Eric Sussman on multifamily syndication, Los Angeles real estate, and Clear Capital. Taylor Avakian talks with the UCLA Anderson adjunct professor and founding partner of Clear Capital about Amber Capital, early syndications, and buying outside Los Angeles. Sponsor - Real Property Captive This episode is sponsored by Real Property Captive, insurance for owners, by owners. RPC members own equity in their insurance company, buy reinsurance at bulk rates, keep unused premium, and cut property insurance rates by up to 35%. Captives insure roughly 90% of the Fortune 500 & the largest institutional real estate owners. Learn more at https://www.rpcaptive.com/?utm_source=novacancy&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=novacancy-2026-07. Sponsor - Loan Titan Achieve your real estate goals through tailored financing solutions with https://loantitan.com/ Sussman walks through a path from Price Waterhouse to a Stanford MBA, then Amber Capital, Sequoia Real Estate Partners, and Clear Capital, plus how a CPA review class and David Ravetch led to teaching accounting and real estate at UCLA Anderson. The conversation covers the early-1990s deal market, Resolution Trust, a Palm Springs ground lease on Native American land, and raising capital in small checks from doctors before a track record existed. Topics include cash-for-keys brick deals in Los Angeles, Washington Mutual and Hawthorne Savings, pref and waterfall structures, information asymmetry versus CoStar-era comps, and niches in multifamily, industrial, office, and retail. They also cover Miracle Terrace in Anaheim, Section 8, Loretta Sanchez, a bulk sale to Blackstone and CityView, Sun Belt supply, cap rates, and 2020–2023 syndications. Later segments touch rent control, RSO, inclusionary zoning, housing policy in Los Angeles and New York, population and jobs, entertainment and aerospace, immigration, expert witness work, single-family versus multifamily, industrial vacancy, tariffs, and advice on networking, hard work, and pivoting. Joel Peterson, Trammell Crow, the Ziman Center, Rick Caruso, and Karen Bass come up along the way. Chapters 0:00 Eric Sussman and Clear Capital 1:09 Career path from Price Waterhouse 1:41 Teaching at UCLA Anderson 5:13 First interest in real estate 7:04 Advice for a high school senior 9:25 First deal in the early 1990s 12:27 Asset types in the deal decade 14:41 How to pick a market and niche 16:42 Information and efficient markets 19:04 Postwar real estate versus today 23:25 Early LA syndications and structure 28:10 Miracle Terrace in Anaheim 33:41 Selling out of Los Angeles 36:50 Buying in LA now 38:03 Rent control and housing policy 42:00 Vacancy control and RSO risk 44:43 Population, jobs, and immigration 46:49 Call or put on Los Angeles 48:04 Getting back into the LA market 49:00 Education versus common sense 53:55 Expert witness work 56:10 Syndications from 2020 to 2023 59:50 Macro and real estate outlook 1:04:14 Cars, spending, and the game 1:08:42 Advice for the next generation Keywords: Eric Sussman, Clear Capital, UCLA Anderson, multifamily syndication, Los Angeles multifamily, Taylor Avakian, Amber Capital, real estate syndication, rent control, RSO, Section 8, Miracle Terrace, Blackstone, CityView, cap rates, multifamily investing, LA real estate, Sequoia Real Estate Partners, expert witness, industrial real estate, housing policy, Sun Belt apartments, 2026 Subscribe and Stay Ahead! Stay informed and empowered in the multifamily real estate market. Subscribe to the channel for exclusive insights, rental updates, and expert analyses on the Los Angeles market. 🔔 Don’t miss out on the latest trends and tips to maximize your property's potential: https://www.youtube.com/c/TaylorAvakian 📈 Connect with me: Website: https://www.thegroupcre.com/ Email: taylor@thegroupcre.com X: https://x.com/TAYVAY_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tayloravakian/