You can start investing in private real estate debt with a private mortgage REIT through the Marquee Capital Fund 1, which is a mortgage fund made of quality real estate secured loans. This allows you to passively invest in high-yielding secured notes through a range of underwritten mortgage products with a preferred return of 8%.  Some investors do this independently, lending money directly to a borrower and securing the loan by the property to then earn a fixed rate of return from the loan.