My guest today is Alex Nicoll, reporter at Insider, who penned an article earlier this month (September 2023) headlined ‘Real Estate Crowdfunding is a House of Cards.’ How could I resist but to give him a call, as real estate crowdfunding is my lifeblood these days, and ask him more about what he was writing about, what he discovered, and what was the background to the article. Well, the article was focused on the PeerStreet bankruptcy that emerged over the last few weeks and was not an indictment of the entire online real estate syndication industry and what you are going to learn today from Alex is how he did his research into that bankruptcy, the kind of documents that he looked at, and the people he spoke to. Alex shares insights into what he discovered and his thoughts about real estate crowdfunding in general and you’ll also learn about the business model of Peerstreet, how they raised venture capital, and how much venture capital they did actually raise to put their business plan together. It is a mind-boggling number. We also discuss the various factors that have impacted this particular niche in commercial real estate crowdfunding, which is the single-family home fix and flip market, and the factors that have driven Peerstreet to their unfortunate demise. It was a pleasure talking with Alex and, although the sounds quality is not the best, I’m sure you’ll find the conversation and his insights of great interest. ** In this brand new podcast series at GowerCrowd, The Real Estate Reality Show, we take a realistic view of commercial real estate investing, providing pragmatic insights for passive investors who are looking for sponsors they can trust and distressed opportunities they can invest in. You’ll find no quick fixes or easy money ideas here, no sales pitches, big egos or hype. You’ll learn how to build your wealth while protecting your capital investing as a limited partner in commercial real estate investments, even and especially during an economic downturn. Subscribe to our YouTube channel here.