Roots fees in 2026 include a $5 charge for standard one-time investments and $3 for recurring contributions. Roots also describes transaction-fee waivers through its optional Roots+ membership. Beyond these investor-facing charges, its real estate investment trust (REIT) incurs management, acquisition, leasing, and property operating expenses.
Roots' May 2026 offering circular outlines the fund-level costs associated with its residential property portfolio. Understanding the distinction between transaction fees and operating expenses helps investors compare pooled REIT ownership with fractional real estate investing through property-specific LLC structures.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this guide is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. Always consult with a licensed professional before making any financial or investment decisions.
Key Takeaways
Roots charges $5 for standard one-time investments and $3 for recurring contributions, with transaction-fee waivers described under its Roots+ membership
Its May 2026 offering circular describes potential 3% acquisition and disposition fees, leasing charges, recurring management compensation, and operating expenses
The offering circular describes management compensation as 10% of company revenue, 3%–4% of company revenue, or 10% of collected rent across different sections, without reconciling the formulas
Ordinary redemptions within the first year are generally calculated at 92% of the applicable unit value, subject to program conditions
mogul offers professionally managed, property-specific fractional ownership through LLCs, institutional underwriting, monthly distribution potential, and a one-time 5% platform fee without an ongoing rental-income fee or traditional annual AUM fee
Understanding fractional real estate investment platforms
What is fractional real estate investing?
Fractional real estate investing allows multiple investors to participate in residential property ownership without independently purchasing an entire home.
Platforms typically organize investments through REITs, LLCs, or other legal entities. These structures determine how investors receive income, access financial information, and participate in changes in asset value.
Roots operates a pooled REIT, with investors holding units representing interests in its residential portfolio. Property-specific fractional platforms allow members to select individual properties and acquire interests in the associated ownership entities.
How does residential real estate generate returns?
Residential real estate can generate returns through several components:
Rental income: Revenue collected from tenants after applicable operating expenses
Property appreciation: Changes in real estate value during the ownership period
Financing: Mortgage arrangements that influence equity requirements and financial outcomes
Tax treatment: Applicable depreciation, deductions, and other provisions determined by ownership structure
Performance depends on property operations, financing terms, holding periods, and market conditions.
For additional context, mogul explains the benefits of real estate ownership, including rental income, appreciation, and property-level ownership.
How do platforms manage rental properties?
Professionally managed platforms generally coordinate acquisitions, leasing, rent collection, maintenance, financial reporting, and eventual property sales.
Associated expenses may be charged directly to investors or paid through the investment entity's operating budget.
Breaking down Roots' investor-facing fees
How much does Roots charge per investment?
Roots' official investor materials identify the following standard charges:
One-time investment: $5 per transaction
Recurring investment: $3 per transaction
Roots+ membership: Transaction-fee waivers for eligible members
These charges relate to investment processing and administrative services.
Roots does not advertise a traditional annual AUM fee charged directly against each investor's account value. Instead, management compensation and operating expenses are incurred by the underlying REIT.
Does Roots have a paid membership?
Roots also offers Roots Growth, a program that combines financial education, rewards, and credit-related tools.
The Roots Growth offering includes free participation and an optional paid membership advertised at $10 per month. Paid features include rent reporting, credit monitoring, and access to additional rewards benefits.
Roots' investor help center separately describes transaction-fee waivers under Roots+. The published descriptions distinguish the Roots Growth membership offering from the Roots+ fee-waiver benefit.
Membership charges are separate from the underlying REIT's management and property operating expenses.
Roots fund-level fees and expenses
Roots' May 2026 offering circular describes compensation payable to Roots REIT Management, LLC and affiliated entities. Charges depend on the relevant services, transactions, and agreements.
Property management fees
Roots' May 2026 offering circular describes recurring management compensation differently across three sections:
Offering summary: A monthly management fee equal to 10% of total company revenue
Management compensation schedule: A monthly fee ranging from 3% to 4% of total company revenue
Related-party financial disclosures: A monthly property management fee equal to 10% of collected rental income
The distinction involves both the percentage charged and the calculation base. Total company revenue and collected rental income are different financial measures.
The management compensation schedule and related-party disclosures report the same management expenses:
2024: Approximately $146,567
2025: Approximately $269,697
Because these sections reference the same reported amounts, the percentages should not be added together or presented as three separate fees.
The offering circular does not reconcile the differing percentages and calculation bases into one consistently stated management-fee formula. The disclosed dollar amounts therefore provide the clearest historical record of management compensation for 2024 and 2025.
Acquisition fees
Roots' manager may receive a one-time acquisition fee equal to 3% of a property's initial purchase price.
The offering circular reports that acquisition fees were waived in 2024, while $68,520 in acquisition fees were incurred during 2025.
The charge depends on the applicable acquisition arrangements and whether the fee is assessed.
Disposition fees
The manager may also receive a disposition fee equal to 3% of a property's final disposition value.
Roots reported no disposition fees paid in 2024 or 2025. Future charges depend on qualifying property sales and the applicable agreements.
Leasing and lease renewal fees
The May 2026 offering circular identifies two property-level leasing charges:
New lease fee: $500 per new lease
Lease renewal fee: $250 per renewal
Roots reported approximately $13,250 in leasing fees during 2024 and none during 2025.
These charges relate to rental operations rather than investor contributions.
Maintenance and repair expenses
Roots also pays for property maintenance and repairs through an arrangement involving monthly reserves.
The company reports:
2024: Approximately $308,804 in maintenance and repair reserve payments
2025: Approximately $552,646 in maintenance and repair reserve payments
The offering circular identifies an average monthly maintenance and repair reserve of approximately $180 per property.
Under the disclosed arrangement, the manager is responsible for specified covered expenses above the agreed reserve amount.
Other property costs may include capital improvements, tenant turnover, property taxes, insurance, and financing.
How Roots' fund-level fees affect returns
Direct charges versus fund expenses
Transaction fees and fund-level expenses have different financial effects.
For example, a hypothetical $10,000 one-time investment subject to Roots' standard $5 transaction fee would incur a direct charge equal to 0.05% of the contribution.
The REIT's management, leasing, maintenance, and financing expenses are separate and reflected in its operating results.
Those costs cannot be reliably converted into a fixed annual dollar amount for an individual $10,000 holding using the published percentages alone. Their economic effect depends on fund operations and the investor's proportional interest.
Real estate fees may be calculated using several bases, including:
Investor account value
Property acquisition price
Collected rental revenue
Total company revenue
Property disposition value
Comparing fees therefore requires examining the calculation base, timing, and services covered rather than simply the percentage.
Roots related-party transactions
Roots' offering circular describes arrangements involving its sponsor, manager, and affiliated entities.
These relationships form part of the fund's acquisition and operating model.
How does Roots acquire properties from its sponsor?
Roots describes a process in which its sponsor acquires residential properties, coordinates renovations or improvements, and transfers qualifying assets to the REIT.
The company refers to these as curated properties.
Under its disclosed policy, a third-party certified appraiser determines fair market value, and the transfer price to the REIT cannot exceed that valuation.
The sponsor may realize gains when renovated properties are transferred to the fund.
Roots reported built-in gains associated with these transactions of approximately:
2024: $1.49 million
2025: $9.27 million
These amounts are distinct from the potential acquisition fee.
How do sponsor advances work?
Roots also advances funds to its sponsor for identified property acquisitions.
As of December 31, 2025, the fund reported approximately $31.4 million in net advances outstanding to the sponsor.
These advances carried an annual interest rate of 7%, generating approximately $1.55 million in related-party interest income during 2025.
The arrangement supports property acquisition and preparation before transfer to the REIT.
What do related-party disclosures show?
Related-party disclosures identify transactions between entities under common ownership or management.
For Roots, these include management compensation, property transfers, sponsor financing, maintenance services, and expense reimbursements.
The offering circular explains the arrangements and associated potential conflicts of interest.
mogul's Roots review provides additional educational context on the platform's ownership structure and financial reporting.
Roots liquidity and redemption costs
What is Roots' early redemption fee?
Roots operates a limited quarterly unit redemption program.
Its May 2026 offering circular generally describes the following rates:
Units held for less than one year: 92% of the applicable redemption value
Units held for one year or longer: 100% of the applicable redemption value, subject to program conditions
Certain exceptional or manager-initiated redemptions: Separate provisions may apply
The first-year rate represents an 8% reduction from the applicable redemption value.
For example, if an eligible holding has a redemption value of $10,000, an ordinary first-year redemption processed at 92% would produce $9,200.
The $800 difference is calculated from the applicable redemption value, which may differ from the original contribution.
What are Roots' quarterly redemption limits?
Roots' May 2026 offering circular describes several limitations:
A summary provision referencing a quarterly cap of up to 5% of outstanding units
A detailed provision describing an intended annual cap of 5% of weighted-average outstanding units, generally allocated at 1.25% per quarter
An individual quarterly limit of $100,000 while the offering remains ongoing
Proportional processing when eligible requests exceed available redemption capacity
Manager discretion to adjust limits, decline requests, or suspend the program
The different aggregate limits appear in separate sections of the official document.
Redemption processing depends on available cash and the governing program conditions.
Can quarterly distributions be withdrawn?
Roots distinguishes quarterly distributions from redemptions of investment units.
According to its investor materials, ordinary quarterly distributions are not subject to the first-year redemption reduction and may be withdrawn or reinvested.
The 8% reduction applies to qualifying early redemptions of investment units.
Comparing Roots' fees with other real estate structures
REIT expenses versus property-specific ownership costs
Roots uses a pooled REIT in which investors hold interests in a residential property portfolio.
Property-specific fractional platforms use ownership entities associated with individual assets.
The structures differ in how fees, financial reporting, ownership interests, and distributions are organized.
A comparison can consider transaction expenses, management compensation, property operations, distribution schedules, and redemption provisions.
How does ownership structure affect reporting?
Pooled REITs generally report assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses, and investment performance at the fund level.
Property-specific platforms organize reporting around individual properties and their ownership entities, allowing members to review information associated with identifiable assets.
Other considerations beyond Roots fees
How does Roots calculate NAV?
Roots calculates net asset value (NAV) by subtracting liabilities from the value of the fund's assets.
NAV per unit reflects the resulting net value divided by the applicable number of outstanding units.
The calculation incorporates property valuations, operating performance, financial obligations, and other fund information.
In its October 10, 2026 community update, Roots reported:
Unit price: $159.25
Fund NAV: Approximately $158.59 million
Trailing 12-month return: 12.03%, measured through October 10, 2026
These are company-reported figures for the stated period. Historical performance and future financial outcomes are separate measures.
What is the Roots minimum investment?
Roots advertises a $100 minimum investment through its Regulation A offering.
Eligible accredited and non-accredited investors can participate, subject to applicable requirements.
What is Roots' renter rewards program?
Roots operates a renter rewards initiative called Live In It Like You Own It.
Eligible residents can earn rewards for qualifying activities, including on-time rent payments, lease renewals, and property care.
The program connects the company's residential leasing operations with its investment community.
How mogul approaches real estate investing fees
mogul is a fractional real estate investment platform founded by former Goldman Sachs real estate professionals with more than $10 billion in combined investing experience.
The platform provides access to professionally vetted residential properties through property-specific investment club LLCs.
Members can select individual offerings and participate in the economics of identifiable properties, including rental income and changes in property value.
mogul combines institutional underwriting, professional property management, property-level reporting, and digital portfolio tools within one real estate investing experience.
Institutional property selection and underwriting
mogul evaluates residential properties using criteria that include:
Acquisition price and valuation
Local rental demand
Market fundamentals
Property condition and operating history
Financing structure
Projected income and expenses
Potential performance under different scenarios
The company reports that fewer than 1% of reviewed properties pass its diligence process.
Its underwriting framework incorporates a minimum projected IRR hurdle of 12%, including applicable one-time fees.
According to mogul's company information, the platform reported:
$110 million in assets on mogul, as of June 1, 2026
More than 50,000 users, as of September 28, 2026
A 12%–20% target IRR range, as of September 28, 2026
More than $10 billion in team investing experience
The target IRR range represents an underwriting objective, with actual outcomes determined by individual property performance.
mogul's published fee structure
mogul's property ownership and investment process describes a one-time 5% platform fee calculated using the underlying property's purchase price and capitalized into the initial transaction.
Its pricing structure includes:
One-time 5% platform fee: Calculated using the underlying property's purchase price and capitalized into the initial transaction
No ongoing rental-income platform fee: mogul does not charge a recurring platform fee on collected rental income
No traditional annual AUM fee: No standard recurring management percentage assessed against invested equity
Property-level operating expenses: Incorporated into the financial structure and underwriting of each offering
The one-time 5% platform fee is included in the initial property capitalization rather than charged annually against invested equity.
Property-level management and operating expenses may still affect rental cash flow, but these are distinct from an ongoing rental-income platform fee.
The mogul investment process provides further context on how the platform fee fits within property acquisition, fractional ownership, and professionally coordinated operations.
Property-specific ownership and transparency
mogul uses individual LLCs to organize ownership of selected residential properties.
Members can identify the assets associated with their interests and access information such as:
Property location and characteristics
Acquisition and capitalization details
Rental strategy and operating assumptions
Financial projections
Property-level performance
Distribution information
Ownership and offering documents
This structure enables members to build exposure across multiple identifiable residential properties while retaining access to asset-level information.
The mogul investment process explains how properties are selected, acquired, structured, and managed.
Professional management and monthly distributions
mogul coordinates residential operations through professional management teams and local partners.
Its services include leasing, tenant administration, rent collection, maintenance coordination, financial reporting, and property performance monitoring.
Members may receive monthly distributions representing their proportional share of rental income when sufficient distributable cash remains after applicable expenses.
They also participate in financial outcomes associated with property appreciation and eventual sales or other approved transactions.
Co-investment and aligned participation
mogul states that it invests alongside members in every property offered on the platform.
This co-investment approach places company or founder capital alongside member interests in the underlying residential assets.
Members also receive property-specific underwriting and financial information to support evaluation of each offering.
Together, co-investment, institutional underwriting, and asset-level ownership form key parts of mogul's platform model.
First-year loss protection for new members
mogul describes a promotional first-year loss protection benefit for qualifying new members.
Its published materials refer to protection of up to $10,000 in eligible losses associated with qualifying investments made during a member's first seven days.
The program is governed by the eligibility requirements and conditions applicable to the particular promotion, with mogul describing coverage funded through its own balance sheet capital.
Tools for property analysis
mogul provides digital tools for examining residential real estate economics.
Its investment property calculator allows users to enter a U.S. property address and analyze potential returns through adjustable assumptions.
The tool supports evaluation of rental income, financing, operating expenses, holding periods, cash-on-cash returns, IRR, and different financial scenarios.
These capabilities extend mogul's institutional underwriting approach to educational property analysis.
For readers exploring Roots alternatives, mogul provides a property-specific ownership structure supported by institutional underwriting, professional management, potential monthly rental income distributions, and a disclosed fee framework.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this guide is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. Always consult with a licensed professional before making any financial or investment decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Roots charge investors in 2026?
Roots charges $5 for standard one-time investments and $3 for recurring contributions. Its official help center describes transaction-fee waivers under Roots+. Roots Growth separately advertises an optional $10 monthly membership for rewards and credit-related features. The underlying REIT also incurs acquisition, management, leasing, and property operating expenses.
What happens if Roots suspends its redemption program?
Roots' May 2026 offering circular permits the manager to suspend its quarterly redemption program. During a suspension, ordinary redemption requests may remain unfulfilled until the program resumes or another permitted transfer arrangement becomes available. Redemptions are also subject to applicable limits, available cash, and program conditions.
Can non-accredited investors participate in Roots?
Yes. Roots' Regulation A offering allows eligible accredited and non-accredited investors to participate, with an advertised $100 minimum. Non-accredited individual investors are generally subject to contribution limits based on 10% of the greater of annual income or net worth, with applicable exceptions.
How does mogul's fee structure work?
mogul charges a one-time 5% platform fee calculated using the underlying property's purchase price and capitalized into the initial transaction. It does not charge an ongoing rental-income platform fee or a traditional recurring annual AUM-based management fee against invested equity. Property-level management and operating expenses remain part of each investment's financial structure.
How does mogul's property-specific ownership model benefit investors?
mogul provides fractional ownership interests in individual residential properties through LLC structures. Members can select specific offerings, access property-level financial information, and participate in rental income distributions when sufficient distributable cash is available. The platform combines institutional underwriting, professional property management, and co-investment alongside members to support a streamlined real estate ownership experience.