The Multifamily Hour Podcast

The Multifamily Hour (formerly The Multifamily Wealth Podcast) features Axel Ragnarsson in conversation with successful real estate investors, breaking down how they're navigating today's evolving multifamily market to start, build, and scale their businesses. Each episode delivers tactical, current, and actionable insights to help listeners grow their business and real estate portfolio.

The Multifamily Hour Podcast is a business podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 350 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 86.

Unknown Host hosts The Multifamily Hour Podcast, a business show with 350 episodes published.

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  The Multifamily Hour Podcast

  #352: Why Driving Renewals Will Solve Nearly All Your Problems, Creating an AI Analyst, and An Honest Dissection of The TX Market with Rob Beardsley

  Sep 29, 202650 min

  Axel welcomes back Rob Beardsley, founder and CEO of LSCRE and a Houston-focused multifamily owner/operator with roughly $1 billion in acquisitions since 2018 — for an unfiltered check-in 18 months after their last conversation on where the Texas multifamily market actually stands, and what's changed in how LSCRE operates, underwrites, and now uses AI. This episode is essential listening for any investor or operator who wants a candid, no-spin read on the Sun Belt multifamily downturn, a fresh framework for pricing renewals into asset value, and a real-world look at how one operator is using AI to catalog and pre-screen an entire market before a deal ever hits the desk. Join us as we dive into: A candid look at market expectations versus reality since early 2025: why hitting a market "bottom" hasn't resulted in a V-shaped recovery due to ongoing supply deliveries and sustained high interest rates. The real impact of concessions on net effective rents—and why reported 3% rent drops often hide true revenue declines of 15% to 30%. Operating hyper-locally in Houston: why pockets with structural supply barriers continue to show strong pricing power and renewal rent growth. Operational strategy shifts: treating renewals as "the holy grail" and offering aggressive concessions/perks to retain existing residents rather than incurring unit turnover costs. Evaluating passive capital sentiment: dividing the investor pool between those "scarred" by 2022 top-of-market deals and newer investors taking advantage of current valuations. The rare convergence of zero-cost capital, massive supply booms, and shifting immigration dynamics that defined the 2020–2022 market cycle. Re-widening price dispersion between Class A trophy assets (down ~10% in value) versus Class C "dog" properties (down up to 50%). How LSCRE uses AI (via Claude and proprietary prop-tech tools) to automate accounting, streamline tenant screening, handle maintenance routing, and centralize back-office operations. LSCRE’s Houston-focused operational thesis: cataloging all 4,000+ properties over 22 units in Houston to target acquisitions within a 25-minute drive of existing assets. Why the "buy anything at the right price" mentality fails in modern real estate, and why operators must truly love and be obsessed with the deals they pursue. Connect with Rob Beardsley: Follow him on Instagram Connect with him on Linkedin Learn more about LSCRE Are you looking to invest in real estate, but don't want to deal with the hassle of finding great deals, signing on debt, and managing tenants? Aligned Real Estate Partners provides investment opportunities to passive investors looking for the returns, stability, and tax benefits multifamily real estate offers, but without the work - join our investor club to be notified of future investment opportunities. Connect with Axel: Follow him on Instagram Connect with him on Linkedin Subscribe to our YouTube channel Learn more about Aligned Real Estate Partners

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  The Multifamily Hour Podcast

  #351: Buying a 12-Unit After a Jury Trial and a Supreme Court Appeal with Jeff Duchesne

  Sep 25, 202612 min

  Axel sits down with Jeff Duchesne for a deal-segment deep dive into one of the wildest closings in the show's history — a 12-unit, 1980-built Manchester, NH property that took five years, a three-day jury trial, and a New Hampshire Supreme Court appeal to actually close. This episode is essential listening for any investor who wants to understand what happens when a seller tries to walk away from a signed PSA, what it actually looks like to litigate a real estate contract dispute to the finish line, and why the appreciation that occurred during the delay ultimately made the fight worth it many times over. Join us as we dive into: How Jeff sourced a 12-unit property (two 6-unit buildings built in 1980 with 20+ parking spaces) through a wholesaler. Why the sellers — two successful out-of-state businessmen — tried to back out of the Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA). The five-year legal process: placing a lien on the property, enduring a high-stakes three-day jury trial, and winning an appeal in the New Hampshire Supreme Court. The strategic decision-making and settlement offers weighed the night before the jury verdict. How market appreciation between 2021 and the eventual closing date turned a good deal into a home run. How Jeff navigated the financing delay, including keeping the same lender who testified on his behalf in court. The immediate post-closing strategy: direct, transparent communication with existing tenants to adjust below-market rents while maintaining full occupancy. Connect with Jeff Duchesne: Contact: 603-819-3183 Follow him on Instagram Connect with him on Linkedin Are you looking to invest in real estate, but don't want to deal with the hassle of finding great deals, signing on debt, and managing tenants? Aligned Real Estate Partners provides investment opportunities to passive investors looking for the returns, stability, and tax benefits multifamily real estate offers, but without the work - join our investor club to be notified of future investment opportunities. Connect with Axel: Follow him on Instagram Connect with him on Linkedin Subscribe to our YouTube channel Learn more about Aligned Real Estate Partners

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  The Multifamily Hour Podcast

  #350: Bootstrapping a 200 Unit Portfolio with No Investors Through Self-Management and Singular Market Focus with Jeff Duchesne

  Sep 22, 202631 min

  Axel sits down with longtime friend and fellow New Hampshire investor Jeff Duchesne — who, alongside his business partner, has bootstrapped a self-managed, ~198-unit portfolio concentrated almost entirely in Manchester, NH, without ever raising outside capital. This episode is essential listening for any investor curious what it actually looks like to build a serious portfolio with just two partners, zero investors, and a deliberate refusal to sell — and why staying hyper-local for a decade can become its own competitive edge. Join us as we dive into: How Jeff and his partner bought their first Manchester three-family with an FHA loan, built an extra bedroom in the parlor, and brought in roommates from Craigslist to live for free. Why they consciously chose to concentrate almost all 198 units within a 5-to-10-minute drive in Manchester, NH, rather than expanding across the state. The transition from small 3-unit rehab loans to their pivotal 8-unit deal on Bridge Street that unlocked scaled growth. Why Jeff's group has held onto their portfolio without selling, maintaining a 54% loan-to-value (LTV) across the portfolio, and using lines of credit for acquisitions instead of cash-out refis. How Jeff kept his W-2 job while building a 100+ unit portfolio and leveraged his employer's banking relationships to finance his own early deals. The reality of in-house property management: running 198 units with a lean team consisting of a couple of maintenance guys and Jeff's sister handling tenant calls. Jeff’s specific buy box: targeting Manchester properties with larger bedroom counts (2s, 3s, and 4s), off-street parking, and separate utilities. How prioritizing tenant retention and low turnover over aggressive, peak-market rent increases drives higher long-term cash flow. Connect with Jeff Duchesne: Contact: 603-819-3183 Follow him on Instagram Connect with him on Linkedin Are you looking to invest in real estate, but don't want to deal with the hassle of finding great deals, signing on debt, and managing tenants? Aligned Real Estate Partners provides investment opportunities to passive investors looking for the returns, stability, and tax benefits multifamily real estate offers, but without the work - join our investor club to be notified of future investment opportunities. Connect with Axel: Follow him on Instagram Connect with him on Linkedin Subscribe to our YouTube channel Learn more about Aligned Real Estate Partners

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  The Multifamily Hour Podcast

  #349: Building an 1,100-Unit Portfolio, In-House Management Pros and Cons, and Staying Off The Sidelines with Ross McArthur

  Sep 15, 202647 min

  Axel sits down for the second time with Ross McArthur, Midwest multifamily operator and co-founder of Follow The Deal Investments and Thrive Property Group — for a candid update on how his portfolio grew from roughly 400 units to over 1,100 units in just three years, all while bringing property management fully in-house from 1,000+ miles away in Florida. This episode is essential listening for any investor or operator wrestling with the decision to bring management in-house versus stay with third-party, how to keep deal flow alive in a slow transaction market, and what disciplined, capital-efficient scaling actually looks like once a portfolio crosses the 1,000-unit mark. Join us as we dive into: How Ross scaled from ~400 to 1,100+ units during one of the slowest transaction markets in years — by staying consistently active with brokers and direct-to-seller outreach even on deals he didn't expect to win. Why Ross's buy box has tightened significantly since his last appearance — more rigorous inspections (including full crawl-space checks), a hard focus on roof age and its impact on insurance costs, and a new reluctance to pay up for 1960s/70s builds versus 2000s-era construction. The hub-and-spoke, fully in-house management model behind Thrive Property Group — running 1,100+ units with fewer than 10 core people, built around a single standardized set of KPIs Ross calls "the Big Five". The maintenance staffing lesson learned the hard way — why Ross split his in-house maintenance team (light fixtures, faucets, "the last 10 feet") away from painting and flooring, which are instead handled by dedicated third-party specialists — because most maintenance techs "hate doing flooring and suck at painting." The strategic trade-off between building a deal-making machine versus a management machine — how Axel and Ross compare their differing structures (third-party vs. fully in-house) and why neither approach is wrong, just a reflection of what each business is solving for at a given stage. Connect with Ross McArthur: Website: followthedeal.com Connect with him on Linkedin Are you looking to invest in real estate, but don't want to deal with the hassle of finding great deals, signing on debt, and managing tenants? Aligned Real Estate Partners provides investment opportunities to passive investors looking for the returns, stability, and tax benefits multifamily real estate offers, but without the work - join our investor club to be notified of future investment opportunities. Connect with Axel: Follow him on Instagram Connect with him on Linkedin Subscribe to our YouTube channel Learn more about Aligned Real Estate Partners

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  The Multifamily Hour Podcast

  #348: Sharing 11 Random Thoughts, Lessons, and Takes on Multifamily Real Estate Investing

  Sep 8, 202629 min

  Axel Ragnarsson goes into a stream-of-consciousness rundown of 11 lessons, mistakes, and hot takes on multifamily investing pulled from years in the trenches as both an active buyer and operator for this solo Multi-Family Minutes episode. This episode is essential listening for any investor — new or experienced — who wants a rapid-fire gut check on where they're wasting time, misreading risk, or misunderstanding how the market actually values their deals heading into 2027 and beyond. Join us as we dive into: You're saying yes to too many things — why chasing deals, partnerships, and asset classes outside your defined market, deal size, and strategy pulls you away from where your time is actually best spent. Most investors don't know their core competency — the three pillars of real estate investing (acquisitions, financing/capital, and operations) and why picking one to truly excel at — rather than doing all three at a mediocre level — is what creates a real edge. "Rents are a market decision, vacancy is an operator decision" — why chasing the market down in small rent increments is a mistake, and why getting ahead of demand by pricing to clear the market beats holding out for a number that isn't there. You're probably not taking enough risk — especially investors under 30 — and why the "worst case" of a failed deal is rarely as catastrophic as new investors imagine. You don't make real money via cash flow in C-class rentals — why C-class assets are "trading assets," not "investing assets," and how the real returns come from buying right, stabilizing, and exiting rather than long-term hold cash flow. Always know who your eventual buyer is — why elevated NOI from mid-term rentals, rent-by-the-room, or other operationally intensive strategies won't get rewarded at exit the way owners expect, since buyers underwrite to their own (usually more conventional) operating plan. Get comfortable: rates aren't dropping and rents aren't spiking anytime soon — a realistic outlook suggesting the current rate and rent environment likely persists through 2027, into 2028, and possibly 2029. If a deal intimidates you, take the partner — a personal admission that some of the biggest early-career mistakes came from over-extending on deals with complexity better handled alongside a complementary partner. Environmental, title, and government issues are the ones to fear most in DD — unlike physical or tenant problems (which you can price), vague issues like unresolved fire-department sprinkler mandates or ambiguous title exceptions need full closure before moving forward. Revenue solves almost every operating problem — since the majority of multifamily expenses are fixed regardless of occupancy, the core of asset management is filling units, avoiding delinquency, and protecting occupancy — even if that means taking a lower rent now and refinancing later. The buyer who pays more than you probably has different goals or a different cost of capital — not necessarily better information — whether that's a 1031 exchange buyer, a hobbyist doctor-investor, a nearby owner paying a premium for proximity, or an out-of-market operator buying a foothold deal. Are you looking to invest in real estate, but don't want to deal with the hassle of finding great deals, signing on debt, and managing tenants? Aligned Real Estate Partners provides investment opportunities to passive investors looking for the returns, stability, and tax benefits multifamily real estate offers, but without the work - join our investor club to be notified of future investment opportunities. Connect with Axel: Follow him on Instagram Connect with him on Linkedin Subscribe to our YouTube channel Learn more about Aligned Real Estate Partners

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