James A Jones, Business Development Director at Crowdnetic, talks to Patch of Land’s AdaPia d’Errico about building wealth and growing communities through real estate crowdfunding. The interview can be read below, as well as on the Crowdneticwire.
Jim Jones' Interview With AdaPia d’Errico (Patch Of Land)
JJ – AdaPia, thank you for joining me today to discuss real estate crowdfunding. Can you give us a brief explanation of RE crowdfunding?
AD – It is an approach to raising capital for new projects and businesses by soliciting contributions online from a large number of unrelated individual stakeholders. This approach, which is taking the real estate industry by storm, is made possible through new SEC regulations (Reg D, 506c) and the JOBS Act.
JJ – Tell us where real estate stands as a category in the Top 10 for Recorded Capital Commitments, or simply, money raised?
AD - Sure. If you take a look at the below chart, you will see that not only is real estate development the number one category for monies raised, but is doing so at an exponential rate relative to many of the other categories.
JJ – Can you describe to us the classic problem that crowdfunding real estate solves for both the investor and the borrower?
AD – Yes. So, the problem for real estate borrowers is the disconnect, or lack of access to capital, while the investors, with the capital looking for diversification and higher returns of real estate, traditionally have been limited to the public securities such as stocks, bonds and mutual funds. Peer2Real Estate Financing solves that problem as you can see from the following charts:
JJ – Who are the current investors in real estate crowdfunding and do you see this investor market growing?
AD – Currently, accredited investors, which are high net worth and ultra high net worth, share the market with institutional investors such as fund managers, investment advisors and wealth managers. We see that expanding significantly with the passing of Title IV, known as Reg A+ (AKA retail crowd funding), from the 8 million accredited investor households to over 115 non-accredited investor households, plus family offices and other institutions.
JJ – In your model, you are bringing traditional real estate operators to your platform, correct? How does that work?
AD – You have to consider, “What are you looking for? Partners vs. Lenders.” The following is criteria that may be used for a means of comparison:
- --Types of Financing Available: Debt vs. Equity
- --Choose Wisely: Know Your Portal
- --Documentation: Project Package, PPM
- --Due Diligence: More is Better
- --Public Profile: Wisdom of the Crowd
JJ – Lastly, what recommendations do you have for investors who are looking for a crowdfunding platform?
AD -
- --Track Record
- --Regulatory Compliance
- --Leadership Team
- --State of the Art Technology
- --Underwriting Standards
- --Curation vs. Craigslist
JJ – AdaPia, as always, great to talk with you, and I look forward to exciting things happening at Patch of Land.
AD – Thank you.
We hope you enjoyed this interview. Thank you again to Crowdnetic and Jim Jones for spotlighting Patch of Land and bringing attention to our mission. See Jim Jones and AdaPia d'Errico at Crowdfinance 2014.