with the main value of the YADES group: sharing.
Thank you to Mr. Julien D’Amore, director of YADES Immobilier SA, for agreeing to share his testimony as a Foxstone partner.
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