Diversify with private credit and equity real estate investment funds that make non-concessionary impact investments to expand access for America’s working families to affordable, safe communities.
Senior Secured Mortgage Fund that makes private credit investments to experienced real estate sponsors. Targets monthly passive income and annual returns of up to 10% for accredited investors.
Private Real Estate Investment Fund that invests in income-producing, attainable rental communities. Targets monthly passive income and annual returns of up to 12% for accredited investors.
Private Preferred Credit Fund that makes primarily equity (debt for tax purposes) and debt investments to preserve attainable rental housing. Targets monthly passive income and annual returns of up to 11% for accredited investors.
Private Real Estate Investment Fund that invests in all stages of development to build, improve, and manage attainable rental housing. Targets quarterly passive income and annual returns of up to 13% for accredited investors.
See how DLP Capital’s lending fuels real estate projects that transform communities. These stories highlight the creativity, determination, and results of the talented sponsors we work with.
Explore a selection of our recent transactions across lending, acquisitions, and investments — demonstrating our commitment to delivering momentum, certainty, and impact for real estate projects nationwide.
Our core value of Driven for Greatness is about adopting a growth mindset and consistently seeking out opportunities to learn. The Twenty is our way of helping you do just that, named after the core value that sets the tone for all we do: the Twenty-Mile March. Learn from our latest webinars, articles, podcast episodes, and more.
In his blog, Founder and CEO Don Wenner shares insights from the lessons he’s learned as a faith-driven CEO who has grown DLP Capital to be an Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Company for 13 consecutive years at just 40 years old. Learn not just from his own experiences as an entrepreneur, father, and husband, but the most important lessons he has learned from friends and mentors like John C. Maxwell, Lloyd Reeb and others.
From impact investing to building an extraordinary organization while being equally focused on an extraordinary family, Don Wenner’s Elite Impact Podcast covers it all. Learn valuable insights and hear incredible stories of leadership, impact, and more from Don and his guests.
Experience DLP Capital events anytime. Watch keynotes, panel discussions, and training sessions featuring industry leaders and experts driving innovation and impact.
Access DLP Capital’s complete webinar library, featuring quarterly fund updates, educational sessions, and special presentations designed to keep investors informed and inspired.
Read the latest DLP Capital quarterly report for the most recent performance of DLP Capital-sponsored funds, updates on current investments within the funds, stories of our impact in action, company insights, and more.
CEO Don Wenner has built a life—and a company—dedicated to transforming lives through access to safe and attainable housing. Today, DLP Capital is creating solutions to the affordable housing crisis, redefining community, and helping investors discover success with significance.
DLP Capital’s purpose-driven, non-concessionary impact investments create housing, jobs, connection, and opportunity for families across America. Discover more about how DLP invests with purpose.
Meet the visionary leaders committed to executing DLP’s vision of transforming the lives of both residents and investors through the building of Thriving Communities.
Stay inspired by the latest updates from DLP Capital. Explore how we’re driving meaningful change, earning recognition, and celebrating milestones as we continue building thriving communities across America.
At DLP Capital, work is more than a job—it’s a mission. Join a team dedicated to solving America’s housing crisis, building thriving communities, and creating opportunities for families across the country.
Our mission starts with connection. Reach out to our team or visit one of our locations to learn more about how DLP Capital is creating impact where it matters most.
Maximizing Wealth: Best Ways to Earn Passive Income
Accredited investors can earn passive income from private real estate. But there are other options, too.
May 3, 2025
Investment Insights
Want money? You’ll have to earn it.
At least, that’s the case for a vast, vast majority of people. In 2025, an estimated 83.6% of Americans aged 25 to 64 are employed.1 For nearly all of them, active income—the money they derive from working a job—makes up the lion’s share of their earnings.
Earning money without having to work sounds ideal, but it’s also fairly rare. According to the New York Times and the U.S. Census Bureau, only about 20% of Americans earn any kind passive income, whether from rents, dividends, interest, or royalties.2,3 Among those who do, median passive earnings stand at roughly $4,200 per year.2,3
But if you want to retire, downshift your career, supplement your active income, or become financially independent, you’ll need to find ways to generate passive income. And if you want to sustain your lifestyle indefinitely without spending down your wealth over time, you may need a significant amount of passive income. But what investments are best for earning passive income, and which ones are right for you?
Earn passive income with private real estate funds
You’ve probably given some thought to becoming a real estate investor. Or perhaps you’re currently a landlord. But between the late-night maintenance calls, the never-ending leasing cycles, and the hassles of collecting rent, you’ve likely realized that being a landlord isn’t passive at all.
But you don’t have to buy a property outright to gain exposure to real estate. Private real estate funds, for example, allow you to invest in and earn rental income from multiple real estate properties at once. By spreading out your capital across many deals, you’re more insulated from the concentration risk that comes from putting all your eggs in one basket.
Besides, there’s nothing you need to do after selecting a private real estate investment fund. Once you invest, the fund manager takes over: they deploy your capital, vet sponsors and projects, and ensure that these sponsors and projects align with the fund’s investment objectives—whether that involves ground-up construction, property management, repositioning, or lending.
But what does this look like in practice? In simple terms, it’s essentially “mailbox money.” You receive monthly or quarterly passive income in the form of a preferred return, which means that the private real estate fund must pay you a minimum rate of return before your fund manager receives performance fees. In addition to your preferred return, you may also receive “excess distributable cash,” which can be distributed on an identical or alternative cadence with your preferred returns.3
There is one important caveat: to invest in a private real estate fund, you’ll need to be an accredited investor. This definition requires you to either have a net worth greater than $1 million, excluding the value of your primary residence, or income exceeding $200,000 individually (or $300,000 jointly with a spouse) for the current and prior two years.5
Accredited investors can earn monthly or quarterly passive income with DLP Capital- sponsored private real estate investment funds.
Publicly-traded REITs can potentially offer passive income, too
If you aren’t an accredited investor but still want to earn passive income from real estate, what alternatives can you pursue?
One option is an exchange-traded real estate investment fund (REIT), which is a company that invests in income-producing commercial real estate, such as multifamily communities, mixed-use developments, strip malls, or office buildings.
The process of investing in a public REIT is very similar to buying stock, in that you can purchase REIT shares directly with a brokerage account. The critical difference is that a publicly-traded REIT is required to distribute at least 90% of its taxable income to REIT shareholders per year.6 These dividends, which are typically paid quarterly and sometimes monthly, can serve as a source of passive income.
That said, one potential downside of REITs is that they also trade like stocks—REIT shares are volatile and fluctuate in value on a daily basis.
For instance, consider the performance of the FTSE NAREIT All REITs index, which tracks the performance of all publicly-traded U.S. REITs. Since the 21st century, the index has suffered several significant drops:
Table source: Calculations by DLP Capital.
In fact, while the index is off its October 2023 lows, it has yet to exceed its December 2021 all-time high. This means that public REIT investors may need to be prepared for several years of potential negative returns.
Want the potential to earn passive income without the public market volatility? Since inception, investors in DLP Capital-sponsored funds have consistently earned double-digit annual returns.*
Interest is another popular form of passive income. Savers can earn interest by investing in government or corporate bonds, money market instruments, or simply by accumulating money inside a high-yield savings account.
If you prefer investments that are less correlated to market fluctuations, short-term interest-bearing instruments can provide consistent returns with little to no volatility. But the upside is more or less capped at the federal funds rate set by the Federal Reserve, which currently stands at 4.25–4.50%.7 If you want higher yields, you may have to assume more credit risk or purchase longer-term bonds, which can fluctuate in value depending on prevailing interest rates and other factors.
One potential low-volatility alternative would be a private credit fund, which allows you to invest in a basket of loans that the fund makes to corporate borrowers.
For example, the DLP Lending Fund makes debt investments to experienced real estate sponsors for the construction, acquisition, and repositioning of attainable rental housing in U.S. markets where working families are being priced out of home ownership.
These first-position mortgages are backed by real estate along with personal guarantees, and may potentially allow you to earn higher yet more consistent returns.
The DLP Lending Fund has a ten-year track record of achieving double-digit annual returns for investors.*
To make $1,000 a month in passive income, you’ll need to have some savings to start. For example, you’ll need to invest $200,000 in a hypothetical private real estate fund that meets its 6% annual preferred return target to make $1,000 a month or $12,000 a year in passive income.
How can I maximize my passive income?
You can earn passive income by investing in assets that generate income without your active involvement. Examples include private real estate funds, publicly-traded REITs, dividend stocks, and treasury securities. The key to maximizing your passive income, however, comes from scale: For example, you can participate in a dividend reinvestment program (DRIP) that automatically reinvests your preferred returns rather than distributing them to you, allowing you to invest increasing amounts of money.
How to invest $100,000 for passive income?
If you’re an accredited investor, $100,000 may be enough to invest in a private real estate equity or credit fund, though this will depend on each specific fund’s minimums. These funds can potentially provide you with passive income in the form of regular preferred return distributions. You can also invest your $100,000 in other assets like dividend-paying equities, corporate bonds, or publicly-traded REITs.
How do you grow wealth passively?
Assets like private real estate, publicly-traded REITs, dividend stocks, or interest income can help you produce passive income and grow your wealth passively.
How much passive income will $500k generate?
That depends on your portfolio’s yield. If you invest $500,000 in a hypothetical private credit fund that meets its 6% preferred return target, distributed monthly, you’ll receive $2,500 per month or $30,000 annually. On the other hand, if you put $500,000 in an S&P 500 exchange-traded fund, which currently generates an annual dividend yield of roughly 1.2%, you’ll earn about $6,000 in annual income.
Our website uses cookies to enhance your experience, analyze website traffic, and deliver content tailored to your interests. By clicking "Accept", you consent to our use of cookies.
