It’s Earth Day! Today, we celebrate just how much the planet means to us. We recycle, go for a walk, and eat clean. Yet, it is the individuals and institutions that daily take care of the earth that are truly making a difference.
The United Nations Environment Programme lays out the exact waste problems we are facing in their 2015 Global Waste Management Outlook. This extensive report covers just how much waste we are producing and how we plan to eliminate and dispose of this waste.
You may be wondering exactly how marketplace lending is helping the environment. There are many ways that investing in real estate through crowdfunding is beneficial to the planet; let’s look at a few.
Less Paper, More Digital Documents
Traditionally, when applying for a loan, banks would require an endless stack of paperwork simply to determine approval. If you weren’t approved that stack of paperwork stayed on file for years. Can you image how many trees died just for a loan denial over the years? Typically real estate crowdfunding only uses paper documents for closings, otherwise the entire process is done digitally. You can upload projects for review, check the status of projects, as well as invest online using secure portals.
This is not to say that you will never put pen to paper throughout the investing and borrower processes, but the amount of waste will be noticeably less than that of traditional methods.
Financing Community Development
Think about the old vacant homes in your neighborhood or nearby. Don’t you wish someone would purchase those homes and restore the value to the property as well as the neighborhood at large? Marketplace lending, specifically real estate crowdfunding provides loans to real estate borrowers who seek to develop fix-and-flip properties.
A benefit that is not often recognized is that the neighborhood quality is going up through these developments. Previously abandoned and foreclosed homes will now undergo rehab developments that will help to attract buyers. This is a cyclical chain that was kicked off through marketplace lenders providing short term loans to qualified developers.
Real Estate Crowdfunding Means Less Time Waiting
Real estate crowdfunded loans close in a fraction of the time that it would take to close a loan through a traditional method, you have time to do more of the things that really matter. Now you can start that garden that you have always wanted, or work out, recycle more, and volunteer. The options are endless.
On this Earth Day, create a habit of doing good not just to yourself and those around you, but to our planet as well! Here’s a list of great Earth Day quotes from some of the world’s greatest thinkers:
“Here is your country. Cherish these natural wonders, cherish the natural resources, cherish the history and romance as a sacred heritage, for your children and your children’s children. Do not let selfish men or greedy interests skin your country of it’s beauty, its riches or its romance.”
Theodore Roosevelt
“I only feel angry when I see waste. When I see people throwing away things we could use.”
Mother Teresa
“A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.”
Franklin D Roosevelt
