Raise Capital for Real Estate on Social Media, Legally

You can raise money for a real estate deal on social media, but only through an offering that allows public marketing. For most creators and small sponsors, that means Rule 506(c): you can post about the deal anywhere, but every investor must be accredited and you must take reasonable steps to verify it. Your posts also count as offering material, so they cannot overpromise.

If you are the sponsor, we built DoorRaise for creators and small sponsors who raise from people who already follow and trust them, with flat fees. This post covers the rules for the posting itself. The wider picture is in our real estate syndication guide.

Can you advertise a real estate syndication?

Yes, under Rule 506(c), and only if every buyer is accredited and you take reasonable steps to verify it. The SEC says a 506(c) issuer may publicly advertise, subject to those two conditions and the other Regulation D requirements, including a Form D filing and state notice filings.

A 506(b) offering cannot be advertised at all. Rule 502(c) bars general solicitation and general advertising, and it includes seminars or meetings whose attendees were invited by general solicitation. One public post about a live 506(b) deal can cost you that exemption. See 506(b) vs. 506(c) and what general solicitation means.

What about educational content?

Teaching real estate is not the same as offering a security. A video that explains how apartment syndications work, with no live deal, is education. A video that says "we are raising $2 million for this building, DM me" is an offer.

The line gets blurry when educational content ends with a pitch. When in doubt, treat it as an offer and ask your attorney. We explain the line for creators in what creators can say about a deal.

Why are your posts part of the offering?

Because courts can treat a post as a solicitation. In Pino v. Cardone Capital, the Ninth Circuit held that "a person can solicit a purchase, within the meaning of the Securities Act" by "promoting the sale of a security in a mass communication." The case involved Instagram posts and YouTube videos and claims about two real estate funds.

The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part a dismissal, reviving an investor's Securities Act Section 12(a)(2) and Section 15 claims against Grant Cardone and Cardone Capital. The court-approved class notice says the court ruled that people who bought into Cardone Equity Fund V or VI through public offerings are class members, and that a trial is scheduled to begin March 9, 2027. The claims have not been decided, and nothing here says the defendants did anything wrong.

The lesson for creators is practical: every Reel, video and caption about a live deal can later be read as what you promised.

What can you say in a post about your deal?

Say what the deal is and who it is for, and point to one page for the terms and risks. Avoid anything that promises a result.

Do	Don't
Say the deal is for accredited investors only	Promise or guarantee returns ("double your money")
Link to one deal page with the full terms and risks	Quote projected returns outside your offering documents
Disclose that you are the sponsor and how you are paid	Call the deal safe or risk-free
Show your full track record, including losses	Promote someone else's deal for pay without disclosure
Describe the property and the business plan plainly	Ask anyone to wire money anywhere but escrow

Here is the difference in practice:

Risky: "Guaranteed 15% returns on our new apartment deal. DM me to get in before it fills!"
Better: "We are buying a 64-unit apartment building and raising from accredited investors under Rule 506(c). Full terms, fees and risks are on the deal page. Investing involves risk, including loss of your investment."

The SEC's investor alert lists "promises of high returns, with little or no risk" as a classic warning sign of fraud. Posts that sound like that also scare off careful investors.

What if someone else promotes your deal?

Anyone paid to promote a security has to disclose it. Section 17(b) of the Securities Act bars publishing a communication that describes a security "for a consideration received or to be received, directly or indirectly, from an issuer, underwriter, or dealer, without fully disclosing the receipt, whether past or prospective, of such consideration and the amount thereof."

In the SEC's October 3, 2022 order, the SEC's order states that Kim Kardashian was paid $250,000 for a June 2021 Instagram post about a crypto token without disclosing it. She agreed to pay a $1,000,000 penalty, $250,000 in disgorgement and $10,415.35 in interest, about $1.26 million in total.

Disclosure is not the only issue. If the promoter is paid per investor or per dollar raised, they may be acting as an unregistered broker. See how creators and capital raisers can be paid.

Worked example: what verification costs on a public raise

Public posts bring in more interest than closes, and under 506(c) every person who invests must be verified. This example is illustrative. The number of people who start verification is an assumption, not a statistic.

Say you raise $2,000,000 with an average check of $50,000. That is 40 investors ($2,000,000 divided by $50,000). Suppose 120 people start verification and 40 complete and invest.

If you pay a third-party service $69 per individual, as VerifyInvestor.com lists for issuer-paid verifications, then 120 starts cost $8,280, and the 40 who invest cost $2,760. The cost depends on whether you pay only for completed checks. Ask before you launch.

There is also a path for large checks. SEC staff said in a March 2025 no-action letter that an issuer may reasonably conclude it took reasonable steps if a natural person commits at least $200,000 (at least $1,000,000 for an entity) and gives written representations that they are accredited and did not finance the investment through a third party, and the issuer has no contrary knowledge. At that size, a $2,000,000 raise needs only 10 investors ($2,000,000 divided by $200,000). It is staff guidance, not a rule, so confirm with counsel.

Follow this order, because the paperwork comes before the posting.

Choose 506(c) and get your offering documents in place before you post about the deal.
Build an accredited-only list. Make the accredited requirement clear on every signup page.
Write posts from approved language. Keep projections and return targets inside the offering documents.
Send everyone to one deal page with the terms, fees, risks and documents.
Verify every investor before you accept their money. See accredited investor verification.
Keep money in escrow until closing, so a deal that does not close returns investors' money.

After the first sale, file Form D within 15 days and check each state where investors live. See Form D and what a 506(c) offering is.

What about followers who are not accredited?

They cannot invest in a 506(c) deal. They can only invest through an offering that allows them. Regulation Crowdfunding allows up to $5,000,000 in 12 months per issuer and must run through a registered intermediary, either a funding portal or a broker-dealer.

We cover options in non-accredited followers and real estate and the creator route in raising from followers.

Our take

Our opinion: the strongest social media raise is boring. Post the facts, link to the documents and let people decide. The sponsors who get into trouble are usually the ones whose captions are more exciting than their offering documents.

We would also rather a creator say less than risk a post being read as a promise. If a statement about performance is not in the offering documents with its assumptions, it probably does not belong in a caption.

Common mistakes and who this is not for

The recurring mistakes are small, and most involve the gap between the posts and the paperwork.

Posting before choosing an exemption. A public post before you have chosen 506(c) can taint a later 506(b) offering.
Quoting returns in comments or DMs. These are statements about the offering too.
Letting investors wire to a personal or operating account. Use escrow.
Paying influencers per investor. That can raise broker-dealer questions.
Not for you: if you want to raise from mostly non-accredited followers, 506(c) is the wrong tool. If you have no operating experience, consider partnering with an experienced operator as a co-sponsor.

How DoorRaise fits in

DoorRaise is software, legal document preparation, escrow coordination and verification services for sponsors raising equity for apartment buildings with 5 or more units under Rule 506(b) or 506(c). We take 0% of your raise or profits.

$500 at setup: the deal's LLC (including the registered agent), investor documents from attorney-approved templates, an escrow account in the deal's name, the deal page you can link to from posts, live call sign-up and accreditation checks on every investor.
$5,000 at closing, paid from the funds raised and only if the deal closes: attorney review of the offering documents, checks on the sponsor, purchase contract, title and loan, Form D filing and e-signing, and an investor portal and document vault.
$3,500 a year while you own the property, paid from the property's income: bookkeeping, the tax return and K-1s, payouts and investor updates.

State filing fees are included in the $5,000 closing fee. The $500 setup fee is not refunded if the raise does not close. We do not hold investor money and we do not review your captions or give legal advice. What you post is your responsibility, so have your attorney review it.

Ready to raise? Create your free sponsor page or see pricing.

FAQ

Can I post about my real estate syndication on Instagram or YouTube?

Yes, if the offering uses Rule 506(c) and every investor is accredited and verified. Posting about a 506(b) offering is general solicitation, which 506(b) does not allow.

What counts as general solicitation?

Broad public marketing of an offering, such as social media posts, public videos, ads or a public webpage, aimed at people you do not have a pre-existing, substantive relationship with. Rule 502(c) lists published ads and seminars whose attendees were invited by general solicitation.

Keep projections inside your offering documents, with their assumptions and risks. Return claims in posts can become evidence in a lawsuit, as the Cardone case shows.

Can I pay an influencer to promote my deal?

They must disclose the payment and its amount under Section 17(b). Paying them per investor or per dollar raised also raises broker-dealer issues, so talk to a securities attorney first.

Can non-accredited followers invest in my deal?

Not in a 506(c) deal. They can only invest through an offering that allows them, such as Regulation Crowdfunding or Regulation A.

Do I need to file anything after raising publicly?

Yes. File Form D within 15 days of the first sale and check state notice requirements. A 506(c) offering is still a Regulation D offering.

Sources

This post is general information, not legal advice. Talk to a securities attorney before you market an offering. Rules and case status are as of October 2026 and can change. DoorRaise is not a law firm, broker-dealer, investment adviser or funding portal.