Has anybody used realty shares or a comparable alternative to purchase real estate investments?

I’m interested in the answer

RealtyShares has quite a "rough" reputation among the syndication investors.   You can read up on several threads on the subject here on BP.

I invested with both RealCrowd and CrowdStreet.   They dont aggregate the crowdfund and therefore dont charge and extra fee (Like RealtyShares and RealtyMogul).   So you end up investing directly with the sponsor, but they do help investors if necessary.   

I recommend them both, I have enjoyed the experience

@Alex Olmo What kind of investments? I have not used them to answer your question. I was just wondering what you are attempting to purchase before suggesting others.

@Alex Olmo @Hunter Locke just know these sites take a good chunk away from the lead operator. And the worse thing is that as a syndicator you are not allowed to get the names of investors that invest which totally negates all referral business. That said if you are unable to network and find syndications to go into this is the a good alternative amongst bad ones.

Originally posted by @Lane Kawaoka :

Alex Olmo Hunter Locke just know these sites take a good chunk away from the lead operator. And the worse thing is that as a syndicator you are not allowed to get the names of investors that invest which totally negates all referral business. That said if you are unable to network and find syndications to go into this is the a good alternative amongst bad ones.

Thanks Lane. The syndication piece is interesting, it's not surprising that a platform that "makes it so easy" is too good to be true! Thanks for the insight. 

Alex,

There's a few things to review and understand what you are trying to achieve.  Deal access may be one.  Perhaps lower entry points may be another with crowdfunding.  It certainly can fill a niche for some folks.  I like what @Lane Kawaoka mentions though.  The real purpose of the platform company is to make money by raising capital for sponsors while providing the opportunities to their investor base.  They charge a hefty fee to the sponsor and the sponsor may not have the ability to know their investor or develop long term deeper relationships with their investor base.    

Traditionally speaking, before crowdfunding, connecting to syndicates in the niche that you like then learning their models, getting closer to the "relationship" side can be an advantage for investors that really want to understand who the sponsors are, get time w/sponsors to fully understand the market, deal and team, etc they are investing in.  The disadvantage maybe that investors have a harder time finding these operators and deals so crowdfunding makes it easier I suppose with one click to see what is being offered.  There are advantages and disadvantages in these different approaches.  The link below may be of benefit.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/9145/63405-syn...

I have a RealtyShare account but have not used them. I have been working with RealtyeVest (formerly IHT) and am moving in a different direction now due to some bookkeeping errors (minor) and poor communications. I do have a bit invested with www.ahpfund.com and so far so good. 

@Alex Olmo , Smart of you to do your homework first. I've talked to dozens of investors in Realty Shares, and also all the other top sites that are competitors. They ended up ranking in the top 10, although not in the very top tier. Also, the best for you rely depends on what are looking for. For example, if you're looking for residential debt, you probably want to start with Peerstreet, Fund that flip, etc. because they are transparent about their performance and they rank in the top for uncured default rate. Realty Shares maybe a good choice for you if you are looking for equity. At the same time, Crowd Street sometimes has a lot more investments to choose from (and they ranked in the top three).

I recommend taking a step back and figuring out how you want to allocate your real estate portfolio (debt versus equity, residential versus commercial, core, core plus versus value-added, etc.). And then once you know what you're looking for, it's easy to identify the top two or three platforms for it. Then you can start drilling into individual deals.