Item 1A. Risk Factors.

The following factors may affect our growth and profitability of and should be considered by any prospective purchaser or current holder of our securities:

Risks Related to Our Business

Our loan origination activities, revenues and profits are limited by available funds. If we do not increase our working capital, we will not be able to grow our business.

As a real estate finance company, our revenue and net income is limited to interest received or accrued on our loan portfolio. Our ability to originate real estate loans is limited by the funds at our disposal. At December 31, 2016, we had cash of approximately $1.56 million and $6.9 million of additional borrowing availability under the Bankwell Credit Line. We intend to use these amounts as well as a majority of the net proceeds from the IPO and the proceeds from the repayment of loans outstanding, to originate new real estate loans. However, we cannot assure you that these funds will be sufficient to enable us to fully capitalize on the increase demand for real estate loans that we usually fund.

We operate in a highly competitive market and competition may limit our ability to originate loans with favorable interest rates.

We operate in a highly competitive market and we believe these conditions will persist for the foreseeable future as the financial services industry continues to consolidate, producing larger, better capitalized and more geographically diverse companies with broad product and service offerings. Our existing and potential future competitors include other “hard money” lenders, mortgage REITs, specialty finance companies, savings and loan associations, banks, mortgage banks, insurance companies, mutual funds, pension funds, private equity funds, hedge funds, institutional investors, investment banking firms, non-bank financial institutions, governmental bodies, family offices and high net worth individuals. We may also compete with companies that partner with and/or receive government financing. Many of our competitors are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial, technical, marketing and other resources than we do. In addition, larger and more established competitors may enjoy significant competitive advantages, including enhanced operating efficiencies, more extensive referral networks, greater and more favorable access to investment capital and more desirable lending opportunities. Several of these competitors, including mortgage REITs, have recently raised or are expected to raise, significant amounts of capital, which enables them to make larger loans or a greater number of loans. Some competitors may also have a lower cost of funds and access to funding sources that may not be available to us, such as funding from various governmental agencies or under various governmental programs for which we are not eligible. In addition, some of our competitors may have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments, which could allow them to consider a wider variety of possible loan transactions or to offer more favorable financing terms than we would. Finally, as a REIT and because we operate in a manner to be exempt from the requirements of the Investment Company Act, we may face further restrictions to which some of our competitors may not be subject. For example, we may find that the pool of potential qualified borrowers available to us is limited. We cannot assure you that the competitive pressures we face will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We may change our investment, leverage, financing and operating strategies, policies or procedures without shareholder consent, which may adversely affect the market value of our common shares and our ability to make distributions to shareholders.

Currently, we have no policies in place that limit or restrict our ability to borrow money or raise capital by issuing debt securities. Similarly, we have only a limited number of policies regarding underwriting criteria, loan metrics and operations in general. We may amend or revise our existing policies or adopt new ones, whether the policies relate to growth strategy, operations, indebtedness, capitalization, financing alternatives and underwriting criteria and guidelines, or approve transactions that deviate from our existing policies at any time, without a vote of, or notice to, our shareholders. For example, we may decide that to compete effectively, we should relax our underwriting guidelines and make riskier loans, which could result in a higher default rate on our portfolio. We may also decide to expand our business focus to other targeted asset classes, such as participation interests in mortgage loans, mezzanine loans and subordinate interests in mortgage loans. We could also decide to adopt investment strategies that include securitizing our portfolio, hedging transactions and swaps. We may even decide to broaden our business to include acquisitions of real estate assets, which we may or may not operate. Finally, as the market evolves, we may determine that the residential and commercial real estate markets do not offer the potential for attractive risk-adjusted returns for an investment strategy that is consistent with our intention to elect and qualify to be taxed as a REIT and to operate in a manner to remain exempt from registration under the Investment Company Act. If we believe it would be advisable for us to be a more active seller of loans and securities, we may determine that we should conduct such business through a taxable REIT subsidiary or that we should cease to maintain our REIT qualification. These changes may increase our exposure to interest rate risk, default risk, financing risk and real estate market fluctuations, which could adversely affect our business, operations and financial conditions as well as the market price of our common shares.

Management has broad authority to make lending decisions. If management fails to generate attractive risk-adjusted loans on a consistent basis, our revenue and income could be materially and adversely affected and the market price of a share of our common shares is likely to decrease.

Our senior executives have unrestricted authority to originate, structure and fund loans subject to whatever policies our board of directors have adopted. Thus, management could authorize transactions that may be costly and/or risky, which could result in returns that are substantially below expectations or that result in losses, which would materially and adversely affect our business operations and results. Further, management’s decisions may not fully reflect the best interests of our shareholders. Our board of directors may periodically review our underwriting guidelines but will not, and will not be required to, review all our proposed loans. In conducting periodic reviews, our board of directors will rely primarily on information provided to them by management.

Our future success depends on the continued efforts of our senior executive officers and our ability to attract and retain additional qualified management, marketing, technical, and sales executives and personnel.

Our future success depends to a significant extent on the continued efforts of our co-chief executive officers, Jeffrey C. Villano and John L. Villano. They generate most, if not all, of our loan applications, supervise all aspects of the underwriting and due diligence process in connection with each loan, structure each loan and have absolute authority (subject only to the maximum amount of the loan) as to whether or not to approve the loan. We do not maintain key person life insurance for either of the Villanos. If either one of them is unable or unwilling to continue to serve as an executive officer on a full-time basis, our business and operations may be adversely affected.

As our business grows we will also need to recruit, train and retain additional managerial and administrative personnel as we begin to deploy the net proceeds and grow our business. This includes experienced real estate finance professionals, sales and marketing people, finance and accounting personnel, information technology professionals as well as administrative and clerical staff to support them. In addition, to manage our anticipated development and expansion, we must implement and upgrade our managerial, operational and financial systems and expand our facilities. Due to our limited resources, we may not be able to effectively manage the expansion of our operations or recruit and train additional qualified personnel. The loss of any of our key executives, or the failure to attract, integrate, motivate, and retain additional key personnel could have a material adverse effect on our business. We compete for such personnel against numerous companies, including larger, more established companies with significantly greater financial resources than we possess. This may result in weaknesses in our infrastructure, give rise to operational mistakes, loss of business opportunities, loss of employees and reduced productivity among remaining employees. In addition, our expanded operations could lead to significant incremental operating costs and may divert financial resources from other projects. We cannot assure you that we will be successful in attracting, training, managing or retaining the personnel we need to manage our growth, and the failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial condition, and results of operations. If we cannot effectively manage our expected development and expansion, our expenses may increase more than expected, our ability to increase our revenue and profits could be jeopardized and we may not be able to implement our overall business strategy.

Terrorist attacks and other acts of violence or war may adversely impact the real estate industry generally and our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Over the last few years there have been several high profile and successful terror attacks around the world including in the United States. In addition, over the last several months there have been several violent attacks on law enforcement officers in various cities in the United States. Any future terrorist attacks or a prolonged period of civil unrest, the anticipation of any such attacks, and the consequences of any military or other response by the United States and its allies may have an adverse impact on the U.S. financial markets and the economy in general. We cannot predict the severity of the effect that any such future events would have on the U.S. financial markets, including the real estate capital markets, the economy or our business. Terrorist attacks and prolonged periods of civil unrest could also adversely affect the credit quality of some of our loan portfolio, which could have an adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations and the market price of our common shares.

The enactment of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002, or the TRIA, and the subsequent enactment of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007, which extended TRIA through the end of 2020, requires insurers to make terrorism insurance available under their property and casualty insurance policies to receive federal compensation under TRIA for insured losses. However, this legislation does not regulate the pricing of such insurance. The absence of affordable insurance coverage may adversely affect the general real estate lending market, lending volume and the market’s overall liquidity and may reduce the number of suitable financing opportunities available to us and the pace at which we can make loans. If property owners are unable to obtain affordable insurance coverage, the value of their properties could decline and in the event of an uninsured loss, we could lose all or a portion of our investment.

Security breaches and other disruptions could compromise our information and expose us to liability, which would cause our business and reputation to suffer.

In the ordinary course of our business, we may acquire and store sensitive data on our network, such as our proprietary business information and personally identifiable information of our prospective and current borrowers. The secure processing and maintenance of this information is critical to our business strategy. Despite our security measures, our information technology and infrastructure may be vulnerable to attacks by hackers or breached due to employee error, malfeasance or other disruptions. Any such breach could compromise our networks and the information stored there could be accessed, publicly disclosed, lost or stolen. Any such access, disclosure or other loss of information could result in legal claims or proceedings, liability under laws that protect the privacy of personal information, regulatory penalties, disruption to our operations and the services we provide to customers or damage our reputation, which could materially and adversely affect us.

Risks Related to Our Portfolio

If we overestimate the value the collateral securing the loan, we may experience losses.

Loan decisions are typically made based on the value of the collateral securing the loan rather than the credit of the borrower or the cash flow from the property. We cannot assure you that our assessments will always be accurate or the circumstances relating to the collateral or, for that matter, the borrower, will not change during the loan term, which could lead to losses and write-offs. Losses and write-offs could materially and adversely affect our business, operations and financial condition and the market price of our common shares. As a real estate finance company, we deal with a variety of default situations on a regular basis. As such, we are unable to quantify the number of loans that may, at one time or another, have been in default. Despite its conservative underwriting policy, specifically that the loan-to-value ratio may not exceed 65%, since its inception in December 2010, SCP has foreclosed on one property and acquired eight other properties from five different borrowers who were in default of their obligations to SCP. We cannot assure you that we will be able to avoid foreclosures in the future and that such foreclosures will not have a significant adverse impact on our financial performance and cash flows.

Difficult conditions in the markets for mortgages and mortgage-related assets as well as the broader financial markets have resulted in a significant contraction in liquidity for mortgages and mortgage-related assets, which may adversely affect the value of the assets that we intend to originate.

Our results of operations will be materially affected by conditions in the markets for mortgages and mortgage-related assets as well as the broader financial markets and the economy generally. In recent years, significant adverse changes in financial market conditions have resulted in a decline in real estate values, jeopardizing the performance and viability of many real estate loans. As a result, many traditional mortgage lenders suffered severe losses and several have even failed. This situation has negatively affected both the terms and availability of financing for small non-bank real estate finance companies. This could have an adverse impact on our financial condition, business operations and the price of our common shares.

Short-term loans may involve a greater risk of loss than traditional mortgage loans.

Borrowers usually use the proceeds of a long-term mortgage loan or sale to repay a short-term loan. We may therefore depend on a borrower’s ability to obtain permanent financing or sell the property to repay our loan, which could depend on market conditions and other factors. Short-term loans are also subject to risks of borrower defaults, bankruptcies, fraud, losses and special hazard losses that are not covered by standard hazard insurance. In the event of a default, we bear the risk of loss of principal and non-payment of interest and fees to the extent of any deficiency between the value of the mortgage collateral and the principal amount and unpaid interest of the interim loan. To the extent we suffer such losses with respect to our interim loans, our enterprise value and the price of our common shares may be adversely affected.

We may be subject to “lender liability” claims. Our financial condition could be materially and adversely impacted if we were to be found liable and required to pay damages.

In recent years, several judicial decisions have upheld the right of borrowers to sue lenders on the basis of various evolving legal theories, collectively termed “lender liability.” Generally, lender liability is founded on the premise that a lender has either violated a duty, whether implied or contractual, of good faith and fair dealing owed to the borrower or has assumed a degree of control over the borrower resulting in the creation of a fiduciary duty owed to the borrower or its other creditors or shareholders. We cannot assure you that such claims will not arise or that we will not be subject to significant liability if a claim of this type did arise.

An increase in the rate of prepayment of outstanding loans may have an adverse impact on the value of our portfolio as well as our revenue and income.

The value of our loan portfolio may be affected by prepayment rates and a significant increase in the rate of prepayments could have an adverse impact on our operating results. Recently, SCP has experienced an increase in the rate of prepayments, an indication that banks may be more willing to lend as general economic conditions seem to be improving. Prepayment rates cannot be predicted with certainty and no strategy can completely insulate us from prepayment or other such risks. We do not charge a penalty or premium if a loan is paid off before its maturity date. In periods of declining interest rates, prepayment rates on mortgage and other real estate-related loans generally increase. Repayment proceeds are either invested in new loans or used to pay down bank debt. If we cannot reinvest the proceeds of repayments quickly in new loans with interest rates comparable to the rates on the loans being repaid, our revenue and profits will decline. Although, we also receive origination fees for new loans, we cannot assure that these fees will offset any reduction in the interest rate on the new loan.

The lack of liquidity in our portfolio may adversely affect our business.

The illiquidity of our loan portfolio may make it difficult for us to sell such assets if the need or desire arises. As a result, if we are required to liquidate all or a portion of our portfolio quickly, we may realize significantly less than the outstanding loan balance.

The geographic concentration of our loan portfolio may make our revenues and the values of the mortgages and real estate securing our portfolio vulnerable to adverse changes in local or regional economic conditions.

Under our current business model, we have one asset class — mortgage loans that we originate, underwrite, fund, service and manage — and we have no current plans to diversify. Moreover, most of SCP’s loans — approximately 93% of the aggregate outstanding principal balance at December 31, 2016 — were secured by properties located in Connecticut. The lack of geographical diversification makes our mortgage portfolio more sensitive to local and regional economic conditions. A significant decline in the local or regional economy where the properties are located could result in a greater risk of default compared with the default rate for loans secured by properties in other geographic locations. This could result in a reduction of our revenues and provision for loan loss allowances, which might not be as acute if our loan portfolio were more geographically diverse. Therefore, our loan portfolio is subject to greater risk than other real estate finance companies that have a more diversified asset base and broader geographic footprint. To the extent that our portfolio is concentrated in one region and/or one type of asset, downturns relating generally to such region or type of asset may result in several defaults within a relatively short time period, which may reduce our net income and the market price of our common shares.

A prolonged economic slowdown, a lengthy or severe recession or declining real estate values could impair our investments and harm our operations.

A prolonged economic slowdown, a recession or declining real estate values could impair the performance of our assets and harm our financial condition and results of operations, increase our funding costs, limit our access to the capital markets or result in a decision by lenders not to extend credit to us. Thus, we believe the risks associated with our business will be more severe during periods of economic slowdown or recession because these periods are likely to be accompanied by declining real estate values. Declining real estate values are likely to have one or more of the following adverse consequences:

Any sustained period of increased payment delinquencies, foreclosures or losses could adversely affect both our net interest income from loans in our portfolio as well as our ability to originate new loans, which would materially and adversely affect our results of operations, financial condition, liquidity and the market price of our common shares.

Our due diligence may not reveal all liabilities of a borrower or other risks.

Before making a loan to a borrower, we assess the strength and skills of such entity’s management and other factors that we believe are material to the performance of the loan. In making the assessment and otherwise conducting customary due diligence, we rely on the resources available to us and, in some cases, services provided by third parties. This process is particularly important and subjective with respect to newly organized entities because there may be little or no information publicly available about the entities. There can be no assurance that our due diligence processes will uncover all relevant facts or that the borrower’s circumstances will not change after the loan is funded. In either case, this could adversely impact the performance of the loan and our operating results.

Our loans are typically made to entities to enable them to acquire, develop or renovate residential or commercial property, which may involve a greater risk of loss than loans to individual owners of residential real estate.

We make loans to corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and individuals to fund their acquisition, renovation, rehabilitation, development and/or improvement of residential or commercial real estate held for resale or investment. In many instances, the property is under-utilized, poorly managed, or located in a recovering neighborhood. Thus, these loans may have greater risk than loans to individual property owners with respect to their primary residence or to owners of commercial operating properties because of a variety of factors. For instance, our borrowers usually do not have the need to occupy the property, or an emotional attachment to the property as borrowers of owner-occupied residential properties may have, and therefore they don’t always have the same incentive to avoid foreclosure. Similarly, the properties we loan against may have little or no cash flow. If the neighborhood in which the asset is located fails to recover per the borrower’s projections, or if the borrower fails to improve the quality of the property’s performance and/or the value of the property, the borrower may not receive a sufficient return on the property to satisfy the loan, and we bear the risk that we may not recover some or all of our principal. Finally, there are difficulties associated with collecting debts from entities that may be judgment proof. While we try to mitigate these risks in various ways, including by getting personal guarantees from the principals of the borrower, we cannot assure you that these lending and credit enhancement strategies will be successful.

Our inability to promptly foreclose on defaulted loans could increase our costs and/or losses.

While we have certain rights with respect to the real estate collateral underlying our loans, and rights against the borrower and guarantor(s), in the event of a default there are a variety of factors that may inhibit our ability to enforce our rights to collect the loan, whether through a non-payment action against the borrower, a foreclosure proceeding against the underlying property or a collection or enforcement proceeding against the guarantor. These factors include, without limitation, state foreclosure timelines and deferrals associated therewith (including with respect to litigation); unauthorized occupants living in the property; federal, state or local legislative action or initiatives designed to provide residential property owners with assistance in avoiding foreclosures and that serve to delay the foreclosure process; government programs that require specific procedures to be followed to explore the refinancing of a residential mortgage loan prior to the commencement of a foreclosure proceeding; and continued declines in real estate values and sustained high levels of unemployment that increase the number of foreclosures and place additional pressure on the already overburdened judicial and administrative systems. In short, foreclosure of a mortgage loan can be an expensive and lengthy process that could have a substantial negative effect on our anticipated return on the foreclosed mortgage loan. In addition, in the event of the bankruptcy of the borrower or guarantor, we may not have full recourse to the assets of the borrower, or the assets of the borrower or the guarantor may not be sufficient to satisfy the debt.

None of our loans are funded with interest reserves and our borrowers may be unable to pay the interest accruing on the loans when due, which could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition.

Our loans are not funded with an interest reserve. Thus, we rely on the borrowers to make interest payments as and when due from other sources of cash. Given the fact that many of the properties securing our loans are not income producing or even cash producing and most of the borrowers are entities with no assets other than the single property that is the subject of the loan, some of our borrowers have considerable difficulty servicing our loans and the risk of a non-payment of default is considerable. We depend on the borrower’s ability to refinance the loan at maturity or sell the property for repayment. If the borrower is unable to repay the loan, together with all the accrued interest, at maturity, our operating results and cash flows would be materially and adversely affected.

Interest rate fluctuations could reduce our ability to generate income and may cause losses.

Our primary interest rate exposure relates to the yield on our loan portfolio and the financing cost of our debt. Our operating results depend, in part, on differences between the interest income generated by our loan portfolio net of credit losses and our financing costs. This exposure is exacerbated by the fact that the interest rates on our loans are fixed throughout the term of the loan, which is generally three years, while the interest rate on our debt is variable and changes every time there is a change in the prime rate. Changes in interest rates will affect our revenue and net income in one or more of the following ways:

In December 2016, the United States Federal Reserve Board (the “Fed”) raised its targeted federal funds rate 25 basis points, or 0.25%. As a result, the interest rate on the Bankwell Credit Line was increased from 6.50% to 6.75% as of December 16, 2016. In March, 2017, the Fed again raised the its targeted federal funds rate 0.25 basis points, resulting in another increase to our borrowing rate. In addition, the Fed confirmed that it intends to continue to raise interest rates gradually throughout 2017. Further increases in interest rates will increase our borrowing costs. As interest rates continue to rise, we believe our investors will expect a concomitant increase in yield on their investment. If rates increase gradually, we believe we will be able to pass along these increases to our borrowers under new loans and thus satisfy the expectations of our investors. However, if rates increase rapidly or the periodic increases are significant, we may not be able to increase our lending rate quickly enough to satisfy the expectations of the investment community. Further, all our loans are fixed rate obligations and we cannot unilaterally increase the interest rates on our outstanding loans. Therefore, with respect to our existing portfolio, the “spread” between the interest we receive and the cost of funds to finance these loans, will shrink, which will adversely impact our net income. This could lead to a decrease in the market price of our common shares. To date, we have not raised rates on our loans to match the increases in our borrowing rate, as we originally intended. After considering the pros and cons of increasing our rates and considering our relatively low level of debt following our IPO, we believe the better strategy for now is to focus on building market share rather than short-term profits and cash flow. This could have an adverse impact on our profits and cash flow in the short-term. In addition, we cannot assure that we will be able to increase our rates at any time in the future.

Liability relating to environmental matters may adversely impact the value of properties securing our loans.

Under various U.S. federal, state and local laws, an owner or operator of real property may become liable for the costs of removal of certain hazardous substances released on its property. These laws often impose liability without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the release of such hazardous substances. The presence of hazardous substances may adversely affect an owner’s ability to sell real estate or borrow using real estate as collateral. To the extent that an owner of a property underlying one of our debt instruments becomes liable for removal costs, the ability of the owner to make payments to us may be reduced, which in turn may adversely affect the value of the relevant mortgage asset held by us and our ability to make distributions to our shareholders. If we acquire any properties by foreclosure or otherwise, the presence of hazardous substances on a property may adversely affect our ability to sell the property and we may incur substantial remediation costs, thus harming our financial condition. The discovery of material environmental liabilities attached to such properties could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition and the market price of our common shares.

Defaults on our loans may cause declines in revenues and net income. The impact of defaults may be exacerbated by the fact that we do not carry loan loss reserves.

Defaults by borrowers could result in one or more of the following adverse consequences:

As a result, we will have less cash available for paying our other operating expenses and for making distributions to our shareholders. This would have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common shares. Based on experience and periodic evaluation of its loan portfolio, at each of December 31, 2016 and 2015, SCP did not have a loan loss reserve. A loss with respect to all or a portion of a loan in our portfolio in excess of our reserve will have an immediate and adverse impact on our net income. The valuation process of our loan portfolio requires us to make certain estimates and judgments, which are particularly difficult to determine during a period in which the availability of real estate credit is limited and real estate transactions have decreased. These estimates and judgments are based on several factors, including projected cash flows from the collateral securing our mortgage loans, if any, loan structure, including the availability of reserves and recourse guarantees, likelihood of repayment in full at the maturity of a loan, the relative strength or weakness of the refinancing market and expected market discount rates for varying property types. If our estimates and judgments are not correct, our results of operations and financial condition could be severely impacted.

Our revenues and the value of our portfolio may be negatively affected by casualty events occurring on properties securing our loans.

We require our borrowers to obtain, for our benefit, all risk property insurance covering the property and any improvements to the property collateralizing our loan in an amount intended to be sufficient to provide for the cost of replacement in the event of casualty. However, the amount of insurance coverage maintained for any property may not be sufficient to pay the full replacement cost following a casualty event. Furthermore, there are certain types of losses, such as those arising from earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and terrorist attacks, that may be uninsurable or that may not be economically feasible to insure. Changes in zoning, building codes and ordinances, environmental considerations and other factors may make it impossible for our borrowers to use insurance proceeds to replace damaged or destroyed improvements at a property. If any of these or similar events occur, the amount of coverage may not be sufficient to replace a damaged or destroyed property and/or to repay in full the amount due on loans collateralized by such property. Thus, our returns and the value of our investment may be reduced.

Borrower concentration could lead to significant losses, which could have a material adverse impact on our operating results and financial condition.

As of December 31, 2016, no single borrower or group of affiliated borrowers accounted for more than 5% of SCP’s loan portfolio. At December 31, 2015, two borrowers each accounted for more than 5% of SCP’s loan portfolio, one of whom was JJV. Concentration of loans to a limited number of borrowers or a group of affiliated borrowers poses a significant risk, as a default by a borrower on one loan or by one borrower in a group of affiliates is likely to result in a default by the borrower on other loans or by other borrowers in the group. We will attempt to mitigate this risk by adopting a policy that the total amount of loans outstanding to any single borrower or group of affiliated borrowers may not exceed more than 10% of our loan portfolio after taking into account the loan under consideration. In addition, we will also adopt a policy precluding loans to related parties unless such loans are on terms no less favorable to us than similar loans to unrelated third parties taking into account all of our underwriting criteria and that such loan has been approved by a majority of our independent directors.

Risks Related to Financing Transactions

Our existing credit line has numerous covenants with which we must comply. If we are unable to comply with these covenants, the outstanding amount of the loan could become due and payable and we may have to sell off a portion of our loan portfolio to pay off the debt.

The Bankwell Credit Line contains various covenants and restrictions that are typical for these kinds of credit facilities, including limiting the amount that we can borrow relative to the value of the underlying collateral, maintaining various financial ratios and limitations on the terms of loans we make to our customers. Under the terms of the Bankwell Credit Line, the amount outstanding at any one time may not exceed the lesser of (i) $15.0 million and (ii) our Eligible Note Receivables (as defined in the Line of Credit Agreement). In addition, each “Advance” is further limited to the lesser of (i) 50% – 75%, depending on the loan-to-value ratio, of the principal amount of the particular Eligible Note Receivable being funded and (ii) $250,000. In addition, to qualify as an “Eligible Note Receivable,” any loan with an original principal amount exceeding $325,000 requires an independent appraisal of the property securing such loan. As of December 31, 2016, we estimate that loans having an aggregate principal amount of approximately $19.6 million, representing approximately 58.2% of SCP’s mortgage receivables as of that date, satisfied all of the eligibility criteria under the Bankwell Credit Line. As of December 31, 2016, the total amount outstanding under the Bankwell Credit Line was approximately $8.1 million leaving us with sufficient borrowing capacity to draw down the full amount of the credit line if we so choose. However, given the nature of our business, we cannot assure you that we will always be able to borrow the maximum allowed under the terms of the Bankwell Credit Line.

These limitations include the following:

Loan covenants include the following:

The loan agreement also includes the following covenants:

If we fail to meet or satisfy any of these covenants, we would be in default under our agreement with Bankwell, and Bankwell could elect to declare outstanding amounts due and payable, terminate its commitments to us, require us to post additional collateral and/or enforce their interests against existing collateral. Acceleration of our debt to Bankwell could also make it difficult for us to satisfy the qualification requirements necessary to maintain our status as a REIT, significantly reduce our liquidity or require us to sell our assets to repay amounts due and outstanding. This would significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and ability to make distributions and could result in the foreclosure of our assets which secure our obligations, which could cause the value of our capital shares to decline. A default could also significantly limit our financing alternatives such that we would be unable to pursue our leverage strategy, which could adversely affect our returns.

If we default and Bankwell accelerates the loan we would have to repay the debt immediately from our working capital ( i.e., proceeds from loan repayments), proceeds from the sale of all or a portion of our loan portfolio or debt or equity securities, or refinance with another lender. We cannot assure you that we would be able to replace the Bankwell Credit Line on similar terms or on any terms. If we must sell a portion of our loan portfolio, the amount we realize may be less than the face amount of the loans sold, resulting in a loss. If we sell a portion of our portfolio or use proceeds from loan repayments to pay the Bankwell debt, our opportunities to grow our business will be negatively impacted.

Our access to financing may be limited and, thus, our ability to maximize our returns may be adversely affected.

Our ability to grow and compete may also depend on our ability to borrow money to leverage our loan portfolio and to build and manage the cost of expanding our infrastructure to manage and service a larger loan portfolio. The Bankwell Credit Line prohibits us from incurring additional indebtedness exceeding $100,000 in the aggregate without Bankwell’s consent. Even if Bankwell does consent, we cannot assure you that a subsequent financing source would agree to any conditions that Bankwell may impose and insist upon.

In general, the amount, type and cost of any financing that we obtain from another financial institution will have a direct impact on our revenue and expenses and, therefore, can positively or negatively affect our financial results. The percentage of leverage we employ will vary depending on our assessment of a variety of factors, which may include the anticipated liquidity and price volatility of our existing portfolio, the potential for losses and extension risk in our portfolio, the gap between the size and duration of our assets and liabilities, the availability and cost of financing, our opinion as to the creditworthiness of our financing counterparties, the health of the U.S. economy and commercial mortgage markets, our outlook for the level, slope, and volatility of interest rates, the credit quality of our borrowers and the collateral underlying our assets.

Our access to financing will depend upon a number of factors, over which we have little or no control, including:

Continuing weakness in the capital and credit markets could adversely affect our ability to secure financing on favorable terms or at all. In addition, if regulatory capital requirements imposed on lenders change, they may be required to limit, or increase the cost of, financing they provide to us. In general, this could potentially increase our financing costs and reduce our liquidity or require us to sell loans at an inopportune time or price.

We cannot assure you that we will always have access to structured financing arrangements when needed. If structured financing arrangements are not available to us we may have to rely on equity issuances, which may be dilutive to our shareholders, or on less efficient forms of debt financing that require a larger portion of our cash flow from operations, thereby reducing funds available for our operations, future business opportunities, cash distributions to our shareholders and other purposes. We cannot assure you that we will have access to such equity or debt capital on favorable terms (including, without limitation, cost and term) at the desired times, or at all, which may cause us to curtail our lending activities and/or dispose of loans in our portfolio, which could negatively affect our results of operations.

We have no formal corporate policy and none of our governance documents limit our ability to borrow money. Our use of leverage may adversely affect the return on our assets and may reduce cash available for distribution to our shareholders, as well as increase losses when economic conditions are unfavorable.

Although our agreement with Bankwell restricts our ability to incur additional indebtedness exceeding $100,000 in the aggregate, we do not have a formal corporate policy limiting the amount of debt we may incur and none of our governing documents contain any limitation on the amount of leverage we may use. Thus, we may significantly increase the amount of our indebtedness and the leverage we utilize at any time without approval of our shareholders. In addition, we may leverage individual assets at substantially higher levels. Incurring substantial debt could subject us to many risks that, if realized, would materially and adversely affect us, including the risk that:

Risks Related to REIT Status and Investment Company Act Exemption

We have no experience operating as a REIT or managing a portfolio of assets in the manner necessary to maintain an exemption under the Investment Company Act, which may hinder our ability to achieve our business objectives or result in the loss of our qualification as a REIT.

We have no experience converting to a REIT and none of our executive officers have any experience managing a loan portfolio under a set of complex laws, rules and regulations or operating a business in compliance with a set of technical limitations and restrictions as those applicable to REITs. Similarly, we have no experience operating under or avoiding being subject to the Investment Company Act. As a result, we are subject to all of the customary business risks and uncertainties associated with any new business, including the risk that we will not achieve our objectives and, as a result, the value of our common shares could decline substantially. The rules and regulations applicable to REITs under the Code are highly technical and complex and the failure to comply with these rules and regulations in a timely manner could prevent us from qualifying as a REIT or could force us to pay unexpected taxes and penalties. In addition, we will be required to develop and implement or invest in substantial control systems and procedures to maintain our qualification as a public REIT. As a result, we cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully operate as a REIT or comply with rules and regulations applicable to REITs, which would substantially reduce our earnings and may reduce the market value of our common shares. In addition, to maintain our exemption from registration under the Investment Company Act, the assets in our portfolio will be subject to certain restrictions, which will limit our operations meaningfully.

Complying with REIT requirements may hinder our ability to maximize profits, which would reduce the amount of cash available to be distributed to our shareholders. This could have an adverse impact on the price of our shares.

To maintain our qualification as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we must continually satisfy tests concerning among other things, the composition of our assets, our sources of income, the amounts we distribute to our shareholders and the ownership of our capital shares. Specifically, we must ensure that at the end of each calendar quarter at least 75% of the value of our assets consists of cash, cash items, government securities and qualified REIT real estate assets. The remainder of our investment in securities cannot include more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer or more than 10% of the total value of the outstanding securities of such issuer. In addition, no more than 5% of the value of our assets can consist of the securities of any one issuer, other than a qualified REIT security. If we fail to comply with these requirements, we must dispose of the portion of our assets exceeding such amounts within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter in order to avoid losing our REIT status and suffering adverse tax consequences. In such event, we may be forced to sell non-qualifying assets at less than their fair market value. As a result of these requirements, our operating costs may increase to ensure compliance. For example, as a REIT, we may depend to a much greater extent than we currently do on communications and information systems. We may have to upgrade our existing systems to monitor a larger portfolio of loans, to track our revenue to make sure we do not inadvertently fail the revenue requirements for a REIT and to make sure that we distribute the requisite amount of our income to shareholders. In addition, we expect our operating expenses to increase as a result of our conversion to a REIT, becoming a publicly-held reporting company and anticipated growth and we cannot assure you that we will be able to sustain our profitability at our historical levels. In addition, we may also be required to make distributions to shareholders at times when we do not have funds readily available for distribution or are otherwise not optional for us. Accordingly, compliance with REIT requirements may hinder our ability to operate solely on the basis of maximizing profits.

Our failure to qualify or to remain qualified as a REIT would subject us to U.S. federal income tax and applicable state and local taxes, which would reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to our shareholders.

We intend to operate in a manner that will enable us to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes commencing with our 2017 tax year or as soon as practicable thereafter. While we believe that we will qualify as a REIT after the consummation of the IPO, we have not requested and do not intend to request a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), that we do or will qualify as a REIT. The U.S. federal income tax laws and the Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder governing REITs are complex. In addition, judicial and administrative interpretations of the U.S. federal income tax laws governing REIT qualification are limited. To qualify as a REIT, we must meet, on an ongoing basis, various tests regarding the nature of our assets and our income, the ownership of our outstanding shares, and the amount of our distributions. Our ability to satisfy the asset tests depends on our analysis of the characterization and fair market values of our assets, some of which are not susceptible to a precise determination, and for which we will not obtain independent appraisals. Our compliance with the REIT income and quarterly asset requirements also depends on our ability to successfully manage the composition of our income and assets on an ongoing basis. Moreover, new legislation, court decisions or administrative guidance, in each case possibly with retroactive effect, may make it more difficult or impossible for us to qualify as a REIT. Thus, while we intend to operate so that we will continue to qualify as a REIT, given the highly complex nature of the rules governing REITs, the ongoing importance of factual determinations, and the possibility of future changes in our circumstances, no assurance can be given that we will so qualify for any particular year. These considerations also might restrict the types of assets that we can acquire in the future.

If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, and we do not qualify for certain statutory relief provisions, we would be required to pay U.S. federal income tax on our taxable income, and distributions to our shareholders would not be deductible by us in determining our taxable income. In such a case, we might need to borrow money or sell assets to pay our taxes. Our payment of income tax would decrease the amount of our income available for distribution to our shareholders. Furthermore, if we fail to maintain our qualification as a REIT, we no longer would be required to distribute substantially all our taxable income to our shareholders. In addition, unless we were eligible for certain statutory relief provisions, we could not re-elect to qualify as a REIT until the fifth calendar year following the year in which we failed to qualify.

REIT distribution requirements could adversely affect our ability to execute our business plan and may require us to incur debt or sell assets to make such distributions.

To qualify as a REIT, we must distribute to our shareholders, each calendar year, at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (including certain items of non-cash income), determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding net capital gain. To the extent that we satisfy the 90% distribution requirement, but distribute less than 100% of our taxable income, we are subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on our undistributed income. In addition, we will incur a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the amount, if any, by which our distributions in any calendar year are less than a minimum amount specified under U.S. federal income tax laws. We intend to distribute our net income to our shareholders in a manner that will satisfy the REIT 90% distribution requirement and to avoid the 4% nondeductible excise tax.

Our ability to pay dividends, the amount of the dividend and the frequency at which we will pay dividends is subject to numerous factors, including the following:

Our taxable income may substantially exceed our net income as determined by U.S. GAAP and differences in timing between the recognition of taxable income and the actual receipt of cash may occur. For example, we may be required to accrue interest and discount income on mortgage loans before we receive any payments of interest or principal on such assets. We may be required under the terms of the indebtedness that we incur, to use cash received from interest payments to make principal payments on that indebtedness, with the effect that we will recognize income but will not have a corresponding amount of cash available for distribution to our shareholders.

As a result of the foregoing, we may generate less cash flow than taxable income in a particular year and find it difficult or impossible to meet the REIT distribution requirements in certain circumstances. In such circumstances, we may be required to: (i) sell assets in adverse market conditions, (ii) borrow on unfavorable terms, (iii) distribute amounts that would otherwise be invested in future acquisitions, capital expenditures or repayment of debt, (iv) make a taxable distribution of our shares as part of a distribution in which shareholders may elect to receive shares or (subject to a limit measured as a percentage of the total distribution) cash or (v) use cash reserves, in order to comply with the REIT distribution requirements and to avoid corporate income tax and the 4% nondeductible excise tax. Thus, compliance with the REIT distribution requirements may hinder our ability to grow, which could adversely affect the value of our common shares.

Even if we qualify as a REIT, we may face tax liabilities that reduce our cash flow.

As a REIT, we may be subject to certain U.S. federal, state and local taxes on our income and assets, including taxes on any undistributed income, tax on income from some activities conducted as a result of a foreclosure, and state or local income, franchise, property and transfer taxes, including mortgage recording taxes. In addition, to meet the REIT qualification requirements, or to avoid the imposition of a 100% tax that applies to certain gains derived by a REIT from sales of inventory or property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business, we may create “taxable REIT subsidiaries” to hold some of our assets. Any taxes paid by such subsidiary corporations would decrease the cash available for distribution to our shareholders.

Our qualification as a REIT may depend on the accuracy of legal opinions or advice rendered or given and the inaccuracy of any such opinions, advice or statements may adversely affect our REIT qualification and result in significant corporate-level tax.

In determining whether we qualify as a REIT, we may rely on opinions or advice of counsel as to whether certain types of assets that we hold or acquire are deemed REIT real estate assets for purposes of the REIT asset tests and produce income which qualifies under the 75% REIT gross income test. The inaccuracy of any such opinions, advice or statements may adversely affect our REIT qualification and result in significant corporate-level tax.

We may choose to make distributions in our common shares, in which case you may be required to pay income taxes in excess of the cash dividends you receive.

We may distribute taxable dividends that are payable in cash and/or common shares at the election of each shareholder. Shareholders receiving such dividends will be required to include the full amount of the dividend as ordinary income. As a result, shareholders may be required to pay income taxes with respect to such dividends in excess of the cash portion of the dividend. Accordingly, shareholders receiving a distribution of shares may be required to sell those shares or may be required to sell other assets they own at a time that may be disadvantageous to satisfy any tax imposed on the distribution they receive from us. If a shareholder sells the common shares that he or she receives as a dividend to pay this tax, the sales proceeds may be less than the amount included in income with respect to the dividend, depending on the market price of a share of our common shares at the time of the sale. Furthermore, with respect to certain non-U.S. shareholders, we may be required to withhold U.S. tax with respect to such dividends, including in respect of all or a portion of such dividend that is payable in shares, by withholding or disposing of some of the common shares in the distribution and using the proceeds of such disposition to satisfy the withholding tax imposed. In addition, if a significant number of our shareholders determine to sell their common shares to pay taxes owed on dividends, such sale may adversely impact the market price of our common shares.

Dividends payable by REITs do not qualify for the reduced tax rates on dividend income from regular corporations, which could adversely affect the value of our common shares.

Dividends payable by REITs are not eligible for the reduced rates generally applicable to dividends but are taxed at the same rate as ordinary income. Although the reduced U.S. federal income tax rate applicable to dividend income from regular corporate dividends does not adversely affect the taxation of REITs or dividends paid by REITs, the more favorable rates applicable to regular corporate dividends could cause investors who are individuals, trusts and estates to perceive investments in REITs to be relatively less attractive than investments in the stocks of non-REIT corporations that pay dividends. This could have an adverse impact on the market price of our common shares.

Liquidation of our assets may jeopardize our REIT qualification.

To qualify as a REIT, we must comply with requirements regarding our assets and our sources of income. If we are compelled to liquidate our assets to repay obligations to our lenders, we may be unable to comply with these requirements, thereby jeopardizing our qualification as a REIT. In addition, we may be subject to a 100% tax on any gain realized from the sale of assets that are treated as inventory or property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business.

The ownership restrictions set forth in our certificate of incorporation, as amended, may not prevent five or fewer shareholders from owning 50% or more of our outstanding shares of capital shares causing us to lose our status as a REIT. This loss of status may inhibit market activity in our common shares and restrict our business combination opportunities.

To qualify as a REIT, not more than 50% in value of our outstanding capital shares may be owned, directly or indirectly, by five or fewer individuals (as defined in the Code to include certain entities) at any time during the last half of each taxable year, and at least 100 persons must beneficially own shares of our capital stock during at least 335 days of a taxable year of 12 months, or during a proportionate portion of a shorter taxable year. To help insure that we meet the tests, our certificate of incorporation, as amended, restricts the acquisition and ownership of our capital shares. The ownership limitation is fixed at 4.99% of our outstanding capital shares, by value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive. Our co-chief executive officers, Jeffrey C. Villano and John L. Villano, are exempt from this restriction. Jeffrey C. Villano and John L. Villano beneficially owned 17.34% and 12.62%, respectively, of our outstanding common shares. In addition, our board of directors may grant such an exemption to such limitations in its sole discretion, subject to such conditions, representations and undertakings as it may determine. These ownership limits could delay or prevent a transaction or a change in control of our company that might involve a premium price for our common shares or otherwise be in the best interest of our shareholders.

The tax on prohibited transactions may limit our ability to engage in transactions that may be beneficial to us and/or our shareholders.

A REIT’s net income from prohibited transactions is subject to a 100% tax. In general, prohibited transactions are sales or other dispositions of property, other than foreclosure property, but including mortgage loans, held as inventory or primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. We might be subject to this tax if we were to sell or securitize loans in a manner that was treated as a sale of the loans as inventory for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Although we have no plans to sell any of our loans, in the future we may need to sell all or a portion of our portfolio to raise funds, reduce our exposure to certain risks or for other reasons. In such event, to avoid the prohibited transactions tax, we may be required to structure the sales in ways that may be less beneficial than we would if we were not a REIT.

We may be subject to adverse legislative or regulatory tax changes that could adversely impact the market price of our common shares.

At any time, the U.S. federal income tax laws or regulations governing REITs or the administrative interpretations of those laws or regulations may be changed, possibly with retroactive effect. We cannot predict if or when any new U.S. federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation, or any amendment to any existing U.S. federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation, will be adopted, promulgated or become effective or whether any such law, regulation or interpretation may take effect retroactively. We and our shareholders could be adversely affected by any such change in, or any new, U.S. federal income tax law, regulation or administrative interpretation.

We may be unable to generate sufficient cash flows from our operations to make distributions to our shareholders at any time in the future.

As a REIT, we are required to distribute to our shareholders at least 90% of our taxable income each year. We intend to satisfy this requirement through quarterly distributions of all or substantially all our REIT taxable income in such year, subject to certain adjustments. Our ability to make distributions may be adversely affected by various factors, including the risk factors described herein. If we make distributions from the proceeds of the IPO, which would generally be considered a return of capital for tax purposes, our future earnings and cash available for distribution may be reduced from what they otherwise would have been. All distributions will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on various factors, including our earnings, our financial condition, our liquidity, our debt covenants, maintenance of our REIT qualification, applicable provisions of the BCL, and other factors as our board of directors may deem relevant from time to time. We believe that a change in any one of the following factors could adversely affect our results of operations and impair our ability to pay distributions to our shareholders:

A change in any of these factors could affect our ability to make distributions. As a result, we cannot assure you that we will be able to make distributions to our shareholders at any time in the future or that the level of any distributions we do make to our shareholders will achieve a market yield or increase or even be maintained over time, any of which could materially and adversely affect us.

In addition, distributions that we make to our shareholders will generally be taxable to our shareholders as ordinary income. However, a portion of our distributions may be designated by us as long-term capital gains to the extent that they are attributable to capital gain income recognized by us or may constitute a return of capital to the extent that they exceed our earnings and profits as determined for tax purposes. A return of capital is not taxable, but has the effect of reducing the basis of a shareholder’s investment in our common shares.

We could be materially and adversely affected if we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act.

We intend to conduct our business in a manner that will qualify for the exception from the Investment Company Act set forth in Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the Investment Company Act. The SEC generally requires that, for the exception provided by Section 3(c)(5)(C) to be available, at least 55% of an entity’s assets be comprised of mortgages and other liens on and interests in real estate, also known as “qualifying interests,” and at least another 25% of the entity’s assets must be comprised of additional qualifying interests or real estate-type interests (with no more than 20% of the entity’s assets comprised of miscellaneous assets). Any significant acquisition by us of non-real estate assets without the acquisition of substantial real estate assets could cause us to meet the definitions of an “investment company.” If we are deemed to be an investment company, we could be required to dispose of non-real estate assets or a portion thereof, potentially at a loss, to qualify for the 3(c)(5)(C) exception. We may also be required to register as an investment company if we are unable to dispose of the disqualifying assets, which could have a material adverse effect on us.

Registration under the Investment Company Act would require us to comply with a variety of substantive requirements that impose, among other things:

If we were required to register as an investment company but failed to do so, we could be prohibited from engaging in our business, and criminal and civil actions could be brought against us.

Registration with the SEC as an investment company would be costly, would subject us to a host of complex regulations and would divert attention from the conduct of our business, which could materially and adversely affect us. In addition, if we purchase or sell any real estate assets to avoid becoming an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our net asset value, the amount of funds available for investment and our ability to pay distributions to our shareholders could be materially adversely affected.

Risks Related to Our Common Shares

Management has significant influence over all matters submitted to shareholders for approval and may act in a manner that conflicts with the interests of other shareholders.

John L. Villano and Jeffrey C. Villano, our co-chief executive officers, beneficially own 12.62% and 17.34%, respectively, of our common shares. Thus, Messrs. Villano will have significant influence over all corporate actions, including the election of directors and all other matters requiring shareholder approval, whether pursuant to the BCL or our certificate of incorporation, as amended. This concentration of ownership, particularly in light of the ownership limitations imposed on other shareholders, could have an adverse impact on the market price of our common shares.

Our financial statements may be materially affected if our estimates prove to be inaccurate.

Financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) require the use of estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts. Different estimates, judgments and assumptions reasonably could be used that would have a material effect on the financial statements, and changes in these estimates, judgments and assumptions are likely to occur from period to period in the future. Significant areas of accounting requiring the application of management’s judgment include, but are not limited to, assessing the adequacy of the allowance for loan losses. These estimates, judgments and assumptions are inherently uncertain, and, if they prove to be wrong, then we face the risk that charges to income will be required. For example, currently, we do not carry any loan loss reserves. However, a decline in economic condition could negatively impact the credit quality of our loan portfolio and require us to establish loan loss reserves, which could have an adverse impact on our net income. In addition, because we have limited operating history as a REIT and limited experience in making these estimates, judgments and assumptions, the risk of future charges to income may be greater than if we had more experience in these areas. Any such charges could significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities.

We will incur increased costs associated with, and our management will need to devote substantial time and effort to, compliance with public company reporting and other requirements.

We expect our operating expenses to increase significantly over the next 12 months relative to prior years. As a publicly-held reporting company and a REIT, we expect to incur significant legal, accounting and other expenses, such as exchange listing fees, filing, printing and mailing expenses, transfer agent fees, and others, that we did not incur as a private company. For example, we will be required to, among other things, file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business and operating results. In addition, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of the NYSE MKT and other applicable securities rules and regulations impose various requirements on public companies, including establishment and maintenance of effective disclosure and financial controls and corporate governance practices. Furthermore, as a corporation we will incur various costs and expenses that SCP did not incur as a limited liability company, such as director fees, directors’ and officers’ insurance and state and local franchise taxes. In addition, in lieu of paying a management fees to our manager, JJV, we will incur significant compensation and other employee-related expenses (cash and non-cash) for services rendered by our senior executive officers. Finally, certain operating expenses that were paid by JJV, such as rent, will be paid by us directly.

Our management and other personnel will be required to devote a substantial amount of time to these compliance initiatives. Moreover, these rules and regulations are likely to cause our operating costs and expenses to increase and will make certain activities more time-consuming and costly. We may need to hire additional accounting and finance personnel with appropriate public company experience and technical accounting knowledge, and it may be difficult to recruit and maintain such personnel. We cannot yet predict or estimate the costs we may incur in the future with respect to these compliance initiatives or the timing of such costs. In addition, these rules and regulations are often subject to varying interpretations, in many cases due to their lack of specificity, and, as a result, their application in practice may evolve over time as new guidance is provided by regulatory and governing bodies. This could result in continuing uncertainty regarding compliance matters and higher costs necessitated by ongoing revisions to disclosure and governance practices.

There has never been, and there may never be, an active and orderly trading market for our common shares.

Our common shares first began to trade on the NYSE MKT on February 10, 2017. However, we cannot assure you that an active trading market for our common shares will develop or be sustained. As a result, investors in our common shares must be able to bear the economic risk of holding those shares for an indefinite period of time. In addition, we cannot assure that we will, in the future, continue to meet the listing standards of the NYSE MKT or those of any other national securities exchange, in which case our common shares may be “delisted.” In that event, our common shares will be quoted on an-over-the-counter quotation system. In those venues, you may find it difficult to obtain accurate quotations as to the market value of your common shares and it may be difficult to find buyers to purchase your common shares and relatively few market makers to support its price. As a result of these and other factors, you may be unable to resell your common shares at or above the price for which you purchased them, or at all. Further, an inactive market may also impair our ability to raise capital by selling additional equity in the future, and may impair our ability to enter into strategic partnerships or acquire companies or products by using our common shares as consideration.

The price for our common shares may be influenced by numerous factors, many of which are beyond our control, resulting in extreme volatility.

The trading price of our common shares is likely to be highly volatile, and could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. In addition to the factors discussed in this “Risk Factors” section and elsewhere herein, these factors include:

In addition, the stock market in general, and the stocks of real estate related companies, including REITs, have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of these companies. Broad market and industry factors may negatively affect the market price of our common shares, regardless of our actual operating performance. The realization of any of the above risks or any of a broad range of other risks, including those described in these “Risk Factors,” could have a dramatic and material adverse impact on the market price of our common shares.

FINRA sales practice requirements may limit your ability to buy and sell our common shares.

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA, has adopted rules requiring that, in recommending an investment to a customer, a broker-dealer must have reasonable grounds for believing that the investment is suitable for that customer. Prior to recommending speculative or low-priced securities to their non-institutional customers, broker-dealers must make reasonable efforts to obtain information about the customer’s financial status, tax status, investment objectives and other information. Under interpretations of these rules, FINRA has indicated its belief that there is a high probability that speculative or low-priced securities will not be suitable for at least some customers. Because these FINRA requirements are applicable to our common shares, they may make it more difficult for broker-dealers to recommend that at least some of their customers buy our common shares, which may limit the ability of our shareholders to buy and sell our common shares and could have an adverse effect on the market for and price of our common shares.

If securities or industry analysts do not publish research or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, our stock price and any trading volume could decline.

Any trading market for our common shares that may develop will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us or our business. Securities and industry analysts do not currently, and may never, publish research on us or our business. If no securities or industry analysts commence coverage of us, the trading price for our common shares could be negatively affected. If securities or industry analysts initiate coverage, and one or more of those analysts downgrade our common shares or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the price of our common shares would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease to cover us or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our common shares could decrease, which might cause a decline in the price and trading volume of our common shares.

We have a substantial number of shares of authorized but unissued capital stock, and if we issue additional shares of our capital stock in the future, our existing shareholders will be diluted.

Our certificate of incorporation, as amended, authorizes the issuance of up to 50,000,000 common shares and up to 5,000,000 preferred shares with the rights, preferences and privileges that our board of directors may determine from time to time. As of the date of this report, we have no preferred shares outstanding and 11,103,237 common shares issued and outstanding, which represents approximately 22% of our total authorized common shares. In addition to capital raising activities, which we expect to continue to pursue in order to raise the funding we will need in order to continue our operations, other possible business and financial uses for our authorized capital stock include, without limitation, future stock splits, acquiring other companies, businesses or products in exchange for shares of our capital stock, issuing shares of our capital stock to partners or other collaborators in connection with strategic alliances, attracting and retaining employees by the issuance of additional securities under our equity compensation plans, or other transactions and corporate purposes that our board of directors deems are in our best interests. Additionally, shares of our capital stock could be used for anti-takeover purposes or to delay or prevent changes in control to our management. Any future issuances of shares of our capital stock may not be made on favorable terms or at all, they may not enhance shareholder value, they may have rights, preferences and privileges that are superior to those of our common shares, and they may have an adverse effect on our business or the trading price of our common shares. The issuance of any additional common shares will reduce the book value per share and may contribute to a reduction in the market price of the outstanding common shares. Additionally, any such issuance will reduce the proportionate ownership and voting power of all our current shareholders.

We are an “emerging growth company,” and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies may make our common shares less attractive to investors.

We are an “emerging growth company,” as defined in the JOBS Act, and may remain an emerging growth company for up to five years. For so long as we remain an emerging growth company, we are permitted and intend to rely on exemptions from certain disclosure requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. These exemptions include:

We have taken advantage of reduced reporting burdens herein. For example, in this report, we have not included all the executive compensation related information that would be required if we were not an emerging growth company. We cannot predict whether investors will find our common shares less attractive if we rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common shares less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common shares and our stock price may be more volatile.

We have elected to avail ourselves of the extended transition period for adopting new or revised accounting standards available to emerging growth companies under the JOBS Act and will, therefore, not be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies, which could make our common shares less attractive to investors.

The JOBS Act provides that an emerging growth company can take advantage of exemption from various reporting requirements applicable to other public companies and an extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards. This allows an emerging growth company to delay the adoption of these accounting standards until they would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to avail ourselves of these exemptions and the extended transition periods for adopting new or revised accounting standards and therefore, we will not be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. As a result, our financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with public company effective dates. We intend to avail ourselves of these options. Once adopted, we must continue to report on that basis until we no longer qualify as an emerging growth company. We cannot predict whether investors will find our stock less attractive as a result of this election. If some investors find our common shares less attractive as a result of this election, there may be a less active trading market for our common shares and our stock price may be more volatile.

As a publicly-held, reporting company, we expect to incur significantly increased costs and that management must devote substantial time to reporting and other compliance matters. We expect these costs and expenses to further increase after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.”

Pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or Section 404, we will be required to furnish a report by our management on our internal control over financial reporting with our second annual report, which will be filed with the SEC in 2018. However, while we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to include an attestation report on internal control over financial reporting issued by our independent registered public accounting firm. To achieve compliance with Section 404 within the prescribed period, we will be engaged in a process to document and evaluate our internal control over financial reporting, which is both costly and challenging. In this regard, we will need to continue to dedicate internal resources, potentially engage outside consultants and adopt a detailed work plan to assess and document the adequacy of internal control over financial reporting, continue steps to improve control processes as appropriate, validate through testing that controls are functioning as documented and implement a continuous reporting and improvement process for internal control over financial reporting. Despite our efforts, there is a risk that we will not be able to conclude, within the prescribed timeframe or at all, that our internal control over financial reporting is effective as required by Section 404. If we identify one or more material weaknesses, it could result in an adverse reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of confidence in the reliability of our financial statements.

Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure

Certain provisions of New York law could inhibit changes in control.

Various provisions of the BCL may have the effect of deterring a third party from making a proposal to acquire us or of impeding a change in control under circumstances that otherwise could provide the holders of our common shares with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then-prevailing market price of our common shares. For example, we are subject to the “business combination” provisions of the BCL that, subject to limitations, prohibit certain business combinations (including a merger, consolidation, share exchange, or, in circumstances specified in the statute, an asset transfer or issuance or reclassification of equity securities) between us and an “interested shareholder” (defined generally as any person who beneficially owns 20% or more of our then outstanding voting capital shares or an affiliate thereof for five years after the most recent date on which the shareholder becomes an interested shareholder. After the five-year prohibition, any business combination between us and an interested shareholder generally must be recommended by our board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of our voting capital shares other than shares held by the interested shareholder with whom or with whose affiliate the business combination is to be effected or held by an affiliate or associate of the interested shareholder. These provisions do not apply if holders of our common shares receive a minimum price, as defined under New York law, for their shares in the form of cash or other consideration in the same form as previously paid by the interested shareholder for its common shares. They also do not apply to business combinations that are approved or exempted by a board of directors prior to the time that the interested shareholder becomes an interested shareholder.

Our authorized but unissued common and preferred shares may prevent a change in our control.

Our certificate of incorporation, as amended, authorizes us to issue additional authorized but unissued common or preferred shares. Currently, we have 38,896,763 authorized but unissued common shares and 5,000,000 authorized but unissued preferred shares, all of which are available for issuance at the discretion of our board of directors. As a result, our board of directors may establish a series of common or preferred shares that could delay or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for our common shares or otherwise be in the best interest of our shareholders.

Our rights and the rights of our shareholders to take action against our directors and officers are limited, which could limit your recourse in the event of actions not in your best interests.

Our certificate of incorporation, as amended, limits the liability of our present and former directors to us and our shareholders for money damages to any breach of duty in such capacity, if a judgment or other final adjudication adverse to a present or former officer or director establishes that his or her acts or omissions were in bad faith or involved intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law or that he or she personally gained in fact a financial profit or other advantage to which he or she was not legally entitled or that his or her acts violated Section 719 of the BCL. Section 719 of the BCL limits director liability to the following four instances:

Our certificate of incorporation, as amended, and bylaws authorizes us to indemnify our directors and officers for actions taken by them in those capacities to the maximum extent permitted by the BCL. In addition, we may be obligated to pay or reimburse the defense costs incurred by our present and former directors and officers without requiring a preliminary determination of their ultimate entitlement to indemnification.

Our bylaws contain provisions that make removal of our directors difficult, which could make it difficult for our shareholders to effect changes to our management.

Our bylaws provide that a director may be removed by either the board of directors or by shareholders for cause. Vacancies may be filled only by a majority of the remaining directors in office, even if less than a quorum, unless the vacancy occurred as a result of shareholder action, in which case the vacancy must be filled by a vote of shareholders at a special meeting of shareholders duly called for that purpose. These requirements make it more difficult to change our management by removing and replacing directors and may prevent a change in control of our company that is in the best interests of our shareholders.