Alternative investment - EcoHouse

Last month I read from the Straits Times that an alternative investment, EcoHouse Brazilian residential project, has failed to make payment to investors. 

I remembered that about two to three months back there was also a report from Straits Times that another alternative investment, Detroit Exit Strategy, by Infinity Treasures Pte Ltd, failed to make payment to investors.

To recap, Detroit Exit Strategy is a house flipping scheme which offered investors Fixed 15% returns in 12 months.

Natal-based Ecohouse was founded in Britain in 2009 after the Brazilian government launched a program to help poor families buy subsidised community houses, whose construction is funded by private investors.

EcoHouse offered a 20% fixed rate of return for a 12-month investment contract on residential project in Brazil for a minimum investment of 23K pounds. The returns are generated when the house is resold to a Brazilian buyer at a higher price.  

The key risk is that if there is no buyer, the investors are stucked with a property in Brazil.

Many EcoHouse investors claimed that they have not received their returns or their capital despite their contracts reaching maturity.  EcoHouse Group has been added to the MAS investor alert list.

Link to MAS Investor Alert List


Now, the Brazilian government has clarified that EcoHouse is not connected to the residential project in the country and so effectively confirming that the EcoHouse investment is a scam.

I  find both these schemes similar. Both purported providing housings in foreign countries for the poor people. The scammers scammed money from investors and told them it was for humanitarian purposes.  And now sadly chance for investors getting back their money is basically nil.

The takeaway from these lessons (Sunshine Empire, Profitable Plots, Gold Guarantee, etc, etc) is to stay away from these abnormally high ROI investments.