Real estate investing has long existed as a domain exclusive to the wealthy, but McKay Francis decided to change that reality. As the Co-Founder/CFO of Casa Shares, McKay developed his expertise during his career in property management and real estate investment with a major firm out of Seattle. His professional experience showed him repeatedly how real estate helps build and transfer wealth across generations. He noticed dentists who earned $500,000 salaries transform that income into tens of millions through focused real estate investments. This observation sparked his determination to make property investment available to everyone.

In this episode of Startups with Stu, McKay detailed his creation of Casa Shares, a platform that won crucial SEC approval allowing non-accredited investors—90% of Americans previously excluded from real estate investment opportunities—to purchase property shares for just $10 each.

Reason #1: Wall Street Keeps the "Accredited Investor" Gate Locked  

The financial industry has maintained a strict division between who can and cannot access certain investments. McKay explains that a shocking 90% of Americans are classified as "non-accredited investors," which regulators privately label as "unsophisticated investors." This designation effectively blocks most people from accessing real estate investment opportunities that could help build their wealth. McKay found this label both offensive and motivating, driving him to challenge this system.

Casa Shares spent 12-18 months working with top attorneys in Washington DC to secure an exception from the Securities and Exchange Commission. They presented a simple but effective argument: if Americans can buy intangible assets with substantial risk like stocks through Robinhood and cryptocurrencies through Coinbase, why prohibit them from investing in tangible real estate properties? The rigorous process paid off, with Casa Shares earning SEC approval to offer real estate investments to non-accredited investors.

While pursuing this regulatory change, Casa Shares built a sophisticated technological infrastructure that ensures compliance and security. Their system instantly checks potential investors against money laundering and watchlist databases, and directs investments to escrow accounts rather than to Casa Shares directly. These measures protect both the investors and the platform, showcasing that non-accredited investors can safely participate in real estate markets when proper systems are in place.

Reason #2: Traditional Real Estate Requires Massive Capital  

The second major barrier that Wall Street maintains is the high capital requirement for property investment. McKay points out that most Americans simply don't have $300,000-$400,000 available to purchase investment properties outright. Even coming up with a traditional down payment proves impossible for many would-be investors, keeping them completely out of the real estate market.

Casa Shares solved this problem by dividing properties into affordable $10 shares with a minimum investment of just $100. This revolutionary approach allows practically anyone to start building a real estate portfolio, including college students eating ramen noodles who might only have $20 to invest in a given month. The platform enables users to gradually build diversified property holdings by investing small amounts consistently across different offerings.

When investors purchase shares through Casa Shares, they're actually buying into a series LLC that owns both the property and a reserve fund for unexpected expenses. This structure eliminates the need for cash calls from investors if maintenance issues arise, making the investment experience seamless even for those with limited capital. McKay stresses that this approach gives average Americans access to the same wealth-building vehicle that has created more millionaires than perhaps any other investment class.

Reason #3: Wall Street Banks Only Serve You After You're Rich  

McKay's personal financial journey perfectly illustrates the third reason Wall Street prefers keeping regular people out of real estate investing. He describes struggling through his early years, managing apartments while attending college full-time and even donating plasma just to afford grocery and gas money. During this period, banks showed little interest in his financial well-being or future.

However, once McKay accumulated his first million dollars, everything changed dramatically. Suddenly, the vice president of his bank called offering a personal assistant and exclusive services. Investment opportunities materialized from all directions, presenting options that were completely unavailable to him before. This experience showed McKay firsthand how the financial system creates a catch-22: you need wealth to access the best wealth-building tools.

Casa Shares aims to break this cycle by democratizing access to real estate investment, ensuring that everyone can start building wealth through property ownership, not just those who already have it. By enabling investments starting at just $100, the platform opens doors previously closed to most Americans, allowing them to begin accumulating wealth through real estate decades earlier than the current national average of 46 years old.

Reason #4: The Investment Timeline Favors Institutional Investors  

The fourth barrier Wall Street maintains is the investment timeline advantage. McKay explains that the average American doesn't start investing in real estate until age 46, which severely limits the power of compounding returns. Institutional investors, meanwhile, can invest across decades, maximizing the "snowball effect" that makes real estate so valuable as a long-term investment.

Casa Shares addresses this imbalance by enabling people to start investing in their late teens or early twenties, potentially adding decades to their investment timeline. McKay stresses that this early start makes an enormous difference in the final outcome. He encourages 18-year-olds to begin investing whatever they can afford, even if it's just $20 per month, because the discipline of consistent investment combined with the extended timeline will yield significantly better results than waiting until midlife.

The platform further supports this long-term approach by making it easy to reinvest dividends, accelerating the compounding effect. As rental income gets distributed quarterly, investors can immediately put that money back into additional shares, growing their ownership stake over time without requiring additional capital from their pocket. This reinvestment strategy mirrors the approaches used by institutional investors, but now made accessible to everyday Americans.

Reason #5: Real Estate Tax Benefits Stay With the Elite  

The fifth advantage Wall Street has traditionally reserved for wealthy investors involves the substantial tax benefits of real estate ownership. McKay notes that he's never met a millionaire or billionaire who wasn't invested in real estate in some capacity, partly because of these tax advantages that help preserve and grow wealth.

Casa Shares ensures these tax benefits extend to all investors, regardless of the size of their investment. When someone invests through the platform, they become partial owners of actual real estate, entitling them to the same proportional tax advantages that full property owners receive. This includes potential deductions for property taxes, mortgage interest, operating expenses, property management, and depreciation.

By democratizing access to these tax benefits, Casa Shares helps average investors keep more of their returns, accelerating their wealth-building journey. The cumulative effect of these tax advantages combined with rental income and property appreciation creates a three-pronged approach to growth that traditional Wall Street investments often cannot match. McKay emphasizes that this triple benefit explains why real estate has consistently been the investment vehicle of choice for those already wealthy.

Reason #6: Real Estate Market Knowledge Stays With Insiders  

The sixth barrier involves specialized knowledge and market intelligence. Traditional real estate investing requires extensive research about local markets, property values, rental demand, and maintenance costs. This information asymmetry has typically favored institutional investors and wealthy individuals who can hire experts or devote significant time to market analysis.

Casa Shares eliminates this knowledge gap by handling all the property selection, due diligence, purchase negotiations, and ongoing management. Their team evaluates properties in markets with strong growth potential, such as Rexburg, Idaho, where McKay anticipates significant appreciation over the next five years. This professional oversight ensures that even first-time investors can benefit from strategic property selection.

For complete transparency, Casa Shares provides detailed property information on their website, including offering circulars filed with the SEC. Investors can learn about specific properties and conduct additional research if desired, but they aren't required to become real estate experts themselves to participate successfully. This democratization of market knowledge levels the playing field between institutional and individual investors.

Reason #7: Traditional Brokers and Intermediaries Extract Value  

The final reason Wall Street has kept real estate investing exclusive involves the traditional broker and intermediary system. McKay describes how Casa Shares operates similarly to Robinhood, which revolutionized stock market investing by eliminating the need for stockbrokers. Before Robinhood, investors needed to work through brokers who charged significant fees and created barriers to entry.

Casa Shares adopts this disintermediation approach for real estate, allowing investors to access property investments directly through their platform. The company takes a modest 6% fee on investments but, unlike traditional real estate investment funds, doesn't take additional "promotes" or carried interest when properties sell. This front-loaded fee structure ensures transparency and aligns Casa Shares' interests with their investors' long-term success.

Within a year, Casa Shares plans to launch a secondary market where investors can sell their shares if they need liquidity before a property sells. This feature will provide flexibility while maintaining the disciplined investment approach that real estate requires. McKay compares this to "golden handcuffs"—a positive constraint that encourages financial discipline while still offering options when truly needed. By eliminating costly intermediaries and creating direct investment pathways, Casa Shares maximizes investor returns while minimizing fees.

How You Can Start Building Real Estate Wealth Today  

Casa Shares has successfully dismantled the seven major barriers that Wall Street established to keep everyday Americans out of real estate investing. Here's how you can take advantage of this democratized approach to property investment:

• Start with just $100: Purchase 10 shares at $10 each to begin your portfolio

• Invest consistently: Add even small amounts monthly to different properties

• Think long-term: Plan to hold your investments for years to benefit from appreciation

• Reinvest dividends: Use quarterly payments to buy additional shares automatically

• Diversify gradually: Spread investments across multiple properties as new offerings appear

• Start young: Begin as early as possible to maximize the compounding timeline

• Utilize tax benefits: Take advantage of the same tax strategies used by wealthy investors

McKay's journey from property manager to tech founder shows how identifying systemic problems can lead to innovative solutions. His observation that wealth-building opportunities remained concentrated among the already wealthy led to creating a platform that opens real estate investing to everyone. By securing SEC approval for non-accredited investors and developing user-friendly technology, Casa Shares eliminates the gatekeeping that previously excluded 90% of Americans.

Casa Shares has raised approximately $2.5 million in funding, with their most recent million-dollar round potentially being their last capital raise needed. Their vision has attracted attention from major players in the real estate space, including Grant Cardone, who explored acquiring the company. Through a direct approach—emailing Grant Cardone personally—they secured meetings with him and his team, though ultimately decided to maintain their independence to better serve their mission of democratizing real estate investing.

The traditional walls blocking real estate investing continue to crumble. You no longer need hundreds of thousands of dollars, insider connections, or accredited investor status to benefit from property ownership. Visit CasaShares.com today to explore available properties and join the real estate revolution with your first $100 investment. Building wealth through property ownership should be accessible to everyone, not just those already part of Wall Street's inner circle.

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