Stephen Kenny would like to sell you part of a house. It is neither the bedroom nor the bathroom. Neither is it the kitchen sink. Instead, Kenny's new business, called Opromark, claims to be the first property exchange in Britain where, in theory for as little as £1, you can buy a virtual slice in a chosen buy-to-let property.

On most other similar schemes, investors need to have minimum investments in the tens of thousands of pounds. On the Opromark scheme, investors can see pictures of specific properties on the website and read information on them such as surveys, valuations and management reports. So, if a house on the Opromark website is valued at, say £200,000, investors can buy 1% of it for £2,000.

Charges range from 3% to 0.5%, depending on how much is invested. The company gives an example of a £10,000 investment. On this, the first £3,000 would prompt a 3% fee, the next £4,000 another 2.5% and the remaining £3,000 a further 2%.

In total, this would be £250. An investment will rise or fall depending, on the most part, on the value of the property. But in practice, it will also depend on market sentiment towards property and the liquidity of the exchange, which has only just been set up.

If you are desperate to sell and cannot find a willing buyer, you will have to accept a lower price, selling your shares in property at a discount to its prevailing market value. On the other hand, if the concept takes off and demand for property is strong, the total market price of the shares could be worth more than a surveyor's valuation of the building.

Investors can already buy exposure to residential property for tiny amounts of money through shares in listed companies such as Grainger Trust, which owns a vast portfolio of property. The difference with Opromark is that investors can gain a stake in a single building.

The downside, of course, is that they may lack the diversification achieved by large landlords, and could suffer if, for example, tenants move out and are not quickly replaced. The timing of the new enterprise may also spook some investors.

As Kenny admits, the short-term outlook for the UK housing market is far from robust. At present there are 18 properties in the Opromark website. The maximum stake anyone can build up in one property is 10%. In the event that not enough buyers come forward to buy any particular home, the deal unwinds.

The group says typical rental yields on the exchange's properties will be between 4.5% and 11%. But management charges will be deducted from rent and if the property is empty, this will further reduce the rental yield.

The exchange is not regulated by the Financial Services Authority because it defines itself as a "non profit-making club". In the long term, a move into commercial property and overseas residential property is also planned.

Financial Times