The land. Really. Here is how the pieces fit together.
The trust in one paragraph
Every property on Fabrica sits in its own trust, and that trust holds the recorded deed at the county. The Property Token represents ownership of the trust. When you buy, the token moves to your account and the trust becomes yours: you become the beneficiary, and by default you are also your own trustee. That is what the checkbox at checkout means when it says you will become a “beneficiary and trustee” of the trust. Transfer the token, transfer the property.
Fabrica never holds title to your property and cannot control it. Everything, including transfer, recovery, and removing the property from Fabrica, works even if Fabrica disappears.
Is that real ownership?
Yes. The deed is recorded at the county, in the trust’s name, like any other deed. And California’s Board of Equalization looked at the structure and determined that “a transfer of the Fabrica Token is a transfer of the underlying real property itself.” That is a California determination from a 2022 letter, not a ruling for all 50 states, but it says clearly what the design does.
As the owner, you have full owner rights:
Possession, control, and enjoyment of the land
The right to sell it, lease it, or borrow against it
All income the property generates
You are treated as the owner for tax purposes
The obligations come with it
Owning through a trust doesn’t change what landowners owe. Property taxes, insurance, code compliance, and any liens or HOA dues are your responsibility from the day you buy. Take taxes seriously: if they go unpaid and the county sells the property at a tax sale, the trust dissolves automatically and the token becomes void. Unpaid taxes also block borrowing against the property.
Buying through an LLC or with other people
Entity ownership is part of how Fabrica works. If you set up your Fabrica account (your wallet) as an LLC, buying from that account puts ownership of the token, and with it control of the trust, under the LLC directly. No special steps at checkout and no need to contact us first: the account that buys is the account that owns. The same goes for removing a property from Fabrica later; title can be taken by the entity.
If you are thinking about co-owning with others, this story is a good starting point: How to buy land onchain with your friends (blog).
Can I buy a fraction of a property?
Not through the Fabrica app: checkout sells the whole property, represented by one token. If a group of friends or partners wants to buy together, the straightforward way is through something you set up yourselves, like your own LLC or a shared account, which then holds the token. The story linked above, How to buy land onchain with your friends, walks through how one group did it.
Is the token a security?
The token is designed as direct ownership of a specific property, not as an investment product or a share in a pooled venture. You are buying the land itself, through your own trust. If you want the deep dive on this question, see the securities analysis in our docs.
Legal and tax questions
Fabrica cannot give legal or tax advice. For questions about your specific situation, talk to a licensed professional.
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