On this episode of the Best Ever CRE Show, Pascal Wagner interviews Russell Gray, the long-time co-host of the Real Estate Guys Radio Show and a seasoned LP investor. Russell dives deep into the critical role macroeconomics plays in investment success, sharing his personal crash-and-burn story from the 2008 mortgage crisis and the economic warning signs he missed. He breaks down the shift from Wall Street to Main Street capitalism, the flaws of financialized markets, and the need to value invest...
Apr 24, 2025•1 hr 16 min•Season 1Ep. 3885
On this episode of the Best Ever CRE Show, Amanda Cruise and Ash Patel interview Tom Rauen, the self-branded "Fast Food Landlord" and owner of Rauen Capital. Tom shares his strategy behind acquiring Triple Net lease assets—primarily dollar stores and fast food locations—in underserved Iowa markets. He dives into the nuances of lease structures, investor returns, and risk mitigation, emphasizing why lease review and local knowledge are key. Tom also discusses the pitfalls of trendy business acqui...
Apr 23, 2025•46 min•Season 1Ep. 3884
On this episode of Best Ever CRE, Joe Cornwell interviews Jesse Sells, co-founder and COO of Impact Growth Capital. Jesse shares how he transitioned from the Air Force into real estate by diving headfirst into mobile home park syndications, using his background in flipping and rentals to raise capital from personal connections. He discusses the challenges of managing mid-sized multifamily properties and how that experience led his team to shift toward larger deals and capital partnerships. Jesse...
Apr 22, 2025•29 min•Season 1Ep. 3883
On this episode of the Best Ever CRE Show, Joe Fairless interviews John Casmon of Casmon Capital and Kent Ritter of Hudson Investing to explore the current state of multifamily investing and development. John shares insights on exiting value-add multifamily assets in the Midwest, strategic refinancing, and how he doubled NOI on a key property by identifying hidden upside. Kent dives into public-private partnerships as the secret to making development deals pencil in today’s environment and highl...
Apr 21, 2025•57 min•Season 1Ep. 3882
On this episode of The Horizon, John Chang interviews Gregg Katz to unpack the ripple effects of tariffs, the paralysis caused by economic uncertainty, and shifts in consumer behavior. The two dive into how fluctuating tariffs on Chinese goods are impacting retailers differently—especially discount chains like Five Below and Dollar General—and explore how supply chain volatility is reshaping strategic decisions in real estate and retail. They also discuss the experiential shift in retail environ...
Apr 20, 2025•36 min•Season 1Ep. 3881
On this episode of Best Ever CRE, Slocomb Reed interviews Josh Goodwin, co-founder of SimCap Holdings, a Cincinnati-based multifamily syndication firm with 212 units across nine properties. Josh shares how SimCap transitioned from third-party management to full vertical integration, detailing the impact on investor returns, internal operations, and cash flow. He also discusses their strategic expansion into the Columbus market, emphasizing how they plan to replicate their operational model with ...
Apr 19, 2025•18 min•Season 1Ep. 3880
On this episode of Next Level CRE, Matt Faircloth interviews Ryan Pineda, a former pro baseball player turned powerhouse real estate entrepreneur. Ryan shares how he scaled from flipping couches to flipping houses, eventually launching multiple seven-figure businesses. He emphasizes the importance of mastering one thing at a time, reflects on past wins and failures—and breaks down how he’s pivoting toward building sellable businesses in today’s uncertain market. Ryan also highlights how his “bus...
Apr 18, 2025•45 min•Season 1Ep. 3879
On this episode of the Best Ever CRE Show, Pascal Wagner interviews Mike Arndorfer, a full-time passive investor with decades of LP experience and over 19 deals under his belt. Mike shares his approach to investing in asset classes like mobile home parks (his “stay-rich” money), debt funds, and his curiosity about marinas. He emphasizes the importance of building long-term relationships with operators, attending conferences to meet other LPs and GPs, and constructing a diversified portfolio acro...
Apr 17, 2025•24 min•Season 1Ep. 3876
On this episode of the Best Ever CRE Show, Amanda Cruise and Ash Patel interview Aaron Fragnito, co-founder of People’s Capital Group, about his multifamily and mixed-use investing strategy in New Jersey. Aaron shares how he's thriving in a competitive market through off-market deals, aggressive repositioning, and capitalizing on low cap rates. He discusses his move into Class A assets, insights on managing older mixed-use properties, and his pivot from house flipping to scaling syndications wit...
Apr 16, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 3877
On this episode of Best Ever CRE, Joe Cornwell interviews Mustafa Ladha, Senior VP of Investor Relations at Veloce Capital. Mustafa shares how he transitioned from the pharmaceutical industry to real estate by leveraging WhatsApp to raise over $40 million through authentic, education-based investor relationships. He discusses the firm’s strategic focus on ground-up development in suburban New Jersey, including their use of tax abatements, opportunity zones, and a Reg A Tier 2 fund to make instit...
Apr 15, 2025•37 min•Season 1Ep. 3876
On this episode of the Best Ever CRE Show, Joe Fairless interviews Joe Root, co-founder of East Superior Real Estate Partners. Joe shares insights into how his family’s 40-year legacy in Chicago real estate evolved into a vertically integrated firm managing and owning hundreds of multifamily units. He dives into the strategic advantage of analyzing receivership reports to uncover distressed property opportunities and recounts lessons learned from a 2006 acquisition that nearly collapsed during t...
Apr 14, 2025•33 min•Season 1Ep. 3875
On this episode of The Horizon, John discusses the volatile intersection of trade policy, economic sentiment, and commercial real estate performance. He unpacks the steep drop in consumer sentiment, largely driven by aggressive tariff measures and global trade uncertainty—highlighting their ripple effects on tech, construction, and imports. John explores the implications for apartment absorption, commercial real estate sectors, and broader economic indicators like GDP composition and inflation r...
Apr 13, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 3874
On this episode of Best Ever CRE, Slocomb Reed interviews Nhan Nguyen Le, CEO of Valiant Capital. Nhan shares his journey from growing up in federally assisted housing to leading a $300M student housing portfolio focused exclusively on UC Berkeley. He explains why his firm targets high-demand, location-driven assets and executes a vertically integrated, value-add strategy that includes both renovations and ground-up developments. Nhan also addresses potential risks like university housing polici...
Apr 12, 2025•28 min•Season 1Ep. 3873
On this episode of Next Level CRE, Matt Faircloth interviews Chris Lopez, a real estate entrepreneur who transitioned from a tech-savvy internet marketer to a successful real estate broker and investor. Chris shares how he built a modern real estate brokerage by leveraging digital marketing and BiggerPockets forums to attract clients in Denver. He discusses his evolution from active investing into passive syndication opportunities, including educating clients on return on equity and “lazy 1031” ...
Apr 11, 2025•25 min•Season 1Ep. 3872
On this episode of the Best Ever CRE Show, Pascal Wagner interviews The Real Estate God, a private equity investor with $30–40 million in assets under management. Known for his sharp insights and anonymous presence online, Michael shares how LPs can think like GPs by breaking down deal evaluation, spotting hidden risks, and understanding the importance of stabilized yield versus market cap rates. He dives deep into evaluating market rents, verifying assumptions, and managing debt risk—especially...
Apr 10, 2025•1 hr 7 min•Season 1Ep. 3871
On this episode of the Best Ever CRE Show, Amanda Cruise and Ash Patel interview Victor Menasce, senior partner at Y Street Capital. Victor shares his transition from electrical engineering to full-time real estate development, focusing on why he pivoted from value-add deals to ground-up development across multifamily, industrial, and land projects. He dives into challenges with rising construction costs due to tariffs, converting historic buildings, and the complexities of repurposing office sp...
Apr 09, 2025•25 min•Season 1Ep. 3870
On this episode of Best Ever CRE, Joe Cornwell interviews Ben Simon, CEO of Archer Acquisitions. Ben shares his unique path from wholesaling in Boston to scaling a 500+ unit multifamily and 12 RV park portfolio. He breaks down his transition from small deals to $20M+ projects, the strategic value of partnerships, and how RV parks became a major focus after accidentally discovering the asset class. Ben also unpacks one of his toughest deals and a massive win from a 200-unit portfolio refinance, h...
Apr 08, 2025•40 min•Season 1Ep. 3869
On this episode of the Best Ever CRE Show, Joe Fairless interviews Judd Standage, founder of Aztex Management Group, who shares his journey from an IT career to owning and managing a 1,000-door multifamily portfolio. Judd discusses lessons from his first heavy value-add deal, why he shifted toward stabilized Class A and B+ properties in tertiary markets, and how his partnership with a longtime friend allows them to efficiently manage their entire operation. He also shares creative strategies to ...
Apr 07, 2025•36 min•Season 1Ep. 3868
On this episode of The Horizon, John discusses the sweeping impact of the new U.S. tariff hikes—dubbed "Liberation Day"—and their cascading effects on inflation, unemployment, and commercial real estate. He breaks down the economic fallout from increased tariffs on China, Vietnam, and other major trade partners, highlighting the resulting stock market plunge, potential recession, and shifts in investor sentiment. John explores how real estate might weather the turbulence better than equities, of...
Apr 06, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 3867
On this episode of the Best Ever CRE Show, Joe Fairless flies solo and dives into the latest Best Ever newsletter with updates and insights on the commercial real estate market. Joe breaks down the impact of new tariffs, treasury rate movements, and the state of multifamily trends across markets like DFW, Florida, and the Sunbelt. He highlights affordable housing challenges, national vacancy trends, and a standout case study of a 2X value-add deal in South Carolina generating 110% annual cash-on...
Apr 05, 2025•23 min•Season 1Ep. 3866
On this episode of Next Level CRE, Matt Faircloth interviews Ben Lapidus, a seasoned real estate investor and innovator behind a unique new concept called Playground. They dive into Ben’s journey from self-storage investments to pioneering the emerging asset class of garage condos—flexible, purpose-built spaces that can serve as luxury storage, personal gyms, hobby studios, or workspaces. Ben explains how Playground caters to affluent buyers looking to own, not rent, and discusses why selling in...
Apr 04, 2025•53 min•Season 1Ep. 3865
On this episode of the Best Ever CRE Show, Pascal Wagner interviews Andrew Cushman, founder of Vantage Point Acquisitions. Andrew shares his journey from chemical engineer to successful multifamily investor, highlighting how he transitioned from flipping homes to acquiring nearly 3,000 multifamily units across the Southeast. He breaks down his firm's buy box strategy, emphasizing the importance of management value-add, demographic targeting, and property size for operational efficiency. The conv...
Apr 03, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 3864
On this episode of the Best Ever CRE Show, Amanda Cruise and Ash Patel interview Christopher Long, CEO of Long Yards. Christopher shares how he scaled Long Yards from a contractor’s solution to a $12 million industrial outdoor storage (IOS) business serving contractors and service-based businesses. He explains the evolution from a franchise model to flexible joint ventures, offering a unique blend of land ownership and lease strategies backed by SBA financing. The conversation dives deep into id...
Apr 02, 2025•32 min•Season 1Ep. 3863
On this episode of Best Ever CRE, Joe Cornwell interviews Brent Barcus, Managing Partner at I-65 Capital. Brent shares how he transitioned from the entertainment industry into real estate, focusing on capital raising and strategic partnerships with experienced operators. He breaks down his process for vetting sponsors, discusses lessons learned from a challenging early deal in Georgia, and highlights a promising new 232-unit acquisition in a Nashville suburb. Brent also explores market trends in...
Apr 01, 2025•30 min•Season 1Ep. 3862
On this episode of the Best Ever CRE Show, Joe Fairless interviews Sam Giordano, a practicing gastroenterologist, real estate investor, and co-founder of PassiveAdvantage.com. Sam shares his journey into real estate syndications as a limited partner (LP), highlighting how his meticulous vetting process led him to create an AI-driven platform to help high-income professionals assess passive investments. He discusses the importance of sponsor evaluation, risk assessment, and market diversification...
Mar 31, 2025•31 min•Season 1Ep. 3861
On this episode of The Horizon, John Chang interviews economist John Silvia to discuss economic uncertainty, inflation risks, and their implications for real estate investors. Silvia highlights concerning trends, including slowing consumer spending, falling consumer sentiment, and the potential for a negative GDP print in the first quarter. He also analyzes the impact of new tariffs, which could raise inflation and weaken economic growth, leading to a higher risk of recession. The discussion tur...
Mar 30, 2025•33 min•Season 1Ep. 3860
On this episode of Best Ever CRE, Joe Cornwell interviews Christion Sadler, CEO of PreIShare, a platform revolutionizing liquidity for LP investors in real estate syndications. Christion explains how PreIShare allows passive investors to list and sell their positions through a secondary market, providing a critical option for accessing capital mid-hold. They also discuss the evolving needs and expectations of LPs, including succession planning, post-tax yield, and geographic investment preferenc...
Mar 29, 2025•37 min•Season 1Ep. 3859
On this episode of Next Level CRE, Matt Faircloth interviews Liz Faircloth, his wife, business partner, and co-founder of both the DeRosa Group and The Real Estate InvestHer. Together, they dive into the diverging investor mindsets in today’s market—some bullish and scaling, others cautious and holding back—and the importance of conservative underwriting and problem-solving over waiting for past market conditions to return. Liz shares how women in her community are thriving through forming stron...
Mar 28, 2025•47 min•Season 1Ep. 3858
On this episode of the Best Ever CRE Show, Pascal Wagner interviews Bethany LeFlam, a seasoned SEC attorney who has structured thousands of real estate syndications. They dive deep into LP protections, red flags in PPMs, and what Bethany looks for before investing passively herself. She shares how she transitioned from legal advisor to active hotel investor, what makes boutique hotels attractive, and why operators’ communication styles reveal more than any pitch deck. Bethany also explains the l...
Mar 27, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 1Ep. 3857
On this episode of the Best Ever CRE Show, Amanda Cruise and Ash Patel interview Tripp Greene, founder of Trinity Capital CRE and Coast to Coast CRE Academy. Tripp shares how his diverse background across all sides of real estate deals has led him to focus on capital raising, consulting, and mentoring new investors. He dives into the current challenges in multifamily, including broken GP structures, risky syndications, and over-leveraged operators. Tripp also discusses his Academy’s hands-on app...
Mar 26, 2025•34 min•Season 1Ep. 3856
