@Alexandra FisherIf you are an accredited or sophisticated investor I recommend spending time underwriting operators/syndicators in the Midwest and South East and invest in multiple projects to build a diversified portfolio of multifamily investments.

Often those syndicators know they are not dealing with sophisticated and accredited investors so try to take advantage of them.Right now your money doesn't have to go immediately into something.

The sectors we are interested in are healthcare, casinos, resorts, and large urban redevelopment projects ( mixed use ).

@Michael Yan, you can make money through real estate in 4 waysCash FlowAppreciation (rent increase in the case of 5+ unit properties, as well as forced appreciation)DepreciationMortgage PaydownA more sophisticated tool for determining a property's investment potential is Internal Rate of Return (IRR), which takes into account the above, your timeline, and compares to other investment vehicles.

While the fee isn't small, it's not much when considered in the overall cost of an apartment complex or getting tangled up with the SEC.To answer one of your questions though: If you are doing a 506(b) offering and not soliciting, you can take "sophisticated" investors. 

In the past the  sophisticated investors from Hong Kong were the dominant buyers in the Japanese real estate market.

You hear economic drivers like new sports complex in Rantoul, casino coming to Danville, etc.

This allows for us to weather the ups and the downs responsibly. investing with low reserves and leveraging higher than 80% to buy more properties with thin cash flow will scare away most sophisticated investors or private money lenders.Learn how to do it more responsibly and develop a track record and network. 

You might want to consider retaining a more sophisticated real estate tax savy CPA, this is a question that they should be intimately familiar with.

My father in law and husband bought it as an "investment" 20 years ago speculating that once Sullivan County gets a casino permit business would be booming.. here we go the casino is finally being built but I don't see the area turning around any time soon..