Is CREB legit?

If you have come across Compound Real Estate Bonds for the first time, your first question is probably a simple one: is CREB legit?

It is a fair question, and a smart one. A fixed 8.50% APY, interest earned daily, no management fees and the ability to request a withdrawal at any time is not what most people are used to seeing from a bank. When something looks different from what you know, it deserves a closer look before you put your money into it.

But “legit” should mean more than “registered somewhere.” A legitimate investment is one where you can see exactly what you own, how your return is earned, who is managing your money, how you get it back, and what could go wrong. Below, we walk through each of those questions in plain English.

Our goal is not to tell you that CREB is right for everyone. It isn't. Our goal is to give you enough information to decide for yourself, with your eyes open.

Why people ask “Is CREB legit?”

The rate stands out. Traditional savings accounts and many money market products pay noticeably less than 8.50%. A higher rate naturally raises the question of where the extra return comes from and what you are giving up to get it.

It is a newer kind of product. For decades, private real estate lending was mostly available to banks, pension funds, insurance companies and wealthy investors. Digital platforms that let everyday investors access real estate credit with a $500 minimum are relatively new.

Online investment scams are real. Fraudsters often promise high, “guaranteed” returns. Being cautious is the right instinct. There are clear ways to tell a regulated investment apart from a scam, and we show you how to check every one of them for CREB.

What is CREB?

Compound Real Estate Bonds (CREB) is a fixed-income investment that gives everyday investors access to income from real estate lending. When you invest, you purchase CREB bonds. The capital raised is invested in a professionally managed portfolio focused on short-term real estate loans, supported by U.S. Treasury bills and cash reserves. Interest paid by property borrowers, together with income from Treasuries, supports the interest paid to bondholders.

The current bond is CREB Bond Series 2, a fixed-rate corporate bond issued by Compound Real Estate Bonds II, Inc. and offered under SEC Regulation A+ Tier 2.

CREB at a glance

How investing in CREB works

1. Open your account. Sign up online or through the Compound Banc app and complete identity verification.
2. Fund your investment. Link your bank account and invest from $500.
3. Earn interest daily. Once your deposit settles and is invested, interest begins to accrue on your full balance, including interest you have already earned.
4. Track and withdraw. Follow your balance and credited interest on your dashboard, and submit withdrawal requests online whenever you need access to your money.

What makes CREB different

Most investors who want exposure to real estate lending have to go through layers of intermediaries: an advisor, a broker, a fund and finally the real estate itself. Each layer typically adds fees. CREB is sold directly to investors through a single digital platform, so it charges no management, account or withdrawal fees. The 8.50% APY is the rate written into the bond, not a figure before fees.

CREB also pairs the income potential of real estate credit with a structure built around flexibility. Unlike many private real estate investments, there is no fixed holding period and no surrender charge for redeeming your bonds.

Is CREB regulated? Understanding SEC Regulation A+

One of the clearest signs of a legitimate investment is regulatory oversight. CREB bonds are offered under Regulation A+ Tier 2, an exemption created by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that allows companies to raise capital from the general public in a regulated way.

What Regulation A+ requires

Before a company can sell securities under Regulation A+, it must file a detailed offering statement with the SEC, known as Form 1-A. The SEC staff reviews the filing and can ask questions or require changes. Only after this review is complete does the SEC “qualify” the offering, allowing sales to begin. Tier 2 offerings carry ongoing obligations for as long as the offering is active:

• Annual reports (Form 1-K) with audited financial statements prepared by an independent accounting firm.
• Semiannual reports (Form 1-SA) covering the first six months of each fiscal year.
• Current reports (Form 1-U) to disclose certain material events as they happen.
• Offering circular updates when the terms or important facts change.

All of these documents are public. You do not need an account, a login or a subscription to read them. You can find them on the SEC's free EDGAR database or on our SEC Filings page.

What SEC qualification does and does not mean

SEC qualification means CREB has gone through the SEC's review process and is subject to ongoing public reporting. It does not mean the SEC has approved, endorsed or recommended the investment, or that it guarantees your return. The SEC does not pass on the merits of any security, and every Regulation A offering circular says so on its cover. Regulation gives you access to the facts. It is up to each investor to read them and decide whether the investment fits their goals.

Investment limits that protect investors

Regulation A+ includes built-in protections for non-accredited investors. In general, a non-accredited investor in a Tier 2 offering may not invest more than 10% of the greater of their annual income or net worth. Accredited investors are not subject to this limit. We encourage every investor to treat these rules as sensible guidance on diversification.

Independent oversight: you don't have to take our word for it

One of the strongest signs that an investment is legitimate is that independent parties stand between you and the company's own claims. With CREB, three independent organisations play a role.

The SEC. The SEC reviews the offering before it is qualified and receives ongoing annual and semiannual reports, available to anyone on EDGAR. CREB Bond Series 2 is issued by Compound Real Estate Bonds II, Inc. (CIK 0002078250). The earlier Series 1 bonds were issued by Compound Real Estate Bonds, Inc. (CIK 0001919204).

The independent auditor. Under Regulation A+ Tier 2, the annual financial statements must be audited by an independent accounting firm. CREB's auditor is UAK CPA LLC. An audit does not guarantee that an investment will perform well, but it does mean an independent professional has examined the financial statements and given an opinion on whether they are fairly presented. The audit opinion, including any explanatory paragraphs, is published with the annual report.

The IRA custodian. CREB IRAs are held by Equity Trust Company, an independent IRA custodian. CREB never holds your IRA itself. Equity Trust provides custody services only and, like any custodian, does not endorse, recommend or guarantee the investments its account holders choose.

Who is behind CREB?

A legitimate investment should never be run by faceless people. CREB is operated by a group of related U.S. companies with named leadership, a physical headquarters and a dedicated investor relations team you can speak to directly.

The Compound group was founded in 2021, with entities formed in Florida and Delaware. The first CREB bond offering was qualified by the SEC in 2022. CREB Bond Series 2, the offering available today, was qualified in September 2025. When you invest in Series 2, your bonds are issued by Compound Real Estate Bonds II, Inc. That is the company you are lending to, and the company whose financial statements you should review in its SEC filings.

Leadership

• Inderjit Tuli, Chief Executive Officer
• Michael Burmi, Vice President and Chief Investment Officer
• John Tuli, Chief Strategy Officer
• Shibam Sarbswa, Chief Operations Officer
• Daljit Singh, Director of Real Estate Credit and Portfolio Manager
• Melvin Figueroa, Director of Investor Relations
• Leslie Gansel, Director of Corporate Relations

Because CREB is a young company, our offering circular openly discusses the team's experience and the company's reliance on affiliated companies and outside advisors. We encourage investors to read the management section of the circular.

How CREB generates 8.50% APY

When an investment pays more than a savings account, the most important question is: where does the money come from? With CREB, your return is funded by interest that real estate borrowers pay on their loans, supported by income from U.S. Treasury bills and cash reserves.

The lending spread, explained

1. You invest. Your capital enters an SEC-qualified bond offering.
2. Capital is deployed. The portfolio allocates funds to short-term real estate loans and to liquid reserves such as Treasury bills and cash.
3. Borrowers pay interest. Real estate borrowers typically pay rates in the range of 10% to 14% on CREB-funded loans.
4. The spread. Bondholders receive a fixed 8.50%. The difference covers operating costs and is the company's revenue.
5. You earn daily. Interest is calculated every day on your full balance, including interest previously earned.

Why borrowers pay 10% to 14%

CREB focuses on bridge loans: short-term loans used by property owners and investors who need capital quickly. A bank loan can take months to approve; a private lender can often fund in days. Borrowers are willing to pay a premium for that speed, and that premium is what makes CREB's yield possible. Bridge loans are typically designed to be repaid when the borrower refinances with a traditional lender or sells the property.

Target portfolio allocation

The portfolio is actively managed, and allocations change with market conditions, liquidity needs and available lending opportunities. As an illustration, the target mix is:

These figures are targets, not guarantees. The actual holdings at any point in time are reported in CREB's SEC filings.

The four drivers behind the yield

1. The speed premium. A traditional bank loan can take 60 to 90 days to fund; a private lender can often fund in 5 to 10 days. Borrowers typically pay 10% to 14% for that speed.

2. Collateral. CREB's real estate lending is secured by first-lien positions on physical property, with loan-to-value ratios that target roughly 50% to 60%, leaving the borrower's own equity as a cushion in front of the loan.

3. Short duration. Bridge loans typically mature in 6 to 24 months. As loans are repaid, capital can be redeployed at current market rates.

4. Access. Real estate credit funds have traditionally required minimums of $250,000 or more. CREB's Regulation A+ structure makes the same type of asset available from $500.

The spread is the cost of the product

Because CREB charges no stated fees, it is worth being clear about how the company is paid. The portfolio targets a gross return of 10% to 14% from real estate credit. Bondholders receive a fixed 8.50%. The difference, known as the spread, is the issuer's compensation. If portfolio yields fall, CREB's margin absorbs the difference first, because the 8.50% rate is written into the bond. If yields stayed compressed for a long period, however, the issuer's ability to keep paying 8.50% could come under pressure.

How the portfolio is built and protected

First-lien lending. CREB's real estate lending focuses on first-position (senior) liens. If a borrower fails to repay and the property must be sold, the first-lien lender is repaid before any junior lender or the property owner.

Conservative loan-to-value ratios. CREB targets LTVs of roughly 50% to 60%, with a maximum around 75%. On a property worth $1,000,000, a 60% LTV loan is $600,000. The property's value would need to fall by more than 40% before the loan itself was at risk.

Representative loans

Portfolio statistics (Q1 2026, from the 2026 Investor Guide)

The largest position is a first senior secured mortgage of $12.5 million at a 50% LTV and 12% interest on a Grade AAA commercial warehouse and industrial property in Markham, Ontario. A loan of this size represents a significant share of a growing portfolio; investors can find the current breakdown of the loan book, including concentration in the largest loans, in CREB's latest SEC filings.

Underwriting standards

• Collateral value, based primarily on appraisals and valuation reviews.
• Loan-to-value, with conservative targets that leave a meaningful equity cushion.
• Property type, favouring multi-family, commercial, industrial and mixed-use assets.
• Exit strategy, typically a refinance with a traditional lender or a sale of the property.
• Borrower review, including the information the borrower provides and third-party data.

Liquidity: how withdrawals work

There is no fixed term, no lock-in period and no withdrawal fee. You can request a redemption of your bonds at any time from your dashboard. To keep the process fair and orderly for every investor, redemptions follow the timeline set out in the bond terms:

Interest keeps accruing on your bonds until they are redeemed. Before you can withdraw a new deposit, it must first clear your bank, and bank transfer times can vary. Withdrawals are funded from cash reserves, U.S. Treasury bills, loan repayments as loans mature, and ongoing investor inflows. To date, CREB has honoured redemption requests from its investors under these terms.

What “withdraw anytime” does and does not mean

“Withdraw anytime” means you can submit a redemption request whenever you choose, with no lock-in and no penalty. It does not mean CREB works like a bank account with instant, insured access to your money. As our offering circular explains, CREB does not keep a separate sinking fund, and it would not be able to meet redemption requests if every investor asked to redeem at the same time. If requests exceeded available liquidity, CREB could need to sell assets, arrange financing or seek support from its parent company, and investors could face delays.

For this reason, we suggest investors keep their emergency savings in an insured bank account and invest in CREB with money they do not expect to need at short notice.

Understanding the risks

A legitimate investment company tells you what can go wrong, not just what can go right. The full list of risk factors is in our offering circular, and we strongly encourage you to read it. Here are the most important ones in plain language.

CREB is not a bank deposit. CREB bonds are not insured by the FDIC, are not protected by SIPC, and are not guaranteed by any government agency or private insurer. You could lose some or all of the money you invest.

Credit risk of the issuer. When you buy a CREB bond, you are lending money to Compound Real Estate Bonds II, Inc. The bonds are unsecured, so your repayment depends on the issuer's ability to pay. If the issuer ran into serious financial difficulty, bondholders would be general unsecured creditors.

Real estate and borrower risk. An economic downturn, rising interest rates, falling property values or problems with a particular property could lead to late payments or defaults. Recovering money through foreclosure can take time and cost money, especially across different states or countries.

Concentration risk. A growing loan book can at times be concentrated in a small number of larger loans, so the performance of a single loan can have a bigger impact on the portfolio.

Liquidity risk. Withdrawals are processed under set timelines and depend on available liquidity. There is no public market for CREB bonds, and they cannot be transferred without the company's approval.

Interest rate and reinvestment risk. If rates fall, borrowers may repay early and new loans may be made at lower rates.

Terms of the bond. The bond terms can be modified with the consent of holders of a majority of outstanding principal, and any change approved that way applies to all bondholders. Investors also agree to resolve disputes through arbitration unless they opt out within 30 days of first accepting the purchase agreement.

How the bond behaves under stress

Scenario 1: Property values fall 20%. On a loan made at 55% to 60% LTV, the borrower's equity absorbs the first 40% or more of any decline. A 20% fall would reduce that cushion but would not, on its own, put the loan underwater. A severe, broad-based downturn, especially one affecting one of the larger loans, could still impair returns.

Scenario 2: Many investors withdraw at once. Withdrawals are funded first from the cash and Treasury reserve. If requests ever exceeded the reserve, CREB would need to wait for loan repayments, sell assets, arrange financing or seek support from its parent, which has no contractual obligation to provide it. Payments could be delayed.

Scenario 3: CREB itself faces financial difficulty. Because CREB bonds are unsecured, bondholders do not hold a priority claim on any specific loan or property. If the issuer became insolvent, bondholders would be general unsecured creditors, and recovery of principal would not be guaranteed.

Two ways to invest, and how they are taxed

You can invest in CREB through a regular cash account or through an IRA. Both earn the same 8.50% APY, both compound daily, and neither carries CREB management fees or lock-up periods. The main difference is how your interest is taxed.

Cash accounts. Link your bank account, invest from $500 and withdraw principal and interest whenever you need to. Interest is taxed as ordinary income in the year it is earned, even if you leave it in your account to compound, and is reported to you and the IRS on Form 1099-INT.

IRA accounts. The same bond with the tax advantages of a retirement account. In a Traditional IRA, contributions may be tax-deductible and growth is tax-deferred until you withdraw. In a Roth IRA, contributions are made with after-tax money and qualified withdrawals are tax-free. Tax treatment depends on your personal circumstances; please consult a tax advisor.

Investing through your IRA with Equity Trust

A CREB IRA lets you roll over an old 401(k) or transfer an existing IRA into a CREB Traditional or Roth IRA, held by Equity Trust Company. You earn the same 8.50% APY with the same daily compounding, combined with the tax advantages of an IRA. Equity Trust is an independent IRA custodian that specialises in self-directed retirement accounts, which can hold alternative investments such as private bonds. As custodian, it holds your IRA in your name, keeps the official records, processes rollovers and transfers, and handles IRS reporting. It provides custody only and does not endorse or guarantee CREB or any other investment.

CREB IRA at a glance

What you can move into a CREB IRA

You can typically fund a CREB IRA from an old 401(k), a 403(b), a 457(b), a Roth 401(k), a Traditional IRA, a Roth IRA or a SEP IRA. A direct rollover or a trustee-to-trustee transfer is generally not a taxable event. Moving pre-tax money into a Roth IRA, however, is a Roth conversion and is taxable. Withdrawals from an IRA follow standard IRS rules, which can include income taxes and a possible early-withdrawal penalty before age 59½.

How a rollover works

1. Open your CREB IRA. Choose a Traditional or Roth IRA online. This takes about 10 minutes.
2. Confirm with Equity Trust. Equity Trust sets up your account and verifies your instructions, usually within a few business days.
3. Move your money. Request a direct rollover or transfer from your current provider. CREB's investor team can help with the forms.
4. Compounding begins. Once your funds arrive and are invested, 8.50% APY accrues daily.

How CREB compares

The right comparison for CREB is the range of products that compete for the conservative, income-focused part of a portfolio: savings accounts, certificates of deposit, U.S. Treasuries and corporate bond funds.

Rates on savings accounts, CDs and Treasuries change with market conditions, so check current rates when you compare. CREB offers a higher fixed rate than insured savings products, daily compounding, no lock-up and no fees. In exchange, it does not offer government insurance or backing, and your return depends on the financial strength of a single private issuer. CREB's Investor Guide illustrates what $25,000 could look like after one year:

Scam or legitimate? A checklist you can use on any investment

You should never have to take a company's word for it. Here are the warning signs regulators commonly associate with investment fraud, and how CREB measures up on each one.

How to verify CREB yourself

1. Search EDGAR. Look up “Compound Real Estate Bonds II” on the SEC's EDGAR company search and review the latest offering circular and the most recent 1-K and 1-SA reports.
2. Read the risk factors in the offering circular.
3. Review the financial statements: cash and liquid assets, bonds outstanding, income and expenses, and the notes.
4. Check the details match: confirm the interest rate, minimum investment and withdrawal terms in the legal documents.
5. Talk to Investor Relations about anything you are unsure of, including how the portfolio is currently allocated.
6. Speak with your own advisor about whether CREB fits your goals and how much, if any, to allocate.

Who is CREB a good fit for?

CREB is designed for investors who want income from real estate lending without buying, financing or managing property themselves. It may suit you if you:

• Want a fixed, stated rate rather than returns that rise and fall with the stock market.
• Like seeing interest credited to your account every day.
• Value flexibility and prefer not to lock your money away for years.
• Want to diversify beyond stocks and traditional bonds into real estate credit.
• Have read the offering circular and are comfortable with the risks of a private, unsecured bond.

CREB is likely not the right choice for money you may need for an emergency, for funds you cannot afford to lose, or if you are looking for a government-insured product. In those cases, an FDIC-insured savings account or U.S. Treasury bills may be a better fit.

Frequently asked questions

Conclusion: is CREB legit?

Yes. CREB is a real, SEC-qualified fixed-income offering that gives everyday investors access to income from real estate lending. It is run by named people, filed with the SEC, audited annually and open about how it works, including its risks.

What makes an investment trustworthy is not a promise of high returns. It is transparency: being able to see where your money goes, how your return is earned, how you get your money back and what could go wrong. The 8.50% APY is real, and so are the risks. If, after reading the offering circular, you are comfortable with both, CREB can be a simple way to add real estate income to a diversified portfolio, starting with $500.