Show Notes

In this episode, John Pugh sits down with Isabela (Bela) Carrasco, Assistant Vice President of Investor Relations at Origin Investments, founder of WealthOps, and host of the podcast How Do You Know. Bela shares her perspective on the current state of multifamily real estate, how she helps investors navigate uncertainty, and her mission to empower professionals and athletes to achieve long-term financial freedom through alternative investments.

With a background spanning private equity, family offices, and entrepreneurship, Bela brings both professional expertise and personal passion to the conversation. She discusses market tailwinds in multifamily, the challenges of raising capital in today’s environment, and the importance of building community in wealth creation.

• The Multifamily Outlook

  • Why Origin Investments has gone “an inch wide and a mile deep” into multifamily.

  • Tailwinds shaping the sector: affordability gaps, suppressed construction starts, and rent growth projections.

  • How Origin’s proprietary AI tool, Multilytics, drives more accurate rent growth forecasting.

• Capital Raising in Uncertain Times

  • Current challenges for investors amid tariffs, liquidity constraints, and capital calls from prior vintages.

  • Why deal selection and timing are critical—and how Origin balances funds with single-asset opportunities.

  • Examples of distressed and opportunistic deals that investors have quickly rallied around.

• Preferred Equity & Lending Strategies

  • Why Origin is focusing on preferred equity, whole loan lending, and development in the current cycle.

  • Typical deal sizes ($10–30M) and focus on Sunbelt growth markets.

  • How Origin builds a margin of safety and structures returns.

• WealthOps: Building a Community of Investors

  • The importance of surrounding yourself with the right people—on the field and in finance.

  • WealthOps as a platform to educate, connect, and empower accredited investors.

  • Helping tech professionals, athletes, and executives architect portfolios for long-term freedom.

• How Do You Know Podcast

  • Why Bela started a show on decision-making in investing and entrepreneurship.

  • Guests ranging from attorneys to entrepreneurs, breaking down due diligence, risk, and opportunity.

  • The mission: give people confidence and conviction in their investment choices.

• Mindset and Takeaways

  • Community as a shortcut for learning—avoiding mistakes by sharing knowledge.

  • The shift from ownership to rental housing as a generational trend.

  • Why “no one cares about your money as much as you do” should guide investor education.

• LinkedIn: Isabela Carrasco 

• WealthOps community & free monthly webinars

• Podcast: How Do You Know