Global Investors: Investing in U.S. Real Estate

Most new passive investors focus mainly on projected returns, but experienced passive investors know that the real question is: how much downside risk is built into the deal? In this Strategy Saturday episode, Charles Carillo breaks down what passive investors actually look for when reviewing apartment deals and multifamily syndications. After investing passively since 2018, investing in over 30 p...

In this episode of the Global Investors Podcast, Charles Carillo interviews Dan Rivers, founder of Synergy Stays, a short-term rental revenue management company helping investors and property managers maximize profitability. Dan shares how short-term rental investing has changed, why average Airbnb listings are struggling, and what today’s successful STR operators are doing differently. He explain...

In this Strategy Saturday episode, Charles Carillo looks back at his first multifamily deal — a 3-family property he purchased in 2006 — and shares the costly mistakes he made, what he learned from them, and what he would do differently today. Charles explains why his first property renovation was more work than expected, why not having a clear renovation plan created unnecessary stress, and how b...

Dr. Chirag Chaudhari  is an emergency medicine physician turned real estate syndicator, and the son of Indian immigrants. What began as a few rental properties with his wife has grown into a portfolio spanning nearly 800 units through hotel-to-multifamily conversions, land syndications, ground-up construction, short-term rentals, and even oil & gas funds.

Most real estate deals don’t fail because of the market. They fail because of bad underwriting. In this Strategy Saturday episode, Charles Carillo breaks down the common underwriting mistakes that can quietly destroy investor returns, including overestimated rent growth, underestimated expenses, property tax surprises, unrealistic renovation premiums, and inaccurate repair budgets. If you are buyi...

Fernando Angelucci has purchased 55 self-storage facilities across 24 states, totaling approximately $240 million in value. In this episode, Charles Carillo speaks with Fernando about why self-storage investing has become one of the most attractive strategies in commercial real estate. Fernando explains how he moved from engineering to house flipping, apartments, and eventually self-storage after...

What if the wrong loan could quietly destroy your apartment deal—even if your underwriting looks perfect?  Commercial real estate financing plays by a completely different set of rules than residential mortgages. In this episode of Strategy Saturday (SS 279), host Charles Carillo breaks down the critical commercial debt fundamentals every multifamily investor must master to protect their portfolio...

Bad property management can quietly destroy real estate returns through vacancy, poor renewals, weak systems, rising expenses, compliance risk, and misaligned incentives. In this episode, Charles Carillo interviews Tony Julianelle of Atlas Real Estate about how investors should think about property management, resident retention, operating systems, and building scalable real estate portfolios. Ton...

What if your multifamily deal only works when everything goes right? In this episode of Strategy Saturday, Charles Carillo breaks down how to stress test a multifamily deal before investing real money. Most apartment investors focus only on projected returns, but experienced investors focus on downside protection and risk analysis. You’ll learn how to analyze break-even occupancy, interest rate se...

High income does not always mean financial freedom. In this episode, Charles Carillo interviews Buck Joffrey, MD — a surgeon turned entrepreneur, real estate investor, and host of Wealth Formula Podcast. Buck shares why many high-income professionals struggle to build real wealth, how he moved from medicine into real estate, and why cash flow matters more than income alone. They also discuss today...

One of the biggest mistakes in real estate investing is underestimating expenses—and it can quietly destroy your property’s value. In this video, we break down how expense ratios work, why they matter in multifamily underwriting, and how small expense errors can wipe out hundreds of thousands in value. If you want to analyze real estate deals like a pro, understanding expense ratios is non-negotia...

In today’s market, many real estate investors are rethinking their strategy — especially in multifamily. Rising operating costs, tighter margins, and increased competition are forcing investors to look for more stable, cash-flowing opportunities. In this episode of the Global Investors Podcast, Irwin Boris shares why more investors are shifting toward small-bay industrial real estate — a less talk...

Most investors overpay for apartment renovations—and it quietly destroys their returns. In this episode, we break down a smarter renovation strategy used by experienced multifamily investors to maximize ROI and avoid costly mistakes. You’ll learn how to apply the 36-month payback rule, how to analyze rent comps correctly, and why simple upgrades often outperform full renovations. If you’re investi...

He came to the U.S. with just $500… and turned it into a $12M real estate portfolio. In this episode of the Global Investors Podcast, Andres Bernal breaks down exactly how he built his portfolio from the ground up — from his first deal to scaling flips, rentals, and a team that runs the operation. This is not theory. It’s a tactical breakdown of what actually works in real estate today. You’ll lea...

If you’re underwriting a multifamily deal and relying on rent growth… you might already be making a costly mistake. Over-optimistic rent projections are one of the biggest reasons apartment deals look great on paper—but fail in real life. In this video, we break down how to spot unrealistic rent growth, how to analyze true market rent vs current rent, and how to avoid overpaying for a deal. Whethe...

If you think real estate is the best way to build passive income… you might be missing a huge piece of the puzzle. In this episode of the Global Investors Podcast, Dr. Jason Balara breaks down the real difference between investing in multifamily real estate and acquiring small businesses — and why combining both could be the smarter strategy for long-term wealth. We go beyond the typical “passive...

If you think interest rates are the most important part of a real estate deal… you might be making a costly mistake. In this episode, we break down why loan term matters more than interest rate and how short-term debt has destroyed deals—especially in volatile markets like 2022–2023. Most investors focus on getting the lowest rate possible. But the real risk isn’t the rate… it’s the structure of y...

Why investors are killing security deposits and what’s replacing them in multifamily real estate. In this episode, Andrew Bowen breaks down how zero-deposit leasing is changing NOI, reducing bad debt, and reshaping leasing strategy across the industry. Security deposits have quietly collapsed over the last decade but most investors don’t realize the hidden risk this creates. In this conversation,...

Understanding the multifamily operating expense ratio is critical for analyzing apartment building investments. Two properties may generate the same income, but their operating expenses can be dramatically different — and that difference can make or break your investment returns. In this episode of Strategy Saturday, Charles Carillo explains how the operating expense ratio in real estate works, ho...

Andrew Freed went from a W-2 employee to owning over 550 rental units in just a few years — all while working his job. In this episode of the Global Investors Podcast, Andrew shares the strategies he used to scale his multifamily real estate portfolio, including house hacking, creative financing, value-add investing, and building relationships with local banks and mentors. If you're a W-2 professi...

Most real estate investors think the only way to increase net operating income (NOI) is by raising rents or renovating units. But what if you could increase your rental property cash flow without raising rent at all? In this video, we break down the hidden cashflow strategies real estate investors use to increase NOI — even in slow markets where rent growth disappears. These operational strategies...

Many real estate investors start with single-family rentals or small multifamily properties—but very few ever scale beyond a handful of units. In this episode of the Global Investors Podcast, Ashley Garner shares how he scaled from small rentals to 196-unit multifamily deals and why small landlords often get “mathematically eliminated” from building real wealth. Ashley explains the key shift every...

Are rent concessions helping your property or quietly destroying your NOI? In competitive multifamily markets, free rent, waived fees, and move-in specials are everywhere. But what looks like a small concession on one unit can scale into serious cash flow erosion across an entire apartment complex. In this episode of Strategy Saturday, we break down: How rent concessions impact multifamily cash fl...

How do you go from buying a $7,500 lot at 17 years old to owning over 1,400 apartment units? In this episode of the Global Investors Podcast, Paul Montelongo shares how he transitioned from single-family flips and a marina resort to building a large multifamily portfolio across multiple markets — and why mastering capital raising changed everything. Paul breaks down: • How he scaled from residenti...

Most landlords underestimate the power of a resident referral program — and that mistake costs them occupancy, leads, and cash flow. In this Strategy Saturday episode, Charles Carillo breaks down how to structure tenant referral bonuses the right way — legally, strategically, and effectively. You’ll learn: How resident referral programs actually increase apartment occupancy The difference between...