Online property exchange Orpomark has brokered the first internet buy-to-let investment. A £104,000 one-bedroom terrace cottage in the Leeds suburb of Horsforth has been bought by 65 web-surfing investors. The average individual investment in the house was only £1,600, with the smallest investor buying just one share for £1. Orpomark identifies suitable properties for sale and when it has lined up sufficient interest, packages them into companies that issue tradeable shares. Opromark’s founder, Stephen Kenny, said: “If you want to invest in residential property, you no longer have to do it in chunks of £100,000 or more.” The company makes its money by taking commission of 1% of the selling price paid by the property vendor, an annual listing fee of 0.5% of the value of the property and trading fees on each share transaction on a sliding scale of 0.25 to 3%. It hires letting agents and management companies to find tenants and maintain properties. (Times)