Think Multifamily Podcast

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Airbnb just launched a program that lets your residents legally host on Airbnb — with your permission, a revenue share back to you, and free marketing from Airbnb. But what does that actually mean for multifamily owners and syndicators?

In this episode, Jesse Stein, Airbnb's Global Head of Real Estate, walks through exactly how the Airbnb-friendly apartments program works — and Mark Kenney asks the ownership-level questions most hosts won't think to ask.

In this episode you will learn:

• How the Airbnb-friendly apartments program works — hosting limits, revenue splits, and what building owners actually receive

• Which landlords have already signed on — and how smaller syndicators can get involved

• How access, cleaning, and on-site operations actually work in practice

• What residents are earning on average — and the built-in income calculator that's driving leasing velocity

• The lending and loan doc questions every owner needs to answer before opting in

• How Airbnb's AirCover works for hosts and building partners — and what's still an open question

This is a program that didn't exist 12 months ago and is already live in 40+ markets. Worth understanding before your competition does.

Join us at our next event at https://thinkmultifamily.com/event

Subscribe to the Think Multifamily Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Read the full podcast shownotes, timestamps, resources, and key insights from this episode here: Podcast Show Notes

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Is multifamily in trouble — or is everyone asking the wrong question?

In this solo episode, Mark Kenney cuts through the noise, identifies what's actually driving the pain in today's market, and makes the case for why multifamily still wins as a long-term investment — even now.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why variable-rate debt — not multifamily as an asset class — is the real culprit behind today's problems

• The $50M prepayment penalty calculation that reframes the fixed vs. variable rate debate

• Why non-recourse debt changes the risk profile of multifamily in ways single family simply can't match

• How loan assumptions are driving deals right now — and why this advantage doesn't exist in single family

• The cap rate multiplier that makes every NOI dollar worth roughly $15 in multifamily value — and why that math doesn't exist for residential investors

• How to stop second-guessing past decisions and use what the market has taught you to invest better going forward

This is the honest, numbers-driven perspective on multifamily that you won't get from the headlines.

Join us at our next event at https://thinkmultifamily.com/event

Subscribe to the Think Multifamily Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Read the full podcast shownotes, timestamps, resources, and key insights from this episode here: Podcast Show Notes

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If someone is asking you to put more money into a multifamily deal, do you know what you're actually being asked to do? And do you know what happens if you say no?

In this solo episode, Mark Kenney walks through every option available to a struggling syndication — member loans, capital calls, recapitalization, new offerings, and outright sale — and what each one actually means for GPs and LPs.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why the GP team should always contribute first before going to limited partners — and what that typically looks like

• How member loans work, who has priority in repayment, and the risk most people don't say out loud

• The key difference between a member loan and a capital call — and what non-participation in a capital call can actually cost you

• How penalty interest rates and equity dilution work when operating agreements enforce participation

• Why recapitalization almost always ends up unfavorable for existing investors — even when the terms look reasonable on paper

• When Mark would choose an outright sale over a capital call — and why breaking even is sometimes the best decision available

This is a topic most sponsors won't walk you through this clearly. Essential listening for any LP or GP navigating today's market.

Join us at our next event at https://thinkmultifamily.com/event

Subscribe to the Think Multifamily Podcast on Apple Podcasts ans Spotify.

Read the full podcast shownotes, timestamps, resources, and key insights from this episode here: Podcast Show Notes

Most multifamily content focuses on how to find deals. This episode focuses on what to know before you invest in one.

Tamiel Kenney — 28-year investing partner to Mark and a GP on over 120 deals — takes the mic solo to cover the fundamentals that newer investors get wrong and the structural advantages of multifamily that experienced investors keep coming back for.

In this episode you will learn:

• How Tamiel and Mark have paid zero federal income taxes since 2016 — and why non-recourse debt changes the risk equation for multifamily investors

• Cap rates explained clearly — what they are, how they determine property value, and why the NOI multiplier effect is multifamily's biggest advantage

• The four most common and costly mistakes Tamiel sees new investors make — including the one that quietly costs hundreds of thousands of dollars

• Why getting only one property management budget is a mistake — especially in a new market

• Why being undercapitalized is the mistake that damages deals most — and why you can't rely on lender reimbursement timing to save you

• Recommended Think Multifamily episodes for going deeper on deal analysis: Eps. 82, 144, and 145

A grounded, experience-first episode for anyone who is new to multifamily or wants to sharpen the fundamentals.

Join us at our next event at https://thinkmultifamily.com/event

Subscribe to the Think Multifamily Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Read the full podcast shownotes, timestamps, resources, and key insights from this episode here: Podcast Show Notes

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The offering memorandum is a marketing document. Some of the numbers in it are wrong — and a few of them are deliberately wrong.

In Part 2 of the Live Deal Analysis Workshop, Mark Kenney works through the questions most investors don't know to ask: how to read occupancy without trusting it, what "free and clear" actually means, and why a single property tax line item can quietly cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why sellers certify the rent roll at closing — and what you can actually do when occupied units turn out to be vacant

• Why 95% occupancy is a signal to raise rents — not a ceiling — and the Fannie/Freddie 90/90 rule for agency financing

• How to evaluate CapEx per door based on where money was spent — not just how much

• What "free and clear" means in a listing, and how bogus mechanic's liens work and how to bond around them

• Why the pro forma property tax figure is almost always wrong — and the $280,000 real-world example that illustrates why it matters

• How the cap rate multiplier turns a small property tax error into a massive valuation mistake

This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to Episode 144 first if you haven't already.

Join us at our next event at https://thinkmultifamily.com/event

Subscribe to the Think Multifamily Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Read the full podcast shownotes, timestamps, resources, and key insights from this episode here: Podcast Show Notes

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What does 30 years and 119 deals actually teach you about analyzing multifamily investments? In Part 1 of the Live Deal Analysis Workshop, Mark Kenney puts you in the room.

This is a raw, unfiltered recording from a Think Multifamily live event — deal criteria, property classes, building red flags, and why the offering memorandum is a marketing document you should never fully trust.

In this episode you will learn:

• How to define your deal criteria before you approach a broker — and why getting this wrong wastes everyone's time

• What property class A, B, C, D actually means beyond the letter — and the building characteristics that change your risk profile

• The chiller story: what happens when your HVAC goes out in July across 208 units and you can't get the part for three weeks

• Non-recourse vs. recourse debt explained — and what the Houston foreclosure story actually tells us about bad boy carve-outs

• Why offering memorandums are marketing brochures — not legal documents — and the aluminum wiring example that proves it

• What to actually look for in an OM and how to use it without relying on it

This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Continue with Episode 145 for occupancy, CapEx, property taxes, and more.

Join us at our next event at https://thinkmultifamily.com/event

Subscribe to the Think Multifamily Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Read the full podcast shownotes, timestamps, resources, and key insights from this episode here: Podcast Show Notes

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There are things hiding in your loan documents that your lender will never volunteer. In Part 2 of Multifamily Money Matters, mortgage broker Brandy Shotwell and Mark Kenney get specific.

Loan rebalancing demands, interest reserve replenishment traps, operator-lenders who can take your property — and the market characteristics that quietly kill your financing options before you even apply.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why the term sheet is non-binding and the loan docs always win — and what happens when a lender demands a $3M rebalance

• The interest reserve replenishment clause — how lenders slide it in and why it discourages you from using reserves for their intended purpose

• Balance sheet lenders vs. securitized debt funds — why in-house servicing changes everything when problems arise post-closing

• What lenders don't want to see right now: crime in the submarket, weak cash flow, missing T12s, and concentration risk

• The operator-lender red flag — why working with a lender who is also a property operator is one of the most serious risks in commercial real estate

• Brandy's market outlook and final advice: why staying active now gets you first call when inventory returns

This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to Episode 142 first if you haven't already.

Connect with Brandy Shotwell at https://www.renocm.com

Join us at our next event at https://thinkmultifamily.com/event

Subscribe to the Think Multifamily Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Read the full podcast shownotes, timestamps, resources, and key insights from this episode here: Podcast Show Notes

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Most multifamily investors go directly to a lender they know. Most of them are leaving better terms, more options, and real negotiating leverage on the table.

In Part 1 of Multifamily Money Matters, mortgage broker Brandy Shotwell joins Mark and Tamiel Kenney to break down what's actually happening in commercial real estate lending — and what investors need to know before their next loan.

In this episode you will learn:

• What a commercial mortgage broker actually does — and the two reasons using one consistently gets better outcomes

• The five-unit and $1M loan thresholds that unlock non-recourse financing — and why this matters more than most investors realize

• Nine consecutive Fed rate hikes: what agency and bridge rates look like now vs. a year ago — and why the buyer-seller disconnect is so hard to close

• Loan assumptions in 2023 — why they're surging, what the 2.96% example tells you, and why the process is not simpler than a new loan

• What lenders do after closing that can cost you — draw timelines, immediate repair holdbacks, and the loan doc clauses nobody reads until it's too late

• Why stress test timing is something you can negotiate upfront — and why nine months is almost always too soon

This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Continue with Episode 143 for what lenders don't like, the operator-lender red flag, and market outlook.

Connect with Brandy Shotwell at https://www.renocm.com

Join us at our next event at https://thinkmultifamily.com/event

Subscribe to the Think Multifamily Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Read the full podcast shownotes, timestamps, resources, and key insights from this episode here: Podcast Show Notes

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The multifamily market in 2023 looks nothing like it did 18 months ago — and some of what's happening right now can wipe out an entire deal or hand the keys to someone else without warning.

In this solo episode, Mark Kenney shares his unfiltered market outlook and breaks down the specific forces investors need to understand going into the year.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why Mark doesn't expect another 350–400 basis point rate move — but isn't betting on a rate drop either

• What's actually available on a loan assumption right now — and the common underwriting mistake that makes the math look better than it is

• The insurance story: $600K annual premium at closing, $3.6M at renewal — and what it means for how you underwrite today

• Rescue capital explained: who it favors, what it does to existing GPs and LPs, and the sell-today test Mark uses to evaluate any rescue opportunity

• Loan rebalancing — what triggers it, what lenders demand, and why relationships are your only real protection

• The operator-lender conflict — why this lender type is the riskiest borrower's nightmare and how equity stripping actually works

This is the honest 2023 market read that most podcasts won't give you.

Join us at our next event at https://thinkmultifamily.com/event

Subscribe to the Think Multifamily Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Read the full podcast shownotes, timestamps, resources, and key insights from this episode here: Podcast Show Notes

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One line item change — property taxes — turned a 22% IRR into a negative 10%. That's what happens when investors skip the fundamentals.

In this solo episode, Mark Kenney walks through the core concepts every multifamily investor needs before they underwrite their next deal: cap rates, economic vacancy, income growth assumptions, and the specific red flags that reveal a pro forma built to sell rather than reflect reality.

In this episode you will learn:

• The real deal example: how one property tax adjustment flipped a 22.7% IRR to negative 10% — without changing anything else

• Cap rates explained clearly — the three versions investors need to know and why the in-place cap rate is often misleading

• Economic vacancy broken down — the four components, why they're not created equal, and which one is hardest to fix

• Loss to lease: why it's Mark's favorite vacancy metric — and when it's being used to inflate a deal

• Why 100% unit renovation in year one is almost never realistic — and why you actually don't want it

• The utility bill-back staging red flag: how to spot a pro forma that shows full RUBS income from day one

This is the pre-flight checklist for anyone evaluating a multifamily deal in today's market.

Join us at our next event at https://thinkmultifamily.com/event

Subscribe to the Think Multifamily Podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Read the full podcast shownotes, timestamps, resources, and key insights from this episode here: Podcast Show Notes