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Independent Analysis on Real Estate, Alternative Investments, and the Macro Picture
This section shows the latest news and analysis from a sophisticated investor's perspective — written by Ian Ippolito, an investor and serial entrepreneur who has been covering real estate crowdfunding and alternative investments since 2017.
Coverage spans deal-by-deal portfolio disclosure, tax strategy, the macro and AI-era investing picture, and accredited investor and qualified-purchaser-level access to private funds.
No sponsor money accepted, by binding policy — every item here is from the perspective of what an independent investor would actually do, not what an affiliate site is paid to suggest.
New Platform Deep-Dive Review: Arrived Single-family Residential and Vacation Rental Platform
This newcomer to The Review offers deals in the desirable but often-difficult-to-access class of single-family rentals. It has impressive de
Ian Ippolito
Mar 12, 20254 min read
New Platform Deep-Dive Review: FranShares Business Franchise Investing
Franchises can offer steady income, portfolio diversification, and inflation hedging and with exponentially less risks than startups. But th
Ian Ippolito
Mar 4, 20253 min read
New Platform Deep-Dive Review: Share SFR Single-family Rental Platform
This newcomer to The Review offers deals in the desirable but often-difficult-to-access class of single-family rentals. It has impressive de
Ian Ippolito
Feb 19, 20253 min read
New Platform Deep-Dive Review: Ark7 Single-family Home Rental Platform
By Ian Ippolito · Last updated May 26, 2026 · Code of Ethics This newcomer to The Review offers deals in the desirable but often-difficult-to-access class of single-family rentals. It has impressive deal volume and a number of unique innovations including no-debt offerings, ultra-low $100 minimums and the ability to trade/sell investments. Downsides for some investors includes current lack of disclosure of the full track record and co-investment by principals, as well as use
Ian Ippolito
Dec 28, 20244 min read
Busting the Myth: Why Interest Rate Changes Don't Affect Real Estate Prices The Way You Think They Do
Contrary to conventional wisdom, real estate price changes aren't directly correlated to interest rate changes. This article takes a hard lo
Ian Ippolito
Dec 19, 202410 min read
UpRight (formerly Fund That Flip) Plummets in Investor Sentiment and is Downgraded to "On Probation"
By Ian Ippolito · Last updated May 26, 2026 · Code of Ethics Once sky-high investor sentiment is now much more hesitant. First the platform was buffeted by fallout from the collapse of Synapse (where it held funds). Now investors claim they're waiting for full re-payment. Meanwhile, the non-performing loan metrics on what remains, appears to be mounting. (Usual disclaimer: I'm just an investor expressing my personal opinion and am not an attorney, accountant nor your financia
Ian Ippolito
Sep 26, 20243 min read
New Platform Deep-Dive Review: FinResi Real-Estate Debt Platform
This intriguing newcomer to The Review offers a surprisingly large number of investments, low LTVs and first-position liens. Downsides...
Ian Ippolito
Aug 28, 20243 min read
Why Merely Freezing and Monitoring your Credit is *Not Even NEARLY Enough* to Stop Debilitating Identity Theft
By Ian Ippolito · Last updated May 26, 2026 · Code of Ethics Last week, 78% of U.S. citizens were exposed to identity theft from a jaw-dropping data breech at National Public Data. And the conventional advice of merely freezing and monitoring credit reports doesn't stop a thief from sticking consumers with bogus utility bills, fraudulent pay-day loans, fake bank and brokerage accounts, stealing their tax refunds, and more. Here are real life examples from people who learned t
Ian Ippolito
Aug 28, 20247 min read
Hackers Steal 272 Million U.S. Social Security Numbers, 161 Million U.S. Phone Numbers and More Highly Sensitive Historic Data from National Public Data.
By Ian Ippolito · Last updated May 26, 2026 · Code of Ethics What happened? And how to tell if your were breeched and what to do about it. (Usual disclaimer: I'm just an investor expressing my personal opinion and am not an attorney, accountant nor your financial advisor. Consult your own financial professionals before making any financial decisions. Code of Ethics: To remove conflicts of interest that are rife on other sites, I/we do not accept ANY money from outside sponsor
Ian Ippolito
Aug 25, 20244 min read
2023 Top 25+ Real Estate Crowdfunding Sites: Comprehensive Reviews and Ratings
By Ian Ippolito · Last updated May 26, 2026 · Code of Ethics There are 100+ real estate crowdfunding sites to choose from. And virtually all claim they're the best. But in reality, many suffer from poor customer/investor feedback, questionable protections, low volume and/or uncompetitive fees. So how do you cut through the marketing hype? (Usual disclaimer: I'm just an investor expressing my personal opinion and am not an attorney, accountant nor your financial advisor. Co
Ian Ippolito
Aug 30, 20234 min read
Is That Sponsor’s Amazing-Looking “Skin-in-the-game” Real? Or Is It an Overinflated Ruse?
By Ian Ippolito · Last updated May 26, 2026 · Code of Ethics Requiring a sponsor to invest side-by-side with investors is a well-known strategy for reducing risk. But some sponsors use “cheats” to hide what they’re really doing. And some investors allege that a recent Northwest Sustainable Properties deal on CrowdStreet (which is spectacularly imploding) was an egregious offender. (Usual disclaimer: I'm just an investor expressing my personal opinion and am not an attorney, a
Ian Ippolito
Aug 14, 20236 min read
The RealCrowd Portal is No More
By Ian Ippolito · Last updated May 26, 2026 · Code of Ethics The platform was once one of the largest and most popular in the industry. But in recent years, investor satisfaction plummeted, along with volume. And disappointing decisions to stop showing key due-diligence info and refusing to remove an offering that made impossible claims (and which ended up defrauding investors of millions of dollars)...probably didn't help. (Usual disclaimer: I'm just an investor expressing
Ian Ippolito
Jul 24, 20235 min read
Investors Allege $63 Million Misappropriated by Nightingale Properties on 2 deals as Empire Crumbles
By Ian Ippolito · Last updated May 26, 2026 · Code of Ethics One of the two office real-estate deals (Atlanta Financial Center) had been touted last year as the largest ever fund-raise on the CrowdStreet platform. However, some investors say they saw red flags showing trouble from the beginning. (Usual disclaimer: I'm just an investor expressing my personal opinion and am not an attorney, accountant nor your financial advisor. Consult your own financial professionals before m
Ian Ippolito
Jul 18, 20239 min read
"Lies, Damnable Lies" and Marketing: MG Capital tells a marketing whopper on Real Crowd
By Ian Ippolito · Last updated May 26, 2026 · Code of Ethics The impossible claim that investor capital is "fully protected from loss" has not yet been removed by the sponsor or the platform. Original article was posted in late 2017. Fraud confirmation by the SEC and state of New York were added in 2022. The news about the shut-down of the RealCrowd portal was added in 2023. (Usual disclaimer: I'm just an investor expressing my personal opinion and am not an attorney, accoun
Ian Ippolito
Jul 17, 20237 min read
PeerStreet Declares Bankruptcy
By Ian Ippolito · Last updated May 26, 2026 · Code of Ethics The once immensely popular platform suffered devastating declines in investor approval over the years. And despite previous reassurances, investors are now exposed to bankruptcy-related losses on $205 million of outstanding loans (with more than 50% non-performing). (Usual disclaimer: I'm just an investor expressing my personal opinion and am not an attorney, accountant nor your financial advisor. Consult your own f
Ian Ippolito
Jul 16, 20234 min read
Deep-dive into my Seven Figure Alternative Investment (and Real Estate) Portfolio: 2023 Q2 Update
Deep-dive into my Seven Figure Alternative Investment (and Real Estate) Portfolio: 2023 Q2 Update
Ian Ippolito
Feb 21, 202323 min read
The Fed’s hitting the brakes on the economy: How will it affect my alternative investment portfolio?
By Ian Ippolito · Last updated May 26, 2026 · Code of Ethics "The captain has turned on the seatbelt warning. Would you like a soft-landing, a hard-landing or a crash-and-burn?; “This ain’t your daddy’s inflation”; 2021 Wave: Temporary inflation; 2022 Wave: Inflation pulls up a chair, gets comfortable and says it’s not leaving unless it’s kicked out; “From Covid-Hero to Covid-Zero…just like that”; Coming next. (Usual disclaimer: I'm just an investor expressing my personal opi
Ian Ippolito
Jul 12, 202211 min read
The Real Estate Crowdfunding Review June 2022 Update
By Ian Ippolito · Last updated May 26, 2026 · Code of Ethics 2022 reviews are in (including investor feedback and upgraded and downgraded ratings), the Private Investor Club welcomes 5,600th member and now over $12.8 billion+, and a deep-dive into my 7 figure alternative investment portfolio. (Usual disclaimer: I'm just an investor expressing my personal opinion and am not an attorney, accountant nor your financial advisor. Consult your own financial professionals before maki
Ian Ippolito
Jun 8, 20223 min read
Deep-dive into my Seven Figure Alternative Investment (and Real Estate) Portfolio: 2022 Q2 Update
My defensive portfolio enjoyed an exceptional year (returning 49.58% including 7.37% in income). In comparison the stock market dropped -3.3
Ian Ippolito
May 16, 202223 min read
How will Covid-19/Coronavirus Affect my Alternative Investment Portfolio? Part 58: August 7th
By Ian Ippolito · Last updated May 26, 2026 · Code of Ethics "Younger, sicker and quicker (to get worse)": 4th U.S. wave vaults past multiple records, as Delta muscles its way to 95% dominance; Herd immunity: Are we getting close or is Delta moving the goalpost on humanity?; Crystal Ball: U.K. appears to be losing control of its latest wave and Delta causes infections in Israel to soar; New study estimates herd immunity may require "well over 80% and approaching 90%" rates to
Ian Ippolito
Aug 8, 202124 min read
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