LIFE WITH MIKEY

Mortgage rates just hit around 5.99%. Existing home sales hit a nine-month low. A lot of people see those two numbers and assume the market is dead, but that may not tell the full story.

Mikey and Michael break down what some are calling the biggest buying window in years, the hidden cost of waiting, and why today’s market may look very different from 2008.. They unpack the shifting trends between Sun Belt and Rust Belt markets,, a $68M Chicago office building that just sold for $4 million, and the wild loop where pension funds are funding the rent hikes on their own apartments.

Plus: why AI-staged listing photos are turning into bait-and-switch, and what real estate agents may need to do to maintain buyer trust.

If you’ve been waiting to buy, this episode explores the pros and cons of timing the market.

This content is for informational purposes only, is not offered as investment advice and should not be deemed as investment advice, and reflects the opinions and projections of COMMUNE as of the date of publication, which are subject to change without notice at any time subsequent to the date of issue. COMMUNE does not represent or warrant that the information presented in this message is accurate, current, or complete or that the estimates, opinions, projections or assumptions made in the message will prove to be accurate or realized.

Certain statements reflect projections or expectations of future financial or economic performance of the project.  Such “forward-looking” statements are based on various assumptions, which assumptions may not prove to be correct.  Accordingly, there can be no assurance that such assumptions and statements will accurately predict future events or the project’s actual performance. Past performance is not an indication of future results.

This content does not constitute an offer to invest and such offer will only be made by means of an offering document that should be carefully reviewed before determining whether to invest. As with any investment there is a risk of loss, including up to the amount of investment.

Neither this message nor its contents should be construed as legal, tax, investment, or other advice.  Individuals are urged to consult with their own tax, legal, and investment advisers before making any investment decision.

The housing market is not one market. It's three. And most people can't tell which one they live in.

In this episode, Mikey and Michael give commentary on what's happening in 2026. Forty percent of U.S. cities are seeing prices drop. Other areas are still going up. The national news won't tell you which side your city is on. Your local data will.

They walk through the numbers, months of supply, price to rent ratio, permit activity, job growth, and city policy. They explain a common way brokers may present optimistic projections, and show how you can use tools like AI to analyze a deal from different angles.

Whether you’re exploring a home purchase, rental property, or real estate fund, this is a guide for reviewing numbers and assumptions before making decisions.

This content is for informational purposes only, is not offered as investment advice and should not be deemed as investment advice, and reflects the opinions and projections of COMMUNE as of the date of publication, which are subject to change without notice at any time subsequent to the date of issue. COMMUNE does not represent or warrant that the information presented in this message is accurate, current, or complete or that the estimates, opinions, projections or assumptions made in the message will prove to be accurate or realized.

Certain statements reflect projections or expectations of future financial or economic performance of the project.  Such “forward-looking” statements are based on various assumptions, which assumptions may not prove to be correct.  Accordingly, there can be no assurance that such assumptions and statements will accurately predict future events or the project’s actual performance. Past performance is not an indication of future results.

This content does not constitute an offer to invest and such offer will only be made by means of an offering document that should be carefully reviewed before determining whether to invest. As with any investment there is a risk of loss, including up to the amount of investment.

Neither this message nor its contents should be construed as legal, tax, investment, or other advice.  Individuals are urged to consult with their own tax, legal, and investment advisers before making any investment decision.

In this episode, Mikey and Michael break down the seismic shifts happening in US housing right now: the  $17,000 tariff cost now baked into every new home, why building permits just hit their lowest level since 2019, and why fix-and-flip ROI has collapsed back to 2008 levels.

Then they turn the conversation toward the group nobody is defending Gen Z. With 46 million US households now renting (an all-time high), and three out of four Gen Z renters saying renting is the smarter move, the hosts debate whether the homeownership ladder is actually broken, or whether this is the biggest generational reframe in fifty years.Along the way: why BRRR is quietly replacing flips, the difference between seller financing and subject-to deals (and which one Michael thinks is “dirty”), the 40x net worth gap between homeowners and renters, and the one question you should consider asking before you buy a house which, according to Michael, almost nobody asks.

Everyone is telling you the housing market is about to crash worse than 2008. They’re wrong  but the truth might be harder to hear.

In this episode, I break down the numbers behind today’s housing market and compare them to the factors that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis. Topics include subprime mortgages, equity positions, supply dynamics, insurance costs, the lock-in effect.

The data says this is not 2008. The structural foundations are different. But that doesn’t mean everything’s fine. The affordability gap is real. The low end is fracturing. Insurance is repricing risk across the country. And millions of homeowners are locked into sub-4% rates creating a “zombie market” where people are not moving.

I share my own experience buying a home in 2005 on an adjustable-rate mortgage, watching the value drop, and what I learned about making financial decisions under pressure. I also walk through what I’m seeing in the data right now as someone who owns and buys real estate.

This episode covers: subprime mortgage comparison (2006 vs. today), homeowner equity, regional market divergence, the 4-million-unit housing deficit, the lock-in effect, insurance crisis, and how data can inform decision-making.

0:00 The 2008 Crash Fear Is Everywhere

01:13 Markets That Feel Like 2008

03:31 Who Is Predicting the Crash and Why

04:39 What Actually Caused the 2008 Collapse

06:28 The Financial Crisis Numbers

08:15 Mikey’s Personal 2008 Story

09:59 Today’s Market vs 2008 by the Numbers

14:07 The Real Fractures Nobody Is Showing You

17:08 The Zombie Market

23:14 Fear vs Greed The Investor Trap

This content is for informational purposes only, is not offered as investment advice and should not be deemed as investment advice, and reflects the opinions and projections of COMMUNE as of the date of publication, which are subject to change without notice at any time subsequent to the date of issue. COMMUNE does not represent or warrant that the information presented in this message is accurate, current, or complete or that the estimates, opinions, projections or assumptions made in the message will prove to be accurate or realized.

Certain statements reflect projections or expectations of future financial or economic performance of the project.  Such “forward-looking” statements are based on various assumptions, which assumptions may not prove to be correct.  Accordingly, there can be no assurance that such assumptions and statements will accurately predict future events or the project’s actual performance. Past performance is not an indication of future results.

This content does not constitute an offer to invest and such offer will only be made by means of an offering document that should be carefully reviewed before determining whether to invest. As with any investment there is a risk of loss, including up to the amount of investment.

Neither this message nor its contents should be construed as legal, tax, investment, or other advice.  Individuals are urged to consult with their own tax, legal, and investment advisers before making any investment decision.

Most people think real estate development is just construction. It’s not. The real game starts years before a shovel hits the ground and that’s where fortunes are made or lost.

In this episode, Mikey Taylor and Michael Michalov break down the complete development cycle from raw land to stabilized asset. They cover how to assess whether buying or building makes sense for your situation, the entitlement process that can take years and cost hundreds of thousands before you build anything, how to work with cities to avoid expensive dead ends, the capital stack breakdown on a real development deal, and why they believe Southern California’s difficulty is potentially an investment advantage.

They also get into a heated debate about when value is actually “realized” in development  and share the real numbers on a North Hollywood project tracking from a targeted $9.5M cost to $17M projected stabilized value.

Whether you’re considering your first development deal or deciding between buying stabilized assets and building from scratch, this episode gives you the operator-level framework.

#RealEstateDevelopment #WealthBuilding #RealEstateInvesting

Timestamps:

0:00 — Buy vs. Build: Two completely different paths

01:47 — When buying beats building (and vice versa)

03:35 — The biggest mistake beginner developers make?

06:08 — How to gauge city appetite before you could risk capital

08:12 — Tying up property under contract during entitlements

10:45 — Architects, engineers, and the entitlement process

14:26 — Capital stack breakdown: the $10M example

17:06 — The “realized value” debate (heated)

21:11 — Why Southern California may be one of the hardest markets

25:14 — The single greatest risk in real estate development?

28:13 — Final framework: when to buy, when to build, when to wait

This content is for informational purposes only, is not offered as investment advice and should not be deemed as investment advice, and reflects the opinions and projections of COMMUNE as of the date of publication, which are subject to change without notice at any time subsequent to the date of issue. COMMUNE does not represent or warrant that the information presented in this message is accurate, current, or complete or that the estimates, opinions, projections or assumptions made in the message will prove to be accurate or realized.

Certain statements reflect projections or expectations of future financial or economic performance of the project.  Such “forward-looking” statements are based on various assumptions, which assumptions may not prove to be correct.  Accordingly, there can be no assurance that such assumptions and statements will accurately predict future events or the project’s actual performance. Past performance is not an indication of future results.

This content does not constitute an offer to invest and such offer will only be made by means of an offering document that should be carefully reviewed before determining whether to invest. As with any investment there is a risk of loss, including up to the amount of investment.

Neither this message nor its contents should be construed as legal, tax, investment, or other advice.  Individuals are urged to consult with their own tax, legal, and investment advisers before making any investment decision.

Most people will never buy a piece of real estate not because they don't have the money, but because nobody ever sat them down and walked them through every single step of the process.

In this episode, we pull back the curtain on a real deal: a 37-unit multifamily building in North Hollywood, California. From the first back-of-the-napkin math to the moment the title transfers, we break down the entire acquisition step by step, number by number, decision by decision.

We cover the pre-offer analysis, how to build credibility with brokers when new to investing, the four pillars of due diligence often overlooked, two real financing scenarios comparing the trade-off between leverage and margin, and why operating the asset rather than only finding it can influence potential returns.

Whether you're evaluating your first deal or refining your process on your tenth, this episode provides an educational perspective.

This content is for informational purposes only, is not offered as investment advice and should not be deemed as investment advice, and reflects the opinions and projections of COMMUNE as of the date of publication, which are subject to change without notice at any time subsequent to the date of issue. COMMUNE does not represent or warrant that the information presented in this message is accurate, current, or complete or that the estimates, opinions, projections or assumptions made in the message will prove to be accurate or realized.

Certain statements reflect projections or expectations of future financial or economic performance of the project.  Such “forward-looking” statements are based on various assumptions, which assumptions may not prove to be correct.  Accordingly, there can be no assurance that such assumptions and statements will accurately predict future events or the project’s actual performance. Past performance is not an indication of future results.

This content does not constitute an offer to invest and such offer will only be made by means of an offering document that should be carefully reviewed before determining whether to invest. As with any investment there is a risk of loss, including up to the amount of investment.

Neither this message nor its contents should be construed as legal, tax, investment, or other advice.  Individuals are urged to consult with their own tax, legal, and investment advisers before making any investment decision.

Michael Mnatsakanian grew up in poverty as a first-generation American raised by a single mom. He got an engineering degree from UCSD, commissioned as a U.S. Army officer, and started investing in real estate from a barracks in Fairbanks, Alaska with little money.

Five years later, he’s built a $25M+ real estate portfolio, raised over $10M in capital, and completely abandoned the Airbnb model for something many investors may not be familiar with: co-living.

In this conversation, Mikey and Michael break down the mechanics of how he went from a VA loan on a duplex to buying 20 rental cabins with zero dollars out of pocket, why he believes co-living is the most overlooked strategy in real estate right now, and how his approach to financing allows him to acquire properties in various market conditions.

They also get into the psychology of coming from nothing, why poverty created both paralysis and an unfair advantage for him, why analysis paralysis nearly killed his investing career, and the ultimatum he gave himself that changed everything.

This is one of the most tactically dense episodes Life With Mikey has ever done. Whether you’re an active investor, considering your first deal, or sitting on capital you haven’t deployed, this one will offer perspectives of how to think about real estate.

Topics Covered

VA loans, house hacking, seller financing, subject-to acquisitions, bird dogging vs. wholesaling, co-living strategy, capital raising, affordable housing, creative deal structuring, building wealth from zero, and why the smartest investors are leaving short-term rentals behind.

Chapters: 

0:15 - VA loans and military investing

04:14 - Childhood poverty and the fear of financial mistakes

4:52 - The ultimatum that broke analysis paralysis

06:42 - Why real estate is a cheat code for wealth

12:42 - Buying 20 rental cabins with zero money down

17:00 - Co-living strategy explained

25:36 - Why $200/month rentals trap investors

31:34 - Affordable housing and why the government fails

42:11- Raising capital with your back against the wall

48:17 - Balancing wealth building with family time

This content is for informational purposes only, is not offered as investment advice and should not be deemed as investment advice, and reflects the opinions and projections of COMMUNE as of the date of publication, which are subject to change without notice at any time subsequent to the date of issue. COMMUNE does not represent or warrant that the information presented in this message is accurate, current, or complete or that the estimates, opinions, projections or assumptions made in the message will prove to be accurate or realized.

This content does not constitute an offer to invest. As with any investment there is a risk of loss, including up to the amount of investment.

Certain statements reflect projections or expectations of future financial or economic performance of the project.  Such “forward-looking” statements are based on various assumptions, which assumptions may not prove to be correct.  Accordingly, there can be no assurance that such assumptions and statements will accurately predict future events or the project’s actual performance. Past performance is not an indication of future results.

Neither this message nor its contents should be construed as legal, tax, investment, or other advice.  Individuals are urged to consult with their own tax, legal, and investment advisers before making any investment decision.

Certain information contained herein may be derived from third party sources and has not been independently verified. COMMUNE has not and will not independently verify this information. Where such sources include opinions and projections, such opinions and projections should be ascribed only to the applicable third party source and not to COMMUNE.

If all your income stopped tomorrow, how long would you last?

Many people can't answer that question and  that's part of the problem.

In this episode, Mikey and Michael discuss why society often prioritizes income titles, salaries, and promotions, while ownership remains an underexplored strategy for building long-term financial security..

They explore the difference between being rich and being wealthy, why income tends to be linear while ownership has the potential to compound over time, and ways to begin building an ownership position without leaving your job. Michael also shares his personal journey of transitioning from a six-figure banking career to starting from scratch, and the lessons he learned along the way.

If you're earning good money but still feel stuck, this episode offers a fresh perspective.

TIMESTAMPS

• 0:00 If all your income stopped tomorrow, how long do you have?

• 1:08 The difference between being rich and being wealthy

• 2:53 "What do you want to be when you grow up?" How the programming starts

• 4:32 Michael's story: conditioned to “follow the rules” until his wife said “quit”

• 7:51 The achievement loop: grades, titles, promotions, repeat - this this cycle might not lead to long-term wealth

• 11:12 Dopamine and income: why earning feels good but doesn’t compound over time. 

• 14:59 How ownership changes the math: working the same hours, unlimited potential upside

• 17:03 C suite salary vs. equity owner: same stress, vastly different outcome

• 22:10 Michael’s story of walking away from banking at 31 and making $0 for 18 months

• 31:34 How W2 employees can start building ownership today, without quitting their job

This content is for informational purposes only, is not offered as investment advice and should not be deemed as investment advice, and reflects the opinions and projections of COMMUNE as of the date of publication, which are subject to change without notice at any time subsequent to the date of issue. COMMUNE does not represent or warrant that the information presented in this message is accurate, current, or complete or that the estimates, opinions, projections or assumptions made in the message will prove to be accurate or realized.

This content does not constitute an offer to invest. As with any investment there is a risk of loss, including up to the amount of investment.

Certain statements reflect projections or expectations of future financial or economic performance of the project.  Such “forward-looking” statements are based on various assumptions, which assumptions may not prove to be correct.  Accordingly, there can be no assurance that such assumptions and statements will accurately predict future events or the project’s actual performance. Past performance is not an indication of future results.

Neither this message nor its contents should be construed as legal, tax, investment, or other advice.  Individuals are urged to consult with their own tax, legal, and investment advisers before making any investment decision.

In today's market, access to capital has become more restricted, with banks lending less than in previous years. The real estate market may feel stagnant, and stock prices appear high relative to historical norms.

However, periods of market uncertainty can often create opportunities for those who are well-positioned to act strategically.

In this episode, we examine six investment strategies that some investors are exploring in the current environment along with two strategies that we, as long-term investors, are considering.

Here’s what we cover:

• The rise of service businesses (HVAC, plumbing, electrical) as resilient industries in uncertain times

• The role of private credit in offering potential returns for qualified investors

• A shift toward fundamental investing strategies in public markets

• Real estate opportunities in times of market correction

• The potential for alternative real estate models like boutique hotels

• Understanding government incentives in housing markets

We also break down:

• Active vs passive investing

• PE rollups and what it could mean for consumers

• Evaluating risk tolerance vs risk capacity

If you’ve felt “reluctantly optimistic” about this market… this episode is for you.

The right move at the wrong time is the wrong move.

This content is for informational purposes only, is not offered as investment advice and should not be deemed as investment advice, and reflects the opinions and projections of COMMUNE as of the date of publication, which are subject to change without notice at any time subsequent to the date of issue. COMMUNE does not represent or warrant that the information presented in this message is accurate, current, or complete or that the estimates, opinions, projections or assumptions made in the message will prove to be accurate or realized.

This content does not constitute an offer to invest. As with any investment there is a risk of loss, including up to the amount of investment.

Certain statements reflect projections or expectations of future financial or economic performance of the project.  Such “forward-looking” statements are based on various assumptions, which assumptions may not prove to be correct.  Accordingly, there can be no assurance that such assumptions and statements will accurately predict future events or the project’s actual performance. Past performance is not an indication of future results.

Neither this message nor its contents should be construed as legal, tax, investment, or other advice.  Individuals are urged to consult with their own tax, legal, and investment advisers before making any investment decision.

Investing can feel complicated for a reason. In this episode, a former financial advisor breaks down how "big words" and Wall Street jargon may cause confusion, leading to decisions that aren't fully understood. We discuss common concepts like options trading, using a simple analogy to real estate contracts, and why complexity in investing may lead to middlemen who benefit from your uncertainty. We'll also explore the value of a good advisor and how they can help you avoid emotionally driven decisions during market fluctuations.

This episode is not a recommendation, but rather an exploration of common practices in the investment world. It's important to do your own research and consult with a professional before making any decisions about investing.

Chapters 

0:00 - Why is investing so confusing?

0:48 - The options trap: Why many investors might want to avoid it

2:10 - A simple analogy to understand options trading

7:26 - Control vs. speculation: What’s the real difference?

8:04 - Who benefits when investing feels complicated?

9:18 - The Covid story: taxes, fear, and panic selling

15:40 - Understanding asset types: stocks, bonds, and index funds

20:05 - Wall Street jargon translated into simple terms

27:29 - What actually matters in investing: Allocation and liquidity

32:21 - Finding a good advisor: What questions to ask