Think Multifamily Podcast

*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id= "request-WEB:9a31f98f-7fbc-47e6-a739-519edb95fc78-49" data-testid= "conversation-turn-32" data-scroll-anchor="true" data-turn= "assistant">

Your investors are already in your phone. The only thing stopping you from reaching them is the story you're telling yourself about why you shouldn't.

In the final segment of the investor list series, Eric Mattingly shares the exact process he used to raise $15 million starting from zero, and Keely Hubbard delivers the mindset reframe that makes non-salespeople into effective capital raisers.

In this episode you will learn:

• The phone list exercise: how Eric went from 1,875 contacts to 350 qualified prospects — and raised $15M from a quarter of them

• The A, B, C sorting system — how to prioritize by financial capability and relationship depth before you make a single call

• The text message template that generates investor interest without pitching — and why response rate is all that matters

• The head trash reframe: why not sharing this investment with your network is doing them a disservice, not protecting them

• Detaching from the outcome — why 80% of capital raising success happens between your ears and what you can actually control

• The six places to find new investors — and why you have to block them in your calendar or they will never happen

This is Part 3 of a three-part series. Listen to Episodes 137 and 138 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

*]:pointer-events-auto scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id= "request-WEB:9a31f98f-7fbc-47e6-a739-519edb95fc78-50" data-testid= "conversation-turn-34" data-scroll-anchor="true" data-turn= "assistant">

How many investors do you actually need to raise $10 million? What happens when you ask an investor for the wrong amount? And where are the high-net-worth individuals who aren't already getting pitched by 50 other syndicators?

In Part 2 of the investor list series, Keely Hubbard and Eric Mattingly break down the investor math most syndicators skip — and the strategies that put you in front of the right people.

In this episode you will learn:

• The investor math: one relationship is worth $100K–$300K per year in capital — and what that means for how many investors you actually need

• How to use the referral multiplier — and how opening 35 new investors on one deal compounds over time

• How to create real urgency and exclusivity — why 3,000–5,000 people competing for 100 spots is an accurate description, not a tactic

• Investment sizing: the 5–10% net worth rule — why getting this wrong in either direction costs you the investor

• The $800K example: why turning down oversized capital builds more trust than taking it

• The Trojan horse strategy — how to get in front of high-net-worth investors by leading with your expertise, not real estate

This is Part 2 of a three-part series. Listen to Episode 137 first, then continue with Episode 139.

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

There's no easy button for finding accredited investors. The syndicators who think there is are burning through marketing budgets chasing lists that will never convert.

In Part 1 of this three-part series, executive sales coach Keely Hubbard and DMI Holdings founder Eric Mattingly share the only approach that actually works: organic lead generation, niching down, and knowing where high-net-worth individuals are already ready to have a conversation.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why buying accredited investor lists fails — and what six figures in marketing taught Eric's firm about the limits of paid acquisition

• How Think Multifamily funds $8M deals in two weeks — and why you can't replicate it without years of relationship foundation

• Why niching down beats broadcasting — the optometrist example that shows how a specific message reaches the right people every time

• How to identify your niche, their pain points, and why your target audience has to have actual investable capital

• The bar strategy: where wealthy people gather on weeknights — and Eric's technique for working through a room without a table

• Why four to five quality conversations per month is a more sustainable and effective target than chasing thousands of leads

This is Part 1 of a three-part series. Continue with Episodes 138 and 139.

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

If you're still underwriting deals the same way you were 12 months ago, you're leaving yourself exposed. The market has changed — and so has Think Multifamily's approach to financing, underwriting, and deal selection.

In Part 2 of the Becoming a Multifamily Sponsor series, Mark Kenney tells Tyler Lyons what the KPIs for a new sponsor actually look like, how to build real broker credibility fast, and what's changed inside his firm in response to the rate environment.

In this episode you will learn:

• The KPIs for new sponsors: market selection, underwriting practice, and what 100 deals actually means as a target

• Why you should tour a property instead of asking a broker to coffee — and the Arizona deal story that shows why introductions matter more than cold calls

• How to build credibility fast with brokers: domain email, one-page website, third-party data — and what signals you haven't done your homework

• The rate cap story: $24K increase four minutes before the Fed meeting, then another $120K — and why you will never win against a lender

• Why deal flow is actually easier to build right now — and why sitting on the sidelines as a syndicator is a mistake

• How Think Multifamily has changed its underwriting: higher cap rate escalators, lower refi leverage, rate caps even when not required, and a fresh look at recourse bank loans

This is Part 2 of a two-part series. Listen to Episode 135 first.

Reach Mark at [email protected] or visit https://thinkmultifamily.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

Most people who want to become a multifamily sponsor think the barrier is knowledge. It isn't.

In Part 1 of this two-part series, Mark Kenney tells Tyler Lyons of the Cash Flow Connections Real Estate Podcast what actually separates investors who break through from those who don't — and what the common mistakes look like before you ever close your first deal.

In this episode you will learn:

• The six roles on a multifamily deal — and how to figure out which one you're actually suited for

• Why investing passively in a deal teaches you 1% of what you need to know as a GP — and what you should do instead

• The one factor the annual FSG survey consistently identifies as the biggest predictor of success (it's not knowledge or market timing)

• The mental characteristics that predict who makes it and who burns out — and why money-only motivation tends to end badly

• The doing-too-much-too-fast failure mode: too many deals, raises that are too large, and the asset management vs. acquisitions trap

• Why people almost universally overvalue their contribution to a partnership — and how to structure equity before it becomes a problem

This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Continue with Episode 136.

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

This is the final installment of the 125 Tips series — and it's where Mark Kenney gets the most candid, including a live Q&A where the real questions finally get real answers.

Financing requirements, loan doc red flags, why private equity is a last resort, actual deal performance across 100+ deals, and whether you should still be buying right now.

In this episode you will learn:

• The lender requirements most investors underestimate — net worth, liquidity, and the lender red flags that can kill deals quietly

• What passive investors must read in loan docs before they write a check — and the worst-case scenario they need to understand

• Why private equity is Mark's last resort — and why he hasn't done a single PE deal without a re-trade, including one on the day of closing

• How Think Multifamily's deals have actually performed — the honest answer on IRR, total returns, and the one deal that went badly

• Whether you should still be buying in today's market — and the rate cap strategy that makes it defensible

• The three skills Mark says determine success in multifamily — his closing answer

This is Part 3 of a three-part series. Listen to Episodes 132 and 133 first.

Email Mark at [email protected] or visit https://thinkmultifamily.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

One property tax adjustment turned a 22% IRR into a negative 10%. That's what happens when you don't do your homework before you submit an offer.

In Part 2 of the 125 Tips series, Mark Kenney covers market selection, deal analysis, drive-by strategy, LOI submission, contracts, and due diligence — with the real errors and real examples that expose where investors get burned.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why city investment in a submarket matters less than developer investment — and the market characteristics Mark avoids entirely

• The $50M deal red flag: what happens when someone submits with no PM budget, no insurance, no equity, and three other deals open

• How one property tax adjustment flipped a positive 22% IRR to a negative 10% — without changing anything else

• Cap rates demystified: sub-market vs. in-place T12 vs. adjusted — and which one you're actually buying at

• The cash vs. accrual accounting distinction that can shift property value by millions — and why sellers use one and buyers assume the other

• Drive-by strategy, LOI submission rules, re-trade guidelines, and why Mark's team drilled the locks on 36 units during due diligence

This is Part 2 of a three-part series. Listen to Episode 132 first, then continue with Episode 134.

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

There are things you only learn after 100-plus multifamily transactions. In Part 1 of this three-part series, Mark Kenney delivers the opening section of his live 125-tip presentation — and gets right into the lessons most people learn the hard way.

Market stats, team-building mistakes, and the distressed property story that ended with a million dollars in vandalism damage.

In this episode you will learn:

• What national market data actually says about multifamily right now — and why the "did you miss the train" narrative doesn't hold up

• The rent-to-value multiplier: why a $125 rent increase equals $30,000 in per-unit value at a five cap

• Why defining your criteria before talking to brokers saves everyone's time — and the realistic capital raising reality most new syndicators underestimate

• The million-dollar vandalism story: what happened after Mark bought a deeply distressed property and why he no longer buys at 0% occupancy

• Why Mark wants one neck to choke on CapEx — and what goes wrong when you split work between a GC and in-house property management

• Insurance and mortgage brokers: why shopping multiple simultaneously is a mistake — and how to tell real equity groups from debt providers

This is Part 1 of a three-part series. Continue with Episodes 133 and 134.

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

Four questions that almost every investor eventually asks — but rarely gets answered honestly.

In this Ask Mark Anything episode, Mark Kenney covers what actually happens on asset management calls, what he and Tamiel learned the hard way about dividing responsibilities, how to start telling your network what you're doing, and how to get teenagers interested in real estate without pushing them away.

In this episode you will learn:

• What should happen on every asset management call — the specific checklist items, frequency, and why "how are things going" is never enough

• How Mark and Tamiel divided roles as a husband-wife team — and what Mark undervalued in the early years that he now admits was critical to the business

• How to tell friends and family what you're doing without it being weird or feeling like a pitch — the newsletter approach and the social media strategy

• Why your CPA or closest friends may think you're crazy — and why surrounding yourself with action-takers matters more than getting their approval

• How to get teenagers interested in real estate without forcing it — and why matching tasks to their natural strengths beats replicating your exact path

• The one structural piece that made the Mark and Tamiel partnership actually work: decision authority in separate domains

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

What happens when your partner stops pulling their weight? Are you doing something wrong if deals keep not penciling? What do you actually risk as a KP? And if you can't close, can you lose your entire earnest money deposit?

In this Ask Mark Anything episode, Mark Kenney gives direct, experience-based answers to four of the highest-stakes questions in multifamily investing.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why almost every partnership has one person doing more work than the other — and what your documents must allow upfront to take action

• Why removing a partner who is also a KP requires lender approval — and what that means for your options

• Why analyzing 128 deals and submitting 4 offers is probably the real problem — not the market

• What being a KP actually requires: net worth, liquidity, experience, and the difference between recourse and non-recourse risk

• What a lender can demand when you miss your debt coverage ratio — and why lender relationships change what actually happens

• Why earnest money is almost always lost if you can't close — and the mistake of sending it directly to a seller's personal account

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