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Groundfloor: Platform Profile

Platform profileUpdated 2026-09-16

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Overview

Groundfloor is primarily a private real-estate credit platform rather than an equity crowdfunding platform.

Current core products let investors choose between:

  • fixed-rate Groundfloor Notes backed by diversified pools of short-term residential real-estate loans;
  • individual real-estate Loans/Limited Recourse Obligations;
  • limited-time accredited private-market offerings.

Current minimums are unusually low:

  • Individual loans minimum: 10
  • Notes minimum range: $100–$1,000 for principal open-to-all Note terms

There are currently no investor fees to invest in standard Notes or Loans.

The most important 2026 issue, however, is not the headline yield.

Groundfloor Finance Inc.'s audited 2025 financial statements state that conditions raise substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern and that it remains dependent on additional financing.

That disclosure belongs near the center of a current review because Groundfloor investors can be exposed not only to underlying borrowers and collateral but also to the legal structure/issuer through which the securities are offered.

May fit better for

  • investors seeking short-term real-estate private credit;
  • investors who want low minimums;
  • investors who prefer fixed-rate Notes;
  • investors who want to select individual renovation/construction loans;
  • non-accredited investors seeking Regulation A debt products.

May fit less well for

  • investors requiring FDIC insurance;
  • investors who want daily liquidity;
  • investors uncomfortable with issuer financial risk;
  • investors seeking direct ownership of property;
  • investors who assume first-lien collateral eliminates credit risk.

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Company background

Groundfloor states that it has originated real-estate loans since 2013.

  • Year founded: 2013

The principal issuer/platform company is Groundfloor Finance Inc.

Groundfloor has expanded beyond real estate into selected private-market offerings, but real-estate credit remains the core consumer product.

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Groundfloor Notes

Investor buys a Groundfloor-issued fixed-term Note.

The Note is backed economically by diversified pools of short-term residential real-estate loans.

The investor does not select each underlying property.

Individual Loans / LROs

Investor selects specific Groundfloor-originated real-estate projects.

The investor security is generally a Limited Recourse Obligation tied to repayment of a specified underlying loan.

The investor does not directly become the mortgage lender of record simply because the LRO references a property.

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Current Notes

Current open principal Notes include:

  • One month note:
  • Fixed rate: 5.0%
  • Minimum: 100
  • Payment: interest at maturity
  • Three month note:
  • Fixed rate: 6.0%
  • Minimum: 100
  • Payment: interest at maturity
  • Signature note:
  • Term: 12 months
  • Fixed rate: 8.5%
  • Minimum: 1000
  • Payment: monthly interest

Current rates are stated as of May 2026 and Groundfloor says new Note rates can be adjusted monthly.

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Accredited Preferred Note

Current Groundfloor pages also show an accredited-only Preferred Note:

  • Preferred note:
  • Accredited only: Yes
  • Current reference rate: 7.0%
  • Term: 6 months
  • Minimum: 10000
  • Payment: monthly interest

Limited-time products can close or change.

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Notes are not bank deposits

Groundfloor Notes are offered under Regulation A.

Current disclosures state:

  • Notes FDIC: No
  • Regulation a: Yes
  • Notes open to non accredited: Yes

A fixed rate is a contractual security term.

It is not the same as FDIC-insured principal.

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Signature Note income math

If a $10,000 Signature Note earns its stated 8.5% annualized rate for a full 12-month term and pays as contracted:

Gross annual interest:

$10,000 × 8.5% = $850

Average monthly equivalent:

$850 ÷ 12 ≈ $70.83

Groundfloor currently charges no investor fee on the Note.

The illustration does not account for:

  • default/issuer risk;
  • taxes;
  • delays;
  • loss;
  • reinvestment decisions.

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$1,000 Signature Note example

Gross annual interest at 8.5%:

$1,000 × 8.5% = $85

The low minimum makes laddering possible, but a diversified Note is still an obligation of the offering structure, not an insured savings product.

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Underlying first-lien loans

Groundfloor states that every loan supporting current Notes is secured by a first-lien position on the underlying residential property.

First lien improves the lender's position relative to junior claims.

It does not guarantee full recovery.

Loss can still occur because:

  • property value can fall;
  • foreclosure costs money;
  • foreclosure takes time;
  • senior taxes/claims can matter;
  • sale proceeds can be insufficient;
  • issuer/servicing risks remain.

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Individual Loans

Current individual Loans allow investors to select specific Groundfloor projects.

Current minimum:

  • Individual loan minimum: 10
  • Investor fee: 0

Groundfloor provides:

  • underwriting;
  • project details;
  • risk grades;
  • borrower/project monitoring;
  • servicing.

The investor decides which individual projects to fund.

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Limited Recourse Obligation structure

The investor usually owns a Groundfloor security tied to the performance of the specified developer loan.

This is important.

The investor's recovery is limited by the offering/security terms and underlying loan recovery.

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Investor fees

Current Groundfloor consumer guidance:

  • Notes investor fee: 0
  • Loans investor fee: 0

Emerging/private/accredited products can have different fees.

"Groundfloor has no fees" is therefore too broad.

The correct statement is:

Current standard Notes and Loans have no investor management or transaction fee; other offerings can have separate economics.

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Flywheel is closed to new investments

This is a mandatory current-state correction.

Groundfloor announced that Flywheel permanently closed to:

  • new investments;
  • automatic reinvestments

effective:

  • Flywheel new investment closed effective: 2026-07-07

Existing Flywheel investments continue as underlying loans mature.

  • Flywheel currently open to new investors: No

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Groundfloor has expanded beyond real estate

Current platform marketing also includes limited-time opportunities involving asset classes such as:

  • consumer/private credit;
  • music royalties;
  • private equity;
  • pre-IPO opportunities.

These products can be:

  • accredited-only;
  • time-limited;
  • differently priced.

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2025 audited going-concern disclosure

Groundfloor Finance Inc.'s 2025 Form 1-K was filed in March 2026.

The audited financial statements state that conditions raise substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern.

Current disclosed facts include:

  • Groundfloor finance 2025:
  • Accumulated deficit 2025 12 31: $64.8 million
  • Going concern substantial doubt: Yes
  • Dependent on additional financing: Yes

The filing states Groundfloor incurred net losses and remains dependent on raising additional capital/equity financing to fund operating plans.

This should not be omitted from a 2026 review.

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What the going-concern disclosure means

It does not mean Groundfloor has failed.

It does mean investors should not evaluate a Groundfloor security solely by looking at:

  • the underlying property's lien;
  • the Note rate;
  • historical repayment statistics.

The financial condition of relevant Groundfloor issuer/servicing entities also matters.

A private credit investment can contain multiple layers of risk.

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Groundfloor performance marketing needs context

Groundfloor publishes strong historical repayment data for its Notes.

Past repayment performance is useful evidence.

It is not:

  • a guarantee;
  • FDIC insurance;
  • proof future Notes cannot default;
  • a reason to ignore the going-concern disclosure.

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Liquidity

Groundfloor Notes are generally designed to be held to maturity.

Current terms can be as short as one month.

Individual project loans can take longer than expected, especially if:

  • construction is delayed;
  • borrower defaults;
  • foreclosure/workout occurs.
  • Daily liquidity: No
  • Public secondary market: No

A short stated maturity does not guarantee cash on the stated date under stressed circumstances.

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Duration laddering

The 1-, 3-, and 12-month Notes allow an investor to create a maturity ladder.

Example:

  • $1,000 in 1-month Notes;
  • $1,000 in 3-month Notes;
  • $1,000 in 12-month Note.

This creates different scheduled maturity dates.

It does not diversify away:

  • Groundfloor issuer exposure;
  • residential-credit exposure;
  • real-estate-market risk.

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Regulation A

Current Groundfloor Notes/LRO securities use Regulation A structures.

  • Regulation a: Yes
  • Non accredited access: Yes

SEC qualification means offering documents have been qualified under the exemption.

It does not represent an SEC endorsement of creditworthiness.

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Protection

  • FDIC: No
  • SIPC market loss protection: No
  • First lien underlying collateral: Yes

The existence of real-property collateral is a credit feature, not government insurance.

Assessment

Groundfloor offers one of the lowest entry points in private real-estate credit.

An investor can:

  • start with $10 in an individual project;
  • use $100 short-term Notes;
  • use a $1,000 12-month fixed-rate Signature Note.

The standard investor-fee structure is also simple: no investor fees on ordinary Loans or Notes.

Those positives do not make the risk simple.

The 2026 review must account for Groundfloor Finance Inc.'s audited going-concern disclosure. That adds issuer/platform financial risk to the more obvious borrower, collateral, construction, and liquidity risks.

Groundfloor can be useful for investors who understand private credit and diversify deliberately.

It should not be marketed as a high-yield replacement for an insured bank account.

General information

Legal entityGroundfloor Finance Inc.
Websitehttps://groundfloor.com/
Year founded2013
HeadquartersAtlanta, GA
OwnershipThe principal issuer and platform company is Groundfloor Finance Inc., which states it has originated real-estate loans since 2013.
AvailabilityUnited States
Available to US investorsYes

Eligibility and access

SummaryCore Regulation A offerings are open to U.S. residents in states where the issuer has filed the required notice; Groundfloor also offers separate accredited-investor products.
OverviewNon-accredited investors can access standard Regulation A Notes and Loans; Preferred Note and private offerings are accredited-only.

Costs and minimums

OverviewNo investor fee on standard Notes or Loans under current guidance; other offerings can carry separate economics.
Offering level feesGroundfloor currently advertises no investor fees for its core Notes and Loans; fees for accredited or emerging-alternative offerings are product-specific.

Account types

OverviewStandard investor accounts, with accredited verification required for restricted offerings.
Ira availabilitySelf-directed IRA investing is supported for real-estate loans, including Traditional, Roth and SEP IRA options. New Groundfloor IRA accounts currently require a $25,000 initial transfer; existing IRA accounts have a $1,000 minimum transfer. The public IRA page’s custody-fee statement only covers fees through December 2025, so no post-2025 custody-fee claim is inferred.

Offering structure and liquidity

RepaymentRepayment is Note-specific. The current 12-month Signature Note and 6-month Preferred Note pay interest monthly; the current 1-month and 3-month Notes pay interest at maturity. Principal is returned at maturity subject to the issuer's ability to perform and the applicable Note terms.
StructurePrivate real-estate credit platform with two distinct core structures. Groundfloor Notes are fixed-term Groundfloor-issued notes backed economically by diversified pools of short-term residential real-estate loans; individual project investments generally use Limited Recourse Obligations tied to repayment of a specified underlying loan. Neither structure makes the investor the direct mortgage lender or property owner.
CollateralCurrent Groundfloor Notes are backed by diversified pools of short-term residential real-estate loans, with each underlying loan secured by a first-lien position on the underlying property. The investor owns the Groundfloor Note, not a personal mortgage or deed on each property; borrower default, collateral value and issuer structure still affect recovery.
Rate measureGroundfloor Notes use fixed, term-specific rates. The current Notes page re-verified September 11, 2026 displays 5.0% for the 1-month Note, 6.0% for the 3-month Note, 8.5% for the 12-month Signature Note and 7.0% for the accredited 6-month Preferred Note. Groundfloor's current marketing uses both 'fixed APY' and 'fixed APR' terminology; preserve that terminology conflict rather than normalizing it into a single yield label.
Exposure typeDebt — the core real-estate investments are securities backed economically by short-term residential real-estate loans rather than equity ownership of the properties.
Deal selectionBoth — investors can hand-pick individual LRO securities tied to specific real-estate loans or buy fixed-term Notes backed by diversified pools of Groundfloor-originated loans.
Strategy focusShort-term residential real-estate credit, including renovation, rehabilitation, new-construction and builder financing; Groundfloor also offers other accredited private-market products outside the core real-estate lineup.
Secondary marketNo general secondary market is documented for Groundfloor’s core Notes or LROs in the official product materials reviewed September 10, 2026; investors generally receive principal as the Note matures or the underlying loan repays, and workouts can extend timing.
Current availabilityOpen — Groundfloor currently lists fixed-term real-estate Notes and individual real-estate Loans/LROs for investment, with new individual loans released on a recurring schedule.

Regulation and investor protection

OverviewCurrent Notes and LRO securities use Regulation A structures. SEC qualification means offering documents were qualified under the exemption and is not an endorsement of creditworthiness.
Securities noteGroundfloor Finance Inc. and affiliates offer core securities under Regulation A. Individual project investments are Limited Recourse Obligations tied to repayment of specified underlying loans, while pooled Notes are separate Groundfloor-issued debt securities backed by diversified loan pools.

Sources

  1. Groundfloor - Home
  2. Groundfloor - About
  3. Groundfloor - Notes
  4. Groundfloor - LROs
  5. Groundfloor - Terms
  6. Groundfloor - Legal
  7. Groundfloor - Flywheel changes, July 2026
  8. SEC - Groundfloor Finance 2025 Form 1-K Part II
  9. SEC EDGAR - Groundfloor Finance filings
  10. SEC EDGAR - CIK 1694600 filings
  11. Groundfloor — Premium Notes
  12. Groundfloor — Why Groundfloor
  13. Groundfloor — IRA
  14. Groundfloor — 2026 Notes Promo / FAQ
  15. Groundfloor — Invest In Real Estate Without Buying Property B
  16. Groundfloor — Lro Evolution
  17. Groundfloor — Groundfloor Yield LLC

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