Targeted is not guaranteed
Any arrangement describing a return should be read carefully for the distinction between a targeted economic outcome and a guaranteed one. The two are legally and practically different, and only one of them is honest.
Actual outcomes depend on the terms of the transaction, performance of contractual obligations, realisation of the underlying transaction, applicable taxes and statutory deductions. A structure that limits your downside is valuable. A promise that removes it is not credible.
Security is not ownership
This is where most misunderstanding sits. A security interest created over a land parcel in your favour gives you rights against that land if the counterparty defaults. Unless the land is expressly transferred to you through a duly executed and registered instrument, it does not confer ownership, possession, development rights or unrestricted sale rights.
Marketing that says "the land is registered in your name" describes something quite different from "a security interest is created in your favour". If you are told the first, ask to see the instrument that effects it.
Registered documents, not MoUs
A return commitment recorded only in an unregistered memorandum of understanding is extremely difficult to enforce. Whatever the arrangement, the commitment and the security should sit in registered documentation.
Expect to see, as applicable: a participation or investment agreement, a security agreement, a mortgage or other valid security instrument, a land identification and title schedule, a risk disclosure statement, and clear default and enforcement provisions.
The regulatory line
Arrangements that pool public money against a promised return can, depending on structure, fall under deposit-taking, collective investment or securities regulation. Where they do and the operator is not registered, the arrangement is unlawful regardless of intent.
A legitimate operator will be able to explain why their structure sits outside those regimes, or show the registrations that permit it. An operator who has not considered the question at all is the risk.
Questions worth asking
What exactly is created in my favour, and by what registered instrument? What is the lock-in and can I exit early? Who manages and sells the underlying land? What happens on default, and through what mechanism do I enforce? Who has reviewed this structure legally?
Any operator should be able to answer all five without hesitation and in writing.