ArborCrowd Joins Trusted Arbor Family of Companies to Bring Real Estate Investment Opportunities to New Audiences Through Technology

NEW YORK, Nov. 3, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Arbor Commercial Mortgage ("Arbor"), an established leader involved in many facets of the real estate industry, today announced the public launch of its new company, ArborCrowd.  ArborCrowd is a real estate crowdfunding platform that brings exclusive and highly coveted commercial real estate investment opportunities, vetted by ArborCrowd's experienced professionals, to millions of new potential investors. ArborCrowd targets accredited investors and opens up quality equity investment opportunities previously available only to institutions and high net worth individuals.

ArborCrowd leverages recent legislative changes and a desire to implement new technologies into its business with the thirty-year long track record of Arbor's family of companies. The first public opportunity to participate in the ArborCrowd platform comes with the repositioning of a three-building, 79-unit multi-family portfolio in the Clinton Hill neighborhood of Brooklyn.

"Crowdfunding represents the next generation of real estate investing," said ArborCrowd Managing Director Adam Kaufman. "Unfortunately, too many players in the field lack experience and proven track records in what matters most – the actual real estate – leaving investors with potentially more risk and less upside in less desirable properties. ArborCrowd only presents fully vetted opportunities in strong markets that allow accredited investors to participate right alongside Arbor and its carefully selected sponsors."

ArborCrowd's first public opportunity was recently acquired by deal sponsors Arbor Management Acquisition Company ("AMAC") and Stone Street Partners ("SSP").  AMAC is a national commercial real estate investor with experience — and a solid track-record — in sourcing, acquiring, managing, developing, rehabbing and disposing of commercial real estate, including stabilized, distressed and value-add assets. AMAC and SSP have already commenced an extensive rehabilitation of the properties.  The opportunity for ArborCrowd investors is a $4,000,000 million equity stake with a projected three- to five-year hold period and a targeted internal rate of return of 12% to 15%. This first transaction follows a soft launch of a multifamily property in Manhattan to a small group of investors which was fully funded and oversubscribed in just eight days.

"Technology continues to transform the way we transact business where now individual investors and experienced real estate sponsors can join together in an effortless and efficient manner that previously did not exist," said ArborCrowd CEO Ivan Kaufman, who also founded Arbor in 1983.  "The ArborCrowd brand was born from our core business, and that is real estate. At ArborCrowd, it is our mission to offer a wider base of investors access to top tier investment opportunities while providing them with the knowledge and tools to confidently make investment decisions."  

ArborCrowd.com features a robust education section that aims to arm potentials investors with industry related information and relevant topics in commercial real estate. At ArborCrowd.com, potential investors can easily create an account to browse the investment opportunities and review all the information needed to make their investment decision. The entire process – from registration to investment – can be completed entirely online from a home or office in just a few days.  

"The rapid success of our soft launch confirms our belief that crowdfunding is the future of real estate investing and that experience matters," said Adam Kaufman. "Our easy-to-use and reliable technology is of course vital to our success, but deep knowledge of real estate and staying power – the Arbor family of companies has survived and thrived through numerous market cycles – is what places ArborCrowd in another league."

About ArborCrowd
ArborCrowd, the newest addition to the Arbor family of companies, utilizes state-of-the-art technology to provide accredited investors with easy and unprecedented access to commercial real estate. Using ArborCrowd, millions of qualified investors who are looking to diversify their investment portfolios can now gain access to commercial real estate investments previously only available to institutional investors and high-net-worth individuals – entirely online through the ArborCrowd portal.

About Arbor Commercial Mortgage
Arbor Commercial Mortgage ("ACM") was founded by Ivan Kaufman in 1983.  Until July of 2016, ACM, the manager of Arbor Realty Trust (NYSE:ABR) ("ART"), was one of the largest national multifamily agency lenders with a diverse lending platform and a servicing portfolio of more than $12B.  In July, ART, whose Chairman and CEO is Ivan Kaufman, acquired ACM's agency lending and servicing platform. ACM continues to act as manager of ART and is involved in several other investment ventures, many in the real estate space.

SOURCE ArborCrowd