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Joe Fairless built Ashcroft Capital into one of the most recognized multifamily syndicators in the country — $2B+ in assets, properties across the Sunbelt, and a vertically integrated management company. But he started with $30K, student loans, and an apartment in New York where one paycheck covered rent and the other covered everything else.

In this episode, Joe gets candid about the deals that didn't work, the market conditions that are keeping multifamily investors in a holding pattern, and the one acquisition strategy most operators are completely ignoring right now: going direct to the lender.

Here's what we cover:

• Why Fort Worth and Orlando are Ashcroft's two highest-conviction markets heading into late 2026
• How Joe acquired a property for less than the outstanding debt — and what it took to get there
• The lender relationship play that gives you first look at off-market distressed deals (even if you don't have your own management company)
• Where the supply/demand shift is — and why Q3 2026 is the number operators keep landing on
• Joe's personal 3.5% math: out of 140 LP deals across 50+ operators, what's actually gone to zero
• The fixed vs. floating rate lesson that still stings
• How Joe defines success — and it has nothing to do with deal count

Joe also shares his three bucket list goals for the year. One involves a fifth grader with a 2040 chess rating. That's all we're saying.

This week's book: The Road Less Traveled by M. Scott Peck

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Elevista Connect is the first AI-powered lead conversion system built for real estate investors.

Heads up: If you find this week's book intriguing and you buy using our link, we receive a small commission that helps support the show. Thank you!

🎧 Subscribe to Real Estate Underground for weekly insights on building wealth through real estate, without sacrificing your sanity.

Additional Resources:

• Clark St Capital -> Passive real estate investments for busy business owners and executives
• Elevista -> AI SaaS for real estate investors
• Clark St Academy on YouTube -> Learn how to invest in real estate

Social Media:

• LinkedIn -> Ed Mathews (President at Clark St and Elevista)

Send a text

In this episode, Ed welcomes Michael Pouliot of Carbon Real Estate Investments, a vertically integrated private equity firm operating workforce housing apartments across the Southeast.

Pouliot explains Carbon’s buy box: 100–300 unit, older vintage (1970s–1990s) properties in strong school districts and stable submarkets, targeting families and raising rents about 20% through substantial CapEx that prioritizes deferred maintenance alongside unit upgrades.

They talk about navigating Sunbelt challenges like insurance and taxes by avoiding high-risk areas, staying conservative in underwriting, and emphasizing strong entry pricing. Pouliot shares a bullish view that the next 12–18 months are a strong buying window as the market works through distress, debt maturities, and oversupply absorption, with more constructive sentiment and capital expected around 2027–2028.

He outlines Carbon’s strategy for 2026: keep buying with fixed-rate, low-leverage debt, hold long-term, and offer investor liquidity via recapitalizations rather than selling assets.

The conversation also covers regional scaling for operational efficiency, selective adoption of AI tools (voice/chat agents, SOP knowledge bases, automation) to augment staff, and Pouliot's perspective on purpose, mentorship, lifestyle trade-offs versus Wall Street, and how he defines success. Pouliot closes by directing viewers to investwithcarbon.com for Carbon’s weekly newsletter and content.

00:00 Cycle Outlook 2027-2028

00:11 Show Intro and Mission

00:52 Welcome and Subscribe

01:42 Meet Carbon Real Estate

02:44 Insurance and Tax Headwinds

05:07 Buy Box and Resident Avatar

07:01 Why Stable Markets Win

08:34 Distress Deals and Assumable Debt

12:29 Oversupply and Absorption Math

14:58 Strategy for 2026

18:41 Vertical Integration and CapEx

20:32 Tech and AI in Property Ops

14:23 AI Ops Automation

23:28 Human Touch Investing

24:31 Real Estate Tech Lag

25:19 Deal Junkie Purpose

26:23 Paranoia Prevents Errors

28:26 Wall Street What Ifs

33:38 Learning Diet Books

35:56 Defining Success Seasons

38:19 Life Outside Real Estate

41:05 Where To Follow Carbon

This week's book: How Countries Go Broke by Ray Dalio

Elevista - Speed as a Service™
Elevista Connect is the first AI-powered lead conversion system built for real estate investors.

Heads up: If you find this week's book intriguing and you buy using our link, we receive a small commission that helps support the show. Thank you!

🎧 Subscribe to Real Estate Underground for weekly insights on building wealth through real estate, without sacrificing your sanity.

Additional Resources:

• Clark St Capital -> Passive real estate investments for busy business owners and executives
• Elevista -> AI SaaS for real estate investors
• Clark St Academy on YouTube -> Learn how to invest in real estate

Social Media:

• LinkedIn -> Ed Mathews (President at Clark St and Elevista)

Send a text

This week, Ed welcomes Hawaii-based real estate developer and educator Fuzzy Jardine to Real Estate Underground.

Fuzzy shares his background growing up in Hawaii, getting into trouble with drugs and alcohol, going to prison, and using that time to educate himself with books like Rich Dad Poor Dad.

After struggling to find work as an ex-con, he took multiple jobs, then invested $26,000 in real estate education after hearing about Fortune Builders, and learned to find deals through strategies like bandit signs and Craigslist ads. He explains how taking action led him from deal-finding to partnering with a local developer and eventually building 100+ affordable homes for local families on a more rural island, typically priced around $300K–$425K.

Fuzzy talks about “The Pono Way,” emphasizing respectful, ethical investing, illustrated by a deal where a distressed homeowner was helped with housing, a car, and additional funds while the investors still profited. He also describes co-founding the Hui Mastermind with Asha Smith, including webinars, bus tours showing the full build process, meetups, and master classes teaching how to get started in real estate and fund deals without traditional bank financing.

In a lightning round, Fuzzy says family is his main purpose, shares advice about being on time and owning mistakes quickly, reflects on saying yes too often and taking responsibility for a project headed toward a loss, and names motivators he follows on YouTube and podcasts.

Check out Fuzzy's book, “Out of Paradise: How to Build Wealth Investing in Real Estate the Pono Way,” and shares where to find him online: fuzzyjardine.com, huimastermind.com, Instagram @hifuzzy, and YouTube “Investing in Hawaii.”

00:00 Take Action Mindset
00:11 Show Intro and Opportunity
00:52 Meet Fuzzy Jardine
01:54 From Prison to Real Estate
05:58 Why Building Homes
08:33 Finding Deals and First Partner
10:03 Working Three Jobs to Learn
12:30 The Pono Way Ethics
15:58 Hui Mastermind Origins
19:15 Lightning Round Purpose
20:28 Mentors and Hard Lessons
23:21 Books and Writing His Own
24:43 Defining Success and Fun
26:40 Where to Find Fuzzy
27:24 Final Thanks and Call to Action

This week's book: Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

Elevista - Speed as a Service™
Elevista Connect is the first AI-powered lead conversion system built for real estate investors.

Heads up: If you find this week's book intriguing and you buy using our link, we receive a small commission that helps support the show. Thank you!

🎧 Subscribe to Real Estate Underground for weekly insights on building wealth through real estate, without sacrificing your sanity.

Additional Resources:

• Clark St Capital -> Passive real estate investments for busy business owners and executives
• Elevista -> AI SaaS for real estate investors
• Clark St Academy on YouTube -> Learn how to invest in real estate

Social Media:

• LinkedIn -> Ed Mathews (President at Clark St and Elevista)

Send a text

Melissa Nash spent $10K on a fully renovated $190K property with a tenant already in place.

Cash flows $200/month.

Sounds boring until you realize: $10K all-in. Someone else is buying her a house. And she never left California.

This week on Real Estate Underground: How a self-described "lazy investor" built a portfolio across five markets while coaching 2,000+ investors to do the same. No flying out to properties. No managing contractors. No second job disguised as passive income.

What you'll learn:

• The questions that separate good property managers from disasters (hint: it's not about their fees)
• Why Melissa went from flips and BRRRs back to turnkey investing—and why she's never looking back
• How to vet teams 2,000 miles away when you can't be on-site
• The $99K property that changed everything (and why fear almost killed the deal)
• Property managers as your best acquisition source—if you ask the right question

Why this conversation matters:

Melissa made every mistake you're worried about making. Trusted the wrong contractors. Lost money on flips. Froze on deals for years. Then figured out a system that works.

If you're analyzing deals but not pulling the trigger—she's been there. If you're wondering how to invest out of state without getting burned—she learned it the hard way so you don't have to.

We talk systems, spreadsheets, and the "snowball payoff" strategy she swears she'll start using someday (she won't—because she loves buying deals too much).

For operators who:

• Want to invest out of state but don't know who to trust
• Are tired of real estate being a second job
• Need a framework for vetting property managers
• Want to hear from someone who's helped 2,000 people actually do this

No hype. No theory. Just 11 years of buying properties she's never seen—and making it work.

Hit subscribe. Leave a comment. Tell us what you're working on.

Real Estate Underground. Where operators talk to operators about what actually works.

Check out Melissa's free community at: hellomelissanash.com

This week's book: The Creature from Jekyll Island: A Second Look at the Federal Reserve by G. Edward Griffin

Elevista - Speed as a Service™
Elevista Connect is the first AI-powered lead conversion system built for real estate investors.

Heads up: If you find this week's book intriguing and you buy using our link, we receive a small commission that helps support the show. Thank you!

🎧 Subscribe to Real Estate Underground for weekly insights on building wealth through real estate, without sacrificing your sanity.

Additional Resources:

• Clark St Capital -> Passive real estate investments for busy business owners and executives
• Elevista -> AI SaaS for real estate investors
• Clark St Academy on YouTube -> Learn how to invest in real estate

Social Media:

• LinkedIn -> Ed Mathews (President at Clark St and Elevista)

Send a text

Mastering Short-Term Rentals with Data-Driven Real Estate Strategies - Featuring Kenny Bedwell from STR Insights

In this insightful episode of the Real Estate Underground podcast, host Ed Mathews welcomes Kenny Bedwell from STR Insights to discuss the intricacies of short-term rental investments.

Kenny shares his journey from a data analyst at Citibank to a successful real estate investor specializing in short-term rentals. He emphasizes the importance of choosing the right markets, investing in amenities, and focusing on the guest experience to succeed in the competitive short-term rental space. Kenny also highlights his strategies for managing properties remotely, leveraging local resources, and the value of balancing work and family life.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to optimize their investments in the short-term rental market.

00:00 Introduction and Podcast Overview
01:19 Guest Introduction: Kenny Bedwell from STR Insights
01:45 Kenny's Background and Real Estate Journey
02:19 The Shift to Short-Term Rentals
02:45 Navigating Regulations and Diversifying Investments
04:00 Understanding the Short-Term Rental Market
09:17 Creating Unique Guest Experiences
15:50 Managing Short-Term Rentals Across Multiple States
20:07 Managing Property Operations
20:57 Human Capital and Property Management
23:35 Personal Drive and Motivation
25:09 Valuable Advice and Lessons Learned
32:41 Defining Success and Personal Growth
34:46 Hobbies and Family Life
37:25 Connecting with Kenny Bedwell

This Week's Book: The Pumpkin Plan: A Simple Strategy to Grow a Remarkable Business in Any Field (Entrepreneurship Simplified) - By Mike Michalowicz

Elevista - Speed as a Service™
Elevista Connect is the first AI-powered lead conversion system built for real estate investors.

Heads up: If you find this week's book intriguing and you buy using our link, we receive a small commission that helps support the show. Thank you!

🎧 Subscribe to Real Estate Underground for weekly insights on building wealth through real estate, without sacrificing your sanity.

Additional Resources:

• Clark St Capital -> Passive real estate investments for busy business owners and executives
• Elevista -> AI SaaS for real estate investors
• Clark St Academy on YouTube -> Learn how to invest in real estate

Social Media:

• LinkedIn -> Ed Mathews (President at Clark St and Elevista)

Send a text

What if you could turn a 10-hour due diligence process into 20 minutes of review?

Alberto Rizzoli, CEO of V7 Labs, reveals how AI workflow automation is eliminating the "purgatory" of real estate paperwork, and why operators who master it now will 10x their competition within a year.

In this episode, you'll discover:

⚡ The "napkin test" for identifying which processes to automate first (hint: weekly tasks taking 1+ hours)

⚡ Why AI fails at big, open-ended requests, and the simple fix that makes it reliable

⚡ How to abstract 1,000 leases without adding headcount as you scale

⚡ A free lease abstraction tool you can test today at scanmylease.com

About Alberto Rizzoli: Computer visionary turned founder, Alberto built V7 Labs into a platform processing hundreds of billions in transactions. His mission? Make work actually matter by eliminating everything that doesn't.

This Week's Book: Do the Work: Overcome Resistance and Get Out of Your Own Way - by Steven Pressfield

Elevista - Speed as a Service™
Elevista Connect is the first AI-powered lead conversion system built for real estate investors.

Heads up: If you find this week's book intriguing and you buy using our link, we receive a small commission that helps support the show. Thank you!

🎧 Subscribe to Real Estate Underground for weekly insights on building wealth through real estate, without sacrificing your sanity.

Additional Resources:

• Clark St Capital -> Passive real estate investments for busy business owners and executives
• Elevista -> AI SaaS for real estate investors
• Clark St Academy on YouTube -> Learn how to invest in real estate

Social Media:

• LinkedIn -> Ed Mathews (President at Clark St and Elevista)

Send a text

Episode Resources:

• Website: www.stf-capital.com
• IG: @Joaomac_stf
• FB: @STF_Capital
• LinkedIn: Joao Macavilca

Elevista - Speed as a Service™
Elevista Connect is the first AI-powered lead conversion system built for real estate investors.

Heads up: If you find this week's book intriguing and you buy using our link, we receive a small commission that helps support the show. Thank you!

🎧 Subscribe to Real Estate Underground for weekly insights on building wealth through real estate, without sacrificing your sanity.

Additional Resources:

• Clark St Capital -> Passive real estate investments for busy business owners and executives
• Elevista -> AI SaaS for real estate investors
• Clark St Academy on YouTube -> Learn how to invest in real estate

Social Media:

• LinkedIn -> Ed Mathews (President at Clark St and Elevista)

Send a text

Episode Resources:

• Website: bigmikefund.com

Elevista - Speed as a Service™
Elevista Connect is the first AI-powered lead conversion system built for real estate investors.

Heads up: If you find this week's book intriguing and you buy using our link, we receive a small commission that helps support the show. Thank you!

🎧 Subscribe to Real Estate Underground for weekly insights on building wealth through real estate, without sacrificing your sanity.

Additional Resources:

• Clark St Capital -> Passive real estate investments for busy business owners and executives
• Elevista -> AI SaaS for real estate investors
• Clark St Academy on YouTube -> Learn how to invest in real estate

Social Media:

• LinkedIn -> Ed Mathews (President at Clark St and Elevista)