Technology is reinventing how and where people invest in real estate. By being accessible from personal computer or tablet, real estate investing is no longer limited to the ultra wealthy. Almost anyone (including professionals, millennials or the average Joe) can acquire properties or commercial developments like a typical stock or bond.
Allen Shayanfekr’s company, Sharestates, offers investors direct access to real estate investments through their online marketplace – with net annualized returns between 10-20%. Sharestates focuses on seamless online real estate investing. Through technology, the company allows people to build their own real estate portfolio, one share at a time.
Through this portal, property owners and developers (aka sponsors) can also gain access to capital at a competitive rate, closing a deal in a fraction of the time it traditionally takes through a bank. The system is a win for both investors and developers, creating an efficient and profitable access to the lucrative world of real estate investing.
Shayanfekr’s family left Iran in 1988 to escape religious persecution. It was a difficult time for them; no American education, Allen’s father had a hard time finding work and was without any external support. He found himself working odd jobs to put food on the table. Likewise, Allen and his siblings began working as soon as they received their working papers in order to support their family; Allen’s first job was at Dunkin Donuts at the age of 14. While attending high school, Allen averaged 40 hours per week at work and maintained perfect grades. Eventually, it all paid off when Allen took on a full scholarship at NYU for undergrad and later another at Touro Law Center for law school. During this time, he averaged 40-50 hours per week working multiple jobs, while maintaining top grades in his classes.
During his time as a student at NYU, Allen became enamored with the concept of owning real estate, although it was merely a pipe dream back then— it was simply too expensive and difficult to access without connections to the “good” deals. Fast forward to 2012 when the JOBS Act made owning real estate (even a small portion) a reality. Allen used his legal education to become immersed in the new regulations proposed by the JOBS Act. During this time he came up with the idea of a syndication model to finance real estate projects. What this meant was, even through a small investment, a person could own a piece of real estate along with hundreds (or even thousands) of other people like himself. He has built that product and as a result, has facilitated the funding of over $120 million of real estate projects in the past year, allowing thousands of investors to participate in the process. Allen still hopes to one day own entire investment properties, but for now Sharestates is his main priority. To date, his mother still becomes teary-eyed whenever she visits the Sharestates office. In those moments she is both proud of what he has built, and reassured that moving to the U.S was the right decision.
About Allen Shayanfekr, Esq.
Allen Shayanfekr, Esq. is the CEO and Founder of Sharestates, and one of the brightest minds in real estate marketplace lending. Allen is currently admitted to practice law in NY and CT. His legal expertise in securities law is paramount to Sharestates’ ability to promote and produce public and private offerings in a highly regulated space. Allen interacts regularly with the Securities and Exchange Commission, in addition to spearheading daily operations at Sharestates. His knowledge has led Sharestates to become a top 7 real estate platform in less than 1 year—working towards becoming a top 3 platform by the end of 2016.
Prior to launching Sharestates, Allen joined Atlantis National Services as their National Title Producer and Account Executive, holding approximately 28 Producer’s licenses across the Country. Allen’s other credentials include acting as an editor of the Municipal Lawyer (a quarterly journal published by the New York State Bar association). Allen received his J.D. Magna Cum Laude from Touro Law Center where he graduated in the top 6% of his class and his B.A. in Political Science from New York University.
About Sharestates
Sharestates is a real estate investment marketplace that allows individual and institutional investors to participate in rigorously vetted debt and equity offerings. All of the offerings on Sharestates’ platform have passed through a 34-point underwriting process.
To compete in the market, Sharestates leverages proprietary technology and a close partnership with The Atlantis Organization, which – founded by Radni Davoodi and Raymond Y. Davoodi in 2004 – has become one of the nation’s leading title agencies. This partnership provides Sharestates with access to and credibility among an expansive network of real estate developers, investors and lenders, cultivated over the course of more than $4 billion in transactions that Atlantis has managed over the years.
Since Sharestates.com launched in 2015, it has closed more than $126 million in origination, across dozens of loans, with zero loss of principal and net annualized returns ranging from 10 to 20 percent. For more information, please visit http://www.sharestates.com.
