After 25 years of doing real estate the traditional way, Solaris Estates made a decision that raised eyebrows inside their own family: stop chasing big institutional checks and start paying accredited investors every single month.

It's working.

Steve, the second-generation operator behind Solaris Estates' new capital strategy, joined Arthur Weissman on The Deal Flow to break down why the shift happened, how the structure works, and why monthly income is becoming the default expectation for private real estate investors.

Why they walked away from the old model

For most of Solaris's 25-year history, the playbook looked like every other real estate firm. Raise large capital from a small number of institutional investors, deploy it into projects, and return profits at the end. Sometimes three years later. Sometimes seven. Sometimes longer.

The returns were strong. IRRs in the 25 to 30 percent range on paper. But Steve started noticing a fundamental shift in what investors actually wanted.

"People don't really care about owning a specific asset anymore. They just care about am I going to get paid every single month and is it going to be consistent?"

The old model couldn't deliver that. So Solaris built a new one.

What the income strategy actually looks like

Instead of waiting years for a lump-sum return, investors receive monthly distributions from day one. The returns are lower than a traditional IRR deal. But investors get cash in hand immediately, backed by the same real estate assets that have underpinned Solaris's portfolio for decades.

That portfolio today sits at over $600 million in value. Five years ago, Solaris wouldn't have taken a call from anyone writing less than a million dollars. Now their average investor check is around $200,000 and Steve actively encourages people to start at the minimum.

"The idea is that you get a lot of people putting in a little bit. That's what makes this efficient."

The tax structure

Monthly distributions are classified as return of principal. Investors aren't paying income tax as distributions come in. The profit and the tax event come at the end, treated as long-term capital gains. For investors in higher brackets, the difference is material.

Solaris also runs an opportunity zone fund on the same monthly income model. Investors can roll capital gains directly into the fund, defer the tax liability, and start receiving monthly cash flow immediately.

Why family offices are paying attention

Steve expected his core audience to be baby boomers and retirees investing through IRAs. That's still a significant part of the mix. But family offices are showing up too.

The reason is straightforward. Equity markets near all-time highs mean limited upside and concentrated risk. Many family offices that once held 30 to 40 percent in equities now find themselves at 60 to 70 percent without having made a single new allocation. Monthly income from a hard asset backed real estate portfolio is a clean rebalancing tool.

"They just want to know what they're getting."

The generational friction and how it resolved

The income strategy wasn't an easy internal sell. Steve was the one pushing it. The first generation, the people who built a $600 million portfolio the traditional way, were skeptical.

"They said, 'Really? You're going to run ads on Instagram and Facebook and people are going to click and actually invest?' And I said, 'Yeah. Watch.'"

The numbers closed the debate. The cost of raising capital through direct investor outreach is incomparable to the traditional route. Institutional deals involve months of negotiation, legal review, and equity concessions. The income strategy closes in weeks and leaves Solaris with 100 percent of the upside once investors are redeemed.

"You just get on calls with people, tell them what you're offering, and either it works or it doesn't."

What's next

Solaris isn't treating this as a workaround for a tough rate environment. Steve sees the income model as a permanent structural shift and plans to expand it with multiple strategy options across different durations and return profiles.

The goal is to reach more of the estimated 40 million accredited investors in the US who have never had access to deals like this. The people who, until recently, Solaris would never have spoken to.

"Five years ago we would never have taken these people on as investors. Now they're our best customers."

Watch the full conversation

Steve joined Arthur Weissman on The Deal Flow to walk through the full strategy, how Solaris structured the income model, what the tax advantages look like in practice, and where private real estate capital raising is heading next.

Interested in learning more about Solaris Estates or exploring an investment? Visit solarisestates.com