Triangle-born crowdfunding startup GroundFloor is preparing to launch sales of securities to non-accredited investors across eight states and the District of Columbia after securing approval from the SEC for peer-to-peer microlending.

GroundFloor, which moved its headquarters to Atlanta after crowdfunding legislation in North Carolina wasn’t approved in 2014 and is still awaiting passage this year, maintains an office in Raleigh.

The SEC approval regards amended Regulation A SEC guidelines.

[Related coverage: How SEC rules are changing investment landscape.]

GroundFloor says it is the first firm to receive approval for such deals since 2009 and is the first to quality for real estate microlending deals.

Further, GroundFloor is the first to complete the new North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) Coordinated Review Process, which is designed to facilitate the filing of Regulation A offerings in multiple U.S. jurisdictions, according to the company.

“Today is a breakthrough moment for alternative finance. Private lending is going public,” said Brian Dally, co-founder and CEO at Groundfloor. “Our qualification paves the way to open a $70 billion real estate lending market to all. We look forward to serving millions of individual investors and thousands of commercial borrowers in Georgia and beyond.”

GroundFloor noted that the SEC “recently expanded Regulation A, as mandated by Title IV of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups(JOBS) Act. The new rules, commonly referred to as Regulation A+, permit qualified issuers to offer up to $50 million in securities over a 12-month period in what are known as Tier 2 offerings. Companies electing to use Tier 1 offerings may offer up to $20 million.”

GroundFloor plans to offer securities in Georgia as well as California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Texas, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.

GroundFloor has already been involved in crowdfunding deals for real estate totaling more than $2 million.

To learn more: https://www.groundfloor.us.