Tag: real estate

Crowdfunding Seminar In Mamhattan Today With Harvard Business School Club

On By crowdfundattnyIn Crowdfunding, Crowdfunding Speaking Engagements, Entrepreneurs, Investing, JOBS Act, Real Estate, SECLeave a comment

The Harvard Business School Club is presenting Innovations in Real Estate: Crowdfund Investing from 6:30 pm to 8:15 pm today at 130 E. 59th St. I’m honored to be moderating for this panel of industry leaders as well as former Governor David Paterson. Other panelists include: Elvin Ames, Golden Eye Investments; Jason Fritton, Patch of Land; Scott Lichtman, Heartland Real Estate; William Skelley, iFunding; and Alex Twining, Twining Properties.

Please join us for what promises to be a very exciting and informative evening. If you’re unable to attend and still interested in listening in on the conversation, follow the hashtag #crowdfundrealestate on twitter or send me a tweet @Crowdfundattny.

Tickets can be purchased here

Event Overview:

Learn how crowdfunding will affect fundraising by developers/operators, alternative investment opportunities for individuals, and community development initiatives in cities. HBSCNY, with the Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York, and the Harvard Real Estate Alumni Organization, invite alumni and all interested individuals to an evening panel and networking event, where real estate operators, entrepreneurs, an investor and attorney discuss the impact of real estate crowdfunding.

The federal Jumpstart Our Businesses (JOBS) Act has made it easier for web entrepreneurs to facilitate wider participation in private investments. As a result, over a dozen websites are in a race to become leaders in the RE crowdfunding space. Real estate is poised to join consumer lending, angel funding and other asset classes – which together generated over $5 billion in online transactions last year – that are that are undergoing fundamental changes in fund-raising.

Though promising, RE crowdfunding will no doubt face questions along the way. Do the newer investors appreciate the risks they are taking on? What will happen when a project first undergoes foreclosure? How do the projects’ operating agreements, as well as the corporate structure of the crowdfund websites, affect future performance? And, which sites will emerge on top? The evening is an entrée to meet those leading this field and understand opportunities for participation.

Crowdfunding Real Estate

On By crowdfundattnyIn Crowdfunding, JOBS Act, Real Estate, SECLeave a comment

Many people associate Crowdfunding with investments in exciting new technology companies that promise to transform the world and make millions for their owners. But Crowdfunding is just as Skyscraper Buildings Made From Dollar Banknotesrelevant to investing in real estate, whether vacant lots, apartment buildings, or multi-billion dollar redevelopment projects. Although the world of real estate investing has historically been separate from the world of business investing, Crowdfunding is likely to revolutionize capital formation (fundraising) in both worlds.

Pending the release of SEC regulations that will authorize “true” JOBS Act Crowdfunding, portals focused on real estate have already sprung to life using the legal model approved by the SEC in two no-action letters earlier this year. RealtyMogul, for example, allows accredited investors who have signed up with the site to view a variety of real estate investment opportunities, from single-family rehab projects to a 240-unit apartment complex. The size and complexity of real estate projects listed on RealtyMogul and other portals are certain to grow as the Crowdfunding market matures, probably dramatically.

Real estate might even lend itself to Crowdfunding in ways that other industries do not. Because all real estate is local, it is easy to imagine a portal that specializes in Philadelphia real estate, for example, or in commercial Philadelphia real estate, or in commercial real estate in Center City, Philadelphia. That kind of focus, repeated in other cities and regions, might give investors exactly what they are looking for and thereby provide a reliable source of capital for developers.

It is just as easy to imagine a portal focused on shopping malls, or on high-end residential projects, no matter where they are located.

Real estate might seem less sexy than hi-tech, but it is a source of enormous wealth in this country and an important contributor to the national economy. And because real estate requires capital – oceans of capital – Crowdfunding is certain to play an important role.

Questions? Let me know.