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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: 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
This newcomer to The Review offers deals in the desirable but often-difficult-to-access class of single-family rentals. It has impressive...
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"
Once sky-high investor sentiment is now much more hesitant. First the platform was buffeted by fallout from the collapse of Synapse...
Ian Ippolito
Sep 26, 20243 min read
Why Merely Freezing and Monitoring your Credit is *Not Even NEARLY Enough* to Stop Debilitating Identity Theft
Last week, 78% of U.S. citizens were exposed to identity theft from a jaw-dropping data breech at National Public Data. And the...
Ian Ippolito
Aug 28, 20247 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
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.
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...
Ian Ippolito
Aug 25, 20244 min read
2023 Top 25+ Real Estate Crowdfunding Sites: Comprehensive Reviews and Ratings
There are 100+ real estate crowdfunding sites to choose from. And virtually all claim they're the best. But in reality, many suffer...
Ian Ippolito
Aug 30, 20234 min read
Is That Sponsor’s Amazing-Looking “Skin-in-the-game” Real? Or Is It an Overinflated Ruse?
Requiring a sponsor to invest side-by-side with investors is a well-known strategy for reducing risk. But some sponsors use “cheats” to...
Ian Ippolito
Aug 14, 20236 min read
The RealCrowd Portal is No More
The platform was once one of the largest and most popular in the industry. But in recent years, investor satisfaction plummeted, along...
Ian Ippolito
Jul 24, 20235 min read
Investors Allege $63 Million Misappropriated by Nightingale Properties on 2 deals as Empire Crumbles
One of the two office real-estate deals (Atlanta Financial Center) had been touted last year as the largest ever fund-raise on the...
Ian Ippolito
Jul 18, 20239 min read
"Lies, Damnable Lies" and Marketing: MG Capital tells a marketing whopper on Real Crowd
The impossible claim that investor capital is "fully protected from loss" has not yet been removed by the sponsor or the platform....
Ian Ippolito
Jul 17, 20238 min read
PeerStreet Declares Bankruptcy
The once immensely popular platform suffered devastating declines in investor approval over the years. And despite previous reassurances,...
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?
"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...
Ian Ippolito
Jul 12, 202212 min read
The Real Estate Crowdfunding Review June 2022 Update
2022 reviews are in (including investor feedback and upgraded and downgraded ratings), the Private Investor Club welcomes 5,600th member...
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
"Younger, sicker and quicker (to get worse)": 4th U.S. wave vaults past multiple records, as Delta muscles its way to 95% dominance; Herd...
Ian Ippolito
Aug 8, 202125 min read
How will Covid-19/Coronavirus Affect my Alternative Investment Portfolio? Part 53: March 27th
Micro-edition update; U.S. progress on third death wave drives forward, but then stalls out;Crystal ball: Time to buckle up? Infections...
Ian Ippolito
Mar 28, 202120 min read
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