Furlo Capital Real Estate Podcast

James Furlo
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Investing
  • Updated Weekly

A conversational podcast between James and Jessi Furlo that dives into the intricacies of passive real estate investing. Our mission is to equip people to invest wisely in both property and residents so that, together, we can build wealth and improve housing.

  1. 6d ago

    The $50 Rent Increase That Could Cost a Property Investor $4,300 | Ep 145

    Oregon lets landlords raise rent 9.5% a year. The Corvallis market right now supports somewhere between zero and negative one percent. That gap is where a lot of investors get hurt. A $50 increase on an $1,800 two-bedroom sounds reasonable, until the tenant leaves and the unit sits for 48 days. James and Jessi work through the math on a flat rental market and why the most expensive cost in real estate never shows up as a line item on your P&L. Vacancy only appears as income that didn't arrive. You plan for it when you underwrite a deal, and then it quietly disappears from view once you're operating. They walk through what's actually happening in the Corvallis rental market: days on market nearly doubling, average rents down $46 per bedroom year over year, and roughly 25,000 new units added across the region. From there, the conversation turns to why advertised rents are misleading when landlords are quietly offering concessions, why rent tends to get set by the most desperate landlord in the market, and why James has started preferring smaller units over big shared houses. The core argument is simple and a little uncomfortable. In a flat market, retention is growth. Keeping a good tenant is often worth more than any rent increase you could push through. Chapters 00:00 Introduction01:31 Vacancy: The Cost That Never Shows Up on Your P&L05:00 Longer Vacancies, Lower Rents, and the Most Desperate Landlord10:50 The $50 Increase That Takes Seven Years to Pay Back14:15 When All the Demand Shows Up in April16:18 Why Retention Is the Real Growth Strategy21:43 Don't Get Into It: The Early-Stage Defense Let's build your wealth and improve housing, together. I spent 12 years as a data scientist at HP and purchased $5M worth of real estate over 15 years using my own money. Now, I'm partnering with busy professionals to diversify their investments and generate passive income through real estate syndications and short-term flips — without dealing with tenants, toilets, or tantrums. At Furlo Capital, we believe real estate isn't just a transaction; it's a partnership. Our value-add approach creates win-win situations where residents thrive, and investors build wealth. We're not just in this to make money — we want to make a difference. If you're ready to diversify from stock market volatility and want reliable, steady returns, let's build your wealth and improve housing, together. Want to dive deeper into my investing thesis and strategy? 👉 Learn more: https://furlo.com Curious about the critical questions to ask before investing? 👉 Get my 196-question due diligence vault: https://furlo.com/good-deals-only-ebook Disclaimer Please note that investing in private placement securities entails a high degree of risk, including illiquidity of the investment and loss of principal. Please refer to the subscription agreement for a discussion of risk factors.

    The $50 Rent Increase That Could Cost a Property Investor $4,300 | Ep 145

  2. Sep 23

    The Hidden Debt In Every Investment Can Make It Impossible To Get Out | Ep 144

    Most investment analysis asks what happens if a deal goes badly. Far fewer people ask whether they can get out at all. This conversation uses the opening months of World War I, where no major power actually wanted the war they ended up fighting, as a lens on commitment risk in real estate. The centerpiece is a manufactured home bought for one dollar that eventually lost $14,000, largely because no exit was ever available. Chapters (00:00) Introduction(01:11) The War Nobody Actually Wanted(04:55) Every Deal Has a Second Balance Sheet(07:02) The Constraints You Inherit With the Plan(10:23) Why Tanks Are Called Tanks(15:09) The $1 House That Lost $14,000(19:31) The Rule That Was There Before You Signed(22:46) Is There an Off Switch? Disclaimer Please note that investing in private placement securities entails a high degree of risk, including illiquidity of the investment and loss of principal. Please refer to the subscription agreement for a discussion of risk factors.

    The Hidden Debt In Every Investment Can Make It Impossible To Get Out | Ep 144

  3. Sep 16

    The Interest Rate Is The Wrong Question In Private Money Lending | Ep 143

    In this conversation, James and Jessi walk through the questions that actually matter when you're lending money on real estate. James breaks down why the difference between a 10% and 12% rate is often just a few hundred dollars, and why the smarter question is what your guaranteed minimum payout is if the loan gets paid off early. From there they get into why a capped, guaranteed loan can beat an uncapped equity position, what your lien position actually determines if a deal goes underwater, and why a lender takes a lien instead of just taking the deed outright. They also cover why the person borrowing the money matters more than the deal itself, how extensions and early payoffs typically work (spoiler: you usually can't get your money back early, but the note itself can be sold), and what happens if either party dies before the loan is repaid. It closes with a pre-wire checklist: read the default and remedies section first, name every human signer, and remember you're not buying a rate, you're buying an exit. Chapters (00:00) Introduction(03:24) What Actually Counts as a Private Money Lender(05:22) Why a 10% vs. 12% Rate Barely Matters(06:51) The Minimum Floor: A Smarter Question Than the Rate(10:38) Equity vs. a Fixed-Rate Loan(12:51) Lien Position, Worst-Case Math, and Deed vs. Lien(22:20) Underwriting the Borrower, Not the Deal(24:17) Extensions, Early Payoff, and Selling Your Note(28:34) Death, Disability, and the Pre-Wire Checklist

    The Interest Rate Is The Wrong Question In Private Money Lending | Ep 143

  4. Sep 9

    How We're Turning One Property Into Two — and Creating Value Ourselves | Ep 142

    We bought a rundown house on a quarter-acre lot for $205,000 — and we're splitting it into two lots, patching up the original house just enough to sell it near breakeven, and building a brand new home on the other half. Do the math and the lot is essentially free. Key Moments (00:00) Introduction(00:53) Why This Isn't a Classic Fix-and-Flip (and a Costly Tax Lesson)(02:20) Inside the $205K House (And Why It Smells Like Money)(04:37) The Real Numbers: How Splitting This Lot Pays for Itself(08:38) Builders, Timelines, and the Kid Who Picked the Faucets(11:35) How We Fund Deals Like This — and How You Can Join Let's build your wealth and improve housing, together. I spent 12 years as a data scientist at HP and purchased $5M worth of real estate over 15 years using my own money. Now, I'm partnering with busy professionals to diversify their investments and generate passive income through real estate syndications and short-term flips — without dealing with tenants, toilets, or tantrums. At Furlo Capital, we believe real estate isn't just a transaction; it's a partnership. Our value-add approach creates win-win situations where residents thrive, and investors build wealth. We're not just in this to make money — we want to make a difference. If you're ready to diversify from stock market volatility and want reliable, steady returns, let's build your wealth and improve housing, together. Want to dive deeper into my investing thesis and strategy? 👉 Learn more: https://furlo.com Curious about the critical questions to ask before investing? 👉 Get my 196-question due diligence vault: https://furlo.com/good-deals-only-ebook Disclaimer Please note that investing in private placement securities entails a high degree of risk, including illiquidity of the investment and loss of principal. Please refer to the subscription agreement for a discussion of risk factors.

    How We're Turning One Property Into Two — and Creating Value Ourselves | Ep 142

  5. Sep 2

    Nobody Gets Rich From Labor Alone | 141

    Working hard and getting rich turn out to be two different skills. On this Labor Day episode, we break down why a good salary can still leave you empty-handed, and the four-step model that actually turns labor into wealth that keeps paying you after you stop working. Labor Day has strange timing (the date shifts almost every year), and most people treat it as just a day off. But the holiday is about remembrance, not rest, and that distinction opens up a question: does hard work actually make you rich? A big salary at a good company doesn't automatically build wealth. What separates someone building real ownership from someone stuck on a treadmill is one thing: the size of the gap between what they earn and what they spend, and what they do with that gap. That gap is the hinge of a four-step model laid out here with a real example: labor creates income, margin (income minus spending) creates capital, capital buys productive assets, and those assets eventually create income without another hour of anyone's life. Chapters (00:00) Introduction(00:39)Why Labor Day Exists (And Why the Date Keeps Moving)(03:47) Does Hard Work Actually Make You Rich?(09:57) Escaping the Hamster Wheel(14:01) What Actually Counts as a Working Asset(18:31) Own More, Not Just Earn More Let's build your wealth and improve housing, together. I spent 12 years as a data scientist at HP and purchased $5M worth of real estate over 15 years using my own money. Now, I'm partnering with busy professionals to diversify their investments and generate passive income through real estate syndications and short-term flips — without dealing with tenants, toilets, or tantrums. At Furlo Capital, we believe real estate isn't just a transaction; it's a partnership. Our value-add approach creates win-win situations where residents thrive, and investors build wealth. We're not just in this to make money — we want to make a difference. If you're ready to diversify from stock market volatility and want reliable, steady returns, let's build your wealth and improve housing, together. Want to dive deeper into my investing thesis and strategy? 👉 Learn more: https://furlo.com Curious about the critical questions to ask before investing? 👉 Get my 196-question due diligence vault: https://furlo.com/good-deals-only-ebook Disclaimer Please note that investing in private placement securities entails a high degree of risk, including illiquidity of the investment and loss of principal. Please refer to the subscription agreement for a discussion of risk factors.

    Nobody Gets Rich From Labor Alone | 141

  6. Aug 26

    The Pilot, Not the Plane: How to Choose Better Real Estate Sponsors | Ep 140

    A government-funded aviation project spent $70,000 and only managed to go straight up, then straight down. Two bike mechanics spent $1,000 and actually flew. Then spent five years unable to convince anyone they'd done it.This episode traces the full Wright brothers story and pulls out what it actually teaches about evaluating a real estate operator: what a padded investor deck reveals when you read past the highlights, why a first-time syndicator paired with a first-time contractor is a real warning sign, why resources get mistaken for skill more often than they should, and why grading the pilot matters as much as grading the deal. Along the way: the aerodynamic tables the Wright brothers inherited from "experts" that turned out to be wrong, the wind tunnel they built to find their own numbers instead, and the single flight in France that flipped their reputation overnight after half a decade of being called liars. Chapters (00:00) Introduction(01:12) A 250-Year Reading Project and the $1,000 Flight That Beat $70,0000(4:07) Why Well-Funded Operators Aren't Always Skilled Ones(07:47) What a Bad Deck and a First-Time Syndicator Have in Common(10:50) Five Years of Nobody Believing Them(15:41) The Flight That Changed Everyone's Mind(20:43) The Crash That Changed Everything(25:07) How to Actually Grade an Operator 6 Key Lessons Resources aren't the same thing as skill: A well-funded, well-credentialed government project spent $70,000 and built a plane that went straight up and straight down. Two bike mechanics did it for $1,000.The best operators build their own data instead of trusting someone else's: The Wright brothers threw out the era's "generally accepted" aerodynamic tables after their own homemade numbers kept flying better than the official ones.Being unbothered by doubt isn't the same as being reckless: They didn't care that nobody believed them for five years. They also refused to rush a flight just to prove a point, waiting until the plane, rebuilt from scratch, was actually ready.Ask if they were doing this before anyone was watching: it's the closest thing to proof you'll get before the track record exists.Small, precise fixes beat brute force: swapping an entire moving wing for one small rudder piece is the same instinct as fixing a broken process instead of hiring more people to work around it.Winning didn't require anyone else to lose: they published their research and let other people use it, and only fought back once someone copied their design outright instead of building on it. Disclaimer Please note that investing in private placement securities entails a high degree of risk, including illiquidity of the investment and loss of principal. Please refer to the subscription agreement for a discussion of risk factors.

    The Pilot, Not the Plane: How to Choose Better Real Estate Sponsors | Ep 140

  7. Aug 19

    Grit vs. Risk: How to Tell if Your Real Estate Sponsor Is Built to Last | Ep 139

    This week we're talking about a family mission trip to Rancho Génesis, a camp in Mexico that pairs volunteers with kids from orphanages for a week of one-on-one attention. Our nine and eleven year old came with us, and what we walked away with had almost nothing to do with ziplines or human foosball and everything to do with how we think about vetting a real estate sponsor. The core idea: the highlight-reel stuff (the zipline, the fireworks, the "look how hard I'm working" photo) is not what builds trust or produces results. The real work is unglamorous. It's fetching food, grinding a sidewalk, rationing water down to three showers a week. We talk about what that means for evaluating a syndication or a sponsor: what's their unglamorous weekly task, who covers it if they can't, and are they choosing the hard way because it's genuinely better, or because it looks good? Key Moments 00:00 Introduction00:57 The Mission Trip and the Camp That Started It All03:46 What Actually Builds Trust (Hint: Not the Zipline)06:01 Finding the Right Amount of Challenge09:43 Why Backing Out of a Deal Isn't Failure11:22 Key Person Risk Hiding Behind a Hands-On Reputation15:02 Know Your Own Limits18:05 Stewarding a Gift That Isn't Yours22:06 Closing Thoughts Let's build your wealth and improve housing, together. I spent 12 years as a data scientist at HP and purchased $5M worth of real estate over 15 years using my own money. Now, I'm partnering with busy professionals to diversify their investments and generate passive income through real estate syndications and short-term flips — without dealing with tenants, toilets, or tantrums. At Furlo Capital, we believe real estate isn't just a transaction; it's a partnership. Our value-add approach creates win-win situations where residents thrive, and investors build wealth. We're not just in this to make money — we want to make a difference.If you're ready to diversify from stock market volatility and want reliable, steady returns, let's build your wealth and improve housing, together. Want to dive deeper into my investing thesis and strategy? 👉 Learn more: https://furlo.com Curious about the critical questions to ask before investing? 👉 Get my 196-question due diligence vault: https://furlo.com/good-deals-only-ebook Disclaimer Please note that investing in private placement securities entails a high degree of risk, including illiquidity of the investment and loss of principal. Please refer to the subscription agreement for a discussion of risk factors.

    Grit vs. Risk: How to Tell if Your Real Estate Sponsor Is Built to Last | Ep 139

  8. Aug 12

    Jesse James Built a Legend. Investors Still Fall for It Today. | Ep 138

    Jesse James never gave a dime to the poor. He robbed banks, trains, and stagecoaches, and killed at least eleven people doing it, yet he's remembered as a folk hero. Turns out that reputation wasn't built by his crimes. It was built by a detective's botched raid and a newspaperman who invented the Robin Hood myth after James was already dead. This episode uses Jesse James's life as a lens for a question that matters a lot more in real estate: how do you actually vet the person telling you the story, not just the deal itself? We walk through his history, from farm boy to Confederate guerrilla raider to the head of the James-Younger Gang, the Pinkerton raid that accidentally turned public opinion in his favor, the Northfield robbery that gutted the gang for good, and the betrayal by Robert Ford that made him a legend instead of a footnote. Key Moments (00:00) Introduction(02:47) Why We're Vetting the Storyteller, Not Just the Deal(03:26) Who Jesse James Actually Was: Farm Boy to Guerrilla Raider(06:02) The Pinkerton Raid That Turned an Outlaw Into a Folk Hero(07:12) Northfield, Betrayal, and the End of Jesse James(09:37) Lesson One: Legacies Get Written by the Aftermath, Not the Crime(12:10) Lesson Two: Watch for the Insiders Who Defect First(13:58) Hot Asset Classes and Thin Controls: STRs, AI, and Cottage Clusters(18:43) Sympathy Isn't Reputation: The Newspaperman Who Invented the Robin Hood Myth(21:45) Why You Can't Trust a Single Source(23:29) The Real Takeaway: Separate the Narrative From the Numbers Disclaimer Please note that investing in private placement securities entails a high degree of risk, including illiquidity of the investment and loss of principal. Please refer to the subscription agreement for a discussion of risk factors.

    Jesse James Built a Legend. Investors Still Fall for It Today. | Ep 138
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A conversational podcast between James and Jessi Furlo that dives into the intricacies of passive real estate investing. Our mission is to equip people to invest wisely in both property and residents so that, together, we can build wealth and improve housing.

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