In this episode of The Heartland Multifamily Show, Trot Carey and I explore a question I think more investors should be asking: as the world becomes increasingly digital, will owning physical assets become more valuable?

We discuss why I believe multifamily real estate offers something that goes beyond financial returns. An apartment community is something you can see, understand, and connect with. It provides housing, supports local jobs, and creates an economic impact that investors can experience firsthand.

We also get into why some investors are moving toward tangible assets, how passive multifamily investing works, and what role AI might play in the future of apartment ownership and property management.

We wrap up with a discussion about publicly traded REITs, the difference between owning shares and having a direct connection to real estate, and why I believe that connection could become increasingly important in the years ahead.

If you're considering multifamily investing or exploring the differences between physical and digital assets, this conversation offers another perspective on what makes an investment valuable.

Timestamp

00:00 Physical vs. Digital Assets: Why Invest in Multifamily Real Estate?

01:35 Why Is Every Investment a Bet on the Future?

03:38 Why Does Darin Prefer Physical Assets to Digital Investments?

04:23 Why Do Some Younger Investors Prefer Multifamily Real Estate?

05:34 Will AI Make Physical Assets More Valuable?

08:20 Why Are Investors Asking About Fourplexes and Small Apartment Buildings?

09:08 How Do Apartment Communities Support Jobs and Housing?

11:43 What Is the Personal Return on Multifamily Investing?

13:17 Why Do Passive Investors Tour Their Apartment Properties?

16:19 How Do You Choose Investments You Understand?

17:10 What Keeps New Investors Out of Multifamily Real Estate?

18:10 Do You Need Property Management Experience to Invest Passively?

19:04 What Will Multifamily Investing Look Like in Five Years?

19:41 Will AI Change Apartment Property Management?

20:33 Why Is Demand for Multifamily Investing Growing?

21:24 Are Financial Advisors and Family Offices Looking at Multifamily?

22:23 What Is a Publicly Traded REIT?

23:32 How Does REIT Investing Compare With Direct Property Ownership?

24:14 Should Investors Own More Physical Assets in the Future?

On this episode of The Heartland Multifamily Show, my special guest is DJ Van Keuren, an expert in family offices and real estate investing. We discuss how wealthy families protect and invest their capital, why trust matters more than the deal itself, and what family offices look for when evaluating real estate opportunities. DJ also explains why today’s multifamily market could present one of the biggest buying opportunities in years, with trillions of dollars in debt coming due and some properties trading at significant discounts. We break down the mistakes investors made with leverage, why cash flow still matters more than appreciation, and why the next 18 to 24 months could create major opportunities for disciplined multifamily investors.

In this episode of The Heartland Multifamily Show, I sat down with Gary Agajanian, Isaiah Garman, Trot Carey, for a conversation about one of the challenges every growing business eventually faces: balancing experience with a new perspective.

Years of experience teach you how to recognize patterns, avoid mistakes, and understand everything that has to happen behind the scenes to turn an idea into reality. But experience can also make it easy to rely on what has worked before, even when the market, technology, customers, and the way people communicate are changing.

We get into where younger professionals can bring real value, why experienced business owners still need to adapt, how different generations approach marketing and client relationships, and why the best answer is rarely choosing one side over the other.

We also talk about mentorship, earning trust, hiring for character and work ethic, bringing new ideas into an established business, and building a company that continues to grow beyond the person who started it.

If you are building a business, investing in multifamily, mentoring the next generation, or learning from someone with more experience than you, this episode is about how both generations can bring something valuable to the table.

00:00 Who Knows More in Business: Experience or a Younger Perspective?

03:55 How Did Gary Agajanian Build His Business Career?

05:23 What Can Starting a Business at 16 Teach You?

09:06 How Can a Career Pivot Create New Business Opportunities?

09:43 How Did Wine Grape Brokering Become a Bigger Business?

10:51 Can Business Setbacks Lead to Bigger Opportunities?

13:21 How Much Does Experience Matter in Business?

14:36 What Do Experienced Business Owners Miss?

17:32 Can Leaders Lose Touch With Frontline Work?

20:06 How Has Technology Changed Manual Labor and Farming?

24:10 Why Do Multifamily Real Estate Transactions Take Longer Today?

27:18 Can Focusing on Operations Make You Lose Touch With Capital Raising?

28:28 How Do Business Owners Stay Connected to Clients as They Grow?

30:28 Why Do Experienced Business Owners Resist Change?

33:04 Why Is It Hard to Change a Business Model That Already Works?

35:46 Does the Source of Advice Affect How Seriously Leaders Take It?

36:02 Should Younger Employees Challenge Proven Business Systems?

38:04 How Should Experienced Leaders Evaluate New Business Ideas?

39:11 What Frustrates Younger Professionals About Experienced Mentors?

40:48 When Should Younger Teams Challenge a Mentor’s Marketing Idea?

42:55 Can Modernizing Direct Mail Improve Response Rates?

44:25 Can Younger Employees Improve a Marketing Strategy?

45:10 How Can Frontline Employees Spot Market Trends Earlier?

46:10 How Are Younger Investors Changing Multifamily Real Estate?

47:32 How Do You Combine Experience With a Younger Perspective?

47:53 How Should Different Generations Communicate With Clients?

49:08 Why Does Marketing Work Differently Across Generations?

50:38 What Should Business Owners Know About Working With Younger People?

51:28 Why Must Business Owners Keep Adapting to Stay Competitive?

52:16 Why Should Growing Companies Recruit Talent and Capital?

53:35 Should You Hire for Character and Work Ethic Over Skills?

54:21 When Should a Growing Business Bring In Partners?

54:42 How Do You Build a Business That Can Run Without You?

57:20 Why Does Mentorship Matter for Young Professionals?

58:01 How Can Young Employees Earn More Trust and Responsibility?

58:53 Why Do Different Generations Work Better Together?