InvestBay has positioned itself as a fractional real estate platform focused on vacation-oriented property. Its footprint is no longer purely European: InvestBay reported on June 3, 2026 that its portfolio had reached 14 projects in eight locations across six markets, including Cape Verde and Indonesia (Bali) alongside its European markets. For US-based investors, one consideration stands out: InvestBay's current FAQ lists the USA among the nationalities and citizenships that cannot invest on the platform. That exclusion has many US citizens seeking alternatives that offer domestic access, clear structural disclosure, and verifiable performance data. For those looking to build wealth through fractional real estate investing, identifying a platform with institutional-quality underwriting, transparent fee structures, and meaningful investor protections is essential. This guide examines seven alternatives that serve different fractional real estate investment needs in 2026, starting with mogul, a fractional real estate platform club founded by former Goldman Sachs executives, offering first-year loss protection and monthly income distributions through property-specific LLC ownership.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this guide is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. Always consult with a licensed professional before making any financial or investment decisions.
Key Takeaways
US citizen access is non-negotiable: InvestBay's own FAQ lists the USA among the citizenships barred from investing, making domestic alternatives essential for Americans building a fractional real estate portfolio
Loss protection sets platforms apart: mogul provides $10,000 first-year loss protection for new members, covering up to $10k in losses with its own balance sheet capital, a risk mitigation feature that is uncommon among fractional platforms
Distribution frequency impacts cash flow planning: monthly distributions produce 12 scheduled distribution periods per year versus four for quarterly platforms, which is three times as many opportunities to collect and redeploy income
Fee structures vary significantly: a 1.00% annual AUM fee costs exactly $100 per year on a constant $10,000 balance, as with Fundrise's 0.15% advisory plus 0.85% management fee, while mogul discloses no traditional recurring annual AUM fee and charges separate upfront and rental-income fees instead
Structure matters more than the letters "LLC": property-specific LLC offerings can provide individual property selection, defined voting rights and K-1 tax reporting, but the actual rights depend on each operating agreement. Ark7's SEC filing, for example, states that investors buy an interest in a Series and not directly in the underlying asset, with limited voting rights
Institutional underwriting matters: mogul reports that fewer than 1% of reviewed properties pass its diligence process, and applies a 12% minimum projected IRR hurdle to listings
Scale and adoption: mogul reports $90M+ in assets invested through the platform and 40,000+ investors, and 90% of its investors invest a second time, typically at 3x their first investment
1. mogul
mogul is a leading real estate platform delivering fractional access to institutional-quality single-family rental properties, founded by former Goldman Sachs executives. The company reports more than $10 billion in collective deal experience across its team, $90M+ in assets invested through the platform, and 40,000+ investors. The platform enables investors to build diversified real estate portfolios through property-specific LLC ownership of individual single-family rental homes, including short-term and mid-term rental strategies across US markets it selects on population, employment and other fundamentals.
How Does mogul Work?
mogul's platform allows investors to purchase fractional ownership in professionally vetted and managed income-producing properties. Each property is held in a state-registered LLC, giving investors membership interests in the entity that owns the individual home rather than shares in a pooled, platform-wide fund. Key highlights:
Ownership Structure: membership interests in a property-specific LLC with ownership-weighted voting on specified major decisions, generally including expenditures above $1,000, subject to the operating agreement. mogul notes this provides economic exposure to the property without placing each investor directly on the deed
Income Distribution: once a property is operational and generating distributable cash flow, mogul generally distributes each investor's proportionate share of available net rental income monthly. Amounts depend on occupancy, rent collection, operating expenses, reserves, fees and property performance
Tax Reporting: mogul's property-specific pass-through LLCs may allocate depreciation and other property-level tax items through Schedule K-1 reporting, subject to the applicable offering and each investor's tax circumstances
Property Selection: individual property choice from a curated portfolio. mogul's current listings have included homes in Houston and Dallas/Rockwall, Texas; Yucaipa, California; and Tempe, Arizona
First-Year Loss Protection
mogul provides $10,000 first-year loss protection for new members. If your total return on your first seven days of investments is a loss in the first year, mogul covers up to $10,000 of that loss with its own balance sheet capital, truing you up to your original amount. It is an uncommon investor-protection feature among fractional real estate platforms.
mogul also runs a Give $50, Get $50 referral offer: refer a friend and get $50 when they invest.
Performance and Returns
mogul targets 15% to 20% annual IRR across its property portfolio and applies a 12% minimum projected IRR hurdle to every listing. The platform reports an 18.8% average annual return, compared with the S\&P 500's 9%. These are targets and reported historical figures rather than promises of future performance.
mogul describes its underwriting as institutional-quality and reports that fewer than 1% of reviewed properties pass a diligence process spanning nationwide screening, underwriting, inspections, appraisals, investment-committee review, third-party diligence and scenario modeling. mogul also states that it co-invests alongside users in every property offered, which helps align management's economic interests with investor outcomes.
Investor behavior reflects that experience: mogul reports that 90% of its investors invest a second time, and when they do, it is typically 3x their first investment.
Fee Structure
Platform Fee: 3% one-time platform fee capitalized in the deal
Setup Fee: an additional 2% one-time setup fee where work is required to make a property rent-ready
Upfront Charge: mogul's How It Works material summarizes the upfront charge as a 5% fee capitalized in the deal, calculated from the property's purchase price
Ongoing Management: 2.5% of collected rental income, with property management included
Annual AUM Fee: mogul discloses no traditional recurring annual AUM fee. On recurring AUM charges alone, a hypothetical 1.00% annual AUM fee equals $100 per year on a constant $10,000 balance. This is not a total-cost comparison, because mogul charges separate upfront and rental-income fees
Notable Backing
mogul raised a $3.6 million seed round led by AY Ventures, with participation from Draper Associates, Draper B1, InterVest, Draper Dragon, the Blizzard Avalanche Ecosystem Fund, and angel investors including Rosa Rios, the 43rd Treasurer of the United States.
Separately, mogul's About page identifies its investors and backers, including:
Tim Draper (Draper Associates), whom mogul characterizes as an early backer of SpaceX, Tesla, and Robinhood
Chris Larsen, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of Ripple, listed among mogul's investors and backers
Best For: US investors seeking monthly income once properties are operational, first-year loss protection, no recurring annual AUM fee, and institutional-quality property underwriting through property-specific LLC ownership.
2. Ark7
Ark7 provides fractional ownership in US rental properties with a focus on accessibility and a documented dividend history.
Key Features
$20 per share starting price, one of the lower per-share entry points among individual-property platforms
Monthly dividend distributions to investors
300K+ active investors and $30M+ in funded property value as of May 2026
Series LLC ownership structure offered under Tier 2 of Regulation A. Ark7's SEC filing states that an investment is in the Series and not directly in the underlying asset, with limited voting rights
Properties across 10 US markets
Performance Track Record
Ark7 reports $4M+ in cumulative cash dividends paid as of May 2026. Its July 2026 portfolio update reports a 4.09% annualized portfolio dividend return rate and 92.50% portfolio occupancy. The 4.09% figure is a dividend and cash-yield measure rather than an all-in investor return inclusive of appreciation or trading outcomes.
Secondary Market
Ark7 operates a secondary market through PPEX ATS, an SEC-registered alternative trading system. Its July 2026 update reports $322,198 in monthly transaction volume, with 32 properties, or 70% of the portfolio, actively trading. Investors can generally sell shares after a one-year holding period. Ark7's own risk disclosure notes that there is no assurance a secondary market will develop or be sustained, and investors may need to hold their shares indefinitely.
Best For: Investors prioritizing a low $20 per-share entry point alongside a documented dividend history and existing secondary-market functionality.
3. Fundrise
Fundrise operates one of the longer-running fractional real estate platforms in the US, founded in 2012. The platform uses a pooled fund model that provides broad diversification across property types and geographies.
Core Capabilities
$10 minimum for taxable accounts; Fundrise IRAs start at $1,000
Diversified fund model spanning residential, commercial, and industrial properties
Fundrise states its goal is to issue dividends following each quarter, and notes that dividends are not guaranteed and may fluctuate
Multi-year operating history with an established track record
Roth and Traditional IRAs available for retirement accounts
Fee Considerations
Fundrise currently charges a 0.15% advisory fee plus a 0.85% annual management fee on its real estate funds, totaling 1.00%. On a constant $10,000 balance that equals $100 per year. Other Fundrise products carry different fee schedules. This ongoing fee structure contrasts with platforms like mogul that disclose no traditional recurring annual AUM fee.
Investment Approach
The pooled fund model means investors cannot select individual properties. Capital is allocated across the fund's entire portfolio, which provides diversification at the fund level rather than exposure to individually chosen assets.
Best For: Investors seeking a $10 taxable-account entry point with set-and-forget diversification through pooled funds.
4. Arrived Homes
Arrived Homes reports 989K registered investors, one of the larger user counts published in the fractional real estate category. Registered investors are not the same as funded or active investors, and platforms publish non-comparable user metrics, so this figure is best read as a measure of reach rather than a ranking. The company offers single-family residential rentals, existing vacation rentals, and pooled funds.
Platform Features
Individual property selection, with investors purchasing shares in the Series LLC that owns the asset
Single-family rentals plus existing vacation-rental holdings. Arrived disclosed on July 14, 2026 that it had paused new vacation-rental acquisitions to focus on its existing portfolio
Monthly dividends once individual properties become income-producing; the SFR Fund and Real Estate Income Fund also expect monthly distributions
$100 minimum investment across Arrived offerings
Performance varies by property and product. Arrived's Q1 2026 report shows individual SFR annualized dividend yields ranging from 1.3% to 9.9%, averaging 3.6%
Fee Structure
Arrived charges multiple fee layers:
A one-time sourcing fee may be included in an offering, with the amount disclosed in each individual offering rather than set as a single platform-wide rate
Property management of 8% of gross rent for single-family residential properties and 15% to 20% for vacation rentals, depending on market and manager
AUM fees ranging from 0.10% to 0.30% per quarter depending on product and fee base. The 0.15% quarterly figure applies specifically to individual SFR properties, which annualizes to roughly 0.60%
Scale and Product Range
The large registered-user base demonstrates market demand for fractional real estate investing. Arrived's 2026 pause on new vacation-rental acquisitions applies to new primary-market opportunities in that category.
Best For: Investors wanting individual property selection with monthly distributions and exposure to Arrived's existing vacation-rental portfolio.
5. Lofty.ai
Lofty.ai offers blockchain-settled fractional real estate investing with daily rental income credits, which is more frequent than the monthly or quarterly schedules used by several major alternatives.
Blockchain Infrastructure
Property-specific LLC shares with blockchain and USDC settlement
Daily rental income credits
Minimum purchase is one share, with share prices varying by property and often around $50 or less
A 24/7 exchange where limit orders match another investor and market orders execute using market makers, subject to a 2.5% fee
No stated minimum holding period. Investors can fund purchases by bank transfer or credit card, so an external crypto wallet is not a prerequisite
Distribution Frequency
Lofty's daily distribution model makes rental income available for reinvestment sooner than monthly or quarterly schedules. Faster availability does not by itself produce better compounding, since net outcomes depend on yield, reinvestment mechanics, share prices, fees, cash drag, and underlying property performance.
Best For: Investors seeking daily income credits and 24/7 exchange functionality, and who are comfortable with blockchain-settled property ownership.
6. Realbricks
Realbricks is a fractional single-family rental platform offering shares in individual long-term rental homes. Its distinguishing feature is that the entity owning each property holds title free of mortgage debt at the time of the offering, which removes property-level mortgage interest expense and refinancing considerations.
Platform Features
Shares priced at $10 each with a $100 minimum, open to accredited and non-accredited US residents, and capped at 9.8% ownership of a single property per investor
Investors purchase ownership interests in the entity that owns a property rather than the property directly. Realbricks' own disclosure states that an investment constitutes an investment in a particular series and not in the underlying asset, and lists lack of voting rights among its key risks
Quarterly dividends paid from net rental income after operating expenses, with properties targeting an estimated 4-6% annual dividend yield. Distributions depend on actual rental performance
Offerings are qualified by the SEC under Regulation A, with securities activity conducted through a registered broker-dealer
Property management, including tenant placement, repairs, accounting and tax filings, is handled by the platform
All transactions are conducted in USD, with no cryptocurrency or tokenization layer
Liquidity Considerations
Realbricks has described a peer-to-peer secondary marketplace intended to let investors place sell orders once an offering has fully funded. Its current risk disclosure states that there is no public trading market for its series interests, that it intends to seek a quotation on the PPEX alternative trading system, and that a secondary market may not develop or, if one does, that volume or pricing may vary. That disclosure describes the interests as a long-term holding. Quarterly distributions also mean four scheduled income events per year rather than the 12 available from monthly platforms.
Best For: Investors who want property-specific fractional ownership of unlevered single-family homes at a $100 entry point in a USD-only structure, and who are comfortable with quarterly distributions.
7. Groundfloor
Groundfloor takes a different approach to fractional real estate. It currently describes itself as a private markets platform spanning real estate, fixed income and emerging alternatives, with products including individual Loans, Notes, a bond note and music royalties. The comparison below is scoped specifically to Groundfloor's individual Loans product.
Lending Model
Short-term real estate loans funded by investors. Groundfloor Lending also finances new construction, bridge loans and DSCR rental properties
Loan terms are typically 6 to 18 months for much of its short-term lending, while DSCR loans can carry 30-year fixed terms
Debt-based returns rather than equity appreciation
$10 minimum for Loans; Notes start at $100 to $1,000, and some other offerings carry higher thresholds
Current Groundfloor Loans list a 10-18% target IRR. Target IRR is not guaranteed
Risk Profile
Development and bridge lending carries different characteristics than rental property ownership. Loan performance depends on borrower execution and the exit strategy, which may be a sale, a refinance, or ongoing rental operation in the case of DSCR loans. This provides portfolio diversification but changes the investment thesis.
Best For: Investors seeking short-term real estate debt exposure through Groundfloor's Loans and Notes products as a complement to equity-based fractional ownership.
Why mogul Stands Out for Fractional Real Estate Investing
mogul makes real estate investing more accessible and headache-free, pairing monthly dividends, real-time appreciation and tax benefits with institutional-quality underwriting.
Loss Protection New Investors Can Actually Use
mogul's $10,000 first-year loss protection addresses the primary concern of new real estate investors, which is capital loss. mogul covers up to $10k in losses from its own balance sheet capital, and it remains an uncommon feature among fractional real estate platforms.
Institutional Underwriting Discipline
mogul was founded by former Goldman Sachs executives, and the company reports more than $10 billion in collective deal experience across its team, including growing Goldman Sachs' single-family rental platform from $0 to $1 billion in under 12 months. mogul describes its underwriting as institutional-quality and reports that fewer than 1% of reviewed properties pass its diligence process, with every listing required to clear a 12% minimum projected IRR hurdle. A low acceptance rate reflects the selectivity of the process.
Monthly Income Without a Recurring AUM Fee
mogul combines monthly distributions of available net rental income with no traditional recurring annual AUM fee, a pairing unavailable on most platforms. Monthly schedules produce 12 scheduled distribution periods per year against four for quarterly platforms, which is three times as many. On recurring AUM charges alone, a 1.00% annual fee equals $100 per year on a constant $10,000 balance. Because mogul charges separate upfront and rental-income fees, that figure is a comparison of AUM charges, not of total platform costs.
Team Co-Investment Alignment
mogul states that it invests in every property alongside platform users, which helps align management's economic interests with investor outcomes.
Property-Specific LLC Ownership
Each property sits in a state-registered LLC, which mogul says provides investors with:
Fractional ownership of a single-property entity rather than exposure to a pooled, platform-wide fund
Ownership-weighted voting on specified major decisions, generally including expenditures above $1,000, subject to the operating agreement
Potential pass-through allocation of depreciation and other property-level tax items through Schedule K-1, depending on the offering and each investor's tax circumstances
Property-level performance tracking through a dashboard showing valuations, rental distributions and return projections
mogul notes that this structure delivers economic exposure to the home without placing each investor directly on the deed.
Secondary Market Coming Soon
mogul's How It Works page marks a secondary trading market as coming soon, with share pricing to be calculated monthly at fair market value using third-party appraisal-level data.
For investors seeking alternatives to InvestBay, particularly US citizens who cannot access that platform, mogul delivers a combination of loss protection, monthly income, disciplined underwriting and fee efficiency that positions it strongly for building a fractional real estate portfolio. Explore available properties to see current investment opportunities, use mogul's free rental property calculator, which works for any address in the United States, to analyze potential returns, or book a call with the team.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this guide is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, or legal advice. Always consult with a licensed professional before making any financial or investment decisions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't US citizens use InvestBay?
InvestBay's current FAQ lists the USA among the nationalities and citizenships that cannot invest on the platform, and the platform operates under European regulatory frameworks. US citizens seeking fractional real estate exposure therefore need domestic platforms that provide US tax documentation such as Schedule K-1 or Form 1099.
What makes mogul's loss protection notable among fractional platforms?
mogul provides first-year loss protection of up to $10,000 for new members. If investments made within your first seven days result in a loss after one year, mogul covers that loss up to $10,000 with its own balance sheet capital. Downside protection of this kind is uncommon among fractional real estate platforms.
How do monthly vs quarterly distributions affect returns?
Monthly distributions produce 12 scheduled distribution events per year, while quarterly distributions produce four. That is three times as many, and within a single quarter a monthly schedule normally provides three distributions rather than one. More frequent distributions make cash available for reinvestment sooner, though reinvestment availability, transaction costs, yield, price movement and cash retention all factor into outcomes. Among the platforms in this guide, mogul, Ark7 and Arrived distribute monthly, Lofty credits income daily, and Fundrise and Realbricks target quarterly distributions.
What's the difference between property-specific LLC ownership and REIT or pooled fund structures?
Property-specific LLC offerings such as mogul's give investors membership interests tied to an individual property, with defined voting rights and Schedule K-1 reporting, and mogul notes this provides economic exposure without placing each investor directly on the deed. REIT and pooled fund structures invest across many properties with less investor control over specific assets and different tax treatment. The LLC label alone does not determine direct deeded ownership, governance or tax treatment, which are set by each operating agreement. Ark7's SEC filing is a useful illustration: investors purchase an interest in a Series rather than the underlying asset directly, with limited voting rights.
How do fees compare across fractional real estate platforms?
Fee structures vary significantly. mogul's current disclosures describe a 3% one-time platform fee, a 2% setup fee where applicable, and 2.5% of collected rental income, with no traditional recurring annual AUM fee. Fundrise charges 0.15% advisory plus 0.85% management, totaling 1.00% annually on its real estate funds. Arrived discloses offering-specific sourcing fees, property management of 8% for single-family rentals and 15% to 20% for vacation rentals, and AUM fees of 0.10% to 0.30% per quarter depending on product. On a constant $10,000 balance, a 1.00% annual AUM fee equals $100 per year and $500 over five years. That is a comparison of one fee category only, since platforms differ on acquisition, management and disposition charges.
Is mogul SEC registered or SEC approved?
The SEC does not approve or endorse investment platforms, and investments on mogul are structured through an investment club rather than a crowdfunding portal. mogul Technologies, Inc. is not a registered broker-dealer or investment advisor; mogul facilitates access to institutional-quality single-family rental properties, and investment decisions are the investor's. As a US-based platform, mogul provides a US-oriented property-specific LLC structure and US tax documentation such as Schedule K-1.
Can fractional real estate investments be held in retirement accounts?
Some platforms support retirement accounts. Fundrise offers Roth and Traditional IRAs, and Ark7 describes IRA support for its offerings. Details on using a self-directed IRA with mogul, including current eligibility and custodian requirements, are available in mogul's help center. Tax outcomes depend on account type and compliance: the IRS notes in Publication 590-A that amounts in an IRA, including earnings and gains, generally are not taxed until distributed and in some circumstances are not taxed at all. InvestBay, which excludes US citizens, cannot be used for American retirement accounts regardless of its structure.
What happened to RealT, and should it still be considered an alternative?
RealT is not a current alternative for US investors. Its co-founder announced on a July 2, 2026 investor call that the company was entering voluntary liquidation and intended to sell its assets. Separately, reporting in March 2026 noted that US residents were not permitted to invest in RealT for regulatory reasons. For those reasons, RealT is excluded from the list of active alternatives above.