Cahootz is an online UK platform that lets you invest in shares in a single residential property alongside a small group of other investors. Instead of buying a whole property yourself, you own a share of a company that owns it.

Cahootz are an Appointed Representative of ShareIn Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and is our Principal firm. This means ShareIn is responsible for the regulated activities we carry out and oversees how we do them. This does not mean that the FCA approves the properties or guarantees your investment.

Properties are initially sourced through the Leaders network and assessed by Cahootz, including a review by its internal committee, before being offered on the platform. The property brochure explains the assessment undertaken. ShareIn reviews the financial promotion; it does not assess the properties themselves or recommend an investment. Leaders' property sourcing and management role is separate from ShareIn's regulatory oversight.

Currently only UK residents can invest. You must also complete our onboarding steps, which include an appropriateness test and investor categorisation, plus identity verification before you make your first investment.

The minimum investment is £20,000 per property.

Each property is owned through its own SPV, which would typically be 6-10 shareholders. 

No single investor can hold more than 20% of the shares in any one SPV.

1. Create a free account and complete the regulatory onboarding, investor categorisation, and an appropriateness test.

2. Once completed, you can download a detailed property brochure and subscription documents.

3. Before you invest for the first time, you will complete identity verification (KYC).

4.Choose a property and subscribe to the offer.

The FCA requires us to check that you understand the risks of this type of investment before we let you invest. The test is short (around five minutes) and asks about your knowledge and experience. It is designed to help you understand the risks.

You can retake the test. If you do not pass after two attempts, you will need to wait 24 hours before your third attempt. We recommend reading all information carefully before retrying.

We ask you to confirm the type of investor you are so that we can establish whether you are eligible to receive the investment offers. You will be asked to complete the declaration applicable to your investor category. Categorisation does not mean that an investment is suitable for you.

For first-time retail investors, a period of at least 24 hours must pass after you request access to a direct offer financial promotion before we make it available. We will explain when this period starts and ends. At the end, you can choose whether to continue. This is separate from any contractual right to cancel an investment application.

We are legally required to verify the identity of everyone who invests. You need to complete it once, before your first investment. You may be asked for identity documents, and the identity checks are carried out through our trusted onboarding partner.

Yes. You can see general property information without an account. The full property brochure and documents are available once you have completed onboarding.

No. Cahootz does not provide investment advice. We provide information about investment opportunities so you can make your own decision. If you are unsure whether an investment is right for you, you should speak to an authorised financial adviser.

Once you have completed onboarding, you can download each property's brochure, SPV articles of association, subscription and shareholder documents, and relevant service-provider agreements. These explain the investment, governance, costs and risks. Please read them before committing to invest.

After onboarding and identity verification, you subscribe to a property offer by choosing the amount you wish to invest (within the minimum and maximum limits) and paying into your platform wallet.

Your money is held in a client money account with ShareIn, our principal firm, while the offer is open. It is held separately from the funds of Cahootz and ShareIn. It is not used to run our business.

When the offer is fully subscribed, the property purchase may complete. Investor funds are released and shares are allotted in accordance with the subscription documents and completion arrangements. The SPV uses the funds to meet the property purchase price and associated costs. Money released from client money arrangements for the SPV investment is no longer held as your client money.

If an offer does not fully subscribe, the purchase does not go ahead. You can withdraw all of your funds from your platform wallet, or you can keep them in your wallet to use on another property offer.

No. Each property is bought outright using investor funds, without a mortgage.  This does not prevent the SPV from incurring liabilities for tax, fees, repairs or other costs. The property documents explain the funding arrangements and any restrictions on borrowing.

You will own ordinary shares in the SPV that owns 100% the property. Your shares give you a proportionate share in the SPV's income and if the property is sold, a proportionate share of the sale proceeds after costs.

As a shareholder, you have voting rights on key decisions, including whether the property is sold. The full terms are set out in the SPV's articles of association and shareholder documents, which you should read before you invest.

Yes, subject to the minimum and maximum limits for each one.

Cahootz charges two fees, both paid by the SPV rather than being charged to you directly:

• Setup fee: a one-off fee of 3% of the total property purchase price.
• Annual platform fee: 3% of the gross rent received, taken quarterly.

We do not charge any fee on exit, or when shares are sold.

Yes. Because the SPV is owned by its investors, these costs are borne by investors indirectly. The setup fee is factored into the total cost of the investment, and the platform fee reduces the rental income available to be paid to you.

This is an illustration only and not a forecast or a guarantee. If a total property purchase price was £200,000 and you invested £25,000, the setup fee for you would be £750 (3%). If the property received £12,000 of gross rent per a year, your annual platform fee would be £60 (3%). Both of these fees are taken directly from the SPV.

The SPV pays for the costs of running the property, which include:

• property management
• accountancy and SPV administration
• insurance - other costs associated with the running of the property.

A full breakdown of the property costs is available on request.

No. We do not charge for withdrawing money from your wallet and there are no account inactivity fees.

Cahootz does not charge a fee when you sell your shares or on exit. The SPV costs when a property is sold, such as legal and agent fees, are paid from the sale proceeds before they are distributed. These costs are detailed in the documentation available on each property.

Each property's brochure sets out the purchase costs specific to that property. This is available once you have completed onboarding.

Returns may come from:
- distributions funded from Rental income: paid to shareholders quarterly, after costs.
- Property value: if the property is sold, you receive your share of the proceeds after costs.

The value of a property can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invested.
Returns are not guaranteed.

Rent is paid into the SPV's bank account, after deductions by the property manager. Each quarter, after costs are taken, the remaining income is paid out to investors in proportion to their shareholding. Payments are made to your platform wallet, from which you can withdraw.

Before rental income is distributed, the SPV pays:
- property management costs
- accountancy and SPV administration
- insurance and other property running costs
- the Cahootz annual platform fee
- any other costs associated with the property

Rental income depends on the property being let and the tenant paying. If the property is vacant or a tenant is late paying, there may be little or no income for that period.

This is intended as a long term investment. There is a minimum one year hold period after you buy your shares, during which you cannot sell them. You should be prepared to hold your investment for the long term.

After the minimum hold period, you may be able to sell your shares. We are aiming to launch a bulletin board on the platform where investors can list shares for sale to others.

Yes. A property sale requires approval under the voting and decision-making provisions in the SPV's articles and shareholder documents. An individual investor cannot decide to sell the property alone. These documents explain the applicable approval threshold and any restrictions on a sale.

After the costs of sale and any SPV liabilities are settled, the proceeds are distributed to shareholders in proportion to their shareholding.

You can list your shares on the bulletin board (when launched) after the minimum hold period. You cannot require a property sale on your own. A sale needs the approvals specified in the SPV documents. After the minimum holding period, a share transfer may be possible under those documents, but there is no guaranteed buyer or platform resale facility. Any future bulletin board would not guarantee an exit.

You can withdraw your funds at any time up until the property is fully subscribed.

Cahootz does not charge a fee on exit or on share sales.

We cannot provide tax advice. Everyone's tax position is different, and you are responsible for your own tax affairs, including declaring any income or gains. If you are unsure, please speak to a qualified tax adviser.

Each SPV is a company and its corporation tax is dealt with by its accountants. Any tax you personally owe on income or gains from your shares is your own responsibility. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances and may change in future.

This is currently not available.

Money you pay in is held in a client money account with ShareIn. Client money is held separately from ShareIn's and Cahootz's own funds, in line with the FCA's client money rules. Once the funds have been used to buy shares in an SPV, they are no longer client money.

FSCS does not compensate you for poor investment performance or losses arising from the failure of the property SPV. Whether separate protection applies to an eligible claim concerning ShareIn's regulated services or to cash held with a bank depends on the circumstances and the FSCS eligibility rules. Client money segregation is not the same as FSCS protection.

We want to give you superb customer service but sometimes things might go wrong. We can usually resolve most issues straightaway so email us on [email protected] to tell us how we can help.

What you'll need to tell us so we can help you

• Your personal details,
• What's gone wrong and;
• What you want us to do to put things right.

What will happen once we have received your complaint?

We'll be in touch with you as soon as we can and let you know what will happen next. We'll try to resolve your complaint within 3 working days. For more complex issues it's likely that we will need longer to look into what's happened and we may ask you for further information to help us reach a decision. We'll give you regular updates. And once we've dealt with your complaint, we'll go back and see what we can learn from your experience.

If you're unhappy with the outcome of the review, UK Residents can ask the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) to carry out an independent review of your complaint. In any event, you have the right to ask the FOS to review your complaint if we've been unable to resolve it within 8 weeks. The FOS can help UK residents with most complaints if you are:

• A consumer
• A business employing fewer than 10 persons that has an annual turnover that doesn't exceed €2 million
• If you are unsure whether the FOS will consider your complaint, please contact them directly for advice. The service the FOS provides is free and impartial and contacting them at any stage of your complaint will not affect your legal rights. The contact details for the FOS are:

The Financial Ombudsman Service
South Quay Plaza1 83 Marsh Wall
London E14 9SR
Their phone numbers are +44 (0)300 123 9123 or +44 (0)800 023 4567.
You can send an email to: [email protected]

Cahootz is an Appointed Representative of ShareIn, which is authorised and regulated by the FCA. Regulation does not protect you from the risk of loss on your investment. 

We are required to verify the identity of investors and to carry out anti-money laundering checks before investment using our verification provider. Further checks and updated information may be required later. Company applicants are subject to company and relevant individual verification requirements.

You can create a free account on our website. Creating an account and browsing property information does not commit you to investing.

You can withdraw uncommitted funds that are held in your platform wallet, such as funds from an offer that did not fully subscribe or distributions you have received. There is no charge for withdrawals.

We will share updates on your properties through your account and by email, including information about rental payments and any important events affecting the SPV.

Yes. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails, or by updating your preferences in your account. Important service messages about your account and investments will still be sent.