Mike Simonsen, President of Altos Research, joins Tech Nest today to discuss real estate data and some of the myths around mortgage rate lock-ins. Altos Research offers local and national real estate data to financial institutions, real estate pros, and investors. Simonsen reveals that the lock-in effect started in 2014, not 2022, due to falling mortgage rates making homeowners hesitant to sell. He highlights the importance of viewing data from various angles and explains how Altos Research trac...
Jun 13, 2024•46 min•Season 18Ep. 212
Chet Kittleson, Co-founder and CEO of Far Homes, shares how the company is simplifying international home buying. Born from the pandemic's remote work trend, Far Homes helps people buy and sell homes abroad, starting with Mexico. They offer a thorough real estate search platform, connect buyers with local agents, and focus on high-demand markets like Cancun and the Riviera Maya. Far Homes aims to be the go-to for global cross-border purchase financing, with tools like the Financing Finder making...
Jun 13, 2024•39 min•Season 18Ep. 211
This week's engaging interview is with Stephen "Capz" Capezza, President of Side. Stephen shares his journey in real estate and provides a deep dive into Side's unique brokerage-as-a-service model. Side is a true pioneer in the real estate brokerage space as the only brokerage-as-a-service platform. The success of this platform can be seen based on the industry recognition many of their agents have achieved, including lists from Real Trends. Stephen shares his experience and what he's witnessed ...
Jun 06, 2024•30 min•Season 18Ep. 210
In this conversation, I talk with Ned Murphy, the General Manager at Level M, about the state of the multifamily industry and the role of smart buildings. We discuss the impact of new construction on the market, the competitive dynamics and concessions in the industry, and the challenges of hardware and software integration. Ned shares more about Level M as a next-generation platform, aimed at helping existing properties adopt smart technology. One blocker to adopting smart building technology h...
Jun 04, 2024•40 min•Season 18Ep. 209
In this episode of Tech Nest, we have a returning guest, David Sullivan, on the show. David was previously CEO of a company called Till, which was acquired by Best Egg. David's been working to bring flexible rent solutions to the renters market, and through the acquisition by Best Egg, is now better positioned to do so. We get into the challenges of disrupting the property management industry and the complexity of embedding point solutions, such as flex rent, in multifamily. The effects of the p...
May 30, 2024•38 min•Season 18Ep. 208
This is the type of conversation I should have had on the show a long time ago. Industry veteran, brand-builder, and all-around great guy, Brian Boero joins the show today. Brian is Co-founder at the branding and strategy agency, 1000WATT. They focus exclusively on working with brands in the real estate vertical including brokerages, lenders, and technology companies. One of the first topics I was eager to get Brian to dig into was on the importance of brand and storytelling within the real esta...
May 28, 2024•41 min•Season 18Ep. 207
This week's interview features Vincent Hodder, Co-founder and CEO of Local Logic. Local Logic is a location intelligence platform that focuses on digitizing the built world and providing predictive analytics for addresses in the US and Canada. They have a massive data set of 100 billion unique data points, which allows them to understand and quantify cities at a hyperlocal level. You'll hear us discuss the need for data-driven insights to help consumers, agents, and investors (all in their own, ...
May 21, 2024•41 min•Season 18Ep. 206
This week's guest is Everett Lynn, Founder and CEO of Amenify, a plug and play platform for amenity services in the multifamily space. We discuss Amenify's recent growth trajectory (hint: they've been on fire!). Everett shares his insights on different types of fundraising and the challenges of disruption in the real estate industry—a topic that is frequently discussed, but Everett offers some unique takes for founders. You'll hear Everett emphasize the importance of finding a balance between va...
May 14, 2024•50 min•Season 18Ep. 205
It's my second time interviewing Joseph Woodbury, co-founder and CEO of Neighbor.com. In case you missed, Joseph previously joined Tyler Cauble and I for a l ive stream on Tyler's CRE YouTube channel . This time for Tech Nest, we switched up the topics. We get into how his company is disrupting the self-storage industry by leveraging the peer-to-peer model. Neighbor allows individuals and businesses to monetize unused space by renting it out for storage. They have operations in all 50 states, pr...
May 07, 2024•50 min•Season 18Ep. 204
I promise you, discussing security deposits isn't as boring as it may seem. This week, I'm joined by Conor Brennan, Co-founder of Rentable, a security deposit management platform for residential real estate. He shares about the pain points of security deposits, including the legal challenges and outdated processes. We dig into the importance of integrations and Rentable's focus on cash deposits. Conor shares how Rentable offers flexible payment options for deposits and highlights the ideal custo...
Apr 30, 2024•43 min•Season 18Ep. 203
This week, I'm fortunate to be joined by fellow South Dakotan, Ray Hespen. Ray is CEO and co-founder of Property Meld, a maintenance automation software company. based in Rapid City, South Dakota. Let's start with some performance metrics from Property Meld's 2023: $723,997,461 in repairs completed 8,467,099 maintenance phone calls eliminated 378,082 maintenance issues prevented 4.40 average resident satisfaction across all customers 4,786,554 maintenance tasks automated During our conversation,...
Apr 23, 2024•45 min•Season 18Ep. 202
In this episode, I interview Zach Gorman, co-founder and COO of RealReports, an AI-powered real estate data platform that consolidates multiple data sources and provides agents with comprehensive reports. The platform offers agents the ability to generate new business, win deals, and conduct research and diligence more efficiently. We discuss the challenges of fragmented and inaccessible data in the residential real estate industry. He shares his non-traditional path to real estate and the inspi...
Apr 16, 2024•43 min•Season 18Ep. 201
For episode 200 of Tech Nest, I wanted to share some thoughts on the journey of the podcast, as well as some general life and work updates. Of course I owe so much to so many in the industry—so I spend some time discussing past guests and what this show means to me. You'll hear a brief bit of the success stories of startups featured on the show and highlights the challenges faced by proptech companies. Lastly, I leave you with some helpful info on upcoming events across the country you'll want t...
Apr 15, 2024•33 min•Season 18Ep. 200
Pat Kinsel is back for his second appearance on Tech Nest. Pat is the Founder and CEO of Proof, an intelligent platform that combines auditable verification with cryptographic evidence to securely execute legally binding agreements. We waste no time getting into why Proof rebranded from being known as Notarize and how the new brand more accurately reflects the full vision of the company. Some of the big problems we discuss include the types of fraud in real estate transactions, including wire fr...
Apr 02, 2024•46 min•Season 18Ep. 199
Today's guest is Matt Service, COO of Apartment List. In this episode, Matt discusses the unique user experience and value proposition of Apartment List's matchmaking rental marketplace and announces the company's latest innovation: Lea Pro. As they describe it, Lea Pro is "a groundbreaking AI-powered leasing assistant designed to work hand-in-hand with property management companies and leasing agents." This is an iteration of their already available automated leasing assistant, Lea. Lea has alr...
Mar 26, 2024•37 min•Season 17Ep. 198
This week's featured guest is Gavin Myers, Managing Partner at Prudence, an early-stage venture capital firm focused on investing in technology companies in the real estate sector. We dig into Gavin's background and transition to proptech, as well as Prudence's investment strategy of backing differentiated and defensible companies. Gavin shares the importance of understanding the sector and the people involved, as well as the challenges of finding talent in proptech—a topic I'm passionate about ...
Mar 08, 2024•45 min•Season 17Ep. 197
Yves Perez, CEO of WorkBnB, discusses the significance of workforce housing and the challenges faced by workers in the construction industry. He highlights the importance of mental health and the need for comfortable accommodations for workers who have to travel for their jobs. Perez explains the practical differences of workforce housing compared to traditional options like Airbnb and hotels and shares how companies can work with WorkBnB and the about the potential impact of tech advances on th...
Feb 28, 2024•46 min•Season 17Ep. 196
Brandon Peterson, the founder and CEO of GeoKey, discusses the benefits of mobile access control and property management solutions. He shares his background as a serial entrepreneur and the inspiration behind starting GeoKey. Brandon explains the importance of partnerships and integrations in the proptech industry and how GeoKey is leveraging AI to streamline operations and enhance the customer experience. He also discusses market trends, and the future of building access and security. About Bra...
Feb 20, 2024•35 min•Season 17Ep. 195
In this episode we have Clayton Collins , the Founder and CEO of HW Media . Clayton discusses the growth and vision of HW Media, the challenges of building a media powerhouse, predictions for the real estate market in 2024, and their upcoming annual event, The Gathering . Clayton shares insights on interest rates, inventory, and consumer psychology in the housing industry. He also highlights the importance of research and data in providing a full picture for housing professionals. The conversati...
Feb 08, 2024•37 min•Season 17Ep. 194
Tim Ray, CEO of VeriFast, discusses the importance of identity verification in the real estate industry and the challenges of tenant fraud. He explains how VeriFast's single-source verification platform helps verify individuals' identities and financial details, providing a more secure and flexible screening process for renters—especially for those with a non-traditional income. Tim also highlights the company's integrations with property management systems and the need for trust and transparenc...
Jan 30, 2024•39 min•Season 17Ep. 193
Catrine Machi, co-founder of Swyft Cities, discusses the company's vision to transform urban real estate by improving mobility. Swyft Cities is developing an aerial transportation system that uses pods traveling along a cableway. The system offers a network of stations that provide efficient and direct routes for users. Machi emphasizes the importance of solving specific problems for cities and the need for a layered approach to transportation options. She also discusses the challenges of policy...
Jan 24, 2024•34 min•Season 17Ep. 192
Owen Glubiak, VP of Client Strategy for Cortex Sustainability Intelligence, discusses decarbonization in commercial real estate. They discuss the challenges and pressures faced by the industry, the role of AI in optimizing building performance, and the importance of tenant comfort. They also touch on the future of Cortex and the trends in decarbonization policies in cities like Boston, New York, California, Chicago, Denver, and Austin. The conversation explores two major trends in the sustainabi...
Jan 15, 2024•46 min•Season 17Ep. 191
Sarah Cipkar, shares her experience building her own backyard ADU and how that started her journey to founding Resimate. Resimate is an online tool that allows homeowners to determine if their backyard is suitable for a detached ADU based on zoning bylaws. Sarah also discusses the different construction methods for ADUs, the challenges in the prefab and modular construction industry, and the importance of awareness and education in the ADU market. She shares her vision for the future of Resimate...
Jan 09, 2024•36 min•Season 17Ep. 190
In this episode of Tech Nest, Jarred Kessler, CEO of EasyKnock, discusses innovative solutions in the residential real estate sector. He shares insights into Easy Knock's unique approach to helping homeowners access their equity without traditional loans. The conversation highlights the 'Sell and Stay' program, where homeowners can sell their property yet remain as renters, tackling the modern challenges of home equity and market dynamics. Discover how EasyKnock working to bring alternative fina...
Jan 04, 2024•39 min•Season 17Ep. 189
Donald Davidoff, the CEO and Co-founder of REBA, discusses the limitations of using spreadsheets in the multifamily industry and the need for new tools. He highlights the challenges of trusting data and the frustration around collating and analyzing data in Excel. Donald introduces REBA Rent, a new product that aims to simplify the rental process and improve transparency. He also addresses the hesitancy of multifamily owners and managers to adopt new solutions and the importance of empathy and o...
Dec 19, 2023•41 min•Season 16Ep. 188
In this conversation, Annie Sloan, Co-founder and CEO of TheHost Co discusses the importance of creating unique experiences in the vacation rental industry and the opportunity to increase revenue through targeted upsells. Upsells can be as simple as late checkouts or early check ins, but Annie goes further providing proof guests want one-off experiences, too. For example, did you know you could hire donkeys with saddlebags full of beer to roam around the property, providing a fun and memorable e...
Dec 13, 2023•42 min•Season 16Ep. 187
In this episode, Marc Rutzen, CEO of HelloData.ai, talks about revolutionizing real estate investing with AI. We discuss leveraging AI for real-time market analysis and optimizing pricing strategies in multifamily properties, particularly for units under 100. Marc highlights using AI for revenue management, asset optimization, and overcoming industry challenges. This episode offers insights into AI's potential and limitations in real estate, providing valuable information for investors, property...
Dec 05, 2023•54 min•Season 16Ep. 186
Brian Dally is no stranger to the proptech ecosystem. Brian Co-founded Groundfloor just over 10 years ago, and is still driving the company at an aggressive growth rate. Groundfloor has achieved Inc 5000 recognition four times as being one of the fastest growing private companies in the US. In this interview with Brian, we cover the specifics of the Groundfloor product—a fintech/proptech solution enabling investors (both accredited and non-accredited) to invest in real estate debt. Groundfloor p...
Nov 28, 2023•44 min•Season 16Ep. 185
Zach is a proptech veteran and OG. As one of the Co-founders of the most prolific early-stage proptech investment firm, MetaProp, and as an individual investor, he's seen some things go down. In this episode, we discuss what's changed over the course of Zach's career within proptech, and discuss where things are headed next. There's more to this than just before and after the pandemic, but that's obviously a big component to how things have evolved. Download to hear more about what Zach has to s...
Nov 21, 2023•46 min•Season 16Ep. 184
There's no shortage of topics and angles to cover when talking with the Chief Innovation Officer of CoreLogic, John Rogers. John is a seasoned veteran, leading tech and innovation throughout his career. He's been with CoreLogic for just over ten years, building the teams and shaping the direction of how we'll look at real estate data for years to come. This interview has it all—discussion on climate data and modeling, AI, and even scotch. Of course, John gives some details about some of CoreLogi...
Nov 14, 2023•50 min•Season 16Ep. 183
