Small Axe Podcast: Multifamily Real Estate | Buy Buildings, Build Empires

In this episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on what my "summer vacation" actually looks like. Most people assume life slows down when school ends. For me, it's the exact opposite. I share what it's like balancing teaching, waiting tables, surf instruction, family life, and running a growing multifamily real estate portfolio. We dive into the challenges of a struggling fix-and-flip, two complex r...

Success doesn't usually show up after everything is organized. It usually shows up while life still feels messy. In this episode, I talk about a lesson that has become more obvious to me with every year of investing, business ownership, and entrepreneurship: success leaves a mess. We often look at successful people and assume they have everything figured out. Perfect systems. Perfect partnerships....

Most people look at multifamily real estate and see the benefits: Cash flow. Equity growth. Tax advantages. Financial freedom. What they don't see is everything happening behind the scenes. In this episode, I pull back the curtain on what it's really like to be a general partner operating apartment buildings. I'm currently navigating multiple refinances, property sales, partner negotiations, CapEx...

One thing I've noticed over the years is that most investors don't fail because they're incapable. They fail because they quit too soon. They look at a handful of deals, make a few offers, get ignored by brokers, face some rejection, and decide that real estate doesn't work. But that's not how any skill works. Nobody picks up a guitar and becomes a musician overnight. Nobody paddles into their fir...

When I first got started in multifamily investing, I thought I had a pretty good understanding of how the business worked. I was listening to podcasts, reading books, attending networking events, analyzing deals, and trying to learn as much as possible. Like many new investors, I had a lot of assumptions about what it would take to succeed. Some of those assumptions were right. A lot of them were...

What if you lost everything tomorrow? No portfolio. No apartment buildings. No broker relationships. No track record. Just your knowledge, your work ethic, and a desire to build wealth through multifamily real estate. In this episode, I walk through the exact roadmap I would follow if I had to start over from scratch in today's market. Not during the low interest rate boom. Not when every deal see...

What does multifamily investing actually look like in today's market? In this episode, I pull back the curtain on what's happening inside my own portfolio right now. I'm dealing with a refinance on a 6-unit property after a planned sale fell apart. Rates moved almost immediately, changing the economics of the deal. At the same time, we're working through a refinance on our 13-unit portfolio while...

A lot of people want to get into multifamily real estate. Very few ever actually take action. In this episode, I talk about my own journey from growing up without money, becoming a teacher, working side hustles for years, and slowly building my way into multifamily apartment investing. My mom was on Section 8 for much of my childhood. My dad was a waiter. Nobody around me was talking about apartme...

In this episode, I talk about why most multifamily deals still do not work today even after prices have dropped from the peak market of 2021 and 2022. A lot of people hear that prices are down and assume everything suddenly became a good deal again. But debt is more expensive, insurance has exploded, taxes are rising, payroll and maintenance costs are up, and many sellers are still trying to sell...

Episode 300 means a lot to me—not because of the number itself, but because of what it represents. Nearly six years of recording every week, continuing forward even when life was busy, stressful, or uncertain. In this episode, I take a step back and share what that consistency has taught me, not just about podcasting, but about multifamily investing and building something over time. I talk through...

Most people don't quit multifamily because they're not capable. They quit because what they thought this would be… and what it actually is… are two very different things. In this episode, I walk through what really happens when you start trying to get your first deal. The early excitement, the confusion when deals don't make sense, the silence from brokers, and the long stretch where it feels like...

"I'm just waiting for the right deal." Sounds smart. Sounds disciplined. But most of the time? It's not patience… it's avoidance. In this episode, I break down what's really happening when you say you're "waiting" and why that mindset is keeping you out of the game completely. Because the truth is… You're not missing deals you pass on. You're missing the ones you never even see. The off-market opp...

Everyone wants their first multifamily deal to spit out cash flow from day one. That's the dream they've been sold. Buy the deal. Collect rent. Quit your job. But in today's market? That's not how this game works. In this episode, I break down the truth most people don't want to hear: Your first deal probably isn't going to cash flow the way you expect… and that doesn't mean it's a bad deal. I'm t...

In this episode, I talk about what it's actually like to raise capital for multifamily deals in today's market. It's not easy. I'm currently operating 90 units and actively working on deals, and I can tell you firsthand—raising money right now is very different than it was a few years ago. Investors are more cautious. Conversations are slower. Some people aren't investing at all. I break down: Why...

In this episode, I break down what it actually looks like to operate multifamily real estate in today's market. I'm currently operating 90 units, and I'll walk you through what's happening on the ground right now—vacancies, lowering rents, competing for tenants, and navigating bridge loan pressure in a much tighter lending environment. This isn't theory. This is real-time decision making. We talk...

Everyone keeps asking the same question right now… is multifamily crashing? I don't see it that way. What we're actually seeing is a reset. Rates jumped faster than they have in decades. Debt got expensive. Supply hit the market all at once. And now a lot of operators are feeling real pressure. That doesn't mean the game is over. It means the game changed. In this episode, I break down what's actu...

Multifamily deals don't pencil the way they used to. If you've been underwriting properties lately and wondering what changed, you're not alone. In this episode, Nico Salgado breaks down why multifamily deals that worked just a few years ago are falling apart today. Interest rates have jumped, lenders have tightened their standards, operating expenses have surged, and CapEx requirements are forcin...

Is today the best buying opportunity since the Great Financial Crisis? After more than a decade of rising prices and easy money, the multifamily market has shifted. Prices are down, capital is tight, and lending has become more conservative. For many investors, that uncertainty has pushed them to the sidelines. But for disciplined operators, this is exactly when real opportunities appear. In this...

In this episode, I break down exactly how to make offers on apartment buildings using a Letter of Intent. What an LOI actually is. When to use one. When to skip it and go straight to a Purchase and Sale Agreement. How I structure mine. What terms matter. How earnest money works today versus 2021. And why this market gives buyers more leverage than we've seen in years. If you're serious about buyin...

Most people think underwriting a multifamily deal means opening a massive spreadsheet, building out ten assumptions, running sensitivity analysis, and toggling IRR scenarios. That's not how I do it. In this episode, I break down the exact 15-minute filter I use before I ever open a full underwriting model. If a deal doesn't survive this fast analysis, it doesn't deserve two hours of my time. I wal...

Before you wire money into a syndication — whether it's with me or another operator — you need to hear this. In this episode, I walk through the real conversation most sponsors don't slow down enough to have. Multifamily investing is not a savings account. It's not a money market fund. It's an operating business. And businesses have seasons. There will be smooth years. There may be tight years. In...

Lately, I keep hearing the same take everywhere: multifamily is dead. Rents aren't growing, deals aren't penciling, and capital feels frozen. I understand why people feel that way — but that conclusion misses what's really happening. Multifamily isn't dead. We're in a market correction. In this episode, I break down what has actually changed in today's market and why this cycle feels so uncomforta...

There's a myth floating around real estate that you can buy a multifamily property with just 20% down. It's not totally wrong — but it's dangerously incomplete. In this episode, I break down what it actually takes to close on a multifamily apartment building in today's market. We walk through real numbers, real scenarios, and the capital most people forget to account for: closing costs, CapEx, ope...

Most people don't have a knowledge problem. They have an action problem. In this episode, I talk about why consuming more podcasts, books, and courses can actually keep you stuck — and why deals don't come from education alone. They come from decisions. From submitting offers. From putting real skin in the game. Consuming education feels productive because it's comfortable. Making offers is uncomf...

If you can't explain your deal in 60 seconds, you don't have a deal. You have confusion. In this episode, I break down why hiding behind spreadsheets kills momentum, confidence, and credibility with brokers, partners, and investors. Multifamily deals don't fall apart on paper first. They fall apart in your head. I walk through how real investors think about deals, how to explain fundamentals witho...