Accredited vs Non-Accredited Real Estate Crowdfunding Options

You are an accredited investor if you earned more than $200,000 in each of the past two years ($300,000 together with a spouse or spousal equivalent) and expect the same this year, have a net worth above $1 million not counting your home, or hold a Series 7, 65, or 82 license in good standing. That status lets you buy private placements, securities sold without SEC registration, including single-property deals sold under Rule 506(c), where the seller must verify that you qualify. Without it, you can still buy SEC-registered funds with no cap, plus Regulation A and Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) offerings within limits that leave your home out of net worth: 10% of the greater of your income or net worth in each Regulation A Tier 2 offering, and $2,500 to $124,000 a year across all Reg CF offerings.

Who qualifies as an accredited investor

An individual can qualify in any one of three ways under the SEC's definition:

• Income: more than $200,000 in each of the two most recent years, or more than $300,000 combined with a spouse or spousal equivalent, plus a reasonable expectation of the same this year. A spousal equivalent is a partner you live with in a relationship generally equivalent to marriage. Both years must clear the bar, so $210,000 in 2024 and $190,000 in 2025 does not qualify.
• Net worth: more than $1 million, alone or with a spouse or spousal equivalent, at the time you buy. Assets you count together do not have to be held jointly.
• License: a Series 7, 65, or 82 securities license in good standing. These are held by brokers, investment adviser representatives, and people who sell private offerings.

For the net worth test, leave out your primary home and the mortgage on it, up to the home's value. Two things still count as debts: any amount you owe above the home's value, and any increase in home borrowing during the 60 days before you buy, other than to purchase the home. The 60-day rule keeps you from qualifying by pulling cash out of your house.

Example: You have $750,000 in retirement accounts, $200,000 in a brokerage account, $100,000 in savings, a $40,000 car loan, and a $600,000 home with a $350,000 mortgage. The home and mortgage drop out, so your net worth for the test is $1,050,000 minus the $40,000 car loan, or $1,010,000, and you qualify. If $50,000 of the savings came from a home equity line you drew 30 days ago, that $50,000 counts as a debt, your net worth for the test falls to $960,000, and you do not qualify.

On September 30, 2026, the SEC asked for public comment on new ways to qualify, such as passing an exam to be developed by FINRA (the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which oversees brokers) or holding a CPA license, a CFA charter, or a CFP certification. None of these count yet; the SEC would first have to formally designate them.

How Rule 506(c) verification works

Rule 506(c) lets a sponsor advertise a private placement, which is why these deals appear on public websites, but every buyer must be accredited and the sponsor must take reasonable steps to verify it. Deals sold under Rule 506(b) cannot be advertised. They can include up to 35 non-accredited buyers in any 90 days if those buyers are financially sophisticated, meaning they have the knowledge and experience to judge the investment, and those buyers must receive disclosure that includes financial statements.

SEC rules list ways a seller can verify an individual for a Rule 506(c) deal:

1. Income: reviewing your IRS forms for the two most recent years, such as a W-2, Form 1099, Schedule K-1, or Form 1040, plus your written statement that you expect to qualify this year.
2. Net worth: reviewing bank, brokerage, or similar statements dated within the past three months and a credit report from a nationwide credit bureau, plus your written statement that you have disclosed all your debts.
3. Letter: a registered broker-dealer, an SEC-registered investment adviser, a licensed attorney, or a CPA confirms in writing that it verified your status within the past three months.
4. Repeat buyer: if the same seller verified you before, your written statement covers later purchases from that seller for five years from that verification.

These methods are optional, and a seller can use other reasonable steps. In March 2025, SEC staff agreed that a high minimum investment can be enough when you also state in writing that you are accredited and that no third party financed your minimum investment for this purchase. The request the staff answered used minimums of $200,000 for individuals and $1 million for entities, so offerings with lower minimums still rely on the methods above or other reasonable steps.

What non-accredited investors can buy

Regulation A Tier 2

A company can raise up to $75 million in 12 months under Tier 2 and sell to anyone. If you are not accredited and the shares will not be listed on a stock exchange, your total purchases in that offering are capped at 10% of the greater of your annual income or net worth, with your home left out as in the accredited test. When one offering covers many properties or loans, each sold as a separate series, the cap covers all of them together. The seller can rely on your own statement that you are under the cap.

Example: with $80,000 of income and $60,000 of net worth, you can put up to $8,000 in total into any one Tier 2 offering.

Regulation Crowdfunding

A company can raise up to $5 million in 12 months under Reg CF. If you are not accredited, your total across all Reg CF offerings in any 12 months is capped, with net worth figured without your home:

• If either your income or your net worth is under $124,000: the greater of $2,500 or 5% of the greater of the two.
• If both are $124,000 or more: 10% of the greater of the two, up to $124,000.

Examples: with $80,000 of income and $60,000 of net worth, 5% of $80,000 is $4,000, which is more than $2,500, so your limit is $4,000. With $150,000 of income and $200,000 of net worth, your limit is 10% of $200,000, or $20,000. Accredited investors have no Reg CF limit. You can cancel a Reg CF commitment for any reason until 48 hours before the offering deadline.

SEC-registered funds

A fund that registers fully with the SEC does not use either exemption, so neither cap applies. The Fundrise Real Estate Interval Fund, for example, is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, sells shares at net asset value with no sales charge, and must offer every quarter to buy back 5% to 25% of its shares. When more shareholders ask to sell than the offer covers, each request is filled only in part, and you must ask again the next quarter for the rest. Its minimum first purchase is $1,000, which the fund may waive.

What disclosure and oversight each route gives you

Neither SEC qualification nor a Form D filing means the SEC approved the investment or checked the document's accuracy. Antifraud rules apply on every route, so a sponsor cannot make materially false or misleading statements, but money lost to a fraud can be difficult or impossible to recover.

Accredited status adds syndications, where a sponsor pools investors' money to buy a single property, and private funds to your choices, and those come with the least required disclosure. Before buying one, check the sponsor's filings and history using the steps in due diligence on a crowdfunding deal, and see how sponsors split profits in syndication basics. The main risks and downsides apply to both groups. The platform comparison shows which platforms serve each group, and what real estate crowdfunding is covers the basics.