The AI Edge Podcast: CRE & AI

Most people laughed at manufactured housing. Major Hillard saw something different. Starting with just $1,500 , he bought a single mobile home, reinvested every dollar, and built more than $70 million in manufactured housing transactions, all while creating affordable housing and delivering strong returns for investors. In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast , Louis Fernandes sits down with Major...

Most businesses think they're implementing AI. They're actually just adding another tool. Joel Bechtel believes the companies that win won't have better AI models, they'll have better workflows. That's exactly what he built. In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast , Louis Fernandes sits down with Joel Bechtel , Founder of DealFlowPro and Co-Founder & CEO of Zuma Capital Group, to explore how AI...

Everyone loves talking about projected returns. Almost nobody talks about cash flow. That's exactly why so many investors get into trouble. In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast , Irwin Boris explains why the smartest investors focus on predictable income, not flashy projections. After participating in more than $5 billion in commercial real estate transactions , Irwin Boris has seen every market...

Everyone is racing to build AI. Einars Garoza is building something completely different. His bet? As artificial intelligence automates more of our digital lives, the world's most valuable assets will be the experiences AI can never replicate. Luxury safari camps. Conservation. Hospitality. Real estate. Human connection. In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast , Louis Fernandes sits down with Einar...

Most companies don't lose deals because they have bad salespeople. They lose deals because people forget to follow up, systems break, and consistency disappears. Bill Beck decided to solve that with AI. In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast , Louis Fernandes sits down with Bill Beck, Co-Founder of Rise Home Buyers and Hey Rafi, to discuss why the future of sales isn't replacing humans—it's elimin...

Kenny isn't just using AI to save time—he's using it to save lives, build companies, write books, and completely reinvent how organizations operate. Most people use AI to save a few hours each week. Kenny Kane is using it to help cancer patients at 2 AM, build custom software without engineers, write books, grow multiple companies, and rethink how organizations operate. The question isn't whether...

Your car can tell you exactly what’s wrong before it breaks down. So why are billion-dollar buildings still operating blind? 🎧 EPISODE DESCRIPTION In this mind-blowing episode of The AI Edge Podcast , Louis Fernandes sits down with Jack Illes , Founder & Managing Partner of Smart City Labs, to explore how AI is transforming the future of real estate, buildings, and entire cities. Jack makes a...

Most property owners don't realize they have a problem until the day their building stops working. A failed HVAC system. A leak nobody can find. A medical facility forced to shut down operations. By the time the emergency happens, the real mistake was made months earlier. In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Jamie Baker explains why the best property managers don't just respond to problems — th...

A commercial real estate process that used to take 4–8 weeks was completed in just 3 days using AI. When Christopher Pardo saw it happen, his reaction was simple: "This is the future." On this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Louis Fernandes sits down with Christopher Pardo, Managing Partner of Invictus Real Estate Partners. Chris has spent decades navigating real estate cycles as a developer, lend...

🚨 Most investors think more capital creates more opportunity. Brian Ker believes the opposite. In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Brian Ker, President of Snowball Developments, explains why too much money chasing the same deals is creating mediocre returns across commercial real estate. We dive into: • Why industrial remains his highest conviction asset class • The hidden risks of today's ca...

What if the real estate under your business could fund your next stage of growth? In this episode, Matt Kramer explains why many operators misunderstand growth capital, how sale-leasebacks actually work, and why smart expansion isn't about opening more locations—it's about structuring growth correctly. We also discuss development financing, operator mistakes, AI in commercial real estate, and why...

What if everything commercial real estate has believed for the last 50 years is backwards? Joe Brady says the ribbon cutting isn't the end of a project anymore—it's the beginning. In this conversation, we discuss why consumer behavior is reshaping office, retail, and development, how AI is changing decision-making, and why the future belongs to operators who can adapt faster than the market. Joe B...

What if the biggest obstacle to growing your business isn't the market... It's you? Most brokers, investors, and operators don't have a lead problem. They have a leverage problem. They're buried in follow-ups, admin work, underwriting, LOIs, marketing, and transaction coordination while the relationships that actually drive revenue sit untouched. In this episode, Kevin Hanan breaks down how top-pe...

Most investors think the hard part is finding the deal. They're wrong. The real danger starts after the contract is signed. Liens. Title defects. Communication breakdowns. Missing documents. Last-minute surprises that can delay or kill a transaction entirely. In this episode, Samuel Weiner pulls back the curtain on what actually happens between contract and closing, where deals break down, and wha...

Most people think real estate investing is simple. Buy the property. Hire management. Collect checks. Colby Carlson learned the hard way that the real work starts after closing. Everyone talks about finding deals. Almost nobody talks about what happens after you close. In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Colby Carlson, Managing Partner at Tier One Capital, breaks down what real multifamily ope...

Most developers think the biggest risk is financing. It's not. According to veteran developer Wesley DeFoor, the fastest way to lose money, time, and years of your life is choosing the wrong partner. What actually kills real estate deals? Most people blame interest rates, construction costs, lenders, or market conditions. Veteran developer Wesley DeFoor says they're looking in the wrong place. In...

Most investors think they're losing because they need a better strategy. Mark Perry disagrees. After completing more than 1,000 real estate transactions and generating a $500,000 payday on a single deal, Mark believes the biggest obstacle isn't market conditions, interest rates, or competition. It's mindset. In this episode, Mark breaks down creative financing, wholesaling, subject-to deals, selle...

Most multifamily operators think they have a reporting problem. What they actually have is a data infrastructure problem. In this episode, Saad Shah, Founder of RentViewer, breaks down how owner-operators are leaking money through bad data, missed collections, stale workflows, delayed make-readies, and dashboards nobody actually uses. Most real estate operators think AI will magically solve their...

Developers are drowning in delays, municipalities are stuck in the past, and housing affordability is collapsing. Jill Ferrari believes AI is about to completely change how housing gets built in America — from land acquisition to zoning, permitting, financing, and occupancy. In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Louis Fernandes sits down with commercial real estate attorney, developer, and entre...

Most multifamily operators are still playing checkers. Justin Spillers built a vertically integrated machine that: • Underwrites 1,200 deals a year • Renovates units in 7 days • Runs 97% occupancy • Uses AI across leasing, underwriting, hiring, and operations • Is scaling toward 2,500 units This is what real operational scale actually looks like. Description Most real estate operators think growth...

🚨 “Most Real Estate Deals Were Never Going To Work.” AI Edge Podcast #68 w/ Matthew Wallach 25+ years. Billions in transactions. And one brutal truth: “Developers will do whatever it takes to close the deal… even if they know they’ll have to write checks later just to save it.” In this episode we break down: • Why deals are collapsing right now • How fake underwriting gets exposed • Why most oper...

Either your team learns AI… or someone else comes in and eats your lunch. If your company doesn’t have an AI champion right now… you’re already behind. The top companies in the world are spending billions to avoid becoming obsolete. AI is no longer optional. In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Louis Fernandes sits down with Guy Varble, Principal & Fund Manager at Momentum Wealth Fund, to b...

AI Is Replacing Workers… But Who’s Teaching the Next Generation? AI is not just replacing jobs. It’s removing the learning layer that built entire industries. In this episode of The AI Edge Podcast, I sit down with Scotty Galloway — President of DressGrey, industrial developer, and construction operator who has led over 5M+ square feet of development — to break down what’s really happening as AI e...

He’s helped close over $1.2 BILLION in commercial real estate deals, rescued distressed hotels on the verge of collapse, and watched investors lose $100M+ because of one critical mistake. In this episode, Majid Radaei breaks down the brutal realities of hospitality finance, distressed assets, capital stack restructuring, and how AI is changing CRE underwriting forever. If you own, finance, broker,...

Most operators think more deals = more money. Michael Glaspie proves why that mindset can quietly bankrupt you. What if your business looks successful on paper… but you're actually bleeding cash? In this powerful episode of The AI Edge Podcast, Louis Fernandes sits down with Michael Glaspie, CEO of G2 Business Solutions, Green Beret, fractional CFO, CCIM, and financial strategist for real estate i...