Summary Risk Factors

An investment in shares of our common stock involves various material risks. You should consider carefully the risks discussed below and under “Risk Factors” before purchasing our common stock:

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RISK FACTORS

An investment in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the following information, together with the other information contained in this prospectus, before buying shares of our common stock. In connection with the forward-looking statements that appear in this prospectus, you should also carefully review the cautionary statement referred to under “Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”

Risks Relating to Our Management and our Relationship with JER

We are dependent upon our manager and certain key personnel of JER provided to us through our manager and may not find a suitable replacement if our manager terminates the management agreement or such key personnel are no longer available to us.

We have no employees. All of our officers are employees of JER. We have no separate facilities and are completely reliant on JER, which has significant discretion as to the implementation of our operating policies and strategies. Mr. Robert is the sole stockholder of J.E. Robert Company, Inc. J.E. Robert Company, Inc. and Mr. Robert are the only members of our manager, and as a result, Mr. Robert is in a position to control the policies, decision making and operations of our manager. We are subject to the risk that our manager will terminate the management agreement and that no suitable replacement will be found to manage us. We believe that our success depends to a significant extent upon the experience of certain of JER’s executive officers, whose continued service is not guaranteed. If our manager terminates the management agreement or key officers leave our manager, we may be unable to execute our business plan.

There are conflicts of interest in our relationship with JER and our manager, which could result in decisions that are not in the best interests of our stockholders.

The chairman and another member of our board and each of our executive officers also serve as officers of our manager and other JER affiliates. At the time of our formation when our management agreement, incentive plan, conflicts policy and other organizational matters were approved for us, Mr. Robert, the sole stockholder of J.E. Robert Company, Inc., was our sole stockholder and our sole director. As a result, these matters were not negotiated at arm’s length, and their terms, including fees payable to our manager, may not be as favorable to us as if they had been negotiated with an unaffiliated third party. In addition, we may enter into transactions in the future with JER and its affiliates that may result in conflicts of interest.

JER currently manages and invests in, and will continue to manage and invest in, other real estate-related investment entities and is not required to devote a specific amount of time to us. In addition, our chairman and our other officers also serve as officers and/or directors of these other entities. In particular, JER, in its capacity as general partner of the JER Funds, is currently in the process of making investments in a wide range of commercial real estate equity and debt assets for JER Fund III, one of the JER Funds. The JER Fund III partnership agreement restricts JER’s ability to form another pooled investment fund with investment objectives substantially similar to those of JER Fund III. However, JER is permitted by the JER Fund III partnership agreement to manage an entity that, like us, invests primarily in (a) residential mortgages and related securities and (b) CMBS and other related loans issued in connection with conduit securitizations. The JER Fund III partnership agreement defines “conduit securitizations” as CMBS collateralized primarily by newly originated loans (i) issued for the purposes of securitizations, (ii) with fixed interest rates and maturities of seven to ten years and (iii) with loan to value ratios generally averaging approximately 75% and debt service coverage ratios generally averaging 1.25% based on net cash flow from the underlying real estate, all as reasonably determined by JER as general partner acting in good faith. The JER Fund III partnership agreement may limit our ability to invest in real estate structured finance products other than (a) residential mortgages and related securities and (b) CMBS and other related loans issued in connection with conduit securitizations because, pursuant to the agreement, we must invest primarily in those classes of investments. This may require us to forego desirable

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investment opportunities and subject us to the risk that we will be limited in our ability to refocus our investment strategy if trends in the availability and performance of residential mortgages and related securities and conduit securitization investments make such a change desirable.

While we target primarily conduit commercial mortgage backed securities, mezzanine loans, bridge loans, B-Notes, preferred equity, corporate loans, mortgage loans and net leased real estate and residential mortgages and related securities, JER Fund III generally seeks to invest in direct ownership of real estate, non-conduit commercial mortgage backed securities, equity securities, preferred equity and high yield debt (typically with equity participation). The investments we pursue may overlap with the investment objectives of JER Fund III. To the extent that specific investment opportunities are determined by JER to be suitable for and advantageous to us and JER Fund III, JER will allocate the opportunities equally between us and JER Fund III wherever reasonably practicable. Where JER determines that an equal allocation is not reasonably practicable, JER will allocate that investment in a manner that it determines in good faith to be fair and reasonable. JER will also apply the foregoing allocation procedures between us and any future investment funds, companies or vehicles or other entities that it controls with which we have overlapping investment objectives. JER may nonetheless allocate investments potentially of value for us to JER Fund III under its conflicts policy. JER may also alter the policy at any time without notice to or input from us or our stockholders.

We will pay our manager substantial base management fees regardless of the performance of our portfolio. In addition, the incentive management compensation structure that we have agreed to with our manager may cause our manager to invest in high risk investments. In addition to its base management fee, our manager is entitled to receive incentive compensation based upon our achievement of targeted levels of funds from operations. In evaluating investments and other management strategies, the opportunity to earn incentive compensation based on funds from operations may lead our manager to place undue emphasis on the maximization of funds from operations at the expense of other criteria, such as preservation of capital, in order to achieve higher incentive compensation. Investments with higher yield potential are generally riskier or more speculative. This could result in increased risk to the value of our investment portfolio.

Termination of the management agreement with our manager without cause or non-renewal of the management agreement is costly. We may terminate the management agreement without cause only upon the completion of the initial term of the management agreement, which is June 4, 2006. After that time, the management agreement renews automatically and we must give our manager 180 days prior notice of any termination or non-renewal and pay a termination fee, within 90 days of termination, equal to four times the sum of the base management fee and the incentive fee for the 12-month period preceding the date of termination, calculated as of the end of the most recently completed fiscal quarter prior to the date of termination. We also must pay the termination fee if we fail to renew the agreement upon expiration of the initial term or subsequent terms. In addition, following any termination of the management agreement, we must pay our manager all compensation accruing to the date of the termination. These provisions increase the effective cost to us of terminating or electing not to renew the management agreement, thereby adversely affecting our ability to terminate our manager without cause, even if we believe the manager’s performance is not satisfactory.

The conflicts of interest policy developed by JER and the JER Fund III partnership agreement may limit the type of investments we make and may impact our ability to comply with REIT requirements and restrictions and with the Investment Company Act.

We must abide by the terms of the conflicts of interest policy developed by JER with respect to conflicts of interest with JER Fund III. The conflicts policy may at times prevent us from acquiring 100% of certain attractive investments because the policy requires that investments determined to be appropriate for both us and JER Fund III be allocated equally between us and JER Fund III whenever reasonably practicable. In addition, where JER determines that it is not reasonably practicable to equally allocate an investment, that investment may be allocated solely to JER Fund III. Because we are limited by the terms of the JER Fund III partnership

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agreement to primarily invest in (a) residential mortgages and related securities and (b) CMBS and other related loans issued in connection with conduit securitizations (unless it can be determined that the investments we pursue will not overlap with the investment objectives of JER Fund III), it may be difficult for us to avoid the registration requirements of the Investment Company Act or satisfy the REIT requirements of the tax laws. This requirement may also cause us to forego desirable investment opportunities and subject us to the risk that we may be limited in our ability to refocus our investment strategy if needed.

Our board of directors has approved very broad investment guidelines for our manager and does not approve each investment decision made by our manager.

Our manager is authorized to follow very broad investment guidelines. Our directors will periodically review our investment guidelines and our investment portfolio. However, our board does not review each proposed investment. In addition, in conducting periodic reviews, the directors will rely primarily on information provided to them by our manager. Furthermore, transactions entered into by our manager may be difficult or impossible to unwind by the time they are reviewed by the directors. Our manager has great latitude within the broad investment guidelines in determining the types of assets it may decide are proper investments for us.

We may change our investment strategy without stockholder consent, which may result in riskier investments.

We may change our investment strategy at any time without the consent of our stockholders, which could result in our making investments that are different from, and possibly riskier than, the investments described in this prospectus. A change in our investment strategy may increase our exposure to interest rate and real estate market fluctuations.

We may change our operational policies without stockholder consent, which may adversely affect the market price of our common stock and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

Our board of directors determines our operational policies and may amend or revise our policies, including our policies with respect to our REIT status, acquisitions, growth, operations, indebtedness, capitalization and distributions or approve transactions that deviate from these policies, without a vote of, or notice to, our stockholders. Operational policy changes could adversely affect the market price of our common stock and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

Risks Relating to Our Business Strategy

We have a limited operating history and limited experience operating a REIT or a public company and may not operate successfully.

We were organized in April 2004 and have a limited operating history. Our results of operations depend on many factors, including the performance of our assets, the availability of opportunities for the acquisition of additional assets, the level and volatility of interest rates, readily accessible short and long term financing, conditions in the financial markets and economic conditions, and we may not operate successfully. Our senior management team has limited experience with the complex rules and regulations governing public companies in general and REITs in particular.

We expect to incur significant debt to finance our investments, which may subject us to increased risk of loss. and reduce cash available for distributions to our stockholders.

We intend to leverage our assets through borrowings, generally through the use of bank credit facilities, repurchase agreements and the issuance of CDOs. The percentage of leverage varies depending on our ability to obtain credit facilities and the lender’s estimate of the stability of the portfolio’s cash flow. Our return on our investments and cash available for distribution to our stockholders may be reduced to the extent that changes in

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market conditions cause the cost of our financing to increase relative to the income that can be derived from the assets acquired.

Our debt service payments reduce cash available for distribution to stockholders. For the period from inception (April 19, 2004) to December 31, 2004, no debt service payments were due on the $39.2 million that we borrowed on December 28, 2004 related to our repurchase agreements. We may not be able to meet our debt service obligations and, to the extent that we cannot, we risk the loss of some or all of our assets to foreclosure or sale to satisfy our debt obligations.

While we intend to maintain target debt-to-equity ratios of approximately three-to-one on an unconsolidated basis, our governing documents contain no limitation on the amount of debt we may incur, and our board of directors may change our debt policy at any time without stockholder approval. In addition, we may leverage individual assets at substantially higher levels. Incurring debt could subject us to many risks, including the risks that:

We leverage certain of our investments through repurchase agreements. A decrease in the value of the assets may lead to margin calls that we will have to satisfy. We may not have the funds available to satisfy these margin calls.

We may not be able to access financing on favorable terms, or at all, which could adversely affect our ability to execute our business plan.

We expect to finance our assets over the long-term through a variety of means, including credit facilities, issuance of CDOs and other structured financings. Our ability to execute this strategy depends on various conditions in the markets that are beyond our control, including liquidity and credit spreads. We cannot assure you that these markets will remain an efficient source of long-term financing for our assets. If our strategy is not viable, we will have to find alternative forms of long-term financing for our assets, as secured revolving credit facilities and repurchase facilities may not accommodate long-term financing. This could subject us to more recourse indebtedness and the risk that debt service on less efficient forms of financing would require a larger portion of our cash flows, thereby reducing cash available for distribution to our stockholders, funds available for operations as well as for future business opportunities.

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

Our primary interest rate exposures relate to our loans, mortgage backed securities and variable-rate debt, as well as our interest rate swaps that we utilize for hedging purposes. Changes in interest rates will affect our net interest income, which is the difference between the interest income we earn on our interest-earning investments and the interest expense we incur in financing these investments. Changes in the level of interest rates also may affect our ability to originate and acquire assets, the value of our assets and our ability to realize gains from the

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disposition of assets. In a period of rising interest rates, our interest expense could increase, while the interest we earn on our fixed-rate debt investments would not change, adversely affecting our profitability.

Our operating results depend in large part on differences between the income from our assets, net of credit losses, and our financing costs. We anticipate that, in most cases, for any period during which our assets are not match-funded, the income from such assets will respond more slowly to interest rate fluctuations than the cost of our borrowings. Consequently, changes in interest rates, particularly short-term interest rates, may significantly influence our net income. Increases in these rates will tend to decrease our net income and market value of our assets. Interest rate fluctuations resulting in our interest expense exceeding interest income would result in operating losses for us.

If credit spreads widen before we obtain long-term financing for our net assets, the value of our net assets may suffer.

We price our net assets based on our assumptions about future levels of credit spreads for longer term fixed rate financing of those assets. We expect to obtain longer term financing for these assets at a spread over a certain benchmark, such as the yield on United States Treasury bonds, swaps, or the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR). If the spread that investors will pay over the benchmark widens and the rates we charge on our loans or the income we generate from our other assets are not increased accordingly, we may experience a material adverse effect on our income and a reduction in the economic value of the assets that we have originated or acquired.

We may not be able to acquire eligible securities for a CDO issuance, or may not be able to issue CDO securities on attractive terms that closely match fund the duration of our assets and liabilities, which may require us to seek more costly financing for our investments or to liquidate assets.

We intend to finance our real estate securities on a long-term basis, such as through the issuance of CDOs. We will initially finance our investments with relatively short-term credit facilities. We use these short term facilities to finance the acquisition of real estate securities until a sufficient quantity of securities is accumulated, at which time we intend to refinance these facilities through a securitization, such as a CDO issuance, or other long-term financing. As a result, we are subject to the risk that we will not be able to acquire, during the period that our short-term facilities are available, a sufficient amount of eligible securities to maximize the efficiency of a CDO issuance. We also bear the risk that we will not be able to obtain short-term credit facilities or may not be able to renew any short-term credit facilities after they expire should we find it necessary to extend our short-term credit facilities to allow more time to seek and acquire the necessary eligible securities for a long term financing. Inability to renew our short-term credit facilities may require us to seek more costly financing for our investments or to liquidate assets. In addition, conditions in the capital markets may make the issuance of a CDO less attractive to us when we do have a sufficient pool of collateral. If we are unable to issue a CDO to finance these assets, we may be required to seek other forms of potentially less attractive financing or otherwise to liquidate the assets.

The use of CDO financings with over-collateralization requirements may have a negative impact on our cash flow.

The terms of the CDOs we intend to issue generally provide that the principal amount of assets must exceed the principal balance of the related bonds by a certain amount. This excess collateral requirement is commonly referred to as “over-collateralization.” The CDO terms provide that, if certain delinquencies or losses exceed the specified levels based on rating agencies’ (or the financial guaranty insurer’s, if applicable) analyses of the characteristics of the assets pledged to collateralize the bonds, the required level of over-collateralization may be increased or may be prevented from decreasing as would otherwise be permitted if losses or delinquencies did not exceed those levels. Other tests (based on delinquency levels or other criteria) may restrict our ability to receive net income from assets pledged to secure CDOs. We cannot assure you that the performance tests will be

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satisfied. Nor can we assure you, in advance of completing negotiations with the rating agencies or other key transaction parties on our future CDO financings, the actual terms of the delinquency tests, over-collateralization terms, cash flow release mechanisms or other significant factors regarding the calculation of net income to us. Failure to obtain favorable terms with regard to these matters may materially and adversely affect our net income. If our assets fail to perform as anticipated, our over-collateralization or other credit enhancement expense associated with our CDO financings will increase.

We may be required to repurchase loans that we have sold to indemnify holders of our CDOs.

If any of the loans we originate or acquire and sell or securitize do not comply with representations and warranties that we make about certain characteristics of the loans, the borrowers and the underlying properties, we may be required to repurchase those loans (including from a trust vehicle used to facilitate a structured financing of the assets through CDOs) or replace them with substitute loans. In addition, in the case of loans that we have sold instead of retained, we may be required to indemnify purchasers for losses or expenses incurred as a result of a breach of a representation or warranty. Repurchased loans typically require a significant allocation of working capital to carry on our books, and our ability to borrow against such assets is limited. Any significant repurchases or indemnification payments could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and operating results.

An increase in prepayment rates could adversely affect yields on our investments.

The value of our assets may be affected by prepayment rates on mortgage loans. Prepayment rates on mortgage loans are influenced by changes in interest rates and a variety of economic, geographic and other factors beyond our control, and consequently, prepayment rates cannot be predicted with certainty. In periods of declining mortgage interest rates, prepayments on mortgage loans generally increase. If general interest rates decline as well, we are likely to reinvest the proceeds of prepayments received during these periods in assets yielding less than the mortgage loans that were prepaid. In addition, the market value of the mortgage loan assets may, because of the risk of prepayment, benefit less than other fixed-income securities from declining interest rates. Conversely, in periods of rising interest rates, prepayments on mortgage loans generally decrease, in which case we would not have the prepayment proceeds available to invest in assets with higher yields. Under certain interest rate and prepayment scenarios, we may fail to recoup fully our cost of certain investments.

Our hedging transactions may limit our gains or result in losses.

We intend to use derivative instruments, including forwards, futures, swaps and options, in our risk management strategy to limit the effects of changes in interest rates on our operations. The value of our forwards, futures and swaps may fluctuate over time in response to changing market conditions, and will tend to change inversely with the value of the risk in our liabilities that we intend to hedge. Hedges are sometimes ineffective because the correlation between changes in value of the underlying investment and the derivative instrument is less than was expected when the hedging transaction was undertaken. Since most of our hedging activity is intended to cover the period between origination or purchase of loans and their eventual sale or securitization, unmatched losses in our hedging program tend to occur when the planned securitization fails to occur, or if the hedge proves to be ineffective. Losses on hedge positions will reduce cash available for distribution to stockholders and such losses may exceed amounts invested in these instruments.

Hedging instruments often are not traded on regulated exchanges, guaranteed by an exchange or its clearing house, or regulated by any U.S. or foreign governmental authorities and involve risks and costs.

The cost of using hedging instruments increases as the period covered by the instrument increases and during periods of rising and volatile interest rates. We may increase our hedging activity and thus increase our hedging costs during periods when interest rates are volatile or rising and hedging costs have increased.

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In addition, hedging instruments involve risk since they often are not traded on regulated exchanges, guaranteed by an exchange or its clearing house, or regulated by any U.S. or foreign governmental authorities. Consequently, there are no requirements with respect to record keeping, financial responsibility or segregation of customer funds and positions. Furthermore, the enforceability of agreements underlying derivative transactions may depend on compliance with applicable statutory and commodity and other regulatory requirements and, depending on the identity of the counterparty, applicable international requirements. The business failure of a hedging counterparty with whom we enter into a hedging transaction will most likely result in a default. Default by a party with whom we enter into a hedging transaction may result in the loss of unrealized profits and force us to cover our resale commitments, if any, at the then current market price. Although generally we will seek to reserve the right to terminate our hedging positions, it may not always be possible to dispose of or close out a hedging position without the consent of the hedging counterparty, and we may not be able to enter into an offsetting contract in order to cover our risk. We cannot assure you that a liquid secondary market will exist for hedging instruments purchased or sold, and we may be required to maintain a position until exercise or expiration, which could result in losses.

We are subject to significant competition and we may not compete successfully.

We are subject to significant competition in seeking investments. We compete with several other companies, including other REITs, insurance companies and other investors, including funds and companies affiliated with JER. Recently, there has been increased competition in the CMBS market, with many companies seeking to invest in CMBS issuances. Some of our competitors have greater resources than us and we may not be able to compete successfully for investments.

Risks Related to Our Investments

Our real estate investments are subject to risks particular to real property.

We own assets secured by real estate and may own real estate directly. Real estate investments will be subject to various risks, including:

If any of these or similar events occurs, it may reduce our return from an affected property or investment and reduce or eliminate our ability to make distributions to stockholders.

The mortgage loans in which we invest and the mortgage loans underlying the mortgage backed securities in which we invest will be subject to delinquency, foreclosure and loss, which could result in losses to us.

Commercial mortgage loans are secured by multifamily or commercial property and are subject to risks of delinquency and foreclosure, and risks of loss that are greater than similar risks associated with loans made on the security of single-family residential property. The ability of a borrower to repay a loan secured by an income-producing property typically is dependent primarily upon the successful operation of the property rather than upon the existence of independent income or assets of the borrower. If the net operating income of the property is

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reduced, the borrower’s ability to repay the loan may be impaired. Net operating income of an income-producing property can be affected by the risks particular to real property described above, as well as, among other things:

In the event of any default under a mortgage loan held directly by us, we will bear a risk of loss of principal to the extent of any deficiency between the value of the collateral and the principal and accrued interest of the mortgage loan, which could have a material adverse effect on our cash flow from operations and limit amounts available for distribution to our stockholders. In the event of the bankruptcy of a mortgage loan borrower, the mortgage loan to that borrower will be deemed to be secured only to the extent of the value of the underlying collateral at the time of bankruptcy (as determined by the bankruptcy court), and the lien securing the mortgage loan will be subject to the avoidance powers of the bankruptcy trustee or debtor-in-possession to the extent the lien is unenforceable under state law. 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.

Commercial mortgage backed securities evidence interests in, or are secured by, a single commercial mortgage loan or a pool of commercial mortgage loans. Accordingly, the mortgage backed securities we invest in are subject to all of the risks of the underlying mortgage loans.

Our investments in subordinated mortgage backed securities could subject us to increased risk of losses.

In general, losses on an asset securing a mortgage loan included in a securitization will be borne first by the equity holder of the property, then by a cash reserve fund or letter of credit provided by the borrower, if any, and then by the “first loss” subordinated security holder. In the event of default and the exhaustion of any equity support, reserve fund, letter of credit and any classes of securities junior to those in which we invest, we may not be able to recover all of our investment in the securities we purchase. In addition, if the underlying mortgage portfolio has been overvalued by the originator, or if the values subsequently decline and, as a result, less collateral is available to satisfy interest and principal payments due on the related mortgage backed securities, the securities in which we invest may effectively become the “first loss” position behind the more senior securities, which may result in significant losses to us.

The prices of lower credit quality securities are generally less sensitive to interest rate changes than more highly rated investments, but more sensitive to adverse economic downturns or individual issuer developments. A projection of an economic downturn, for example, could cause a decline in the price of lower credit quality securities because the ability of obligors of mortgages underlying mortgage backed securities to make principal and interest payments or to refinance may be impaired. In this case, existing credit support in the securitization structure may be insufficient to protect us against loss of our principal on these securities.

Investments in mezzanine loans involve greater risks of loss than senior loans secured by income producing properties.

Investments in mezzanine loans take the form of subordinated loans secured by second mortgages on the underlying property or loans secured by a pledge of the ownership interests in the entity that directly or indirectly

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owns the property. These types of investments involve a higher degree of risk than a senior mortgage loan because the investment may become unsecured as a result of foreclosure by the senior lender. In the event of a bankruptcy of the entity providing the pledge of its ownership interests as security, we may not have full recourse to the assets of the property owning entity, or the assets of the entity may not be sufficient to satisfy our mezzanine loan. If a borrower defaults on our mezzanine loan or debt senior to our loan, or in the event of a borrower bankruptcy, our mezzanine loan will be satisfied only after the senior debt is paid in full. As a result, we may not recover some or all of our investment, which could result in losses. In addition, mezzanine loans may have higher loan to value ratios than conventional mortgage loans, resulting in less equity in the property and increasing the risk of loss of principal.

The B-Notes in which we invest may be subject to additional risks relating to the privately negotiated structure and terms of the transaction, which may result in losses to us.

A B-Note is a mortgage loan typically (i) secured by a first mortgage on a single large commercial property or group of related properties and (ii) subordinated to an A-Note secured by the same first mortgage on the same collateral. As a result, if a borrower defaults, there may not be sufficient funds remaining for B-Note holders after payment to the A-Note holders. B-Notes reflect similar credit risks to comparably rated commercial mortgage backed securities. However, since each transaction is privately negotiated, B-Notes can vary in their structural characteristics and risks. For example, the rights of holders of B-Notes to control the process following a borrower default may be limited in certain investments. We cannot predict the terms of each B-Note investment. Further, B-Notes typically are secured by a single property, and so reflect the increased risks associated with a single property compared to a pool of properties. B-Notes also are less liquid than commercial mortgage backed securities, thus we may be unable to dispose of underperforming or non-performing investments. The higher risks associated with our subordinate position in our B-Note investments could subject us to increased risk of losses.

Bridge loans involve a greater risk of loss than traditional mortgage loans.

We may provide bridge loans secured by first lien mortgages on a property to borrowers who are typically seeking short-term capital to be used in an acquisition or renovation of real estate. The borrower has usually identified an undervalued asset that has been under-managed or is located in a recovering market. If the market in which the asset is located fails to recover according to the borrower’s projections, or if the borrower fails to improve the quality of the asset’s management or the value of the asset, the borrower may not receive a sufficient return on the asset to satisfy the bridge loan, and we may not recover some or all of our investment.

In addition, owners usually borrow funds under a conventional mortgage loan to repay a bridge loan. We may therefore be dependent on a borrower’s ability to obtain permanent financing to repay our bridge loan, which could depend on market conditions and other factors. Bridge 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 any default under bridge loans held by us, 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 of the bridge loan. To the extent we suffer such losses with respect to our investments in bridge loans, the value of our company and the price of our common stock may be adversely affected.

Preferred equity investments involve a greater risk of loss than traditional debt financing.

Preferred equity investments are subordinate to debt financing and are not secured. Should the issuer default on our investment, we would only be able to proceed against the entity that issued the preferred equity in accordance with the terms of the preferred security, and not any property owned by the entity. Furthermore, in the event of bankruptcy or foreclosure, we would only be able to recoup our investment after any lenders to the entity are paid. As a result, we may not recover some or all of our investment, which could result in losses.

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Investments in REIT debt securities are subject to specific risks relating to the particular REIT issuer of the securities and to the general risks of investing in subordinated real estate securities, which may result in losses to us.

We may invest in REIT debt securities. Investments in REIT debt securities involve special risks relating to the particular REIT issuer of the securities, including the financial condition and business outlook of the issuer. Investments in REIT debt securities are subject to the inherent risks associated with real estate-related investments discussed in this prospectus, including the risks described above with respect to mortgage loans and mortgage backed securities and similar risks, including:

REIT debt securities are generally unsecured and may also be subordinated to other obligations of the issuer. We may also invest in REIT debt securities that are rated non-investment grade. As a result, investments in REIT debt securities are also subject to risks of:

These risks may adversely affect the value of outstanding REIT debt securities and the ability of the issuers thereof to repay principal and interest or make dividend payments, which could reduce our ability to make distribution to our stockholders.

We may make investments in non-U.S. dollar denominated securities, which subject us to currency rate exposure and the uncertainty of foreign laws and markets.

We may purchase CMBS denominated in foreign currencies. We expect that our exposure, if any, would be principally to the British pound and the euro. A change in foreign currency exchange rates may have an adverse impact on returns on our non-dollar denominated investments. Although we may hedge our foreign currency risk subject to the REIT income qualification tests, we may not be able to do so successfully and may incur losses on these investments as a result of exchange rate fluctuations. Investments in foreign countries also subject us to risks of multiple and conflicting tax laws and regulations and political and economic instability abroad, which could adversely affect our receipt of interest income on these investments.

Investment in non-conforming and non-investment grade loans may involve increased risk of loss.

Except in rare instances, loans we may acquire or originate will not conform to conventional loan criteria applied by traditional lenders and will not be rated or will be rated as non-investment grade (for example, for investments rated by Moody’s Investors Service, ratings lower than Baa3, and for Standard & Poor’s, BBB- or below). The non-investment grade ratings for these loans typically result from the overall leverage of the loans,

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the lack of a strong operating history for the properties underlying the loans, the borrowers’ credit history, the properties’ underlying cash flow or other factors. As a result, loans we originate or acquire may have a higher risk of default and loss than conventional loans. Any loss we incur may reduce distributions to stockholders and adversely affect the value of our common stock. We currently anticipate investing primarily in unrated or non-investment grade assets. There are no limits on the percentage of unrated or non-investment grade assets we may hold in our portfolio.

Our insurance on our mortgage loans and real estate securities collateral may not cover all losses.

There are certain types of losses, generally of a catastrophic nature, such as earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, terrorism or acts of war, that may be uninsurable or not economically insurable. Inflation, changes in building codes and ordinances, environmental considerations and other factors, including terrorism or acts of war, also might make the insurance proceeds insufficient to repair or replace a property if it is damaged or destroyed. Under these circumstances, the insurance proceeds received might not be adequate to restore our economic position with respect to the affected real property.

As a result of the events of September 11, 2001, insurance companies are limiting and excluding coverage for acts of terrorism in insurance policies. As a result, we may suffer losses from acts of terrorism that are not covered by insurance. In addition, the mortgage loans that are secured by certain of our properties contain customary covenants, including covenants that require us to maintain property insurance in an amount equal to the replacement cost of the properties. There can be no assurance that the lenders under our mortgage loans will not take the position that exclusions from our coverage for losses due to terrorist acts is a breach of a covenant that, if uncured, could allow the lenders to declare an event of default and accelerate repayment of the mortgage loans.

Many of our investments are illiquid and we may not be able to vary our portfolio in response to changes in economic and other conditions.

The real estate securities that we purchase in connection with privately negotiated transactions are not registered under the relevant securities laws, resulting in a prohibition against their transfer, sale, pledge or other disposition except in a transaction that is exempt from the registration requirements of, or is otherwise in accordance with, those laws. A majority of the mortgage backed securities and all of the B-Notes that we purchase are traded in private, unregistered transactions and are therefore subject to restrictions on resale or otherwise have no established trading market. As a result, our ability to vary our portfolio in response to changes in economic and other conditions may be relatively limited. The mezzanine and bridge loans we originate are particularly illiquid investments due to their short life, their potential unsuitability for securitization and the greater difficulty of recovery in the event of a borrower’s default.

Lack of diversification in number of investments increases our dependence on individual investments.

Our investment policy allows us to invest up to 20% of our equity in any individual investment. As a result, our portfolio may be concentrated in a small number of assets, increasing the risk of loss to us and our stockholders if a default or other problem arises.

Liability relating to environmental matters may impact the value of our properties or the properties underlying our investments.

Under various 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.

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When we acquire net-leased properties directly, there may be environmental problems associated with the property of which we were unaware. 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 investments becomes liable for removal costs, the ability of the owner to make debt 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 stockholders.

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. In addition, although our leases will generally require our tenants to operate in compliance with all applicable laws and to indemnify us against any environmental liabilities arising from a tenant’s activities on the property, we nonetheless will be subject to strict liability by virtue of our ownership interest for environmental liabilities created by our tenants, and we cannot ensure you that our tenants would satisfy their indemnification obligations under the applicable sales agreement or lease. The discovery of material environmental liabilities attached to our properties could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

Our targeted investment properties and the properties underlying our investments are required to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and fire, safety and other regulations, which may require us or them to make unintended expenditures that adversely impact their ability to make interest payments to us and our ability to pay dividends to stockholders.

Any properties we acquire directly, and the properties underlying our investments, are required to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, or the ADA. The ADA has separate compliance requirements for “public accommodations” and “commercial facilities,” but generally requires that buildings be made accessible to people with disabilities. Compliance with the ADA requirements could require removal of access barriers and non-compliance could result in imposition of fines by the U.S. Government or an award of damages to private litigants, or both. While the tenants to whom we lease properties are obligated by law to comply with the ADA provisions, and we expect under our leases will be obligated to cover costs associated with compliance, if required changes involve greater expenditures than anticipated, or if the changes must be made on a more accelerated basis than anticipated, the ability of these tenants to cover costs could be adversely affected and we could be required to expend our own funds to comply with the provisions of the ADA, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition and our ability to make distributions to stockholders. In addition, we are required to operate our properties in compliance with fire and safety regulations, building codes and other land use regulations, as they may be adopted by governmental agencies and bodies and become applicable to our targeted investment properties and properties underlying our investments. We may be required to make substantial capital expenditures to comply with those requirements and these expenditures could have a material adverse effect on our ability to make distributions to our stockholders. Further, required compliance with these rules and regulations by the owners of the properties underlying our investments may reduce their funds available to make interest payments to us.

We may be adversely affected by unfavorable economic changes in geographic areas where the properties underlying our investments may be concentrated.

Adverse conditions in the areas where the properties underlying our investments are located (including business layoffs or downsizing, industry slowdowns, changing demographics and other factors) and local real estate conditions (such as oversupply of, or reduced demand for, office and industrial properties) may have an adverse effect on the value of our properties. A material decline in the demand or the ability of tenants to pay rent for office and industrial space in these geographic areas may result in a material decline in our cash available for distribution.

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

We believe the risks associated with our business will be more acute during periods of economic slowdown or recession if these periods are accompanied by declining real estate values. Declining real estate values will likely reduce our level of new mortgage loan originations, since borrowers often use increases in the value of their existing properties to support the purchase of or investment in additional properties. Further, declining real estate values significantly increase the likelihood that we will incur losses on our loans in the event of default. 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, sell and securitize loans, which would significantly harm our revenues, results of operations, financial condition, business prospects and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure

Maryland takeover statutes may prevent or make difficult a change of control of our company that could be in the interests of our stockholders.

Under Maryland law, “business combinations” between a Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder or an affiliate of an interested stockholder are prohibited for five years after the most recent date on which the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. These business combinations include a merger, consolidation, share exchange, or, in circumstances specified in the statute, an asset transfer or issuance or reclassification of equity securities. An interested stockholder is defined as:

A person is not an interested stockholder under the statute if the board of directors approved in advance the transaction by which he otherwise would have become an interested stockholder.

After the five-year prohibition, any business combination between the Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder generally must be recommended by the board of directors of the corporation and approved by the affirmative vote of at least:

The business combination statute may discourage others from trying to acquire control of a corporation and increase the difficulty of consummating any offer, including potential acquisitions that might involve a premium price for the common stock of that corporation or otherwise be in the interest of the stockholders of that corporation.

We have exempted by charter provision all business combinations from the application of this statute and consequently, the five-year prohibition and the super-majority vote requirements described above will not apply to any business combination between any other party and us. However, we may, by charter amendment approved by our board of directors and our stockholders, opt into the business combination provisions of Maryland law in the future.

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We also have opted out of the “control share” provisions of Maryland law that provide that “control shares” of our company (defined as shares that, when aggregated with other shares controlled by the stockholder, entitle the stockholder to exercise one of three increasing ranges of voting power in electing directors) acquired in a “control share acquisition” (defined as the direct or indirect acquisition of ownership or control of “control shares”) have no voting rights except to the extent approved by our stockholders by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter, excluding all interested shares. However, we may, by amendment to our by-laws, opt in to the control share provisions of Maryland law in the future without stockholder approval, which could inhibit a third party from making or completing an acquisition of us that is in the interests of our stockholders. See “Important Provisions of Maryland Law and of Our Charter and Bylaws—Business Combinations” and “—Control Share Acquisitions.”

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

Our charter authorizes us to issue additional authorized but unissued shares of our common stock or preferred stock. In addition, our board of directors may classify or reclassify any unissued shares of common stock or preferred stock and may set the preferences, rights and other terms of the classified or reclassified shares. As a result, our board may issue additional common and preferred shares and may establish a series of preferred stock with terms that could delay or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for our common stock or otherwise be in the best interest of our stockholders.

Maintenance of our exemption from the requirements of the Investment Company Act imposes limits on our operations.

We conduct our operations so as not to become regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. We believe that there are a number of exemptions under the Investment Company Act that are applicable to us. For example, Section 3(c)(5)(C) exempts from the definition of “investment company” any person who is “primarily engaged in the business of purchasing or otherwise acquiring mortgages and other liens on and interests in real estate.” Additionally, Section 3(c)(6) exempts from the definition of “investment company” any company primarily engaged, directly or through majority-owned subsidiaries, in the business of purchasing or otherwise acquiring mortgages and other liens on and interests in real estate. Further, Rule 3a-1 under the Investment Company Act exempts from the definition of “investment company” a company that maintains at least 55% of the value of its assets (exclusive of Government securities and cash items) in, and derives at least 55% of its net income after taxes for the past four quarters from, securities other than Government securities, securities issued by employees’ securities companies, securities issued by certain majority-owned subsidiaries of such company and securities issued by certain companies that are controlled primarily by such company, provided that certain other requirements are met. The assets that we acquire, therefore, are limited by the provisions of the Investment Company Act and the rules and regulations promulgated under the Investment Company Act. In order not to be deemed an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we must be engaged primarily in a business other than that of owning, holding, trading or investing in securities. There is uncertainty with respect to the characterization of some types of assets in which we invest as real estate under the Investment Company Act. As a result, some of the assets in which we invest could be determined to be securities, rather than interests in, or liens upon, real estate. If a sufficient amount of our assets are determined to be securities rather than interests in or liens upon real estate for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we could be characterized as an investment company, which would likely have a material adverse effect on our business and operations. The characterization of us as an investment company would require us to either (i) change the manner in which we conduct our operations to avoid being required to register as an investment company or (ii) to register as an investment company, either of which could have an adverse effect on us and the market price for our common stock.

Specifically, the CMBS we acquire are collateralized by pools of first mortgage loans where we can monitor the performance of the underlying mortgage loans through loan management and servicing rights, and we have appropriate workout/foreclosure rights with respect to the underlying mortgage loans. Due to these arrangements, we believe that our CMBS investments will be treated as investments in real estate for purposes of the

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Investment Company Act. If the SEC or its staff take a different position with respect to the characterization of the CMBS we invest in, in order to not be required to register as an investment company, we may need to dispose of a significant portion of our CMBS or acquire significant other additional assets, or we may need to modify our business plan to register as an investment company, which would result in significantly increased operating expenses and would likely entail significantly reducing our indebtedness, which could also require us to sell a significant portion of our assets. We cannot assure you that we would be able to complete these dispositions or acquisitions of assets, or deleveraging, on favorable terms, or at all. Consequently, any modification of our business plan could have a material adverse effect on us. Further, if we were determined to be an unregistered investment company, we would be subject to monetary penalties and injunctive relief in an action brought by the SEC, we may be unable to enforce contracts with third parties and third parties could seek to obtain rescission of transactions undertaken during the period it was established that we were an unregistered investment company. Any of these results would be likely to have a material adverse effect on us.

Our rights and the rights of our stockholders 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.

Under Maryland law generally, a director’s actions will be upheld if he or she performs his or her duties in good faith, in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in our best interests and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. Our charter authorizes us to indemnify our directors and officers for actions taken by them in those capacities to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law. In addition, our charter limits the liability of our directors and officers to us and our stockholders for money damages, except for liability resulting from:

As a result, we and our stockholders may have more limited rights against our directors and officers than might otherwise exist. Our by-laws require us to indemnify each director or officer who has been successful, on the merits or otherwise, in the defense of any proceeding to which he or she is made a party by reason of his or her service to us. In addition, we may be obligated to fund the defense costs incurred by our directors and officers.

Our charter contains provisions that make removal of our directors difficult, which could make it difficult for our stockholders to effect changes to our management.

Our charter provides that a director may only be removed with cause upon the affirmative vote of holders of two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast in the election of directors. Vacancies may be filled by the board of directors. This requirement makes it more difficult to change our management by removing and replacing directors and may prevent changes in control of our company that are in the interest of our stockholders.

Risks Related to Our Taxation as a REIT

Our failure to qualify as a REIT would result in higher taxes and reduced cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

We operate in a manner intended to qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes. Although we do not intend to request a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (the IRS) as to our REIT status, we expect to receive the opinion of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP with respect to our qualification as a REIT. This opinion will be issued in connection with this offering of common stock. Investors should be aware, however, that opinions of counsel are not binding on the IRS or any court. The opinion of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP represents only the view of our counsel based on our counsel’s review and analysis of existing law and on certain representations as to factual matters and covenants made by us and our manager, including representations relating to the values of our assets and the sources of our income. The opinion will be expressed

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as of the date issued and will not cover subsequent periods. Counsel has no obligation to advise us or the holders of our common stock of any subsequent change in the matters stated, represented or assumed, or of any subsequent change in applicable law. Furthermore, both the validity of the opinion of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, and our continued qualification as a REIT will depend on our satisfaction of certain asset, income, organizational, distribution, stockholder ownership and other requirements on a continuing basis, the results of which will not be monitored by Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP. Our ability to satisfy the asset tests depends upon our analysis of the 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 upon our ability to successfully manage the composition of our income and assets on an ongoing basis. Moreover, the proper classification of an instrument as debt or equity for federal income tax purposes may be uncertain in some circumstances, which could affect the application of the REIT qualification requirements as described below. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the IRS will not contend that our interests in subsidiaries or other issuers will not cause a violation of the REIT requirements. If we were to fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, we would be subject to federal income tax, including any applicable alternative minimum tax, on our taxable income at regular corporate rates, and distributions to stockholders would not be deductible by us in computing our taxable income. Any such corporate tax liability could be substantial and would reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to our stockholders, which in turn could have an adverse impact on the value of our common stock. Unless entitled to relief under certain Internal Revenue Code provisions, we also would be disqualified from taxation as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year during which we ceased to qualify as a REIT.

Dividends payable by REITs do not qualify for the reduced tax rates under recently enacted tax legislation.

Legislation enacted in 2003 generally reduces the maximum tax rate for dividends payable to domestic stockholders that are individuals, trusts and estates from 38.6% to 15% (through 2008). Dividends payable by REITs, however, are generally not eligible for the reduced rates. Although this legislation 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, which could adversely affect the value of the stock of REITs, including our common stock.

REIT distribution requirements could adversely affect our ability to execute our business plan.

We generally must distribute annually at least 90% of our net taxable income, excluding any net capital gain, in order for corporate income tax not to apply to earnings that we distribute. To the extent that we satisfy this distribution requirement, but distribute less than 100% of our taxable income, we will be subject to federal corporate income tax on our undistributed taxable income. In addition, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax if the actual amount that we pay out to our stockholders in a calendar year is less than a minimum amount specified under federal tax laws. We intend to make distributions to our stockholders to comply with the requirements of the Internal Revenue Code. However, differences in timing between the recognition of taxable income and the actual receipt of cash could require us to sell assets or borrow funds on a short-term or long-term basis to meet the 90% distribution requirement of the Internal Revenue Code. Certain of our assets may generate substantial mismatches between taxable income and available cash. As a result, the requirement to distribute a substantial portion of our net taxable income could cause us to: (i) sell assets in adverse market conditions, (ii) borrow on unfavorable terms or (iii) distribute amounts that would otherwise be invested in future acquisitions, capital expenditures or repayment of debt, in order to comply with REIT requirements.

The stock ownership limit imposed by the Internal Revenue Code for REITs and our charter may restrict our business combination opportunities.

In order for us to maintain our qualification as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code, not more than 50% in value of our outstanding stock may be owned, directly or indirectly, by five or fewer individuals (as defined in

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the Internal Revenue Code to include certain entities) at any time during the last half of each taxable year after our first year. Our charter, with certain exceptions, authorizes our board of directors to take the actions that are necessary and desirable to preserve our qualification as a REIT. Unless exempted by our board of directors, no person may own more than 9.8% of the aggregate value of our outstanding capital stock following the completion of this offering. Our board may grant an exemption 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 our control that might involve a premium price for our common stock or otherwise be in the best interest of our stockholders.

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

Even if we remain qualified for taxation as a REIT, we may be subject to certain 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, property and transfer taxes, such as mortgage recording taxes. See “Federal Income Tax Considerations—Taxation of JER Investors Trust—Taxation of REITs in General.” Any of these taxes would decrease cash available for distribution to our stockholders. In addition, in order to meet the REIT qualification requirements, or to avert the imposition of a 100% tax that applies to certain gains derived by a REIT from dealer property or inventory, we may hold some of our assets through taxable subsidiary corporations. Such subsidiaries will be subject to corporate level income tax at regular rates.

Complying with REIT requirements may cause us to forego otherwise attractive opportunities.

To qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes, we must continually satisfy tests concerning, among other things, the sources of our income, the nature and diversification of our assets, the amounts we distribute to our stockholders and the ownership of our stock. We may be required to make distributions to stockholders at disadvantageous times or when we do not have funds readily available for distribution. Thus, compliance with the REIT requirements may hinder our ability to make certain attractive investments.

Complying with REIT requirements may force us to liquidate otherwise attractive investments.

To qualify as a REIT, 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, including certain mortgage loans and mortgage backed securities. The remainder of our investment in securities (other than government securities and qualified real estate assets) generally 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 any one issuer. In addition, in general, no more than 5% of the value of our assets (other than government securities and qualified real estate assets) can consist of the securities of any one issuer, and no more than 20% of the value of our total securities can be represented by securities of one or more taxable REIT subsidiaries. See “Federal Income Tax Considerations—Taxation of JER Investors Trust—Asset Tests.” If we fail to comply with these requirements at the end of any calendar quarter, we must correct the failure within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter or qualify for certain statutory relief provisions to avoid losing our REIT status and suffering adverse tax consequences. As a result, we may be required to liquidate from our portfolio otherwise attractive investments. These actions could have the effect of reducing our income and amounts available for distribution to our stockholders.

Liquidation of assets may jeopardize our REIT status.

To continue 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 mortgage loan and preferred equity investments to repay obligations to our lenders, we may be unable to comply with these requirements, ultimately jeopardizing our status as a REIT, or we may be subject to a 100% tax on any resultant gain if we sell assets that are treated as dealer property or inventory.

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Complying with REIT requirements may limit our ability to hedge effectively.

The REIT provisions of the Internal Revenue Code may limit our ability to hedge our operations. Under current law, any income that we generate from derivatives or other transactions intended to hedge our interest rate risks will generally constitute income that does not qualify for purposes of the 75% income requirement applicable to REITs, and will also be treated as nonqualifying income for purposes of the REIT 95% income test unless specified requirements are met. In addition, any income from foreign currency or other hedges would generally constitute nonqualifying income for purposes of both the 75% and 95% REIT income tests under current law. See “Federal Income Tax Consideration—Taxation of JER Investors Trust—Derivatives and Hedging Transactions.” As a result of these rules, we may have to limit our use of hedging techniques that might otherwise be advantageous, which could result in greater risks associated with interest rate or other changes than we would otherwise incur.

The “taxable mortgage pool” rules may increase the taxes that we or our stockholders may incur, and may limit the manner in which we effect future securitizations.

Certain of our future securitizations could be considered to result in the creation of taxable mortgage pools for federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, so long as we own 100% of the equity interests in a taxable mortgage pool, we would generally not be adversely affected by the characterization of the securitization as a taxable mortgage pool. Certain categories of stockholders, however, such as foreign stockholders eligible for treaty benefits, stockholders with net operating losses, and certain tax-exempt stockholders that are subject to unrelated business income tax, could be subject to increased taxes on a portion of their dividend income from us that is attributable to the taxable mortgage pool. In addition, to the extent that our stock is owned by tax-exempt “disqualified organizations,” such as certain government-related entities that are not subject to tax on unrelated business income, although Treasury regulations have not yet been drafted to clarify the law, we may incur a corporate level tax on a portion of our income from the taxable mortgage pool. In that case, we may reduce the amount of our distributions to any disqualified organization whose stock ownership gave rise to the tax. See “Federal Income Tax Considerations—Taxation of JER Investors Trust—Taxable Mortgage Pools and Excess Inclusion Income” and “Federal Income Tax Considerations—Taxation of Stockholders—Taxation of Tax-Exempt Stockholders.” Moreover, we would be precluded from selling equity interests in these securitizations to outside investors, or selling any debt securities issued in connection with these securitizations that might be considered to be equity interests for tax purposes. These limitations may prevent us from using certain techniques to maximize our returns from securitization transactions.

The tax on prohibited transactions will limit our ability to engage in transactions, including certain methods of securitizing mortgage loans, that would be treated as sales for federal income tax purposes.

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 primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. We might be subject to this tax if we were to dispose of or securitize loans in a manner that was treated as a sale of the loans for federal income tax purposes. Therefore, in order to avoid the prohibited transactions tax, we may choose not to engage in certain sales of loans at the REIT level and may limit the structures we utilize for our securitization transactions even though the sales or structures might otherwise be beneficial to us.

Risks Related to this Offering

There may not be an active market for our common stock, which may cause our common stock to trade at a discount and make it difficult to sell the common stock you purchase.

Prior to the this offering, there has been no public market for our common stock. The initial public offering price for our common stock will be determined by negotiations between the underwriters and us. We cannot assure you that the initial public offering price will correspond to the price at which our common stock will trade

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in the public market subsequent to this offering or that the price of our shares available in the public market will reflect our actual financial performance.

We intend to apply to list our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “JRT.” Listing on the New York Stock Exchange would not ensure that an actual market will develop for our common stock. Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to:

The market price and trading volume of our common stock may be volatile following this offering.

Even if an active trading market develops for our common stock after this offering, the market price of our common stock may be highly volatile and be subject to wide fluctuations. In addition, the trading volume in our common stock may fluctuate and cause significant price variations to occur. If the market price of our common stock declines significantly, you may be unable to resell your shares at or above the initial public offering price. We cannot assure you that the market price of our common stock will not fluctuate or decline significantly in the future. Some of the factors that could negatively affect our share price or result in fluctuations in the price or trading volume of our common stock include:

Broad market fluctuations could negatively impact the market price of our common stock.

The stock market has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have affected the market price of many companies in industries similar or related to ours and that have been unrelated to these companies’ operating performances. These broad market fluctuations could reduce the market price of our common stock. Furthermore, our operating results and prospects may be below the expectations of public market analysts and investors or may be lower than those of companies with comparable market capitalizations, which could lead to a material decline in the market price of our common stock.

Future offerings of debt securities, which would rank senior to our common stock upon our liquidation, and future offerings of equity securities, which would dilute our existing stockholders and may be senior to our common stock for the purposes of dividend and liquidating distributions, may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

In the future, we may attempt to increase our capital resources by making offerings of debt or additional offerings of equity securities. Upon liquidation, holders of our debt securities and shares of preferred stock and

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lenders with respect to other borrowings will receive a distribution of our available assets prior to the holders of our common stock. Additional equity offerings may dilute the holdings of our existing stockholders or reduce the market price of our common stock, or both. Our preferred stock, if issued, could have a preference on liquidating distributions or a preference on dividend payments that could limit our ability to make a dividend distribution to the holders of our common stock. Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock (including shares of our common stock issued pursuant to our incentive plan), or the perception that these sales could occur, could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common stock. Because our decision to issue securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing or nature of our future offerings. Thus, holders of our common stock bear the risk of our future offerings reducing the market price of our common stock and diluting their stock holdings in us.

Future sales of shares of our common stock may depress the price of our shares.

We cannot predict the effect, if any, of future sales of our common stock or the availability of shares for future sales on the market price of our common stock. We have agreed to file a shelf registration statement for the benefit of the holders of              shares of our common stock issued in the private placement within 90 days after the completion of this offering. We may also issue shares of common stock pursuant to our incentive plan. Any sales of a substantial number of our shares in the public market, or the perception that sales might occur, may cause the market price of our shares to decline.

You should not rely on lock-up agreements in connection with the private placement or this offering to limit the amount of common stock sold into the market.

We will agree with the underwriters not to offer to sell, contract to sell, or otherwise dispose of, loan, pledge or grant any rights with respect to any shares of our common stock, any options or warrants to purchase any shares of our common stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable for any of our common stock for a period of              days following the date of this prospectus, subject to certain exceptions. Our directors and officers will agree, with limited exceptions, for a period of              days after the date of this prospectus, and the selling stockholders will agree, with limited exceptions, for a period of 90 days after the date of this prospectus, that they will not, without the prior written consent of Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., Inc., directly or indirectly, offer to sell, sell or otherwise dispose of any shares of our common stock or any securities convertible into, or exercisable or exchangeable for, shares of our common or our other capital stock other than the shares of common stock sold by the selling stockholders in this offering.

In addition, holders of common stock issued in the private placement have agreed not to sell their shares for a period of 30 days prior to, and 90 days following, the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part.

Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co. may, at any time, release all or a portion of the securities subject to the foregoing lock-up provisions. There are no present agreements between the underwriters and us or any of our executive officers, directors or stockholders releasing them or us from these lock-up agreements. However, we cannot predict the circumstances or timing under which Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co., Inc. may waive these restrictions. If the restrictions under the lock-up agreements with members of our senior management, directors or stockholders are waived or terminated, or upon expiration of a lock-up period, approximately              shares will be available for sale into the market at that time, subject only to applicable securities rules and regulations. These sales or a perception that these sales may occur could reduce the market price for our common stock.

We have not established a minimum distribution payment level and we cannot assure you of our ability to make distributions in the future.

We expect to make quarterly distributions to our stockholders in amounts such that we distribute all or substantially all of our taxable income in each year, subject to certain adjustments. We have not established a

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minimum distribution payment level, and our ability to make distributions may be adversely affected by the risk factors described in this prospectus. All distributions will be made at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend on our earnings, our financial condition, maintenance of our REIT status and other factors as our board of directors may deem relevant from time to time. We may not be able to make distributions in the future. In addition, some of our distributions may include a return of capital.

An increase in market interest rates may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.

One of the factors that investors may consider in deciding whether to buy or sell shares of our common stock is our distribution rate as a percentage of our share price relative to market interest rates. If the market price of our common stock is based primarily on the earnings and return that we derive from our investments and income with respect to our properties and our related distributions to stockholders, and not from the market value or underlying appraised value of the properties or investments themselves, then interest rate fluctuations and capital market conditions will likely affect the market price of our common stock. For instance, if market rates rise without an increase in our distribution rate, the market price of our common stock could decrease as potential investors may require a higher distribution yield on our common stock or seek other securities paying higher distributions or interest. In addition, rising interest rates would result in increased interest expense on our variable rate debt, thereby adversely affecting cash flow and our ability to service our indebtedness and pay distributions.

Investors in this offering will suffer immediate and substantial dilution.

The initial public offering price of our common stock is higher than the net tangible book value per share of our common stock outstanding immediately after this offering. Our net tangible book value per share as of September 30, 2004 was approximately $13.74. Net tangible book value per share as of September 30, 2004 represents the amount of our total tangible assets minus our total liabilities, divided by the 11,845,010 shares of our common stock that were outstanding on September 30, 2004. Investors who purchase our common stock in this offering will pay a price per share that substantially exceeds the net tangible book value per share of our common stock. If you purchase our common stock in this offering, you will experience immediate and substantial dilution of $             in the net tangible book value per share of our common stock, based upon an assumed initial public offering price of $              per share, which is the midpoint of the range listed on the cover page of this prospectus. Investors who purchase our common stock in this offering will have purchased            % of the shares outstanding immediately after the offering, but will have paid             % of the total consideration for those shares.

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