Uncontested Investing

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, Nate Zilinski and Suzanne discuss how real estate investors can create a five-star customer experience throughout every stage of a transaction. From the first phone call and property walkthrough to presenting offers, maintaining communication through closing, and following up afterward, they examine the habits that build trust, strengthen relationships, an...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, Nate Zelinski and Suzanne Andreessen examine how exceptional customer service can transform tenant relationships into long-term assets for real estate investors. They explore proactive communication, preventive maintenance, transparency during rent increases, and the small gestures that build trust and encourage tenant retention. The discussion also covers...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we sit down with Bryan Lysikowski, President of Property Services at Genstone, to talk about what it really takes to build and scale a vertically integrated real estate services company. Bryan shares his journey from starting ZVN Properties in 2005 on the field services and property preservation side, to navigating the challenges of COVID, taking on a stra...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, Nate Zielinski and Suzanne Andresen conclude their series on the many paths to success in real estate investing by examining the role social media plays in today's market. They discuss how investors can leverage platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, TikTok, YouTube, and X to build credibility, attract opportunities, and strengthen relationships....

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, Nate Zielinski and Suzanne Andresen pick up where they left off, diving deeper into the traits that separate average investors from consistently successful ones. Focusing on how risk tolerance, risk management, decisiveness, and problem solving work together, they break down the decision-making framework that drives real results in real estate. Through pra...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, Nate Zielinski and Suzanne Andresen continue their discussion on the characteristics that contribute to long-term success in real estate investing. They examine the relationship between risk tolerance and risk management, emphasizing how successful investors balance confidence with preparation. The conversation covers due diligence, financial reserves, dis...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, Nate Zielinski and Suzanne Andresen continue their discussion on the characteristics that help real estate investors succeed. Focusing on decisiveness, problem solving, risk tolerance, and risk management, they explain how these traits work together to create a strong decision-making framework. Through practical examples, including foundation issues, unexp...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, Nate Zielinski and Suzanne Andresen continue their discussion on the characteristics that contribute to long-term success in real estate investing. They examine the relationship between risk tolerance and risk management, emphasizing how successful investors balance confidence with preparation.  The conversation covers due diligence, financial reserves, di...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we continue our conversation on one of the most underrated drivers of long-term real estate success: strong networking and relationship skills. In Part 1, we talked about trust, reciprocity, off-market opportunities, and why the best investors are usually the ones who hear about deals first. In this follow-up, we go deeper into the connection between netwo...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we kick off a new theme on one of the most underrated advantages in real estate investing: strong networking and relationship skills. After our recent conversation with Scott Brown from Steadily, it became even clearer that real estate is still a relationship-driven business at every level. Deals, referrals, off-market opportunities, strategic partnerships...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we continue our conversation with Scott Brown from Steadily and go deeper into the relationship side of real estate investing, specifically how strong partnerships, smart networking, and better insurance strategy can help investors protect and grow their portfolios.    In Part 1, we talked about why landlord insurance should be treated like a strategic ass...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we sit down with Scott Brown from Steadily to talk about one of the most overlooked but mission-critical parts of real estate investing: landlord insurance. A lot of investors think about insurance only when a lender requires it or when a policy is up for renewal, but that mindset can create expensive blind spots. Scott breaks down why insurance should be...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we wrap up our AI review by focusing on the software platforms real estate investors can use every day to run a smarter, faster, and more scalable business. Earlier in this series, we covered communication, deal analysis, deal sourcing, and bookkeeping. In this follow-up, we move into portfolio tracking, investor reporting, maintenance prediction, tenant c...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we step back and review the bigger picture of how AI is changing real estate investing in 2026. After covering script writing, communication, deal analysis, deal sourcing, and bookkeeping in earlier episodes, we wanted to pull it all together and talk through the software platforms investors should actually know about. If you are trying to figure out where...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we wrap up our conversation on how AI can help investors get ahead and stay ahead by digging deeper into one of the most overlooked growth levers in real estate: bookkeeping and administrative work. This is the side of the business that most investors do not love, but it is also the side that can quietly create chaos if you are not on top of your numbers,...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we dig into one of the least glamorous but most important parts of real estate investing: financial bookkeeping and administrative work. Once a deal is in your portfolio, the real test is not just finding the next opportunity. It is managing the money, the reporting, the vendors, the rent tracking, and the moving pieces without letting costly mistakes slip...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we wrap up our two-part conversation on how AI can help real estate investors get ahead and stay ahead by focusing on one of the most time-consuming parts of the business: deal sourcing. If Part 1 was about analyzing deals faster and with more confidence, this follow-up is about finding those deals in the first place and building a sourcing machine that wo...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we continue our AI series by digging into one of the most practical use cases for investors: using AI to analyze deals and sharpen deal sourcing. If you are looking at dozens of properties, trying to underwrite faster, reduce bottlenecks, and make stronger decisions without getting buried in spreadsheets, this conversation is for you. We break down how AI...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we wrap up Part 2 of our conversation on how real estate investors can use AI to get ahead and stay ahead, this time by focusing on the practical side of script writing, messaging, and communication workflows. In Part 1, we talked about where AI can help across the real estate ecosystem, from sellers and brokers to lenders, contractors, investors, and tena...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we kick off a new series on how AI can help real estate investors get ahead and stay ahead. We were inspired by our earlier conversation with Martin Kay from Entera, and in this first installment, we focus on one of the most practical and immediately useful applications of AI in real estate: script writing and communication. From sellers and brokers to len...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we wrap up our conversation with Martin Kay, founder and CEO of Entera, by digging into what it actually takes to build a lasting real estate technology company in a people-first industry. Martin explains what Entera means when it says it is working to revolutionize the way people buy, sell, and operate homes, and why the real win is not just faster transa...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we sit down with Martin Kay, founder and CEO of Entera, to talk about one of the biggest shifts happening in real estate right now: the use of AI to reduce cost, speed up decisions, and help investors operate more efficiently. Martin brings a rare lens to this conversation because he is not just building technology. He is building it for real estate operat...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we pick up Part 2 of our conversation on retirement funds and how real estate investors can actually use them to their advantage. In Part 1, we covered the big-picture differences between pensions, 401(k)s, self-directed 401(k)s, and self-directed IRAs. In this follow-up, we go deeper into the mechanics that matter once you decide to use retirement capital...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, Suzanne and I wrap up our alternative funding conversation by diving into one of the most overlooked capital sources in real estate: retirement funds. We break down how pensions, 401(k)s, self-directed 401(k)s, and self-directed IRAs can potentially be used to invest in real estate, why these accounts matter for investors building long-term wealth, and whe...

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we pick up Part 2 of our conversation on institutional capital by moving from the big-picture mindset into the real-world mechanics of working with larger capital partners. If Part 1 was about what institutional capital is and how big money thinks, this episode is about what it actually feels like to operate inside that world. We get into slower timelines,...