RISK FACTORS

An investment in our common stock involves risks. In addition to other information in this prospectus, you should carefully consider the following risks before investing in our common stock. The occurrence of any of the following risks could materially and adversely affect our business, prospects, financial condition, results of operations and our ability to make cash distributions to our shareholders, which could cause you to lose all or a significant portion of your investment in our common stock. Some statements in this prospectus, including statements in the following risk factors, constitute forward-looking statements.

Risks Related To This Offering

We have not generated any profit to date and have incurred losses since inception.

We generated $857,013 in rental revenues during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and $296,330 in rental revenues during the twelve months ended December 31, 2018 and we have cumulative net losses of approximately $1.7 million from inception to September 30, 2019. We may never become profitable and you may lose your entire investment. As of December 18, 2019, we had total cash (unrestricted and restricted) of approximately $1.6 million, properties with a cost basis of $38.7 million and outstanding debt of approximately $28.5 million.

Purchasers will suffer immediate and substantial dilution as a result of this offering.

Purchasers of shares of our common stock offered by this prospectus will suffer immediate and substantial dilution of their investment. Assuming all of the shares are sold in this offering, purchasers in this offering will suffer immediate dilution of approximately $     per share in the net tangible book value of the common stock. See “Dilution” in this prospectus for a more detailed discussion of the dilution purchasers will incur in this offering.

Investing in our company may result in an immediate loss because buyers may pay more for our common stock than the pro rata portion of the assets are worth.

We have only a limited operating history; therefore, the price of the offered shares and other terms and conditions regarding our shares may not bear any relationship to assets, earnings, book value or any other objective criteria of value. No appraiser has been consulted concerning the offering price for the shares or the fairness of the offering price used for the shares. The offering price will not change for the duration of the offering even if the price quoted on the OTCQB changes. The Company’s President and Chairman of the Board paid $0.01 per share for his shares, which represents a significant discount compared to what you would pay in this offering.

Because we have 110.0 million authorized shares of stock, management could issue additional shares, diluting the current shareholders’ equity.

We have 100.0 million authorized shares of common stock and 10.0 million authorized shares of preferred stock, of which only approximately 2.1 million shares of common stock are currently issued and outstanding. Our management could, without the consent of the existing shareholders, issue substantially more shares of common stock, causing a large dilution in the equity position of our current shareholders. Additionally, large share issuances would generally have a negative impact on the value of our shares, which could cause you to lose a substantial amount, or all, of your investment.

Any additional funding resulting from the sale of our common stock will result in dilution to existing stockholders.

We may have to raise additional capital in order for our business plan to succeed. Our most likely source of additional capital will be through the sale of additional shares of common stock. Such stock issuances will cause stockholders’ interests in our company to be diluted. Such dilution will negatively affect the value of an investor’s shares.

You may not be able to resell your stock.

If a market for our common stock develops, the actual price of our shares will be determined by prevailing market prices at the time of the sale. Even though our shares are currently approved to be quoted on the OTCQB Venture Market and we intend to apply to have our shares of common stock listed for trading on the Nasdaq, we cannot assure you that there will ever be an active market for our common stock. The trading of securities on the OTC Markets is often sporadic and investors may have difficulty buying and selling our shares or obtaining market quotations for them, which may have a negative effect on the market price of our common stock. You may not be able to sell your shares at their purchase price or at any price at all. If no market develops, the holders of our common stock may find it difficult or impossible to sell their shares.

 

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We intend to file an application to have our shares of common stock listed on the Nasdaq. We can provide no assurance that our shares, if listed, will continue to meet Nasdaq listing requirements. If we fail to comply with the continuing listing standards of the Nasdaq, our securities could be delisted.

We intend to file an application to have our shares of common stock listed on the Nasdaq. Listing of our securities on the Nasdaq is a condition to completing this offering. We anticipate that our shares will be eligible to be listed on the Nasdaq, subject to actions which may be required to meet the exchange’s listing requirements. However, we can provide no assurance that our application will be approved, and, if approved, that an active trading market for our shares will develop and continue. As a result, you may find it more difficult to purchase and dispose of our shares of common stock. For our securities to be listed on the Nasdaq, we must meet the current Nasdaq initial and continued listing requirements. If we were unable to meet these requirements, our shares could be delisted from the Nasdaq. Any such delisting of our shares could have an adverse effect on the market price of, and the efficiency of the trading market for, our shares, not only in terms of the number of shares that can be bought and sold at a given price, but also through delays in the timing of transactions and less coverage of us by securities analysts, if any. Also, if in the future we were to determine that we need to seek additional equity capital, it could have an adverse effect on our ability to raise capital in the public or private equity markets.

The stock price of our common stock may be volatile or may decline regardless of our operating performance, and you may not be able to resell your shares at or above the public offering price.

The market price of our common stock may be volatile. 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 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:

 

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actual or anticipated variations in our operating results, funds from operations, cash flows, liquidity or distributions;

 

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changes in our earnings estimates or those of analysts;

 

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publication of research reports about us or the real estate industry or sector in which we operate;

 

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increases in market interest rates that lead purchasers of our shares to demand a higher dividend yield;

 

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changes in market valuations of companies similar to us;

 

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adverse market reaction to any securities we may issue or additional debt we incur in the future;

 

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additions or departures of key management personnel;

 

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actions by institutional stockholders;

 

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speculation in the press or investment community;

 

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high levels of volatility in the credit markets;

 

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the realization of any of the other risk factors included herein; and

 

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general market and economic conditions.

The amount of distributions we may pay, if any, is uncertain. We have paid, and may in the future pay, distributions from sources other than our cash flow from operations, including borrowings or offering proceeds, which means we will have less funds available for investments and your overall return may be reduced.

We have paid, and may in the future pay, distributions from sources other than from our cash flow from operations. We intend to fund the payment of regular distributions to our stockholders entirely from cash flow from our operations. However, during the early stages of our operations, and from time to time thereafter, we may not generate sufficient cash flow from operations

 

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to fully fund distributions to stockholders. Therefore, particularly in the earlier part of our operations, if we choose to pay a distribution, we may choose to use cash flows from financing activities, which include borrowings (including borrowings secured by our assets), net proceeds of this or a prior offering, or other sources to fund distributions to our stockholders. To the extent we pay distributions from offering proceeds, including this offering, we will have less funds available to invest in income-producing properties and your overall return may be reduced. From inception through the date of this prospectus, we have distributed approximately $405,170 to common stockholders. Because we have not yet generated a profit, distributions have been made from offering proceeds. To the extent that we fund distributions from sources other than cash flows from operations, the value of your investment will decline.

Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) sales practice requirements may also limit your ability to buy and sell our common stock, which could depress the price of our shares.

We are subject to FINRA rules which require broker-dealers to have reasonable grounds for believing that an investment is suitable for a customer before recommending that investment to the customer. Prior to recommending speculative 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 and investment objectives, among other things. Under interpretations of these rules, FINRA believes that there is a high probability such speculative low-priced securities will not be suitable for at least some customers. Thus, FINRA requirements make it more difficult for broker-dealers to recommend that their customers buy our common stock, which may limit your ability to buy and sell our shares, have an adverse effect on the market for our shares, and thereby depress our share price.

We have broad discretion in the use of the net proceeds from this offering and may not use them effectively.

We will have broad discretion in the application of the net proceeds of this offering, including working capital, possible acquisitions of properties and other general corporate purposes, and we may spend or invest these proceeds in a way with which our stockholders disagree. The failure by our management to apply these funds effectively could adversely affect our business and financial condition. Pending their use, we may invest the net proceeds from offerings in a manner that does not produce income or that loses value. These investments may not yield a favorable return to our investors.

Risks Related to our Common Stock And Structure

We depend on distributions from the Operating Partnership to pay expenses.

We depend on our Operating Partnership and its subsidiaries for cash flow and are effectively structurally subordinated in right of payment to their obligations, including mortgage debt or other obligations on the properties owned.    If our subsidiaries were unable to supply us with cash over time, we could be unable to pay expenses as they come due.

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

The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research and reports that securities or industry analysts publish about us and our business. If no analysts commence coverage of us, or if analysts commence and then cease coverage of us, the trading price for our common stock would be negatively affected. If one or more of the analysts publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about our business, the price for our common stock would likely decline.

Risks Related to Our Business and Properties

We have limited operating history and may not be able to successfully operate our business or generate sufficient operating cash flows to make or sustain distributions to our stockholders.

We were organized in June 2015 for the purpose of acquiring and investing in freestanding, single-tenant commercial properties net leased to investment grade tenants. As of the date of this prospectus, we have acquired six assets. We commenced operations as soon as we were able to raise sufficient funds to acquire our first suitable property. However, our ability to make or sustain distributions to our stockholders will depend on many factors, including our ability to identify attractive acquisition opportunities that satisfy our investment strategy, our success in consummating acquisitions on favorable terms, the level and volatility of interest rates, readily accessible short-term and long-term financing on favorable terms, and conditions in the financial markets, the real estate market and the economy. We will face competition in acquiring attractive net lease properties. The value of the net lease properties that we acquire may decline substantially after we purchase them. We may not be able to successfully operate our business or implement our operating policies and investment strategy successfully. Furthermore, we may not be able to generate sufficient operating cash flow to pay our operating expenses and make distributions to our stockholders.

 

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As an early stage company, we are subject to the risks of any early stage business enterprise, including risks that we will be unable to attract and retain qualified personnel, create effective operating and financial controls and systems or effectively manage our anticipated growth, any of which could have a harmful effect on our business and our operating results.

We currently own six leased properties.

We currently own six properties, three of which were acquired in the third quarter of 2019, to lease to tenants. We need to raise funds to acquire additional properties to lease in order to grow and generate additional revenue. Because we only own six properties, the loss of any one tenant (or financial difficulties experienced by one of our tenants) could have a material adverse impact on our business and operations.

Many of our future properties will likely depend upon a single tenant for all or a majority of their rental income, and our financial condition and ability to make distributions may be adversely affected by the bankruptcy or insolvency, a downturn in the business, or a lease termination of a single tenant.

We expect that many of our properties will be occupied by only one tenant or will derive a majority of their rental income from one tenant and, therefore, the success of those properties will be materially dependent on the financial stability of such tenants. Lease payment defaults by tenants could cause us to reduce the amount of distributions we pay. A default of a tenant on its lease payments to us would cause us to lose the revenue from the property and force us to find an alternative source of revenue to meet any mortgage payment and prevent a foreclosure if the property is subject to a mortgage. In the event of a default, we may experience delays in enforcing our rights as landlord and may incur substantial costs in protecting our investment and re-letting the property. If a lease is terminated, there is no assurance that we will be able to lease the property for the rent previously received or sell the property without incurring a loss. A default by a tenant, the failure of a guarantor to fulfill its obligations or other premature termination of a lease, or a tenant’s election not to extend a lease upon its expiration, could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and our ability to pay distributions.

We may change our investment objectives without seeking stockholder approval.

We may change our investment objectives without stockholder notice or consent. Although our Board has fiduciary duties to our stockholders and intends only to change our investment objectives when our Board determines that a change is in the best interests of our stockholders, a change in our investment objectives could reduce our payment of cash distributions to our stockholders or cause a decline in the value of our investments.

We may not be successful in identifying and consummating suitable investment opportunities.

Our investment strategy requires us to identify suitable investment opportunities compatible with our investment criteria. We may not be successful in identifying suitable opportunities that meet our criteria or in consummating investments, including those identified as part of our investment pipeline, on satisfactory terms or at all. Our ability to make investments on favorable terms may be constrained by several factors including, but not limited to, competition from other investors with significant capital, including non-traded REITs, publicly-traded REITs and institutional investment funds, which may significantly increase investment costs; and/or the inability to finance an investment on favorable terms or at all. The failure to identify or consummate investments on satisfactory terms, or at all, may impede our growth and negatively affect our cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

If we cannot obtain additional capital, our ability to make acquisitions and lease properties will be limited. We are subject to risks associated with debt and capital stock issuances, and such issuances may have adverse consequences to holders of shares of our common stock.

Our ability to make acquisitions and lease properties will depend, in large part, upon our ability to raise additional capital. If we were to raise additional capital through the issuance of equity securities, we could dilute the interests of holders of shares of our common stock. Our Board may authorize the issuance of classes or series of preferred stock which may have rights that could dilute, or otherwise adversely affect, the interest of holders of shares our common stock.

Further, we expect to incur additional indebtedness in the future, which may include a new corporate credit facility. Such indebtedness could also have other important consequences to our creditors and holders of our common and preferred stock, including subjecting us to covenants restricting our operating flexibility, increasing our vulnerability to general adverse

 

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economic and industry conditions, limiting our ability to obtain additional financing to fund future working capital, capital expenditures and other general corporate requirements, requiring the use of a portion of our cash flow from operations for the payment of principal and interest on our indebtedness, thereby reducing our ability to use our cash flow to fund working capital, acquisitions, capital expenditures and general corporate requirements, and limiting our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and our industry.

We may never reach sufficient size to achieve diversity in our portfolio.

We are presently a comparatively small company with a modest number of properties, resulting in a portfolio that lacks geographic and tenant diversity. While we intend to endeavor to grow and diversify our portfolio through additional property acquisitions, we may never reach a significant size to achieve true portfolio diversity. In addition, because we intend to focus on single-tenant properties, we may never have a diverse group of tenants renting our properties, which will hinder our ability to achieve overall diversity in our portfolio.

The market for real estate investments is highly competitive.

Identifying attractive real estate investment opportunities, particularly in the value-added real estate arena, is difficult and involves a high degree of uncertainty. Furthermore, the historical performance of a particular property or market is not a guarantee or prediction of the property’s or market’s future performance. There can be no assurance that we will be able to locate suitable acquisition opportunities, achieve our investment goal and objectives, or fully deploy for investment the net proceeds of this offering.

Because of the recent growth in demand for real estate investments, there may be increased competition among investors to invest in the same asset classes as our company. This competition may lead to an increase in the investment prices or otherwise less favorable investment terms. If this situation occurs with a particular investment, our return on that investment is likely to be less than the return it could have achieved if it had invested at a time of less investor competition for the investment.

We are required to make a number of judgments in applying accounting policies, and different estimates and assumptions in the application of these policies could result in changes to our reporting of financial condition and results of operations.

Various estimates are used in the preparation of our financial statements, including estimates related to asset and liability valuations (or potential impairments) and various receivables. Often these estimates require the use of market data values that may be difficult to assess, as well as estimates of future performance or receivables collectability that may be difficult to accurately predict. While we have identified those accounting policies that are considered critical and have procedures in place to facilitate the associated judgments, different assumptions in the application of these policies could result in material changes to our financial condition and results of operations.

We utilize, and intend to continue to utilize, leverage, which may limit our financial flexibility in the future.

As of September 30, 2019, we had five promissory notes totaling approximately $26.7 million of which three promissory notes totaling approximately $13.2 million require Debt Service Coverage Ratios (also known as “DSCR”) of 1.10:1.0 and two promissory notes totaling $13.5 million require DSCR of 1.25:1.0. On December 16, 2019, our Operating Partnership issued a secured non-convertible promissory note to the Clearlake Preferred Member for $1.9 million that is due in on December 16, 2021 and bears an interest rate of 10%. The loan is repayable without penalty at any time. The loan is secured by all of the personal and fixture property assets of the Operating Partnership.

We make acquisitions and operate our business in part through the utilization of leverage pursuant to loan agreements with various financial institutions. These loan agreements contain standard affirmative and negative covenants, including prohibitions on additional liens on the collateral, financial reporting obligations and maintenance of insurance, in addition to the DSCR covenants described above. These covenants, as well as any future covenants we may enter into through further loan agreements, could inhibit our financial flexibility in the future and prevent distributions to stockholders.

We may incur losses as a result of ineffective risk management processes and strategies.

We seek to monitor and control our risk exposure through a risk and control framework encompassing a variety of separate but complementary financial, credit, operational, compliance and legal reporting systems, internal controls, management review processes and other mechanisms. While we employ a broad and diversified set of risk monitoring and risk mitigation techniques, those techniques and the judgments that accompany their application cannot anticipate every economic and financial outcome or the specifics and timing of such outcomes. In addition, with a limited number of employees and ineffective internal controls (described below), our ability to identify risks is limited. Thus, we may, in the course of our activities, incur losses due to these risks.

 

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We have identified a material weakness in our internal control over financial reporting which could, if not remediated, result in material misstatements in our financial statements.

Although we have concluded that our consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the results of operations, financial position, and cash flows of our company and its subsidiaries in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles, we have identified a material weakness in internal control over financial reporting related to the lack of segregation of accounting duties. Under standards established by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a material weakness is a deficiency, or combination of deficiencies, in internal control over financial reporting, such that there is a reasonable possibility that a material misstatement of our annual or interim financial statements will not be prevented or detected and corrected on a timely basis.

We are initiating remedial measures, but if our remedial measures are insufficient to address the material weakness, or if additional material weaknesses or significant deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting are discovered or occur in the future, our consolidated financial statements may contain material misstatements, and we could be required to restate our financial results. If we are unable to successfully remediate this material weakness and if we are unable to produce accurate and timely financial statements, your investment in us may lose all or some of its value.

You will not have the opportunity to evaluate our investments before we make them.

Because we have not identified all of the specific assets that we will acquire, we are not able to provide you with information that you may want to evaluate before deciding to invest in our shares. Our investment policies and strategies are very broad and permit us to invest in any type of commercial real estate, including developed and undeveloped properties, entities owning these assets or other real estate assets regardless of geographic location or property type. Our President and Chairman of the board has absolute discretion in implementing these policies and strategies, subject to the restrictions on investment objectives and policies set forth in our articles of incorporation. Because you cannot evaluate our investments in advance of purchasing shares of our common stock, our common stock may entail more risk than other types of investments. This additional risk may hinder your ability to achieve your own personal investment objectives related to portfolio diversification, risk-adjusted investment returns and other objectives.

We rely on information technology networks and systems in conducting our business, and any material failure, inadequacy, interruption or security failure of that technology could harm our business.

We rely on information technology networks and systems, including the Internet, to process, transmit and store electronic information and to manage or support a variety of our business processes, including financial transactions and maintenance of records, which may include confidential information of tenants, lease data and information regarding our stockholders. We rely on commercially available systems, software, tools and monitoring to provide security for processing, transmitting and storing confidential information. Security breaches, including physical or electronic break-ins, computer viruses, attacks by hackers and similar breaches or cyber-attacks, can create system disruptions, shutdowns or unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. In addition, any breach in the data security measures employed by any third-party vendors upon which we may rely, could also result in the improper disclosure of personally identifiable information. Any failure to maintain proper function, security and availability of information systems could interrupt our operations, damage our reputation, subject us to liability claims or regulatory penalties and could materially and adversely affect us.

We are an emerging growth company and we cannot be certain if the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to emerging growth companies will make our common stock less attractive to investors.

For as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, we intend to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies including, but not limited to, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. We cannot predict if investors will find our common stock less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our common stock less attractive as a result, there may be a less active trading market for our common stock and our stock price may be more volatile.

 

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We will remain an emerging growth company until the earliest of (i) the end of the fiscal year in which the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million, (ii) the end of the fiscal year in which we have total annual gross revenue of $1.07 billion or more during such fiscal year, (iii) the date on which we issue more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt in a three-year period or (iv) the last day of the fiscal year following the fifth anniversary of the date of the first sale of our common stock pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act.

We have experienced losses in the past, and we will likely experience similar losses in the near future.

From inception of our company through September 30, 2019, we had a cumulative net loss of approximately $1.7 million. Our losses can be attributed, in part, to the initial start-up costs and high corporate general and administrative expenses relative to the size of our portfolio. In addition, acquisition costs and depreciation and amortization expenses substantially reduced our income. As we continue to acquire properties, we anticipate high expenses to continue before we are able to achieve positive net income from our properties. We cannot assure you that, in the future, we will be profitable or that we will realize growth in the value of our assets.

We have paid and may continue to pay distributions from offering proceeds to the extent our cash flow from operations or earnings are not sufficient to fund declared distributions. Rates of distribution to you will not necessarily be indicative of our operating results. If we make distributions from sources other than our cash flows from operations or earnings, we will have fewer funds available for the acquisition of properties and your overall return may be reduced.

Our organizational documents permit us to make distributions from any source, including the net proceeds from this offering. There is no limit on the amount of offering proceeds we may use to pay distributions. To date, we have funded and expect to continue to fund distributions from the net proceeds of our offerings. We may also fund distributions with borrowings and the sale of assets to the extent distributions exceed our earnings or cash flows from operations. While we intend to pay distributions from cash flow from operations, our distributions paid to date were all funded by proceeds from our initial offering. To the extent we fund distributions from sources other than cash flow from operations, such distributions may constitute a return of capital and we will have fewer funds available for the acquisition of properties and your overall return may be reduced. Further, to the extent distributions exceed our earnings and profits, a stockholder’s basis in our stock will be reduced and, to the extent distributions exceed a stockholder’s basis, the stockholder will be required to recognize capital gain.

The limits on the percentage of shares of our common stock that any person may own may discourage a takeover or business combination that could otherwise benefit our stockholders.

Our charter, with certain exceptions, authorizes our Board to take such actions as are necessary and desirable to preserve our future qualification as a REIT. Unless exempted by our Board, no person may own more than 9.8% in value of our outstanding capital stock or more than 9.8% in value or number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of our outstanding common stock. A person that did not acquire more than 9.8% of our shares may become subject to our charter restrictions if redemptions by other stockholders cause such person’s holdings to exceed 9.8% of our outstanding shares. Our 9.8% ownership limitation may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us, including an extraordinary transaction (such as a merger, tender offer or sale of all or substantially all of our assets) that might provide a premium price for our stockholders.

Our charter permits our Board to issue stock with terms that may subordinate the rights of the holders of our common stock or discourage a third party from acquiring us in a manner that could result in a premium price to our stockholders.

Our Board may classify or reclassify any unissued common stock or preferred stock into other classes or series of stock and establish the preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends and other distributions, qualifications and terms or conditions of redemption of any such stock without stockholder approval. Thus, our Board could authorize the issuance of preferred stock with terms and conditions that could have priority as to distributions and amounts payable upon liquidation over the rights of the holders of our common stock. Such preferred stock could also have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of us, including an extraordinary transaction (such as a merger, tender offer or sale of all or substantially all of our assets) that might otherwise provide a premium price to holders of our common stock.

Our charter includes a provision that may discourage a stockholder from launching a tender offer for our shares.

Our charter provides that any tender offer made by a person, including any “mini-tender” offer, must comply with most provisions of Regulation 14D of the Exchange Act. The offeror must provide our company notice of such tender offer at least 10 business days before initiating the tender offer. If the offeror does not comply with these requirements, no person may transfer any shares held by such person to the offeror without first offering the shares to us at the lowest of (1) the latest offering price of our common stock; (2) the fair market value of one share of our common stock as determined by an independent

 

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valuation; and (3) the lowest tender offer price offered in such tender offer. In addition, the noncomplying offeror person shall be responsible for all of our company’s expenses in connection with that offeror’s noncompliance. This provision of our charter may discourage a person from initiating a tender offer for our shares and prevent you from receiving a premium price for your shares in such a transaction.

Maryland law and our organizational documents limit our rights and the rights of our stockholders to recover claims against our directors and officers, which could reduce your and our recovery against them if they cause us to incur losses.

Maryland law provides that a director will not have any liability as a director so long as he or she performs his or her duties in accordance with the applicable standard of conduct. In addition, Maryland law and our charter provide that no director or officer shall be liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages unless the director or officer (1) actually received an improper benefit or profit in money, property or services or (2) was actively and deliberately dishonest as established by a final judgment as material to the cause of action. Moreover, our charter generally requires us to indemnify and advance expenses to our directors and officers for losses they may incur by reason of their service in those capacities unless their act or omission was material to the matter giving rise to the proceeding and was committed in bad faith or was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty, they actually received an improper personal benefit in money, property or services or, in the case of any criminal proceeding, they had reasonable cause to believe the act or omission was unlawful. Further, we have entered into separate indemnification agreements with each of our officers and directors. As a result, you and we may have more limited rights against our directors or officers than might otherwise exist under common law, which could reduce your and our recovery from these persons if they act in a manner that causes us to incur losses. In addition, we are obligated to fund the defense costs incurred by these persons in some cases.

Certain provisions of Maryland law could inhibit transactions or changes of control under circumstances that could otherwise provide stockholders with the opportunity to realize a premium.

Certain provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law applicable to us prohibit business combinations with: (1) any person who beneficially owns 10% or more of the voting power of our outstanding voting stock, which we refer to as an “interested stockholder;” (2) an affiliate or associate of ours who, at any time within the two-year period prior to the date in question, was the beneficial owner of 10% or more of the voting power of our then outstanding stock, which we also refer to as an “interested stockholder;” or (3) an affiliate of an interested stockholder. These prohibitions last for five years after the most recent date on which the interested stockholder became an interested stockholder. Thereafter, any business combination with the interested stockholder or an affiliate of the interested stockholder must be recommended by our Board and approved by the affirmative vote of at least 80% of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of our outstanding voting stock, and two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of our voting stock other than shares held by the interested stockholder or its affiliate with whom the business combination is to be effected or held by an affiliate or associate of the interested stockholder. These requirements could have the effect of inhibiting a change in control even if a change in control were in our stockholders’ best interest. These provisions of Maryland law do not apply, however, to business combinations that are approved or exempted by our Board prior to the time that someone becomes an interested stockholder. Pursuant to the business combination statute, our Board has exempted any business combination involving us and any person, provided that such business combination is first approved by a majority of our Board.

Our structure may result in potential conflicts of interest with limited partners in our Operating Partnership whose interests may not be aligned with those of our stockholders.

Our directors and officers have duties to our corporation and our stockholders under Maryland law and our charter in connection with their management of the corporation. At the same time, we, as general partner, will have fiduciary duties under Delaware law to our Operating Partnership and to the limited partners in connection with the management of our Operating Partnership. Our duties as general partner of our Operating Partnership and its partners may come into conflict with the duties of our directors and officers to our corporation and our stockholders. Under Delaware law, a general partner of a Delaware limited partnership owes its limited partners the duties of good faith and fair dealing. Other duties, including fiduciary duties, may be modified or eliminated in the partnership’s partnership agreement. The partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership provides that, for so long as we own a controlling interest in our Operating Partnership, any conflict that cannot be resolved in a manner not adverse to either our stockholders or the limited partners will be resolved in favor of our stockholders.

Additionally, the partnership agreement expressly limits our liability by providing that we will not be liable or accountable to our Operating Partnership for losses sustained, liabilities incurred or benefits not derived if we acted in good faith. In addition, our Operating Partnership is required to indemnify us and our officers, directors, employees, agents and designees to the extent permitted by applicable law from and against any and all claims arising from operations of our Operating Partnership, unless

 

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it is established that: (1) the act or omission was material to the matter giving rise to the proceeding and either was committed in bad faith or was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty; (2) the indemnified party received an improper personal benefit in money, property or services; or (3) in the case of a criminal proceeding, the indemnified person had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful.

The provisions of Delaware law that allow the fiduciary duties of a general partner to be modified by a partnership agreement have not been tested in a court of law, and we have not obtained an opinion of counsel covering the provisions set forth in the partnership agreement that purport to waive or restrict our fiduciary duties.

General Risks Related to Investments in Real Estate

The third party valuations of real estate investments we seek to purchase often times includes the value of a commercial lease and the loss of such a lease could result in the value of the real property declining.

Many of the properties that we seek to acquire include a commercial lease arrangement on the property and the corresponding purchase price for such property includes an assumption that such lease will continue. If we purchase a property with a commercial lease arrangement that terminates, the value of the investment may decline and we may be unable to sell the property for what we paid.    

Our operating results will be affected by economic and regulatory changes that have an adverse impact on the real estate market in general, and we cannot assure you that we will be profitable or that we will realize growth in the value of our real estate properties.

Our operating results are subject to risks generally incident to the ownership of real estate, including:

 

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adverse changes in national and local economic and market conditions, including the credit markets;

 

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changes in governmental laws and regulations, including with respect to taxes, real estate, and the environment, fiscal policies and zoning ordinances and the related costs of compliance with those laws and regulations, fiscal policies and ordinances;

 

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takings by condemnation or eminent domain;

 

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real estate conditions, such as an oversupply of or a reduction in demand for real estate space in the area;

 

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the perceptions of tenants and prospective tenants of the convenience, attractiveness and safety of our properties;

 

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competition from comparable properties;

 

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the occupancy rate of our properties;

 

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the ability to collect all rent from tenants on a timely basis;

 

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the effects of any bankruptcies or insolvencies of major tenants;

 

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the expense of re-leasing space;

 

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changes in interest rates and in the availability, cost and terms of mortgage funding;

 

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the impact of present or future environmental legislation and compliance with environmental laws;

 

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acts of war or terrorism, including the consequences of terrorist attacks;

 

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acts of God, including earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters, which may result in uninsured losses;

 

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cost of compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act;

 

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changes in general economic or local conditions;

 

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changes in supply of or demand for similar or competing properties in an area;

 

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the impact of permanent mortgage funds, which may render the sale of a property difficult or unattractive; and

 

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periods of high interest rates and tight money supply.

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

Your investment return may be reduced if we are required to register as an investment company under the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940 (and similar legislation in other jurisdictions); if we or our subsidiaries become an unregistered investment company, we could not continue our business.

Neither we nor any of our subsidiaries intend to register as investment companies under the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules thereunder (and similar legislation in other jurisdictions) (the “Investment Company Act”). If we or our subsidiaries were obligated to register as investment companies, we would have to comply with a variety of substantive requirements under the Investment Company Act that impose, among other things:

 

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limitations on capital structure;

 

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restrictions on specified investments;

 

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prohibitions on transactions with affiliates; and

 

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compliance with reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy disclosure and other rules and regulations that would significantly increase our operating expenses.

Under the relevant provisions of Section 3(a)(1) of the Investment Company Act, an investment company is any issuer that:

 

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is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily, or proposes to engage primarily, in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities (the “primarily engaged test”); or

 

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is engaged or proposes to engage in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities and owns or proposes to acquire “investment securities” having a value exceeding 40% of the value of such issuer’s total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis (the “40% test”). “Investment securities” excludes U.S. government securities and securities of majority-owned subsidiaries that are not themselves investment companies and are not relying on the exception from the definition of investment company under Section 3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7) (relating to private investment companies).

We believe that neither we nor our Operating Partnership will be required to register as an investment company. With respect to the 40% test, the entities through which we and our Operating Partnership intend to own our assets will be majority-owned subsidiaries that are not themselves investment companies and are not relying on the exceptions from the definition of investment company under Section 3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7).

With respect to the primarily engaged test, we and our Operating Partnership are holding companies and do not intend to invest or trade in securities ourselves. Rather, through the majority-owned subsidiaries of our Operating Partnership, we and our Operating Partnership are primarily engaged in the non-investment company businesses of these subsidiaries, namely the business of purchasing or otherwise acquiring real estate and real estate-related assets.

To maintain compliance with the Investment Company Act, our subsidiaries may be unable to sell assets we would otherwise want them to sell and may need to sell assets we would otherwise wish them to retain. In addition, our subsidiaries may have to acquire additional assets that they might not otherwise have acquired or may have to forgo opportunities to make investments that we would otherwise want them to make and would be important to our investment strategy. Moreover, the SEC or its staff may issue interpretations with respect to various types of assets that are contrary to our views and current SEC staff interpretations are subject to change, which increases the risk of non-compliance and the risk that we may be forced to make adverse changes to our portfolio. If we were required to register as an investment company but failed to do so, we would be prohibited from engaging in our business and criminal and civil actions could be brought against us. In addition, our contracts would be unenforceable unless a court required enforcement and a court could appoint a receiver to take control of us and liquidate our business.

 

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If a major tenant declares bankruptcy, we may be unable to collect balances due under its leases, which would have a harmful effect on our financial condition and ability to pay distributions to you.

Our success will depend on the financial ability of our tenants to remain current with their leases with us. We may experience concentration in one or more tenants if the future leases we have with those tenants represent a significant percentage of our operations. Currently, we have three tenants that each account for more than 10% of our rental revenue (Pratt and Whitney Corporation with respect to the Huntsville, AL property; the General Services Administration with respect to the two-tenant office building in Norfolk, VA and PRA Holding with respect to the single tenant building in Norfolk, VA). Any of our current or future tenants, or any guarantor of one of our current or future tenant’s lease obligations, could be subject to a bankruptcy proceeding pursuant to Title 11 of the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such a bankruptcy filing would bar us from attempting to collect pre-bankruptcy debts from the bankrupt tenant or its properties unless we receive an enabling order from the bankruptcy court. Post-bankruptcy debts would be paid currently. If we assume a lease, all pre-bankruptcy balances owing under it must be paid in full. If a lease is rejected by a tenant in bankruptcy, we would have a general unsecured claim for damages. This claim could be paid only in the event funds were available, and then only in the same percentage as that realized on other unsecured claims.

The bankruptcy of a current or future tenant or lease guarantor could delay our efforts to collect past due balances under the relevant lease, and could ultimately preclude full collection of these sums. Such an event also could cause a decrease or cessation of current rental payments, reducing our operating cash flows and the amount available for distributions to you. In the event a current or future tenant or lease guarantor declares bankruptcy, the tenant or its director may not assume our lease or its guaranty. If a given lease or guaranty is not assumed, our operating cash flows and the amounts available for distributions to you may be adversely affected. The bankruptcy of a major tenant would have a harmful effect on our ability to pay distributions to you.

A high concentration of our properties in a particular geographic area, or with tenants in a similar industry, would magnify the effects of downturns in that geographic area or industry.

We plan to focus our acquisition efforts on major primary and coastal markets. We currently own six properties, which are located in Virginia (2 properties), Florida (2 properties), Alabama (1 property) and Washington, D.C. (1 property). In the event that we have a concentration of properties in any particular geographic area, any adverse situation that disproportionately affects that geographic area, such as a local economic downturn or a severe natural disaster, would have a magnified adverse effect on our portfolio. Similarly, if tenants of our properties become concentrated in a certain industry or industries or in any particular tenant, any adverse effect to that industry or tenant generally would have a disproportionately adverse effect on our portfolio.

If a sale-leaseback transaction is re-characterized in a tenant’s bankruptcy proceeding, our financial condition could be adversely affected.

We may enter into sale-leaseback transactions, whereby we would purchase a property and then lease the same property back to the person from whom we purchased it. In the event of the bankruptcy of a tenant, a transaction structured as a sale-leaseback may be re-characterized as either a financing or a joint venture (which is generally classified as Redeemable Minority Interest or Non-Redeemable Minority Interest in our Operating Partnership), either of which outcomes could adversely affect our business. If the sale-leaseback were re-characterized as a financing, we might not be considered the owner of the property, and as a result would have the status of a creditor in relation to the tenant. In that event, we would no longer have the right to sell or encumber our ownership interest in the property. Instead, we would have a claim against the tenant for the amounts owed under the lease, with the claim arguably secured by the property. The tenant/debtor might have the ability to propose a plan restructuring the term, interest rate and amortization schedule of its outstanding balance. If confirmed by the bankruptcy court, we could be bound by the new terms, and prevented from foreclosing our lien on the property. If the sale-leaseback were re-characterized as a joint venture, our lessee and we could be treated as co-venturers with regard to the property. As a result, we could be held liable, under some circumstances, for debts incurred by the lessee relating to the property. Either of these outcomes could adversely affect our cash flow and the amount available for distributions to you.

We may obtain only limited warranties when we purchase a property and would have only limited recourse in the event our due diligence did not identify any issues that lower the value of our property.

The seller of a property often sells such property in its “as is” condition on a “where is” basis and “with all faults,” without any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular use or purpose. In addition, purchase agreements may contain only limited warranties, representations and indemnifications that will only survive for a limited period after the closing. Thus, the purchase of properties with limited warranties increases the risk that we may lose some or all of our invested capital in the property as well as the loss of rental income from that property.

 

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Our real estate investments may include special use single-tenant properties that may be difficult to sell or re-lease upon lease terminations.

We have invested and intend to invest primarily in single-tenant, income-producing commercial retail, office and industrial properties, a number of which may include special use single-tenant properties. If the leases on these properties are terminated or not renewed, we may have difficulty re-leasing or selling these properties to new tenants due to the lack of efficient alternate uses for such properties. Therefore, we may be required to expend substantial funds to renovate and/or adapt any such property for a revenue-generating alternate use or make rent concessions in order to lease the property to another tenant or sell the property. These and other limitations may adversely affect the cash flows from, lead to a decline in value of or eliminate the return on investment of, these special use single-tenant properties.

We may be unable to secure funds for future tenant improvements, build outs or capital needs, which could adversely impact our ability to pay cash distributions to our stockholders.

When tenants do not renew their leases or otherwise vacate their space, it is usual that, in order to attract replacement tenants, we will be required to expend substantial funds for tenant improvements, tenant refurbishments or tenant-specific build outs to the vacated space. In addition, although we expect that our leases with tenants will require tenants to pay routine property maintenance costs, we will likely be responsible for any major structural repairs, such as repairs to the foundation, exterior walls and rooftops. We will use substantially all of the net proceeds of this offering to buy real estate and pay various fees and expenses. Accordingly, if we need additional capital in the future to improve or maintain our properties or for any other reason, we will have to obtain financing from other sources, such as cash flow from operations, borrowings, property sales or future equity offerings. These sources of funding may not be available on attractive terms or at all. If we cannot procure additional funding for capital improvements, our investments may generate lower cash flows or decline in value, or both.

Our inability to sell a property when we desire to do so could adversely impact our ability to pay cash distributions to you.

The real estate market is affected by many factors, such as general economic conditions, availability of financing, interest rates, supply and demand, and other factors that are beyond our control. We cannot predict whether we will be able to sell any property for the price or on the terms set by us, or whether any price or other terms offered by a prospective purchaser would be acceptable to us. We may be required to expend funds to correct defects or to make improvements before a property can be sold. We may not have adequate funds available to correct such defects or to make such improvements. Moreover, in acquiring a property, we may agree to restrictions that prohibit the sale of that property for a period of time or impose other restrictions, such as a limitation on the amount of debt that can be placed or repaid on that property. We cannot predict the length of time needed to find a willing purchaser and to close the sale of a property. Our inability to sell a property when we desire to do so may cause us to reduce our selling price for the property, and could adversely impact our ability to pay distributions to you.

We may not be able to sell our properties at a price equal to, or greater than, the price for which we purchased such property, which may lead to a decrease in the value of our assets.

Some of our leases may not contain rental increases over time, or the rental increases may be less than the fair market rate at a future point in time. In such event, the value of the leased property to a potential purchaser may not increase over time, which may restrict our ability to sell that property, or if we are able to sell that property, may result in a sale price less than the price that we paid to purchase the property.

We may acquire or finance properties with lock-out provisions, which may prohibit us from selling a property, or may require us to maintain specified debt levels for a period of years on some properties.

Lock-out provisions could materially restrict us from selling or otherwise disposing of or refinancing properties. These provisions would affect our ability to turn our investments into cash and thus affect cash available for distributions to you. Lock-out provisions may prohibit us from reducing the outstanding indebtedness with respect to any properties, refinancing such indebtedness on a non-recourse basis at maturity, or increasing the amount of indebtedness with respect to such properties. Lock-out provisions could impair our ability to take other actions during the lock-out period that could be in the best interests of our stockholders and, therefore, may have an adverse impact on the value of the shares, relative to the value that would result if the lock-out provisions did not exist. In particular, lock-out provisions could preclude us from participating in major transactions that could result in a disposition of our assets or a change in control even though that disposition or change in control might be in the best interests of our stockholders.

 

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Rising expenses could reduce cash flow and funds available for future acquisitions.

Our properties are subject to operating risks common to real estate in general, any or all of which may negatively affect us. If any property is not fully occupied or if rents are being paid in an amount that is insufficient to cover operating expenses, we could be required to expend funds with respect to that property for operating expenses. The properties will be subject to increases in tax rates, utility costs, operating expenses, insurance costs, repairs and maintenance and administrative expenses. While we expect that many of our properties will be leased on a net-lease basis or will require the tenants to pay all or a portion of such expenses, renewals of leases or future leases may not be negotiated on that basis, in which event we may have to pay those costs. If we are unable to lease properties on a net-lease basis or on a basis requiring the tenants to pay all or some of such expenses, or if tenants fail to pay required tax, utility and other impositions, we could be required to pay those costs which could adversely affect funds available for future acquisitions or cash available for distributions.

Adverse economic conditions may negatively affect our returns and profitability.

Our operating results may be affected by the following market and economic challenges, which may result from a continued or exacerbated general economic slowdown experienced by the nation as a whole or by the local economics where our properties are located:

 

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poor economic conditions may result in tenant defaults under leases;

 

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re-leasing may require concessions or reduced rental rates under the new leases; and

 

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increased insurance premiums may reduce funds available for distribution or, to the extent such increases are passed through to tenants, may lead to tenant defaults. Increased insurance premiums may make it difficult to increase rents to tenants on turnover, which may adversely affect our ability to increase our returns.

The length and severity of any economic downturn cannot be predicted. Our operations could be negatively affected in the event of an economic downturn.

Increased vacancy rates could have an adverse impact on our ability to make distributions and the value of an investment in our shares.

If we experience vacancy rates that are higher than historical vacancy rates, we may have to offer lower rental rates and greater tenant improvements or concessions than expected. Increased vacancies may have a greater impact on us, as compared to real estate investment programs with other investment strategies, as our investment approach relies on long-term leases in order to provide a relatively stable stream of income for our business. As a result, increased vacancy rates could have the following negative effects on us:

 

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the values of our potential investments in commercial properties could decrease below the amount paid for such investments;

 

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revenues from such properties could decrease due to low or no rental income during vacant periods, lower future rental rates and/or increased tenant improvement expenses or concessions; and/or

 

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revenues from such properties that secure loans could decrease, making it more difficult for us to meet our payment obligations.

All of these factors could impair our ability to make distributions and decrease the value of an investment in our shares.

Global market and economic conditions may materially and adversely affect us and our tenants.

If the U.S. economy were to experience adverse economic conditions such as high unemployment levels, interest rates, tax rates and fuel and energy costs may have an impact on the results of operations and financial conditions of our tenants. During periods of economic slowdown, rising interest rates and declining demand for real estate may result in a general decline in rents or an increased incidence of lease defaults. Volatility in the United States and global markets can make it difficult to determine the breadth and duration of the impact of future economic and financial market crises and the ways in which our tenants and our business may be affected. A lack of demand for rental space could adversely affect our ability to gain new tenants, which may affect our growth and profitability. Accordingly, the adverse economic conditions could materially and adversely affect us.

 

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

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

We may recognize substantial impairment charges on our properties.

We may in the future incur substantial impairment charges, which we are required to recognize whenever we sell a property for less than its carrying value or we determine that the carrying amount of the property is not recoverable and exceeds its fair value (or, for direct financing leases, that the unguaranteed residual value of the underlying property has declined). By their nature, the timing or extent of impairment charges are not predictable. We may incur non-cash impairment charges in the future, which may reduce our net income.

If we suffer losses that are not covered by insurance or that are in excess of insurance coverage, we could lose invested capital and anticipated profits.

Generally, each of our tenants will be responsible for insuring its goods and premises and, in some circumstances, may be required to reimburse us for a share of the cost of acquiring comprehensive insurance for the property, including casualty, liability, fire and extended coverage customarily obtained for similar properties in amounts that we determine are sufficient to cover reasonably foreseeable losses. Tenants of single-tenant properties leased on a net-lease basis typically are required to pay all insurance costs associated with those properties. Material losses may occur in excess of insurance proceeds with respect to any property, as insurance may not be sufficient to fund the losses. However, there are types of losses, generally of a catastrophic nature, such as losses due to wars, acts of terrorism, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, pollution or environmental matters, which are either uninsurable or not economically insurable, or may be insured subject to limitations, such as large deductibles or co-payments. Insurance risks associated with potential terrorism acts could sharply increase the premiums we pay for coverage against property and casualty claims. Additionally, mortgage lenders in some cases have begun to insist that commercial property owners purchase specific coverage against terrorism as a condition for providing mortgage loans. It is uncertain whether such insurance policies will be available, or available at reasonable cost, which could inhibit our ability to finance or refinance our potential properties. In these instances, we may be required to provide other financial support, either through financial assurances or self-insurance, to cover potential losses. We may not have adequate, or any, coverage for such losses. The Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 is designed for a sharing of terrorism losses between insurance companies and the federal government, and expires on December 31, 2020. There is no assurance that Congress will extend the insurance beyond 2020. We cannot be certain how this act will impact us or what additional cost to us, if any, could result. If such an event damaged or destroyed one or more of our properties, we could lose both our invested capital and anticipated profits from such property.

Real estate related taxes may increase and if these increases are not passed on to tenants, our income will be reduced.

Some local real property tax assessors may seek to reassess some of our properties as a result of our acquisition of the property. Generally, from time to time, our property taxes may increase as property values or assessment rates change or for other reasons deemed relevant by the assessors. An increase in the assessed valuation of a property for real estate tax purposes will result in an increase in the related real estate taxes on that property. Although some tenant leases may permit us to pass through such tax increases to the tenants for payment, there is no assurance that renewal leases or future leases will be negotiated on the same basis. Increases not passed through to tenants will adversely affect our income, cash available for distributions, and the amount of distributions to you.

 

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We could be exposed to environmental liabilities with respect to investments to which we take title.

In the course of our business, and taking title to properties, we could be subject to environmental liabilities with respect to such properties. In such a circumstance, we may be held liable to a governmental entity or to third parties for property damage, personal injury, investigation and cleanup costs incurred by these parties in connection with environmental contamination, or we may be required to investigate or clean up hazardous or toxic substances or chemical releases at a property. The costs associated with investigation or remediation activities could be substantial. If we become subject to significant environmental liabilities, our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.

Properties may contain toxic and hazardous materials.

Federal, state and local laws impose liability on a landowner for releases or the otherwise improper presence on the premises of hazardous substances. This liability is without regard to fault for, or knowledge of, the presence of such substances. A landowner may be held liable for hazardous materials brought onto the property before it acquired title and for hazardous materials that are not discovered until after it sells the property. Similar liability may occur under applicable state law. If any hazardous materials are found within a property that are in violation of law at any time, we may be liable for all cleanup costs, fines, penalties and other costs. This potential liability will continue after we sell the investment and may apply to hazardous materials present within the property before we acquired such property. If losses arise from hazardous substance contamination which cannot be recovered from a responsible party, the financial viability of that property may be substantially affected. It is possible that we will acquire an investment with known or unknown environmental problems which may adversely affect us.

Properties may contain mold.

Mold contamination has been linked to a number of health problems, resulting in recent litigation by tenants seeking various remedies, including damages and ability to terminate their leases. Originally occurring in residential property, mold claims have recently begun to appear in commercial properties as well. Several insurance companies have reported a substantial increase in mold-related claims, causing a growing concern that real estate owners might be subject to increasing lawsuits regarding mold contamination. No assurance can be given that a mold condition will not exist at one or more of our properties, with the risk of substantial damages, legal fees and possibly loss of tenants. It is unclear whether such mold claims would be covered by the customary insurance policies we obtain.

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

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. If we fail to disclose environmental issues, we could also be liable to a buyer or lessee of a property.

There may be environmental problems associated with our properties which we were unaware of at the time of acquisition. The presence of hazardous substances may adversely affect our ability to sell real estate, including the affected property, or borrow using real estate as collateral. The presence of hazardous substances, if any, on our properties may cause us to 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 would be subject to strict liability by virtue of our ownership interest for environmental liabilities created by such tenants, and we cannot assure you that any of our tenants we might have would satisfy their indemnification obligations under the applicable sales agreement or lease. 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 our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

Discovery of previously undetected environmentally hazardous conditions, including mold or asbestos, may lead to liability for adverse health effects and costs of remediating the problem could adversely affect our operating results.

Under various U.S. federal, state and local environmental laws, ordinances and regulations, a current or previous owner or operator of real property may be liable for the cost of removal or remediation of hazardous or toxic substances on, under or in such property. The costs of removal or remediation could be substantial. Such laws often impose liability whether or not the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the presence of such hazardous or toxic substances. Environmental laws also may impose restrictions on the manner in which property may be used or businesses may be operated, and these restrictions may require substantial expenditures. Environmental laws provide for sanctions in the event of noncompliance and may be enforced by governmental agencies or, in certain circumstances, by private parties. Certain environmental laws and common law principles could be used to impose liability for release of and exposure to hazardous substances, including asbestos-containing materials into the air, and third parties may seek recovery from owners or operators of real properties for personal injury or property damage associated with exposure to released hazardous substances. The cost of defending against claims of

 

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liability, of compliance with environmental regulatory requirements, of remediating any contaminated property, or of paying personal injury claims related to any contaminated property could materially adversely affect our business, assets or results of operations and, consequently, amounts available for distribution to our security holders.

We own one of our properties through a joint venture (which is generally classified as Redeemable Minority Interest or Non-Redeemable Minority Interest in our Operating Partnership), which may lead to disagreements with our joint venture partner and adversely affect our interest in the joint venture.

We currently own one property through a joint venture and we may enter into additional joint ventures in the future. Our joint venture partner, as well as any future partners, may have interests that are different from ours which may result in conflicting views as to the conduct of the business of the joint venture. In the event that we have a disagreement with a joint venture partner as to the resolution of a particular issue to come before the joint venture, or as to the management or conduct of the business of the joint venture in general, we may not be able to resolve such disagreement in our favor and such disagreement could have a material adverse effect on our interest in the joint venture.

In addition, investments made in partnerships or other co-ownership arrangements involve risks not otherwise present in investments we make, including the following risks:

 

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that our co-venturer or partner in an investment could become insolvent or bankrupt;

 

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that our co-venturer or partner may at any time have economic or business interests or goals that are or that become inconsistent with our business interests or goals

 

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that the co-venturer or partner could take actions that decrease the value of an investment to us; or

 

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that the co-venturer or partner may be in a position to take action contrary to our instructions or requests or contrary to our policies or objectives.

Any of the risks above might subject us to liabilities and thus reduce our returns on our investment with that co-venturer or partner.

We may invest in real estate-related investments, including joint ventures and co-investment arrangements.

We expect to primarily invest in properties as sole owner. However, we may, in our management’s sole discretion subject to our investment guidelines and available capital, invest as a joint venture partner or co-investor in an investment. In such event, we generally anticipate owning a controlling interest in the joint venture or co-investment vehicle. However, our joint venture partner or co-investor may have a consent or similar right with respect to certain major decisions with respect to an investment, including a refinancing, sale or other disposition. Additionally, we may rely on our joint venture partner or co-investor to act as the property manager or developer, and, thus, our returns will be subject to the performance of our joint venture partner or co-investor. While our management does not intend for these types of investments to be a primary focus of our company, our management may make such investments in its sole discretion.

CC&Rs may restrict our ability to operate a property.

Some of our properties are contiguous to other parcels of real property, comprising part of the same commercial center. In connection with such properties, there are significant covenants, conditions and restrictions (“CC&Rs”) restricting the operation of such properties and any improvements on such properties, and related to granting easements on such properties. Moreover, the operation and management of the contiguous properties may impact such properties. Compliance with CC&Rs may adversely affect our operating costs and reduce the amount of funds that we have available to pay distributions.

Our operating results may be negatively affected by potential development and construction delays and resultant increased costs and risks.

We may acquire and develop properties upon which we will construct improvements. We will be subject to uncertainties associated with re-zoning for development, environmental concerns of governmental entities and/or community groups, and our builder’s ability to build in conformity with plans, specifications, budgeted costs, and timetables. If a builder fails to perform, we may resort to legal action to rescind the purchase or the construction contract or to compel performance. A builder’s performance may also be affected or delayed by conditions beyond the builder’s control. Delays in completion of construction could also give tenants the right to terminate preconstruction leases. We may incur additional risks when we make periodic progress payments or other advances to builders before they complete construction. These and other such factors can result in increased costs of a project or loss of our investment. In addition, we will be subject to normal lease-up risks relating to newly constructed projects. We also must rely on rental income and expense projections and estimates of the fair market value of property upon completion of construction when agreeing upon a price at the time we acquire the property. If our projections are inaccurate, we may pay too much for a property, and our return on our investment could suffer.

 

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We may invest in unimproved real property. Returns from development of unimproved properties are also subject to risks associated with re-zoning the land for development and environmental concerns of governmental entities and/or community groups. Although we intend to limit any investment in unimproved property to property we intend to develop, your investment nevertheless is subject to the risks associated with investments in unimproved real property.

Competition with third parties in acquiring properties and other investments may reduce our profitability and the return on your investment.

We compete with many other entities engaged in real estate investment activities, including individuals, corporations, bank and insurance company investment accounts, REITs, real estate limited partnerships, and other entities engaged in real estate investment activities, many of which have greater resources than we do. Larger competitors may enjoy significant competitive advantages that result from, among other things, a lower cost of capital and enhanced operating efficiencies. In addition, the number of entities and the amount of funds competing for suitable investments may increase. Any such increase would result in increased demand for these assets and therefore possibly increased prices paid for them. If we pay higher prices for properties and other investments, our profitability may be reduced and you may experience a lower return on your investment.

Our properties may face competition that could reduce the amount of rent paid to us, which would reduce the cash available for distributions and the amount of distributions.

We expect that our properties will typically be located in developed areas. Therefore, there are and will be numerous other properties within the market area of each of our properties that will compete with us for tenants. The number of competitive properties could have a material effect on our ability to rent space at our properties and the amount of rents charged. We could be adversely affected if additional competitive properties are built in locations competitive with our properties, causing increased competition for customer traffic and creditworthy tenants. This could result in decreased cash flow from tenants and may require us to make capital improvements to properties that we would not have otherwise made, thus affecting cash available for distributions, and the amount available for distributions to you.

Costs of complying with governmental laws and regulations, including those relating to environmental matters, may adversely affect our income and the cash available for any distributions.

All real property and the operations conducted on real property are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to environmental protection and human health and safety. These laws and regulations generally govern wastewater discharges, air emissions, the operation and removal of underground and above-ground storage tanks, the use, storage, treatment, transportation and disposal of solid and hazardous materials, and the remediation of contamination associated with disposals. Environmental laws and regulations may impose joint and several liability on tenants, owners or operators for the costs to investigate or remediate contaminated properties, regardless of fault or whether the acts causing the contamination were legal. This liability could be substantial. In addition, the presence of hazardous substances, or the failure to properly remediate these substances, may adversely affect our ability to sell, rent or pledge such property as collateral for future borrowings.

Some of these laws and regulations have been amended so as to require compliance with new or more stringent standards as of future dates. Compliance with new or more stringent laws or regulations or stricter interpretation of existing laws may require material expenditures by us. Future laws, ordinances or regulations may impose material environmental liability. Additionally, several conditions, such as our tenants’ operations, the existing condition of land when we buy it, operations in the vicinity of our properties, such as the presence of underground storage tanks, or activities of unrelated third parties, may affect our properties. In addition, there are various local, state and federal fire, health, life-safety and similar regulations with which we may be required to comply, and that may subject us to liability in the form of fines or damages for noncompliance. Any material expenditures, fines, or damages we must pay will reduce our ability to make distributions and may reduce the value of your investment.

State and federal laws in this area are constantly evolving, and we intend to monitor these laws and take commercially reasonable steps to protect ourselves from the impact of these laws, including obtaining environmental assessments of most properties that we acquire; however, we will not obtain an independent third-party environmental assessment for every property we acquire. In addition, any such assessment that we do obtain may not reveal all environmental liabilities or that a prior owner of a property did not create a material environmental condition not known to us. The cost of defending against claims of liability, of compliance with environmental regulatory requirements, of remediating any contaminated property, or of paying personal injury claims would materially adversely affect our business, assets or results of operations and, consequently, amounts available for distribution to you.

 

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Inflation and changes in interest rates may materially and adversely affect us and our tenants.

A rise in inflation may result in a rate of inflation greater than the increases in rent that we anticipate may be provided by many of our leases. Increased costs may have an adverse impact on our tenants if increases in their operating expenses exceed increases in revenue, which may adversely affect the tenants’ ability to pay rent owed to us.

In addition, to the extent that we incur variable rate debt, increases in interest rates would increase our interest costs, which could reduce our cash flows and our ability to pay distributions to you. Furthermore, if we need to repay existing debt during periods of rising interest rates, we could be required to liquidate one or more of our investments in properties at times that may not permit realization of the maximum return on such investments.

Properties that have vacancies for a significant period of time could be difficult to sell, which could diminish the return on your investment.

A property may incur vacancies either by the continued default of a tenant under its lease, the expiration of a tenant lease or early termination of a lease by a tenant. If vacancies continue for a long period of time, we may suffer reduced revenues resulting in less cash available to be distributed to you. In addition, because a property’s market value depends principally upon the value of the property’s leases, the resale value of a property with prolonged vacancies could decline, which could further reduce your return.

Our costs associated with complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act may affect cash available for distributions.

Our properties will be subject to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (the “Disabilities Act”). Under the Disabilities Act, all places of public accommodation are required to comply with federal requirements related to access and use by disabled persons. The Disabilities Act has separate compliance requirements for “public accommodations” and “commercial facilities” that generally require that buildings and services, including restaurants and retail stores, be made accessible and available to people with disabilities. The Disabilities Act’s requirements could require removal of access barriers and could result in the imposition of injunctive relief, monetary penalties, or, in some cases, an award of damages. We will attempt to acquire properties that comply with the Disabilities Act or place the burden on the seller or other third party, such as a tenant, to ensure compliance with the Disabilities Act. However, we cannot assure you that we will be able to acquire properties or allocate responsibilities in this manner. If we cannot, our funds used for Disabilities Act compliance will reduce the cash available for distributions and the amount of distributions to you.

We are exposed to risks related to increases in market lease rates and inflation, as income from long-term leases will be the primary source of our cash flow from operations.

We are exposed to risks related to increases in market lease rates and inflation, as income from long-term leases will be the primary source of our cash flow from operations. Leases of long-term duration or which include renewal options that specify a maximum rate increase may result in below-market lease rates over time if we do not accurately estimate inflation or market lease rates. Provisions of our leases designed to mitigate the risk of inflation and unexpected increases in market lease rates, such as periodic rental increases, may not adequately protect us from the impact of inflation or unexpected increases in market lease rates. If we are subject to below-market lease rates on a significant number of our properties pursuant to long-term leases, our cash flow from operations and financial position may be adversely affected.

We may not be able to re-lease or renew leases at our properties on terms favorable to us or at all.

We are subject to risks that upon expiration or earlier termination of the leases for space at our properties, the space may not be released or, if re-leased, the terms of the renewal or re-leasing (including the costs of required renovations or concessions to tenants) may be less favorable than current lease terms. Any of these situations may result in extended periods where there is a significant decline in revenues or no revenues generated by an investment. If we are unable to re-lease or renew leases for all or substantially all of the spaces at these investments, if the rental rates upon such renewal or re-leasing are significantly lower than expected, if our reserves for these purposes prove inadequate, or if we are required to make significant renovations or concessions to tenants as part of the renewal or re-leasing process, we will experience a reduction in net income and may be required to reduce or eliminate distributions to our stockholders.

 

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Lease defaults or terminations or landlord-tenant disputes may adversely reduce our income from our property portfolio.

Lease defaults or terminations by one or more of our significant tenants may reduce our revenues unless a default is cured or a suitable replacement tenant is found promptly. In addition, disputes may arise between us and a tenant that result in the tenant withholding rent payments, possibly for an extended period. These disputes may lead to litigation or other legal procedures to secure payment of the rent withheld or to evict the tenant. In other circumstances, a tenant may have a contractual right to abate or suspend rent payments. Even without such right, a tenant might determine to do so. Any of these situations may result in extended periods during which there is a significant decline in revenues or no revenues generated by the property. If this were to occur, it could adversely affect our results of operations.

Net leases may not result in fair market lease rates over time, which could negatively impact our income and reduce the amount of funds available to make distributions to our stockholders.

A significant portion of our rental income is expected to come from net leases, which generally provide the tenant greater discretion in using the leased property than ordinary property leases, such as the right to freely sublease the property, to make alterations in the leased premises and to terminate the lease prior to its expiration under specified circumstances. Furthermore, net leases typically have longer lease terms and, thus, there is an increased risk that contractual rental increases in future years will fail to result in fair market rental rates during those years. As a result, our income and distributions to our stockholders could be lower than they would otherwise be if we did not engage in net leases.

Risks Associated with Debt Financing

We have used and may continue to use mortgage and other debt financing to acquire properties or interests in properties and otherwise incur other indebtedness, which increases our expenses and could subject us to the risk of losing properties in foreclosure if our cash flow is insufficient to make loan payments.

We are permitted to acquire real properties and other real estate-related investments, including entity acquisitions, by assuming either existing financing secured by the asset or by borrowing new funds. In addition, we may incur or increase our mortgage debt by obtaining loans secured by some or all of our assets to obtain funds to acquire additional investments or to pay distributions to our stockholders. We also may borrow funds, if necessary, to satisfy the requirement that we distribute at least 90% of our annual “REIT taxable income,” or otherwise as is necessary or advisable to assure that we may qualify as a REIT for federal income tax purposes at such time as our Board of Directors determines is in our best interest.

As of December 18, 2019, we had total cash (unrestricted and restricted) of approximately $1.6 million, properties with a cost basis of $38.7 million and outstanding debt of approximately $28.5 million.

There is no limit on the amount we may invest in any single property or other asset or on the amount we can borrow to purchase any individual property or other investment. If we mortgage a property and have insufficient cash flow to service the debt, we risk an event of default which may result in our lenders foreclosing on the properties securing the mortgage.

If we cannot repay or refinance loans incurred to purchase our properties, or interests therein, then we may lose our interests in the properties secured by the loans we are unable to repay or refinance.

High levels of debt or increases in interest rates could increase the amount of our loan payments, which could reduce the cash available for distribution to stockholders.

Our policies do not limit us from incurring debt. For purposes of calculating our leverage, we assume full consolidation of all of our real estate investments, whether or not they would be consolidated under GAAP, include assets we have classified as held for sale, and include any joint venture level indebtedness in our total indebtedness.

High debt levels will cause us to incur higher interest charges, resulting in higher debt service payments, and may be accompanied by restrictive covenants. Interest we pay reduces cash available for distribution to stockholders. Additionally, with respect to our variable rate debt, increases in interest rates increase our interest costs, which reduces our cash flow and our ability to make distributions to you. In addition, if we need to repay existing debt during periods of rising interest rates, we could be required to liquidate one or more of our investments in properties at times which may not permit realization of the maximum return on such investments and could result in a loss. In addition, if we are unable to service our debt payments, our lenders may foreclose on our interests in the real property that secures the loans we have entered into.

 

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High mortgage rates may make it difficult for us to finance or refinance properties, which could reduce the number of properties we can acquire, our cash flow from operations and the amount of cash distributions we can make.

To qualify as a REIT, we will be required to distribute at least 90% of our annual taxable income (excluding net capital gains) to our stockholders in each taxable year, and thus our ability to retain internally generated cash is limited. Accordingly, our ability to acquire properties or to make capital improvements to or remodel properties will depend on our ability to obtain debt or equity financing from third parties or the sellers of properties. If mortgage debt is unavailable at reasonable rates, we may not be able to finance the purchase of properties. If we place mortgage debt on properties, we run the risk of being unable to refinance the properties when the debt becomes due or of being unable to refinance on favorable terms. If interest rates are higher when we refinance the properties, our income could be reduced. We may be unable to refinance properties. If any of these events occurs, our cash flow would be reduced. This, in turn, would reduce cash available for distribution to you and may hinder our ability to raise capital by issuing more stock or borrowing more money.

Lenders may require us to enter into restrictive covenants relating to our operations, which could limit our ability to make distributions to you.

When providing financing, a lender may impose restrictions on us that affect our distribution and operating policies and our ability to incur additional debt. Loan documents we enter into may contain covenants that limit our ability to further mortgage the property, discontinue insurance coverage, or replace our property manager. These or other limitations may limit our flexibility and prevent us from achieving our operating plans.

As of September 30, 2019, we had five promissory notes totaling approximately $26.7 million of which three promissory notes totaling approximately $13.2 million require DSCR of 1.10:1.0 and two promissory notes totaling $13.5 million require DSCR of 1.25:1.0. These loan agreements contain standard affirmative and negative covenants, including prohibitions on additional liens on the collateral, financial reporting obligations and maintenance of insurance, in addition to the DSCR covenants described above. These covenants, as well as any future covenants we may enter into through further loan agreements, could inhibit our financial flexibility in the future and prevent distributions to stockholders.

Some of our mortgage loans may have “due on sale” provisions, which may impact the manner in which we acquire, sell and/or finance our properties.

In purchasing properties subject to financing, we may obtain financing with “due-on-sale” and/or “due-on-encumbrance” clauses. Due-on sale clauses in mortgages allow a mortgage lender to demand full repayment of the mortgage loan if the borrower sells the mortgaged property. Similarly, due-on-encumbrance clauses allow a mortgage lender to demand full repayment if the borrower uses the real estate securing the mortgage loan as security for another loan. In such event, we may be required to sell our properties on an all-cash basis, which may make it more difficult to sell the property or reduce the selling price.

Lenders may be able to recover against our other properties under our mortgage loans.

In financing our acquisitions, we will seek to obtain secured nonrecourse loans. However, only recourse financing may be available, in which event, in addition to the property securing the loan, the lender would have the ability to look to our other assets for satisfaction of the debt if the proceeds from the sale or other disposition of the property securing the loan are insufficient to fully repay it. Also, in order to facilitate the sale of a property, we may allow the buyer to purchase the property subject to an existing loan whereby we remain responsible for the debt.

If we are required to make payments under any “bad boy” carve-out guaranties that we may provide in connection with certain mortgages and related loans, our business and financial results could be materially adversely affected.

In obtaining certain nonrecourse loans, we may provide standard carve-out guaranties. These guaranties are only applicable if and when the borrower directly, or indirectly through agreement with an affiliate, joint venture partner or other third party, voluntarily files a bankruptcy or similar liquidation or reorganization action or takes other actions that are fraudulent or improper (commonly referred to as “bad boy” guaranties). Although we believe that “bad boy” carve-out guaranties are not guaranties of payment in the event of foreclosure or other actions of the foreclosing lender that are beyond the borrower’s control, some lenders in the real estate industry have recently sought to make claims for payment under such guaranties. In the event such a claim were made against us under a “bad boy” carve-out guaranty following foreclosure on mortgages or related loan, and such claim were successful, our business and financial results could be materially adversely affected.

 

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Interest-only indebtedness may increase our risk of default and ultimately may reduce our funds available for distribution to our stockholders.

We may finance our property acquisitions using interest-only mortgage indebtedness. During the interest-only period, the amount of each scheduled payment will be less than that of a traditional amortizing mortgage loan. The principal balance of the mortgage loan will not be reduced (except in the case of prepayments) because there are no scheduled monthly payments of principal during this period. After the interest-only period, we will be required either to make scheduled payments of amortized principal and interest or to make a lump-sum or “balloon” payment at maturity. These required principal or balloon payments will increase the amount of our scheduled payments and may increase our risk of default under the related mortgage loan. If the mortgage loan has an adjustable interest rate, the amount of our scheduled payments also may increase at a time of rising interest rates. Increased payments and substantial principal or balloon maturity payments will reduce the funds available for distribution to our stockholders because cash otherwise available for distribution will be required to pay principal and interest associated with these mortgage loans.

We may enter into derivative or hedging contracts that could expose us to contingent liabilities and certain risks and costs in the future.

Part of our investment strategy may involve entering into derivative or hedging contracts that could require us to fund cash payments in the future under certain circumstances, such as the early termination of the derivative agreement caused by an event of default or other early termination event, or the decision by a counterparty to request margin securities it is contractually owed under the terms of the derivative contract. The amount due would be equal to the unrealized loss of the open swap positions with the respective counterparty and could also include other fees and charges. These economic losses would be reflected in our financial results of operations, and our ability to fund these obligations will depend on the liquidity of our assets and access to capital at the time, and the need to fund these obligations could adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations.

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

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, in many cases, 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 be assured 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.

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

The REIT provisions of the Code may limit the ability of a REIT to hedge the risks inherent to its operations. From time to time, we may enter into hedging transactions with respect to one or more of our assets or liabilities. Our hedging transactions may include entering into interest rate swaps, caps and floors, options to purchase these items, and futures and forward contracts. Any income or gain derived by us from transactions that hedge certain risks, such as the risk of changes in interest rates, will not be treated as gross income for purposes of either the 75% or the 95% income test for the purposes of qualifying as a REIT, as defined below in “Material Federal Income Tax Considerations — Gross Income Tests,” unless specific requirements are met. Such requirements include that the hedging transaction be properly identified within prescribed time periods and that the transaction either (1) hedges risks associated with indebtedness issued by us that is incurred to acquire or carry real estate assets or (2) manages the risks of currency fluctuations with respect to income or gain that qualifies under the 75% or 95% income test (or assets that generate such income). To the extent that we do not properly identify such transactions as hedges, hedge with other types of financial instruments, or hedge other types of indebtedness, the income from those transactions is not likely to be treated as qualifying income for purposes of the 75%- and 95%-income tests if we intended to qualify as a REIT in that taxable year. As a result of these rules, we may have to limit the 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.

 

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Interest rates might increase.

Based on historical interest rates, current interest rates are low. If there is an increase in interest rates, any debt servicing on investments could be significantly higher than currently anticipated, which would reduce the amount of cash available for distribution to the stockholders. Also, rising interest rates may affect the ability of our management to refinance an investment. Investments may be less desirable to prospective purchasers in a rising interest rate environment and their values may be adversely impacted by the reduction in cash flow due to increased interest payments.

We may use floating rate, interest-only or short-term loans to acquire assets.

Our management has the right, in its sole discretion, to negotiate any debt financing, including obtaining (i) interest-only, (ii) floating rate and/or (iii) short-term loans to acquire assets. If our management obtains floating rate loans, the interest rate would not be fixed but would float with an established index (probably at higher interest rates in the future). No principal would be repaid on interest-only loans. Finally, we would be required to refinance short-term loans at the end of a relatively short period. No assurance can be given that our management would be able to refinance with fixed-rate permanent loans in the future, on favorable terms or at all, to refinance the short-term loans. In addition, no assurance can be given that the terms of such future loans to refinance the short-term loans would be favorable to our company.

We may use leverage to make investments.

Our management, in its sole discretion, may leverage our assets. As a result of the use of leverage, a decrease in revenues of a leveraged asset may materially and adversely affect that investment’s cash flow and, in turn, our ability to make distributions. No assurance can be given that future cash flow of a particular asset will be sufficient to make the debt service payments on any borrowed funds for that asset and also cover operating expenses. If the investment’s revenues are insufficient to pay debt service and operating expenses, we would be required to use net income from other assets, working capital or reserves, or seek additional funds. There can be no assurance that additional funds will be available, if needed, or, if such funds are available, that they will be available on terms acceptable to us.

Leveraging an asset allows a lender to foreclose on that asset.

Lenders financing an asset, even non-recourse lenders, are expected in all instances to retain the right to foreclose on that asset if there is a default in the loan terms. If this were to occur, we would likely lose our entire investment in that asset. Lenders may have approval rights with respect to an encumbered asset. A lender financing an asset will likely have numerous other rights, which may include the right to approve any change in the property manager for a particular investment.

Availability of financing and market conditions will affect the success of our company.

Market fluctuations in real estate financing may affect the availability and cost of funds needed in the future for investments. In addition, credit availability has been restricted in the past and may become restricted again in the future. Restrictions upon the availability of real estate financing or high interest rates for real estate loans could adversely affect the investments and our ability to execute its investment goals.

Risks Related to Limited Management Personnel and Certain Conflicts of Interest

The loss of any of our executive officers could adversely affect our ability to continue operations.

We only have two employees and are therefore entirely dependent on the efforts of our President and our Chief Financial Officer. The departure of either of these employees and our inability to find suitable replacements, or the loss of other key personnel in the future, could have a harmful effect on our business.

Because we will have broad discretion to invest the net proceeds of this offering, we may make investments where the returns are substantially below expectations or which result in net operating losses.

We will have broad discretion, within the general investment criteria established by our Board, to invest the net proceeds of this offering and to determine the timing of such investments. In addition, our investment policies may be revised from time to time at the discretion of our Board, without a vote of our stockholders. Such discretion could result in investments that may not yield returns consistent with your expectations.

 

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Our President and Chairman of the Board has guaranteed certain of our indebtedness, which could constitute a conflict of interest.

Our President and Chairman of the Board has guaranteed promissory notes for certain of our property acquisitions. As a guarantor, Mr. Sobelman’s interests with respect to the debt he is guaranteeing (and the terms of any repayment or default) may not align with the Company’s interests and could result in a conflict of interest.

We rely on our management team, who devote only some of their time to us and may not be in a position to devote their full-time attention to our operations, which may adversely affect our operations.

Our success depends upon the continued service provided by our management team, including Mr. Sobelman, our President and Chairman, and Mr. Russell, our Chief Financial Officer. Members of our management team have competing demands for their time and resources. Mr. Sobelman and Mr. Russell have other outside business activities which may cause conflicts of interest with respect to our operations. Pursuant to his employment agreement with us, Mr. Russell devotes up to 20 hours per week to our operations. Our operations may be sporadic and occur at times which are not convenient to Mr. Russell, which may result in periodic delays in performing his duties. Such delays could have a significant negative effect on the success of the business. To the extent the members of our management team have competing demands on their time and resources, they may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time between our business and their other activities.

There may be conflicts of interest faced by our President and Chairman of the board, who is also a managing partner in 3 Properties, which may compete with us for his business time and for business opportunities to acquire properties.

While Mr. Sobelman serves as our full-time President and Chairman of the Board pursuant to his employment agreement with us, he is also the managing member of 3 Properties, which is a business formed in 2017 that operates as a commercial real estate broker. Mr. Sobelman’s business obligations and fiduciary duties with 3 Properties may limit his availability to focus on our business. If Mr. Sobelman does not devote sufficient time to us, or we are unable to obtain business opportunities to acquire properties sufficient for us to generate revenues, then our business may not succeed.

We may be subject to conflicts of interest arising out of our working with 3 Properties, a company managed by our President and Chairman of the Board.

We may purchase properties that 3 Properties has identified for the Company or where 3 Properties represents the seller of a property we purchase. For properties identified by 3 Properties, it acts as our brokerage agent for such properties. A conflict of interest may exist in such an acquisition because 3 Properties may be entitled to a real estate brokerage commission in connection with such a transaction. Any of our agreements and arrangements with 3 Properties, including those relating to compensation, are not the result of arm’s length negotiations and may be in excess of the amounts we would otherwise pay to third parties for such services. The sellers of properties acquired by the Company have paid 3 Properties $230,224, $124,616 and $0 during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively, in brokerage fees for the acquisition of four properties. The Company also engaged 3 Properties to be its asset manager and has paid it $8,705, $2,191 and $0 during the nine months ended September 30, 2019 and years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Federal Income Tax Risks

The Company is not currently a REIT and may never become a REIT. Failure to qualify as a REIT would adversely affect our operations and our ability to make distributions.

We have not qualified as a REIT to date and will not be able to satisfy the requirements of operating as a REIT until after this offering closes. We intend to elect to be taxed as a REIT for federal income tax purposes commencing with our taxable year ending in the year this offering concludes or such later date as is determined by our Board. Our qualification as a REIT will depend upon our ability to meet, through investments, actual operating results, distributions and satisfaction of specific rules, the various tests imposed by the Code. We intend to structure our activities in a manner designed to satisfy all of these requirements. However, if certain of our operations were to be recharacterized by the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), such recharacterization could jeopardize our ability to satisfy all of the requirements for qualification as a REIT. We will not apply for a ruling from the IRS regarding our status as a REIT. Future legislative, judicial or administrative changes to the federal income tax laws could be applied retroactively, which could prevent our qualification or result in our disqualification as a REIT.

 

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We are currently, and if we fail to qualify as a REIT for any taxable year after having qualified we will be, subject to federal income tax on our taxable income at corporate rates. In addition, we would generally be disqualified from treatment as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year of losing our REIT status. Losing our REIT status would reduce our net earnings available for investment or distribution to stockholders because of the additional tax liability. In addition, distributions to stockholders would no longer qualify for the dividends paid deduction, and we would no longer be required to make distributions. If this occurs, we might be required to borrow funds or liquidate some investments in order to pay the applicable tax.

We may have difficulty satisfying the requirement that we not be closely held.

One of the requirements for REIT qualification is that we not be closely held. For these purposes, we will be closely held if five or fewer individuals (including certain entities treated as individuals for this purpose) own (or are treated as owning under applicable attribution rules) more than 50% by value of our stock at any time during the second half of the taxable year. This requirement does not apply during our first REIT year. To the extent that we first elect to be taxed as a REIT for our taxable year ending December 31, 2019 or such later date as is determined by our Board, the closely held test should become relevant in July of 2020 (or July of a later year, if the election is made for a taxable year after 2019). Our articles of incorporation generally restrict any person from owning or being treated as owning more than 9.8% of our stock, limiting the amount of our stock any five persons could own or be treated as owning 49% of our stock, in order to prevent us from failing the closely held requirement. As permitted in our articles of incorporation, however, our Board has waived these limits for Mr. Sobelman who currently owns 900,000 shares of our common stock, or about 42.8%. Our Board does not intend to reduce our ownership limit below 9.8% to a percentage that will ensure that four persons owning shares at such limit plus Mr. Sobelman will not own or be treated as owning more than 50% of our shares. Instead, the Board’s waiver to Mr. Sobelman is conditioned upon his agreement that if we would otherwise fail the “closely held” test, we will automatically redeem such number of Mr. Sobelman’s shares for consideration of $.01 per share as will permit us to satisfy the “closely held” test. If we fail to monitor our share ownership or to implement the redemption provision in the waiver to Mr. Sobelman, or the IRS does not respect the effective date of any redemptions, we may fail to qualify as a REIT.

Re-characterization of sale-leaseback transactions may cause us to lose our REIT status.

We may purchase properties and lease them back to the sellers of such properties. While we will use our best efforts to structure any such sale-leaseback transaction so that the lease will be characterized as a “true lease,” thereby allowing us to be treated as the owner of the property for federal income tax purposes, the IRS could challenge such characterization. In the event that any sale-leaseback transaction is challenged and re-characterized as a financing transaction or loan for federal income tax purposes, deductions for depreciation and cost recovery relating to such property would be disallowed. If a sale-leaseback transaction were so recharacterized, we might fail to satisfy the REIT qualification “asset tests” or the “income tests” and, consequently, lose our REIT status effective with the year of recharacterization. Alternatively, the amount of our REIT taxable income could be recalculated which might also cause us to fail to meet the distribution requirement for a taxable year.

In certain circumstances, we may be subject to federal and state income taxes as a REIT, which would reduce our cash available for distribution to you.

Even if we qualify and maintain our status as a REIT, we may be subject to federal income taxes or state taxes. For example, net income from the sale of properties that are “dealer” properties sold by a REIT (a “prohibited transaction” under the Code) will be subject to a 100% tax. We may not be able to make sufficient distributions to avoid excise taxes applicable to REITs. We may also decide to retain capital gains we earn from the sale or other disposition of our property and pay income tax directly on such gain. In that event, our stockholders would be treated as if they earned that income and paid the tax on it directly. We may also be subject to state and local taxes on our income or property, either directly or at the level of the Operating Partnership or at the level of the other entities through which we indirectly own our assets. Any federal or state taxes we pay will reduce our cash available for distribution to you.

REIT distribution requirements could adversely affect our liquidity.

In order to maintain our REIT status and to meet the REIT distribution requirements, we may need to borrow funds on a short-term basis or sell assets, even if the then-prevailing market conditions are not favorable for these borrowings or sales. To qualify as a REIT, we generally must distribute to our stockholders at least 90% of our net taxable income each year, excluding capital gains. In addition, we will be subject to corporate income tax to the extent we distribute less than 100% of our net taxable

 

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income including any net capital gain. We intend to make distributions to our stockholders to comply with the requirements of the Code for REITs and to minimize or eliminate our corporate income tax obligation to the extent consistent with our business objectives. Our cash flows from operations may be insufficient to fund required distributions as a result of differences in timing between the actual receipt of income and the recognition of income for federal income tax purposes, or the effect of non-deductible capital expenditures, the creation of reserves or required debt service or amortization payments. The insufficiency of our cash flows to cover our distribution requirements could have an adverse impact on our ability to maintain our REIT status. We may have to incur short- or long-term debt or liquidate an investment in a property we were not planning to sell to pay these distributions. In addition, we will be subject to a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the amount, if any, by which distributions paid by us in any calendar year are less than the sum of 85% of our ordinary income, 95% of our capital gain net income and 100% of our undistributed income from prior years.

Further, amounts distributed will not be available to fund investment activities. We expect to fund our investments by raising equity capital and through borrowings from financial institutions and the debt capital markets. If we fail to obtain debt or equity capital in the future, it could limit our ability to grow, which could have a material adverse effect on the value of our common stock.

Dividends payable by REITs do not qualify for the reduced tax rates available for some dividends.

The maximum tax rate applicable to “qualified dividend income” payable to U.S. stockholders that are taxed at individual rates is 20% (exclusive of the application of the 3.8% net investment tax). Dividends (other than capital gain dividends) payable by REITs, however, generally are not eligible for the reduced rates on qualified dividend income and therefore may be subject to a 37% maximum U.S. federal income tax rate on ordinary income when paid to such stockholders. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted in December 2017, however, reduces the top effective rate applicable to ordinary dividends from REITs to 29.6% (through a 20% deduction for ordinary REIT dividends received that are not “capital gain dividends” or “qualified dividend income,” subject to complex limitations). This reduced rate applies for taxable years beginning on January 1, 2018 and through taxable years ending December 31, 2025. The more favorable rates applicable to regular corporate qualified dividends could cause investors who are taxed at individual rates 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 shares of REITs, including our common stock if we qualify as a REIT.

We may be unable to generate sufficient revenue from operations, operating cash flow or portfolio income to pay our operating expenses, and our operating expenses could rise, diminishing our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

If we are established as a REIT, we are generally required to distribute at least 90% of our REIT taxable income, determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction and not including net capital gains, each year to our stockholders. To qualify for the tax benefits applicable to REITs, we have and intend to continue to make distributions to our stockholders in amounts such that we distribute all or substantially all our net taxable income each year, subject to certain adjustments. However, our ability to make distributions may be adversely affected by the risk factors described herein. Our ability to make and sustain cash distributions is based on many factors, including the return on our investments, the size of our investment portfolio, operating expense levels, and certain restrictions imposed by Maryland law. Some of the factors are beyond our control and a change in any such factor could affect our ability to pay future dividends. No assurance can be given as to our ability to pay distributions to our stockholders. In the event of a downturn in our operating results and financial performance or unanticipated declines in the value of our asset portfolio, we may be unable to declare or pay quarterly distributions or make distributions to our stockholders. The timing and amount of distributions are in the sole discretion of our Board, which considers, among other factors, our earnings, financial condition, debt service obligations and applicable debt covenants, REIT qualification requirements and other tax considerations and capital expenditure requirements as our Board may deem relevant from time to time.

Legislative or regulatory action could adversely affect investors.

Because our operations are governed to a significant extent by the federal tax laws, new legislative or regulatory action could adversely affect investors.

You are urged to consult with your own tax advisor with respect to the status of legislative, regulatory or administrative developments and proposals and their potential effect on an investment in our common stock. You should also note that our counsel’s tax opinion assumes that no legislation will be enacted after the date of this prospectus that will be applicable to an investment in our shares, and that future legislation may affect this tax opinion.

 

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Foreign purchasers of our common stock may be subject to FIRPTA tax upon the sale of their shares.

Foreign persons (other than certain foreign pension funds) disposing of a U.S. real property interest, including shares of a U.S. corporation whose assets consist principally of U.S. real property interests, are generally subject to the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax of 1980, as amended, known as FIRPTA, on the gain recognized on the disposition. Such FIRPTA tax does not apply, however, to the disposition of stock in a REIT if the REIT is “domestically controlled.” A REIT is “domestically controlled” if less than 50% of the REIT’s stock, by value, has been owned directly or indirectly by persons who are not qualifying U.S. persons during a continuous five-year period ending on the date of disposition or, if shorter, during the entire period of the REIT’s existence. We cannot assure you that we will qualify as a “domestically controlled” REIT. If we were to fail to so qualify, gain realized by foreign investors on a sale of our shares would be subject to FIRPTA tax, unless our shares were regularly traded on an established securities market and the foreign investor did not at any time during a specified testing period directly or indirectly own more than 10% of the value of our outstanding common stock. See “Federal Income Tax Considerations — Special Tax Considerations for Non-U.S. Stockholders — Sale of our Shares by a Non-U.S. Stockholder.”

 

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