REL Freedom Podcast

Have you ever thought that your home could become a powerful tool for creating financial flexibility in retirement? Cheryl Scheidell is a mortgage industry professional with more than 20 years of experience, including a decade specializing in reverse mortgages. A Phoenix native, Cheryl is passionate about educating homeowners and their families on how reverse mortgages can help eligible homeowners...

Harley Green is a former software architect and computer engineer who traded a career designing complex systems for a different kind of freedom through real estate investing. After more than 15 years in technology, Harley and his wife, Adrienne, began investing in real estate in 2013, learning the business firsthand through renovations, investor networking, private lending, and self-directed IRAs....

What happens when you combine decades of investment management experience with the rapidly evolving cannabis industry? Chris Reece is Chairman and CEO of MJ REIT and co-founder of AC Capital Partners. He sits at the intersection of private real estate, alternative investments, and the state-legal cannabis industry. With more than 25 years of experience in asset management, helping raise over $10 b...

Roughly $300 billion in multifamily mortgage debt is scheduled to mature in 2026—but does that mean $300 billion worth of distressed apartment buildings are about to hit the market? Not necessarily. It means thousands of property owners are facing a decision: refinance, sell, bring additional capital to the table, or find another creative solution. And when today's financing environment looks...

What does it take to make smart lending decisions and protect capital in the world of private lending and note investing? Doug Smith is the founder of Castle Rock Capital Funding and The Mad Lender, who brings 35 years of commercial and residential lending experience and a deep background in credit and underwriting. Doug shares insights from his career with some of the world's largest banks a...

What if your business could run more efficiently and give you back the freedom you started it for? Ryan Schuetter is an operations expert and AI implementation leader who has helped more than 100 businesses adopt AI and build better systems. Ryan isn't a guru. He's an operator. Through Schuetter Consulting and Schuetter AI, he helps companies turn technology into practical workflows that...

What if investing in commercial real estate could be as accessible as buying stocks? Mor Milo is Co-Founder and CEO of Relli, a PropTech platform built to change how everyday investors access commercial real estate. Growing up, Mor watched his immigrant parents build generational wealth one property at a time—and eventually became determined to figure out why that same opportunity remained out of...

Can you build a real estate portfolio in the United States without living here? Jullion Cooper is doing just that. He founded Properties By JMC and is proving that geography doesn’t have to be a barrier to building wealth through real estate. Living and working in countries all over the world, Jullion started by acquiring single-family properties in Michigan for $30,000–$40,000 before deciding it...

What happens when you skip the traditional corporate path, lean into networking, and turn relationships into real estate opportunities? Haydynn Fike is co-founder of Acadia Capital and host of The Art of Connecting Podcast. After graduating from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, Haydynn quickly realized the corporate world wasn't for him and began attending every networking event he...

Can you build meaningful income through real estate without becoming a landlord or adding another job to your already busy schedule? Chad Ackerman is a former corporate HR and compensation executive with more than 25 years of experience who realized his financial future was far too dependent on his W2 income. That realization sent him down the path of passive real estate investing, where he made e...

What happens when the very experiences that could break you become the foundation for your purpose? rochanne Douglas is an entrepreneur, real estate professional, investor, author, and founder of Loving 2 Learn Child Care Center, a childcare organization that has served children and families for more than 30 years. Her journey includes growing up around addiction and instability, becoming a teenag...

Meet Courtney Poulos — a 20+ year LA real estate powerhouse who got tired of waiting for the industry to fix itself, so she built the fix herself. After 14 years grinding it out as a licensed broker, she launched ACME in 2011 with one mission: build the brokerage she desperately wished existed when she was coming up as an agent. No absentee bosses. No cookie-cutter training. No corporate fluff. Ju...

Cameron Tope comes back to our podcast as a Part 2 on property management. Cameron is the founder of Emerson Property Management, and also a real estate investor and entrepreneur who used rental properties to break free from the unpredictability of the oil and gas industry.  After seeing firsthand how unstable the corporate world could be, he began building a rental portfolio that would eventually...

What does it take to overcome incredible adversity and build lasting wealth through real estate? Kevin "KAYR" Robinson went from growing up in deep poverty in West Philadelphia—moving more than 18 times before adulthood—to building a multi-million-dollar real estate portfolio with more than 160 rental units. After attending Bowdoin College and working in investment banking at Goldman Sac...

What if your everyday spending could unlock business-class flights, luxury hotels, and unforgettable vacations—without spending more money or becoming a travel hacking expert?  Kunal Lakhwani is the creator behind Rentals & Runways, who shares how he went from engineer and immigrant to mastering the art of travel hacking. He breaks down a simple, repeatable system for turning everyday purchase...

Matthew Ricciardella is Founder and CEO of Crystal View Capital, a private equity real estate firm specializing in value-add manufactured housing communities and self-storage across the U.S. With over 20 years of experience and more than $1 billion in transaction volume, Matt has built a vertically integrated platform overseeing $650M+ in assets across multiple funds. He shares what it really take...

What if everything you've been told about building wealth is only part of the story? Dr. Dipesh Sitaram was a practicing dental surgeon who discovered that even a high-income career wasn't enough to create true financial freedom. Instead of relying solely on traditional investments like stocks and retirement accounts, he began building a multi-million-dollar portfolio through private rea...

What if you stopped waiting until retirement to start living? Chris Larsen, founder of Next-Level Income, made it his mission to achieve financial freedom after losing his father at a young age and his best friend at just 18. While building a successful career in medical device sales, Chris quietly built a real estate portfolio, starting with his first rental property at age 21 with less than $3,0...

What would it take for you to walk away from a guaranteed pension… and bet on yourself instead? F ormer United States Navy Chief Petty Officer Tim Kelly made one of the boldest decisions of his life: leaving the military four years before retirement eligibility to pursue true financial freedom through real estate, mindset, and high-performance living. After spending 15 years leading under pressure...

What does it take to lead at the highest level—in both the military and luxury real estate? Shaun Guardanapo is a Marine Corps veteran and Managing Broker of The Agency Reno. He shares with us how discipline, leadership, and strategic thinking helped him rise to the top 1% of real estate producers in one of the fastest-growing luxury markets in the country.  With more than $100 million in career s...

Mathew Owens is a CPA, real estate investor, and founder of OCG Capital. He shares with us the strategies behind building a real estate empire that spans more than 1,500 units, over 1,000 home flips, and more than $500 million in loans to investors. Matt has also raised over $200 million in private capital, giving him a unique perspective on what separates successful investors from those who strug...

What happens when a firefighter working 24-hour shifts decides to build a future through real estate? Thomas St. John, founder of North Corp Capital, who also worked part of his career as a mailman, shares hear how he went from serving his community to building a successful multifamily investment company with over 20 years of experience in the trenches of real estate.  Starting with his first dupl...

What if smarter property management—not just buying more properties—was the real key to financial freedom? Cameron Tope is the founder of Emerson Property Management, and also a real estate investor and entrepreneur who used rental properties to break free from the unpredictability of the oil and gas industry.  After seeing firsthand how unstable the corporate world could be, he began building a r...

We take you behind the scenes of our latest multifamily apartment acquisition—a 128-unit building we closed on for $6.6M—and break down every step of the deal: how we found and financed the property, the due diligence, the negotiation process, the renovation strategy, and the property's future. We share the numbers, projected challenges, and value-add opportunities that made this investment w...

Bree Hartman was a successful gym owner, but after attending a self-storage conference, she decided it was time to jump in with both feet into real estate. In her first 12 months she acquired 2 self-storage facilities, and operates across Sacramento, Louisiana, Tennessee, the Carolinas, and the Sunbelt States. She is also the founder of Self Storage School, where she helps investors and W2 employe...