The Real Estate Investing Club

Gabe Petersen
  • 4.9 (100)
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Updated Weekly

Real estate pros share their stories on how they got started investing in real estate and then grew from their first deal to a portfolio of cash-flowing properties. In each episode you'll learn the strategies our guests used to create generational wealth for themselves and their families, and the steps you can take to do the same in your own back yard. Our goal at The Real Estate Investing Club is to teach you the fastest ways to start and grow your real estate investing career in today's market - from multifamily, to self-storage, to mobile home parks, to mix-use industrial, you'll hear it all! Our guests share their career peaks and valleys and the best advice, greatest stories, and favorite tips they learned along the way. Want to create wealth for yourself using the vehicle of real estate? Getting mentorship is the fastest way to success. Get an REI mentor and check out our REI course at https://www.therealestateinvestingclub.com.

  1. 1d ago

    The 29,000-Apartment Playbook for Financial Freedom with Janet LePage

    Join an active community of RE investors here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen  🏢 MULTIFAMILY INVESTING STRATEGIES FOR FINANCIAL FREEDOM  Welcome back to the Real Estate Investing Club podcast! I’m Gabe Petersen, and today I sit down with Janet LePage of Western Wealth Capital, a multifamily investing specialist in Vancouver, Canada, whose team has completed over 6.4 billion dollars in transactions. Janet has acquired more than 29,000 apartment units across roughly 130 apartment buildings, and she shares exactly how she built that portfolio, step by step. If you want to learn how to invest in apartment buildings, scale your real estate portfolio, and build lasting wealth, this episode is for you. 💰  🏠 FLIPPING 58 HOMES AND BUYING APARTMENT BUILDINGS  Janet’s journey began with a surprise property tax notice and a first home purchase at 23. She went on to buy rental homes in Phoenix during the 2008 crash, borrowed 10,000 dollars from her dad, and flipped her first house from the auction steps. Within two years she flipped 58 homes using a repeatable system. That system led to her first 23-unit apartment building in 2011, closed just 26 days before her son was born. We also debate paying down a mortgage versus investing your cash at a higher return. 🔑  📊 REPLACEMENT VALUE, UNDERWRITING, AND THE 2026 MULTIFAMILY MARKET  With distress building in commercial real estate and multifamily, many investors are nervous. Janet explains why she believes the best buying opportunities may arrive over the next 18 months and how to prepare now. She breaks down replacement cost, why buying 30 to 40 percent below it matters, and her lemon tree rule for conservative rent underwriting. We also talk about market cycles, avoiding the baggage of past deals, and why facts and data beat emotion in any apartment investing decision. 📈  ✍️ WRITE MORE OFFERS TO FIND REAL ESTATE DEALS  In a year when her team buys about 20 buildings, they underwrite roughly 300 deals and write offers on around 200. Janet’s message is simple: kiss a lot of frogs. Volume educates you on pricing, builds resilience, and puts you in the market when a motivated seller finally says yes. I share my own lesson that the volume needed to land a real deal is about ten times what most new investors expect. 🐸  📍 PHOENIX, DALLAS, ATLANTA, AND KNOWING YOUR MARKET  Which metro should you invest in? Janet names Phoenix, Dallas, and Atlanta, but stresses that becoming an expert in your own market, down to the corner and neighborhood, is the real advantage. We discuss why Phoenix gets a bad rap, rebounds in Austin and Charlotte, and why headlines alone never tell the full story. 🌆  🤝 RELATIONSHIPS, DISCIPLINE, AND BETTING ON YOURSELF  Janet shares why repeat relationships are her top source of off-market deals, why staying top of mind matters, and why the discipline of no protects your returns. I tell the story of a self-storage deal near Texas Tech that went wrong because it sat one street off the good area. We close with book picks and Janet’s best advice for her younger self: bet on yourself first. 🎯  Whether you invest in apartments, single family homes, or self-storage, this conversation is packed with real estate investing lessons on deal flow, due diligence, and building a business that lasts. Like, subscribe, and leave a comment with your biggest takeaway! 👇  #RealEstateInvesting #MultifamilyInvesting #ApartmentInvesting #RealEstatePodcast #FinancialFreedom  Want to learn more about our guest? Connect here: https://www.westernwealthcapital.com/  Want to learn more about the REI Club Podcast, how to invest with Gabe at Kaizen, or join our community of active real estate investors on Skool? Visit the podcast website at https://www.therealestateinvestingclub.com or click here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen  Send us Fan Mail Join the Online Community here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen. Support the show

  2. 6d ago

    The Retail Secret Behind 1.3M Sq Ft of Financial Freedom with Adam the Brit

    Join an active community of RE investors here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen  🏢 COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE INVESTING WITH 1.3 MILLION SQUARE FEET 🏢  Welcome back to the Real Estate Investing Club podcast! 🎙️ I'm Gabe Petersen, and in this episode I sit down with Adam the Brit, an investor who has built a commercial real estate portfolio of 1.3 million square feet focused on multi-tenant industrial, shopping centers, and now mobile home parks. If you want to learn how to invest in commercial real estate and build long term wealth, this conversation is packed with practical lessons on cash flow, asset management, and scaling. 💰  🌍 FROM HOUSE FLIPPING TO COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE 🌍  Adam walks us through a career that started with a small industrial building in the Netherlands, grew into apartment buildings in Houston, and moved into triple net lease mixed use properties. He explains how he sold foreclosed US homes to international investors across Southeast Asia and China after the financial crisis. We dig into how real estate arbitrage works, why family offices want diversification, and how flipping houses for investors differs from flipping to owner occupants. 🏠  🚐 WHY MOBILE HOME PARK INVESTING IS ON THE RADAR 🚐  Adam shares why he is shifting focus toward mobile home park investing as an asset manager looking for scalability. We talk about the tax benefits and depreciation, the affordability crisis, the moat created by NIMBY permitting restrictions, and why resident owned homes are the cleaner play. I also share my own warning about park owned homes and why renting out dirt is the real appeal. If you are researching how to invest in mobile home parks, this section is for you. ⚠️  🛒 RETAIL REAL ESTATE INVESTING AND SHOPPING CENTER STRATEGY 🛒  Adam explains his thesis for buying grocery anchored and big box anchored shopping centers in Hispanic markets, and why he believes Amazon will not replace in person retail for underbanked, underserved communities. You will hear why centers of 40,000 to 110,000 square feet can offer steadier cash flow than a small four tenant strip, how vacancy risk changes with tenant count, and where value add retail opportunities exist in Southern California. 📈  🔍 DEAL SOURCING, DUE DILIGENCE, AND LESSONS LEARNED 🔍  In the quick question round, Adam shares his favorite books and groups for real estate education, his best advice for his younger self, and why broker relationships are his favorite way to find deals. He also tells the story of ordering a second Phase One environmental report on a retail property and uncovering potential remediation costs of about two million dollars. The lesson is simple: trust but verify, and always run your own due diligence. 🧠  📚 ABOUT ADAM AND HIS NEW BOOK 📚  Adam is also the author of Your Life GPS: Grind, Pivot, Succeed, with all proceeds supporting build.org and its entrepreneurial education for underserved students. He is open to joint ventures, especially with mobile home park operators. 🤝  🎯 WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR 🎯  Whether you are a beginner looking for real estate investing tips or an experienced investor exploring multi-tenant retail, industrial, or mobile home parks, you will walk away with ideas on scaling a portfolio, finding off market and broker deals, building JV partnerships, and protecting your capital with smart due diligence. Adam's story proves that persistence, thinking bigger, and surrounding yourself with the right people can move you closer to financial freedom. 🚀  #RealEstateInvesting #CommercialRealEstate #MobileHomeParks #RetailRealEstate #REIClubPodcast  Want to learn more about our guest? Connect here: https://www.britholdings.com/  Want to learn more about the REI Club Podcast, how to invest with Gabe at Kaizen, or join our community of active real estate investors on Skool? Visit the podcast website at https://www.therealestateinvestingclub.com or click here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen Send us Fan Mail Join the Online Community here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen. Support the show

  3. Oct 20

    No Debt, No Bet: Build Real Wealth Without the Risk with Joel Friedland

    Join an active community of RE investors here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen 🏭 DEBT-FREE INDUSTRIAL REAL ESTATE INVESTING EXPLAINED Can you build real wealth in real estate without leveraging yourself into trouble? In this episode of The Real Estate Investing Club, I sit down with repeat guest Joel Friedland of Brit Properties, a Chicago industrial real estate investor with 45 years of experience, to talk about a strategy almost nobody else uses: buying commercial properties with no debt. Joel shares how his no debt, no bet philosophy protects investors, produces steady cash flow, and keeps him in control when the market turns ugly. If you want to invest in industrial buildings, syndications, or passive income deals, this conversation is packed with lessons on risk management, cash flow, and long-term wealth building that apply in any market cycle. 📞 COLD CALLING, MENTORSHIP, AND TAKING ACTION Joel's story starts with a cold call at age 22 to a Chicago family that owned 80 industrial buildings. That one call turned into a decade of leasing, property management, and brokerage experience. We talk about why learning from a mentor beats making every mistake yourself, and how Joel still goes door to door meeting building owners. He explains his seven touch points rule for building relationships with off-market sellers, and I share my own story of a seller who said no for three years before finally saying yes. Consistent action is how you find deals when competition is fierce, and it is also how you stay motivated when a deal falls through. 📉 MULTIFAMILY, INTEREST RATES, AND MARKET RISK We dig into why so many multifamily syndicators are struggling with floating rate debt, thin reserves, and low cap rate purchases made when interest rates were near record lows. Joel explains why industrial real estate has stayed strong, why Chicago is such a deep market, and why specialization and decades of experience matter when you are investing other people's money. We also talk about why protecting the downside matters more than chasing a huge IRR, and how conservative leverage, strong reserves, and a laser focus on one market can keep you investing through any downturn. ⚠️ THE THREE FS AND LESSONS FROM 10 LOSSES Joel breaks down the three Fs that wreck investors: foreclosure, forced sale, and the financial disaster that follows. He shares what he learned from 10 losing deals out of 108 buildings, including why he will never try development again, and I add why loan covenants can trigger a forced sale even when you never miss a payment. Joel also names his favorite resource for limited partners, explains why he avoids most Chicago suburbs, and gives his best advice for his younger self. 🎯 WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR If you are a new investor, an experienced operator, or a limited partner vetting sponsors, this episode will sharpen how you think about debt, risk, location, and relationships. Joel and I cover commercial real estate investing, off-market deal sourcing, due diligence, reserves, and the mindset it takes to stay in the game for decades. Whether your goal is cash flow, equity growth, or true financial freedom, you will walk away with practical ideas you can apply to your next deal. Like, subscribe, and share this with an investor who needs to hear it. #RealEstateInvesting #IndustrialRealEstate #DebtFreeInvesting #RealEstateSyndication #PassiveIncome Want to learn more about our guest? Connect here: https://www.britproperties.com Want to learn more about the REI Club Podcast, how to invest with Gabe at Kaizen, or join our community of active real estate investors on Skool? Visit the podcast website at https://www.therealestateinvestingclub.com or click here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen Send us Fan Mail Join the Online Community here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen. Support the show

  4. Oct 15

    Banks Cut Him Off. Private Money Made Him Unstoppable with Jay Conner

    Join an active community of RE investors here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen  💰 HOW TO RAISE PRIVATE MONEY FOR REAL ESTATE DEALS  Capital is the first wall most real estate investors hit, and in this episode of The Real Estate Investing Club podcast I sit down with Jay Conner, known as the Private Money Authority, to break down exactly how to raise private money for real estate. Jay has funded single family flips since 2009 without ever missing a deal for lack of funding, and he explains why private money is nothing like hard money. If you want to fund more deals, scale your real estate investing business and stop depending on banks, this conversation gives you a practical roadmap. 🏡  🏦 WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOUR BANK CLOSES YOUR LINE OF CREDIT  Jay and his wife Carol Joy started investing in single family houses in eastern North Carolina in 2003 and relied on a local bank line of credit for six years. Then, in January 2009, he learned by phone that the line had been closed with no warning while he had two houses under contract. Jay shares how he asked himself a better question, found private money and a self-directed IRA strategy, and rebuilt his funding from scratch. This story is a masterclass in resilience for any flipper or landlord. 🔥  🤝 WHERE TO FIND PRIVATE LENDERS FOR YOUR REAL ESTATE DEALS  Jay explains the three categories of private lenders, which are your current network, your expanded network and existing private lenders. He breaks the warm market into your social network, your professional network and your service network, and he shares why your CPA, attorney and realtor can become referral sources for private money. We also talk about growing your network through BNI and why most investors already have a huge amount of lazy money sitting in their cell phone contacts. 📱  📝 PRIVATE MONEY LOAN TERMS, INTEREST RATES AND LENDER PROTECTION  We get into the details investors always ask about. Jay pays 8 percent with no points and no origination fees, secures every loan with an asset backed promissory note, and offers a 90 day call option on investment capital so lenders can access their money in an emergency. He covers note lengths for investment capital versus retirement funds, interest only payments versus accrued interest, and how your exit strategy, whether a flip or a lease purchase, shapes the structure. 🔑  ⚡ LEAD GENERATION, DEAL LESSONS AND AI IN REAL ESTATE  In the quick question round, Jay recommends The Success Principles by Jack Canfield, shares why he only invests within thirty minutes of his office, and explains why pay per lead marketing beats interruption marketing for finding motivated sellers. He also tells the story of a beach condo flip that taught him to always run the numbers on a backup exit strategy, and I share my own self storage lesson about not being greedy. Finally, Jay reveals how his AI agent answers calls around the clock and sets seller appointments at a 75 percent success rate. 🤖  🎯 WHO SHOULD WATCH THIS EPISODE  This episode is built for new and experienced investors who want creative financing for real estate, house flippers who need reliable capital, and anyone searching for how to get money for real estate deals without relying on traditional or hard money lenders. Watch to the end for the best advice Jay would give his younger self about mentors and education. 🚀  #PrivateMoney #RealEstateInvesting #HouseFlipping #RealEstateFinancing #REIClubPodcast  Want to learn more about our guest? Connect here: assistant.connermentor@gmail.com  Want to learn more about the REI Club Podcast, how to invest with Gabe at Kaizen, or join our community of active real estate investors on Skool? Visit the podcast website at https://www.therealestateinvestingclub.com or click here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen Send us Fan Mail Join the Online Community here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen. Support the show

  5. Oct 13

    Self-Storage won't Make You Wealthy Until You Learn This with Jacob Vanderslice

    Join an active community of RE investors here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen  SELF-STORAGE INVESTING: THE TRUTH BEHIND "NO TENANTS, NO TOILETS, NO PROBLEMS" 📦  Welcome back to The Real Estate Investing Club podcast! I'm Gabe Petersen, and today I sit down with Jacob Vanderslice of Van West Partners, a self-storage owner-operator with 42 facilities, roughly 21,000 units and 3.3 million square feet. I have owned six storage facilities myself, and my relationship with this asset class is complicated. Some deals were slam dunks, and others were nightmares. If you want to learn how to invest in self-storage, or whether you should at all, this conversation is for you. 🏗️  FIX AND FLIPS, LONG-TERM CASH FLOW AND A 20-YEAR JOURNEY 🔑  Jacob has been a full-time real estate investor for twenty years. He started in 2006 with rentals and fix and flips, completing an estimated eleven to twelve hundred of them, then moved into adaptive reuse retail, commercial real estate, multifamily and mobile home communities. In 2015 he and his team shifted toward self-storage to build long-term cash flow and stop being overly transactional. We discuss why the auction market dried up and why the direct-to-seller flip model stopped penciling out. 🏠  BUY AND HOLD VS. SELL: RETURN ON EQUITY AND IRR 📈  One of the toughest questions in real estate investing is when to sell and when to hold. Jacob explains the implied return on equity math that many investors use to decide whether to sell a rental, how opportunity cost plays into that choice, and why IRR can pressure sponsors to exit deals earlier than they would like. We also talk about the risk and unknowns of rolling equity into a new property, and why many wealthy investors simply bought and never sold. 💰  THE REAL PROS AND CONS OF SELF-STORAGE 🚨  We get honest about the operational side of storage: break-ins, theft, tenants burrowing between units, damaged gate systems and lawsuits. Jacob also shares what he likes, including resilient demand, thousands of small revenue streams instead of one large tenant, and the ability to adjust rents dynamically as supply and demand shift. 🔒  SELF-STORAGE HEADWINDS: MOBILITY, INTEREST RATES AND SUPPLY SHOCK 🌎  Jacob breaks down two major headwinds hitting the self-storage market right now. First, Americans are moving less because they do not want to give up low mortgage rates. Second, markets like Texas and the Sunbelt were hit by a wave of new storage supply. We also cover how automation and technology help, and why Jacob's team still keeps staff on site for customer service. 🤖  HOW TO GET STARTED IN SELF-STORAGE 🧭  For new investors, Jacob outlines three paths: buy a self-storage stock, invest passively with a sponsor, or buy your own facility. He also shares why he believes AI tools should be part of every investor's daily decision-making process. 💡  QUICK QUESTIONS, DEAL SOURCING AND LESSONS LEARNED 🎯  In the quick question round, Jacob recommends In the Kingdom of Ice by Hampton Sides, names Green Bay, Wisconsin as an underrated storage market, and shares how his team sources deals through broker relationships and direct mail. His biggest lessons: always expect more new supply than the data suggests, and always respect the chance that interest rates go higher than you think. 🔥  Subscribe to The Real Estate Investing Club for weekly episodes on real estate investing, commercial real estate, passive income and financial freedom. 🙌  #SelfStorage #RealEstateInvesting #CommercialRealEstate #PassiveIncome #FinancialFreedom  Want to learn more about our guest? Connect here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-vanderslice-02905b16b/  Want to learn more about the REI Club Podcast, how to invest with Gabe at Kaizen, or join our community of active real estate investors on Skool? Visit the podcast website at https://www.therealestateinvestingclub.com or click here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen Send us Fan Mail Join the Online Community here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen. Support the show

  6. Oct 8

    Post Your Real Estate Losses and Watch Deals Show Up with Justine

    Join an active community of RE investors here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen 🏡 REAL ESTATE INVESTING LESSONS FROM A PHOENIX FLIPPING AGENT In this episode of The Real Estate Investing Club Podcast, I sit down with Justine Ramos, known online as That Flipping Agent, to talk about what it really takes to build wealth through real estate. Justine got started in 2019, wholesaled deals all over the Phoenix market, and is now in the middle of her first big renovation. If you want practical real estate investing advice from someone actively doing deals, this conversation is for you. 💰 🔨 THE PHOENIX BRRRR STRATEGY AND A SIX-FIGURE REHAB Justine breaks down her first major rehab in Phoenix, a hundred thousand dollar renovation she is running with the BRRRR strategy: buy, rehab, rent, refinance, and repeat. She shares how it feels to finally be on the buyer side of the transaction after years of wholesaling, why it has been one of the hardest things she has done, and the lessons she has learned in just twelve weeks. She also explains how her small Midwest rental properties fit into her overall investing plan. 📈 💵 HOW MY FIRST FLIP OPENED MY EYES TO REAL ESTATE I share my own story about a flip I did back in 2014 with a buddy. We had no idea what we were doing, but we walked away with an eighty-something-thousand-dollar check, and it showed me that real estate investing works. We also talk about why house flipping is its own skill set and a full-time business when done right. 🔑 ⚡ QUICK QUESTION ROUND FOR REAL ESTATE INVESTORS We move into rapid-fire questions on the best education for new investors, including why Justine loves the BiggerPockets community. Justine also shares the one piece of advice she would give her younger self: do not listen to other people's self-doubt. We talk about why friends and family often project their fears onto your goals, and why you should only take advice from people who have achieved what you want to achieve. 🧠 📍 INVEST IN YOUR OWN BACKYARD When I ask for her favorite metro to invest in, Justine says Phoenix, because it is where she lives and knows the neighborhoods best. We discuss why location matters so much in real estate and why knowing your local market helps you avoid costly mistakes. 🌵 📱 GENERATE REAL ESTATE LEADS WITH SOCIAL MEDIA Justine is the first guest on the show to name social media as her favorite way to find deals and new connections. She explains how posting consistently on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, sharing both wins and losses, and saying yes to podcast opportunities has transformed her business. 🎥 🤝 REAL ESTATE PARTNERSHIP LESSONS LEARNED Justine opens up about a partnership conflict that caused delays on her current renovation, even though she trusted these people for years. She explains why she had to hire a lawyer, and how she will use written agreements that spell out expectations, what happens when things go right or wrong, and how disagreements get handled. I add my own thoughts on setting up great partnerships. ⚖️ 🎯 WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR This episode is perfect for new investors, aspiring flippers, wholesalers, and anyone curious about BRRRR, partnerships, and social media marketing for real estate. 🚀 🧭 TAKEAWAYS FOR YOUR FINANCIAL FREEDOM JOURNEY Whether you are chasing your first rental, planning a flip, or building a portfolio, Justine's story shows the value of consistency, transparency, and clear agreements. Real estate investing rewards people who take action, learn from mistakes, and protect their deals. 🏆 #RealEstateInvesting #BRRRR #HouseFlipping #RealEstateWholesaling #PhoenixRealEstate Want to learn more about our guest? Connect here: https://www.instagram.com/thatflippingagent?igsh=ang5MWM5YmpvZHAx&utm_source=qr Want to learn more about the REI Club Podcast, how to invest with Gabe at Kaizen, or join our community of active real estate investors on Skool? Visit the podcast website at https://www.therealestateinvestingclub.com or click here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen Send us Fan Mail Support the show

  7. Oct 6

    How to Profit From the Next Real Estate Downturn with Omar

    Join an active community of RE investors here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen MULTIFAMILY REAL ESTATE INVESTING What happens when experienced multifamily investors step into a difficult real estate market? In this episode of The Real Estate Investing Club, I sit down with Omar Khan of Boardwalk Wealth to unpack the strategies, lessons, and principles behind successfully investing in multifamily real estate through changing market conditions. 🏢📈 Omar brings extensive experience across multifamily acquisitions, operations, capital markets, and real estate investing. His firm has bought and sold thousands of units, including distressed multifamily assets, giving us plenty to discuss when it comes to underwriting deals, managing properties, raising capital, and identifying opportunity when other investors are pulling back. One of the biggest themes of this conversation is that successful real estate investing isn't necessarily about finding some secret strategy that nobody else knows. It is often about avoiding major mistakes, maintaining emotional discipline, following proven processes, and staying focused on the long-term game. 🧠💰 UNDERWRITING, DISTRESSED ASSETS & MARKET OPPORTUNITY We talk about what happens when aggressive underwriting meets higher interest rates and changing market conditions. Many multifamily investors have found themselves under pressure because projected rent growth, returns, or property performance didn't materialize as expected. Omar explains why disciplined underwriting matters and why investors should be extremely careful about relying on aggressive broker projections or chasing exceptionally high projected IRRs. In real estate, protecting yourself from bad assumptions can be just as important as finding a great deal. We also discuss the potential opportunity created by distressed real estate. Multifamily isn't the only sector seeing pressure. Omar points to opportunities across self-storage, hospitality, industrial, retail, and other asset classes. When the market becomes more difficult, motivated sellers and overleveraged owners can create opportunities for disciplined operators. 🔑🏢 PROPERTY MANAGEMENT & REAL ESTATE OPERATIONS A great acquisition can quickly become a bad investment if the operations aren't managed properly. We dive deep into property management, operational processes, technology, employee compensation, accountability, and why consistency matters when building a real estate company. Omar explains how Boardwalk Wealth approaches processes and why following established systems is critical. We also discuss the importance of paying competitive compensation, treating employees with respect, and creating an organization where people have a reason to stay and perform at a high level. CAPITAL RAISING & REAL ESTATE SYNDICATION For many real estate investors, raising capital is one of the biggest barriers to scaling. Once an investor has deployed their own capital, the next challenge is learning how to attract outside investors and build trust. Omar shares how his background in investment banking and portfolio management helped him develop a professional network, but we also make an important point: you don't need an investment banking background to raise capital or become a successful real estate investor. The real lesson is to start building relationships before you actually need the money. Face-to-face conversations, networking, genuine relationships, and consistently demonstrating your credibility can become powerful advantages when it is eventually time to raise capital for a deal. 🤝💵 REAL ESTATE INVESTING IS A LONG GAME We also talk about the importance of getting started instead of waiting for the perfect deal. Omar reflects on opportunities he wishes he had taken earlier, while I share my own experience buying my first duplex and how getting that first deal done can create momentum. If financial freedom through real estate investing is your goal, the lesson is simple: learn, take action, build relationships, and keep moving forward. You don't need to know everything before you begin. Your first deal can become the foundation for the next one, and eventually the next one after that. 🚀 AI & REAL ESTATE OPERATIONS AI is also changing the way real estate companies operate. Omar explains how his team had already standardized data, workflows, and automation before the recent AI boom, allowing them to use AI to dramatically accelerate tasks that previously took days. We discuss how AI can help real estate investors process information, combine data from different systems, automate workflows, and improve operational efficiency. For modern real estate operators, learning how to use technology effectively may become an increasingly important competitive advantage. 🤖📊 THE BIGGER LESSON FOR REAL ESTATE INVESTORS This conversation is ultimately about discipline. Whether you're investing in multifamily properties, raising capital, managing a portfolio, underwriting acquisitions, or looking for distressed real estate opportunities, the fundamentals still matter. Don't chase shiny objects. Don't blindly trust aggressive projections. Build relationships before you need them. Develop strong operating systems. Treat your people well. Stay disciplined when markets become uncertain. And when other investors become fearful, keep your eyes open for opportunity. If you're interested in multifamily investing, real estate syndication, capital raising, distressed real estate, property management, real estate underwriting, AI for real estate, or building toward financial freedom through real estate, this episode is packed with practical lessons you can apply to your own investing journey. 🎯 Want to learn more about our guest? Connect here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/omark1/ Want to learn more about the REI Club Podcast, how to invest with Gabe at Kaizen, or join our community of active real estate investors on Skool? Visit the podcast website at https://www.therealestateinvestingclub.com or click here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen #RealEstateInvesting #MultifamilyInvesting #RealEstateSyndication #FinancialFreedom #RealEstate Send us Fan Mail Join the Online Community here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen. Support the show

  8. Oct 1

    Stop Chasing Home Runs: Your Real Path to Freedom with Samir Patel

    Join an active community of RE investors here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen  🏡 REAL ESTATE INVESTING LESSONS FOR FINANCIAL FREEDOM  Welcome back to The Real Estate Investing Club! I'm Gabe Petersen, and in this episode I sit down with Samir Patel, a hard money lender and veteran real estate investor with experience in hotels, self-storage, multifamily, and single-family properties. If you want practical real estate investing advice on how to build wealth and reach financial freedom without learning every lesson the painful way, this conversation is for you. 💰  🏨 BUYING A MOTEL AT 21 WITH AN SBA LOAN  Samir shares how Rich Dad Poor Dad inspired him to buy a 72-room motel for $1.5 million while he was still a West Point cadet. He explains how an SBA loan, a mentor who co-signed the personal guarantee, and a smart investment thesis near the Great Lakes Naval Training Center made it possible. We break down what he learned from the credit cycle, a bank loan workout, employee issues, and why commercial real estate is ultimately a finance game built on debt service and stress testing. 📉  🤝 HARD MONEY LENDING AND PRIVATE LENDING STRATEGY  Samir explains how buying one deal opens the door to many more, and how his path led from distressed notes and private lending to running a hard money lending firm with 1,500 real estate investor borrowers across 30 states. We talk about why mastering one asset class matters, why a DSCR focus and a bigger down payment can protect your cash flow, and why building an investor base early can save your project when capital calls hit. 🔑  ⚠️ COMMON MISTAKES REAL ESTATE INVESTORS MAKE  As a lender, Samir sees what goes wrong on flips and rentals. He covers partnership alignment, why 50-50 splits can stall decisions, how to plan for capital calls, and why trying to hit a home run on your first flip is a trap. We also talk about my own early flipping lessons and why simply making a move and breaking even beats waiting for the perfect deal. 🔨  📋 UNDERWRITING AND DUE DILIGENCE CHECKLISTS  Borrowing a guru's checklist can backfire. Samir and I discuss why your underwriting checklist must reflect your own capital, risk tolerance, and experience, and why it should keep growing with every mistake you make. We also cover zoning and entitlement risk, and how an overlooked variance process added 18 months to one of his deals. 🧠  📚 BOOKS, EDUCATION, AND ADVICE FOR YOUR YOUNGER SELF  Samir recommends Influence by Robert Cialdini for raising capital and communicating with investors, plus the Georgia State Masters of Commercial Real Estate program, where he now teaches real estate entrepreneurship. We also talk about why formal education can help you reflect on your experience, and what he would tell his younger self if he could start over. 🎓  🌎 BEST SOUTHEAST MARKETS AND AI FOR INVESTORS  Samir shares why population growth and job growth drive demand in the Southeast, including the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, and why Florida and Phoenix feel too volatile for him. He also reveals how he trains AI to challenge his underwriting by acting as his harshest critic. His two-word core values for every investor: courage and cash flow. 🚀  Subscribe for weekly real estate investing interviews, and drop your biggest investing question in the comments below. 👇  #RealEstateInvesting #HardMoneyLending #FinancialFreedom #RealEstateInvestor #PassiveIncome  Want to learn more about our guest? Connect here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samir-patel-atlanta/  Want to learn more about the REI Club Podcast, how to invest with Gabe at Kaizen, or join our community of active real estate investors on Skool? Visit the podcast website at https://www.therealestateinvestingclub.com or click here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen  Send us Fan Mail Join the Online Community here: https://linktr.ee/gabepetersen. Support the show

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About

Real estate pros share their stories on how they got started investing in real estate and then grew from their first deal to a portfolio of cash-flowing properties. In each episode you'll learn the strategies our guests used to create generational wealth for themselves and their families, and the steps you can take to do the same in your own back yard. Our goal at The Real Estate Investing Club is to teach you the fastest ways to start and grow your real estate investing career in today's market - from multifamily, to self-storage, to mobile home parks, to mix-use industrial, you'll hear it all! Our guests share their career peaks and valleys and the best advice, greatest stories, and favorite tips they learned along the way. Want to create wealth for yourself using the vehicle of real estate? Getting mentorship is the fastest way to success. Get an REI mentor and check out our REI course at https://www.therealestateinvestingclub.com.

Information

  • Creator
    Gabe Petersen
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    678
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Real Estate Investing Club
  • Show Website
    The Real Estate Investing Club

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