The John Ammar-led Fortune One Capital Ltd, a real estate investment trust (REIT) which started operations last month, aims to develop and sell working-class housing developments even as it continues dialogue with a curious Financial Services Commission (FSC).

The company is inviting private clients to invest as little as $100,000 in buying a stake in its initial development in May Pen. Upon the sale of the units, clients would receive a return on their investment. It’s in contrast to other REITs which are listed on the Jamaica Stock Exchange and focus on more affluent condos and hotels already built.

The FSC, however, wants to ensure that the investment opportunities offered by Fortune One are a licensable activity under the legislation it administers.

“Those steps include ongoing communication with Mr John Ammar, advising him of the requirements of the legislation and requests for further documentation and information from Fortune One, and other sources, which we will use to guide our determination,” stated the FSC in a notice on Sunday.

It’s not a get-rich scheme in which clients are guaranteed a monthly return, reasoned the Fortune One managing director John Ammar in a Jamaica Observer interview on Monday at his modern, sleek office in Kingston.

“The information that the FSC requests has always been forthcoming. They are making me clarify my intent. It is not a question whether what we are doing is legal, it is more of a question whether what Fortune One is doing is licensable and if it is for me to make necessary adjustments moving forward,” Ammar said, adding that Fortune One views its real estate activities as outside the legislation of the FSC.

“This is good that it has happened this early. It is a sign that the general public is very interested and receptive to this opportunity.”

He added that the interest will cause Fortune One and the FSC to “streamline” the current concept from a private REIT to a REIT available to the general public.

The intent of Fortune One is to operate a REIT that enables the construction of heavily demanded working-class developments. He reasoned that the island’s demand for such homes currently surpasses its supply.

“These homes are built to be sold at a profit and when they are sold and only when sold [will the income be] split between the clients into percentages respectively,” he stated.