The Builder Nation Podcast

In this episode of The Builder Nation Podcast, Brian sits down with Eric Nelson — a multifamily investor and operator managing more than 1,000 units across multiple markets… while living in Spain with his family.

Most investors struggle to manage a single rental. Eric built a system-driven organization, hired strategically, and created a remote command center that lets him run a nationwide portfolio without sacrificing family, lifestyle, or travel.

We break down:

• How he manages 1,000 units from overseas
• The hire that changed everything
• The bottlenecks that kill most operators early
• The truth about underwriting, asset management, and scaling
• How to build a team that lets you buy back your time
• Why generosity and communication drive long-term success
• Moving to Spain with kids — and running a real estate empire abroad

Whether you’re an aspiring operator, an active investor, or someone who wants to build a life by design (not by default), this episode gives you the blueprint.

Want to invest in real estate development or need a team to manage your project?
Visit: TheBuildernation.com/partner

Connect with Eric:
• Deals: https://wildoakcapital.com
• Coaching: https://ericnelsoncoaching.com

New episodes every week.
Welcome to Builder Nation.

California is full of high-income earners sitting on a ton of home equity… and most of them have no idea how to turn it into real, lasting wealth.

Today I’m sitting down with Michael Chiodo — “The Real Estate MC” — a top-producing mortgage strategist and investor who’s closed over $600M in loans, built a highly leveraged lending business, and uses ADUs, short-term rentals, and tax strategies to turn W-2 and commission income into freedom.

We get into exactly how lending really works for 1–4 unit properties with ADUs, why going over 4 units changes the entire financing game, and how to use seconds, HELOCs, and short-term rental loopholes to supercharge your wealth without blowing up your lifestyle.

Michael also breaks down:

• How he built his lending empire by shadowing a mentor at 5:30 AM
• Why he walked away from a construction company, content studio, and other “shiny” businesses
• How he trained a long-term assistant and built SOPs so his business runs clean without him micromanaging

If you’re a high-income earner, operator, or aspiring developer who wants to actually use lending and ADUs as a tax-advantaged wealth engine, this episode is going to click.

📣 Call-To-Action Block (End of Description)

Connect with Michael “The Real Estate MC” Chiodo
Instagram: @therealestatemc
Website: therealestatemc.com (or whatever the exact URL is – drop it here)
👉 DM him for lending strategy, ADU financing options, and roadmap conversations.

Connect with Brian / Builder Nation
Instagram: @thebuilderbrian
Invest with Us or Have us Build Your ADU: thebuildernation.com/partner

California needs 3.5 million more homes — and the biggest opportunity isn’t in skyscrapers, megaprojects, or SB10 towers.
It’s in middle housing and microdevelopment… the small, repeatable infill projects that will redefine our neighborhoods for the next 20 years.

In today’s episode, I sit down with Jared Jones, co-founder of Middle Housing Partners, and one of the clearest thinkers in California’s housing revolution. Jared took the leap from flipping houses to building a fully integrated development operation delivering hundreds of ADUs and middle-housing units — and he believes we are entering the most transformative wealth cycle in the history of California real estate.

We talk about why small developers have an advantage over institutional builders, how middle housing creates equity faster than any traditional multifamily strategy, and what it actually takes to scale production without losing your mind. Jared also breaks down the economics behind their 749 sq ft 3-bed/2-bath ADU — a product most people think is insane… until they see the math.

If you’re interested in ADUs, microdevelopment, or building generational wealth through real estate, this is a mandatory listen.

🔍

In This Episode, We Cover:

The Housing Crisis

• Why California is 3.5M units short
• The opportunity for small developers to reshape neighborhoods
• Why “single-family zoning is dead” and no one’s prepared

The Microdevelopment Advantage

• How small developers can create the same equity as apartments in 12 months
• Why big builders won’t touch middle housing (“Lennar is NOT my competition”)
• How repeatable 2–5 unit infill can outperform 200-unit complexes

Designing ADUs That Actually Cash Flow

• Why you should NEVER take rental or product advice from architects or designers who don’t build
• How Middle Housing Partners engineered their 749 sq ft 3-bed/2-bath ADU
• Avoiding impact fees by staying under 750 sq ft
• Delivering a $150K build cost unit that’s worth $375K–$425K
• Creating “missing middle” family housing with real yards and real livability

Scaling Through Vertical Integration

• Why their team “fucks up all the time” — and why that’s normal
• The identity shift from “we get lucky” → “we’re damn good at this”

Connect with Jared Jones
Instagram: @middlehousingpartners
Middle Housing Partners: https://middlehousingpartners.com

What if your single-family house was actually a Swiss Army knife of income streams?

In this episode, I sit down with Alvin Uy — a Los Angeles–based entrepreneur, product developer, and first-generation immigrant who built a $60M real estate portfolio and became a self-made decamillionaire. Before real estate, Alvin was a product guy: he co-created Soapbox, a children’s bath product that landed him on Shark Tank, where he and his partner famously walked away from a $1M buyout offer.

Alvin breaks down how his product-development brain completely changed the way he looks at real estate: not as “units,” but as products that solve real problems. We get into SB9 in Los Angeles, why he stopped chasing unit count and started chasing bedroom count, and how he’s using co-living, student housing, and assisted living to squeeze massive value out of regular single-family lots. He also shares his GRIT framework (Growth, Resources, Influence, Time) and why buy & hold in California has been his true “cheat code.”

If you’re in a high-cost market and think “nothing cash flows,” this one will completely reframe how you look at deals.

• Alvin’s Shark Tank story and why he turned down a $1M buyout
• How Soapbox went from a Kickstarter idea to Nordstrom orders and Disney licensing
• The biggest lesson from product development: start with the end user and the exit, not the feature
• Why he stopped chasing unit counts and started chasing bedroom counts
• How he’s using SB9 in Los Angeles to turn a single-family lot into 5 units (triplex + 2 ADUs)
• The wild appraisal gap: why adding one 2-bed ADU turned a 4-unit into a 5-unit worth ~$700K more
• Student housing & co-living: rent-by-the-room as an answer to affordability and cash flow
• The basics of assisted living as a non-medical, high-margin business stacked on top of real estate
• Alvin’s Swiss Army House model – designing one structure that can work as:
  • co-living / rent-by-the-room
  • student housing
  • short-term or mid-term rental
  • assisted living / transitional housing / sober living
• Why appreciation in California has been his “hockey stick,” and how he structures deals to never sell
• The GRIT system: Growth, Resources, Influence, Time — and why he chases these instead of “money”
• How a college dropout used Rich Dad Poor Dad and 20+ years of iteration to build a $60M portfolio

📸 Instagram: @alvinized

📸 Instagram: @thebuilderbrian
🎧 The Builder Nation Podcast
🌐 Learn more about ADUs, Investing Options, and Development: thebuildernation.com/partner

What if you didn’t have to fully replace your W-2 income before quitting your job?

In this episode, I sit down with Miller McSwain — a former nuclear rocket scientist who walked away from a six-figure W-2 after realizing that just 7 properties and 51 rooms could create enough momentum to leave his job and build a co-living empire in Colorado Springs.

Miller breaks down how he engineered his co-living model to produce over $10,000/month in cashflow, why he was willing to let his income temporarily drop to almost zero, and how he used partners, VAs, and automation to do it without burning out. We also dive into his BiggerPockets book, Co-Living Cash Flow, and how he’s now building software (Co-Living Pro) to solve the exact problems he faced scaling his own portfolio.

If you’ve ever wondered how to:

• Quit your job before fully replacing your income
• Manage dozens of tenants without hating your life
• Use co-living to turn “meh” deals into cashflow machines
  — this episode is going to hit hard.

• How Miller went from rocket scientist to co-living operator
• Why he quit his six-figure W-2 before fully replacing his income
• How 7 properties / 51 rooms now generate over $10K/month in cashflow
• The exact filters he uses to find great co-living properties (square footage, parking, location, tenant demographic)
• Turning 3-bed houses into 8-bedroom co-living monsters
• The garage conversion unlock: turning break-even deals into $16K+/year positive cashflow
• How he self-manages 51 rooms using cleaners, handymen, cameras, and systems
• Hiring VAs the right way (what he did wrong the first time and how he fixed it)
• Why you should define the role and build the SOPs before you hire
• How Miller uses Zapier, Gmail filters, and simple automations to eliminate constant tenant messaging
• Boundaries: batching notifications, shutting it down when his wife gets home, and avoiding burnout
• Why networking (not spreadsheets) was the #1 habit that changed his life, landed him internships, deals, and his BiggerPockets book

📖 Grab his book, Co-Living Cash Flow: co-living book.com
📸 Follow Miller on Instagram: @millermcswain

📸 Instagram: @thebuilderbrian
🎧 The Builder Nation Podcast
🌐 Learn more about ADUs, development, and Builder Nation: hkdevelopmentgroup.com

Welcome - to The Builder Nation Podcast

In this first episode, Brian Koons shares the story behind the show, the mission driving Builder Nation, and how high-performers use mindset, systems, and leverage to build intentional lives with the same 24 hours we all get.

If you’ve ever considered investing in real estate development, building ADUs, or you need a trusted team to manage your project, reach out at

Subscribe and let’s keep building together.