Real Estate Crowdfunding Panel Discussion to Be Hosted in New York on April 30th

Former New York Governor David Paterson to Open the  “Innovations in Real Estate: Crowdfunding Panel,” which will address residential vs. commercial deals, preferred equity vs. debt investments and other crowdfunding topics

By Robert Hoskins

New York, NY – iFunding, one of America’s leading  real estate crowdfunding platforms, announced that it is participating in a Harvard alumni organizations panel discussion entitled “Innovations in Real Estate: Crowdfund Investing.”   The event will be held Harvard alumni organizations on Wednesday., April 30, 2014, at The Conference Center on 59th St. in Manhattan, NY.  Tickets are available to the public at http://www.hbscny.org/article.html?aid=992.

iFunding is a real estate investment platform that uses technology to make private real estate investing simple. Individual investors can select and make direct investments in pre-vetted institutional quality real estate assets directly on our website.

The discussion will address many of the emerging themes in real estate crowdfunding, including equity versus debt investing and residential versus commercial crowdfunding deals. Former New York Governor David Paterson will provide opening remarks about the state of real estate and the economy.

“Crowdfunding has changed the landscape for real estate investing,” said William Skelley, CEO of iFunding. “It enables investors to have the potential for institutional-quality returns through preferred equity investments, but with minimum investments as low as $5,000. An online platform like iFunding’s provides extensive investment research information, including financial projections, project plans, on-site images and video, and educational webinars. We’re honored to help share information about crowdfund opportunities for real estate operators and investors at this exciting Harvard event.”

Given crowdfunding’s broad applicability, three organizations have teamed up to present the panel: Harvard Business School Club of New York, the Harvard Real Estate Alumni Organization, and Harvard Business School Alumni Angels of Greater New York. The event is sponsored by commercial law firm Flaster/Greenberg. The panel moderator, Mark Roderick of Flaster/Greenberg, is a top legal expert on crowdfunding in the US.

The evening’s speakers include:

• David Paterson, former Governor of New York and Director of Community at iFunding. In his role at iFunding, Gov. Paterson interacts with policy makers, community leaders and business leaders across the US, as well as with US and international investors interested in socially responsible real estate investment.
• William Skelley, CEO of iFunding and veteran of the alternative investments space, formerly of Rose Park Advisors and Bain Capital.
• Elvin Ames of Golden Eye Investments. Mr. Ames is a real estate developer who has completed 300 real estate transactions, including over 60 house refurbishments.
• Jason Fritton, Co-founder and COO, Patch of Land, a pioneer in the real estate crowdfunding industry, focused on highly attractive debt investments.
• Alex Twining, CEO of Twining Properties, a developer focused on urban use green projects at transit nodes of the US Northeast Corridor. The company has over 4 million square feet under development.

Innovations in Real Estate: Crowdfund Investing will be held at The Conference Center, 130 E. 59th St., between Park & Lexington, in Manhattan. Tickets are $15 for members of the Harvard Business School Club, HBS Angels and Harvard Real Estate Alumni Organizations; $15 for member guests, $35 for non-member alumni and $50 for other attendees. Close to one hundred are expected to attend the networking and educational sections of the evening.

Further, the panelists are arranging an informational dinner afterward with a number of active real estate operators and investors interested in crowdfunding. The selective seating will be offered on a first-come-first-served basis.

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