A new marker has been laid down in the fast-growing property crowdfunding sector.

For the first time, three properties have been bought in the same scheme, and then mortgaged at 50% before being offered to investors.

The scheme is the brainchild of Property Partner, which launched this year.

Because the flats, in West Drayton near Heathrow airport, are owned by a company, investors will in fact be buying shares in that company rather than in the properties.

The company structure means that investors will not be hit by the buy-to-let tax reforms announced by Chancellor George Osborne this summer. Instead, investors will be able deduct the full costs of the mortgage from their profits.

Until this purchase, all of Property Partner’s properties were purchased outright for cash.

Shares in the West Drayton flats, or more correctly, the company that owns them, can be bought from £50.

Altogether the flats were bought off-plan for £885,000.

The first was acquired in April; the other two were bought from investors who needed to sell on their contracts.

As a result, Property Partner bought the three apartments at an overall discount, and the current valuation is now £960,000 – meaning the purchase has already turned a paper profit.

Property Partner launched in January and has so far attracted nearly 4,000 investors who have crowdfunded over £8.5m in buying properties.

Individual investments range from £50 to over £100,000 and shares can be traded on the platform’s secondary exchange.

Owners of the properties pay 10.5% (plus VAT) of rental income for management services.

* The latest entrant into the sector is a company called Propology. It plans to source suitable properties through developers and estate agents.

Investors must put in a minimum of £500. They will receive 100% of the net rental income plus quarterly dividends.