Multifamily Startup Offers Renters a Financial Interest in Real Estate

Can renters become financial stakeholders in their apartments? Can they receive some of the benefits that homeowners enjoy--without actually owning a home?

Venture capitalist Calvin Cooper seems to think so, and he's betting that millions of renters across the country are willing to invest in a taste of ownership in the multifamily market.

Cooper's startup, Rhove, offers renters the opportunity to invest in what he calls "rentership," a financial investment that provides tenants with an economic stake in the sale value of their apartment building, for as little as $5.

Here's how it works:

Apartment dwellers of participating properties earn $50 worth of “RNT” upon move-in, and can purchase additional RNT shares via lump-sum or monthly payments. According to Fast Company, "Stakeholders earn a 5% return on their investment paid out of the rent that the property owner collects from the building; the value of the shares increases as the building appreciates. If the property is later sold, they’ll earn a cut of the proceeds.

The Gravity live-work development in Columbus, Ohio (pictured), is one of the first Rhove clients.