Extend & Pretend Is Over: Negotiating Distressed CRE Debt from Strength with Shlomo Chopp

No money. No network. No excuses. How Linda Holtz went from immigrant to multifamily millions.

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2531226/fan_mail/new] Linda Holtz arrived in the U.S. from France at 22 with no network, no real estate experience, and a door-to-door sales job. Today she syndicates 200+ unit multifamily deals across Texas with her husband through Married 2 Real Estate. In this episode of Carson's Corner, Linda shares how a property management job taught her the operations side most investors never learn, how house hacking a Chicago triplex during COVID became her on-ramp to commercial real estate, and why she and her husband moved to Texas to scale into large multifamily syndications and even a ground-up retail development outside Houston. Carson and Linda dig into what really matters in a deal — why "who's doing the deal with us" now drives 70-80% of their decision, how they vet a property's condition beyond the pretty pictures, why over communicating with passive investors beats surprises every time, and what it takes to build a real estate business with your spouse. They also get into where real estate is headed over the next decade: AI, automation, and why relationships and trust will still win. Whether you're a busy professional looking at your first passive deal or an operator scaling into bigger syndications, this conversation is proof you don't need money, a background, or a network to start — just relentless work and the right partners. Connect with Linda: LinkedIn (Linda Holtz), married2realestate.com, Instagram @M2RETX, or her weekly online networking call, Save the Chat. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2531226/support] For business or property evaluations you can reach me at 615-212-5524 Or  Carson@passive.investments [Carson@passive.investments] Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carsonjones/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/carsonjones/] Other Episodes: https://carsonscorner.media/ [https://carsonscorner.media/] https://passive.investments/podcast/ [https://passive.investments/podcast/] Watch all episodes with no commercials on Vimeo here: https://vimeo.com/showcase/12248178 [https://vimeo.com/showcase/12248178] https://rumble.com/c/Carsonscorner [https://rumble.com/c/Carsonscorner] Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. Always consult your attorney, CPA, or financial advisor before making any financial decisions. All investments and property ownership carry risk, including the potential loss of principal.

From Single-Family Doors to Passive Pockets with Paul Shannon - LP, GP & Beyond

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2531226/fan_mail/new] Paul Shannon walked away from corporate America in 2019 and built a 200+ unit portfolio through deep value-add deals. Then he did something most operators never do: he stepped back — right at the peak of the 2021 euphoria, when floating-rate bridge debt and 18% IRR projections were everywhere. That unpopular call saved his investors from the wipeouts that followed, and it shaped the perspective behind his new book, Both Sides of the Table, out now on Amazon. In this episode of Carson's Corner, Paul breaks down how he evaluates deals today as founder of InvestWise Collective — why yield on cost matters more than cap rates in value-add underwriting, how he builds margin of safety with multiple exit options, and why he's hunting distressed opportunities directly through lender workout departments. He also shares the story of pulling his fund out of a 14% debt fund when the sponsor denied access to the loan tape — a masterclass in reading red flags and acting on them. Carson and Paul get into the mindset shift every passive investor needs: going from "syndication consumer" to capital allocator. Why the default answer to any pitch deck should be no, how misaligned fees and IRR-driven waterfalls pushed operators to over-promise, what counterparty risk really means as a fund manager, and how diversification across markets, asset classes, and sponsors builds an all-weather real estate portfolio. Whether you're an LP writing your first check or a GP navigating a foggy market, this conversation is about pricing risk honestly — before it prices you. Connect with Paul: investwisecollective.com, LinkedIn (Paul Shannon), his book Both Sides of the Table on Amazon, or the PassivePockets community. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2531226/support] For business or property evaluations you can reach me at 615-212-5524 Or  Carson@passive.investments [Carson@passive.investments] Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carsonjones/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/carsonjones/] Other Episodes: https://carsonscorner.media/ [https://carsonscorner.media/] https://passive.investments/podcast/ [https://passive.investments/podcast/] Watch all episodes with no commercials on Vimeo here: https://vimeo.com/showcase/12248178 [https://vimeo.com/showcase/12248178] https://rumble.com/c/Carsonscorner [https://rumble.com/c/Carsonscorner] Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. Always consult your attorney, CPA, or financial advisor before making any financial decisions. All investments and property ownership carry risk, including the potential loss of principal.

How Everyday Investors Get Institutional-Grade Mortgage Bonds | Shawn Muneio, Bequest

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2531226/fan_mail/new] What if you could earn the kind of returns banks make — without tenants, toilets, or 2am repair calls? In this episode of Carson's Corner, Carson sits down with Shawn Muneio of Bequest Asset Management to break down how everyday investors can "be the bank" and build genuinely passive income. Shawn shares his journey from building some of the largest data centers in the world for Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, to chasing the passive-income dream through rental real estate — only to discover it was "just another job." That realization led him to mortgage notes. He tells the story of buying his very first loan, a non-performing mortgage on a duplex in Aurora, Colorado, meeting the borrower at a Starbucks, and watching a defaulted note turn back into reliable cash flow. That's when it clicked: being the lender is the real path to scalable, passive income. We get into how Bequest invests today — performing and re-performing junior-lien mortgages on owner-occupied residential homes bought at a discount, why residential debt carries different risk than today's troubled commercial notes, and how the team still leans on hard-won experience to fix loans when they go bad. Shawn also opens up about Bequest's commercial holdings (including a 61,000-square-foot medical office building in Houston), why local knowledge matters in CRE, and his candid take on the AI build-out boom from someone who knows the brutal economics of data centers firsthand. Finally, Shawn explains the Bequest Bond — a Regulation A offering approved by the SEC that opens this private-credit strategy to the general public. It's a fixed-income vehicle paying a higher yield than a savings account, backed by the mortgages Bequest buys, with audited financials and annual filings like a public company. Six years in business, 400+ investors, 70+ consecutive monthly distributions, and a track record of never missing a payment. Whether you're an entrepreneur, a real estate investor, or just someone tired of watching cash sit in a savings account, this conversation is a masterclass in building income that actually works while you sleep. https://bqfunds.com/ [https://bqfunds.com/] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2531226/support] For business or property evaluations you can reach me at 615-212-5524 Or  Carson@passive.investments [Carson@passive.investments] Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carsonjones/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/carsonjones/] Other Episodes: https://carsonscorner.media/ [https://carsonscorner.media/] https://passive.investments/podcast/ [https://passive.investments/podcast/] Watch all episodes with no commercials on Vimeo here: https://vimeo.com/showcase/12248178 [https://vimeo.com/showcase/12248178] https://rumble.com/c/Carsonscorner [https://rumble.com/c/Carsonscorner] Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. Always consult your attorney, CPA, or financial advisor before making any financial decisions. All investments and property ownership carry risk, including the potential loss of principal.

Lending Where Banks Won't: Speed, Risk & Returns with Brian Walter

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2531226/fan_mail/new] Brian Walter has been trading markets since 1996 — through the Russian crisis, the dot-com bubble, the '08 financial crisis at the epicenter of credit at UBS, COVID, and the fastest rate hike in recent memory. Today he's Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Fairbridge Asset Management, where he runs portfolio management, finance, and operations, and sits on the credit committee. In this conversation, Brian breaks down how private lenders are filling the void left by regional banks pulling back after Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic — and why it's the same playbook that reshaped corporate credit after Dodd-Frank and Basel III, now playing out in real estate. We get into: * Why private credit wins on speed, certainty of close, creativity, and proceeds — closing in 30–45 days versus a bank's 90–120 * The sub-$50M (and even sub-$30M) lending sweet spot the multi-billion-dollar managers won't touch * Why every default Fairbridge has ever had came down to one thing: execution, not valuation * The bridge lending life cycle — land, construction, rehab, and lease-up — and how risk and pricing shift across it * Where we are in the real estate credit cycle: Sun Belt oversupply in Austin, Vegas, Nashville, and Atlanta versus a tight, strong Northeast and California * How foreclosure timelines (2.5 years in NYC vs. 30 days in Texas) directly shape LTV and where they'll lend * Why the Rust Belt revival — Columbus, the Intel plant, Kansas City — is beating the overcrowded Sun Belt trade * Reading migration through cell phone and U-Haul data, and what immigration enforcement is doing to construction labor A masterclass in risk, discipline, and finding the less-competitive corners of the market — for entrepreneurs, investors, and anyone watching commercial real estate. Connect with Brian on LinkedIn or at brian@fairbridgelc.com [brian@fairbridgelc.com]. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2531226/support] For business or property evaluations you can reach me at 615-212-5524 Or  Carson@passive.investments [Carson@passive.investments] Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carsonjones/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/carsonjones/] Other Episodes: https://carsonscorner.media/ [https://carsonscorner.media/] https://passive.investments/podcast/ [https://passive.investments/podcast/] Watch all episodes with no commercials on Vimeo here: https://vimeo.com/showcase/12248178 [https://vimeo.com/showcase/12248178] https://rumble.com/c/Carsonscorner [https://rumble.com/c/Carsonscorner] Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. Always consult your attorney, CPA, or financial advisor before making any financial decisions. All investments and property ownership carry risk, including the potential loss of principal.

Buyer Beware: When Failure Isn't Final — The Jed Morris Story

Send us Fan Mail [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2531226/fan_mail/new] What happens when you buy a business, do everything "right," and it still blows up in your face? Jed Morris knows. After 10 years in Air Force financial management and acquisition (rising to the Pentagon), an NYU Stern MBA, and software engineering work at Microsoft, Jed jumped into entrepreneurship through acquisition—and his first deal, a landscaping company, failed spectacularly. Instead of hiding it, he's interviewed 100+ buyers who lived through the same thing, and the patterns he found will save you from making the same mistakes.  Jed brings a rare depth of knowledge to this space, and this was one of the most genuinely enjoyable conversations I've had on the show. In this episode, Carson sits down with Jed (founder of Sunset Coastal Partners and Searcher School) to pull back the curtain on what nobody tells first-time buyers: * Why roughly 60% of failed acquisitions involve direct seller fraud—and how to spot a shady owner before you sign * The off-market search playbook: building lists, cold outreach at 10x the scale most searchers attempt, and why "off-market is just sales" * Why bigger businesses are actually SAFER than small ones—and how the SBA 7(a) program's incredible leverage can become "an anvil around your neck" * The truth about personal guarantees, insolvency, and why you need to call a bankruptcy attorney in YOUR state before you ever sign * What an SBIC is and how government contractors raise capital without losing small-business set-asides * Why the legal system won't save you (70% of civil judgments are never collected) and how purchase agreements are really just "legal insurance" * How to actually run diligence—taking info at face value pre-LOI, then hunting red flags the first week after * Carson's hybrid off-market approach: flyers, NDAs, and deadlines that make serious capital move * Cutting through the fin-fluencer noise (yes, Cody Sanchez comes up) and why "buying a portfolio of small businesses to run passively is just stupid" Whether you're a first-time searcher, an investor, or a commercial real estate pro curious about the world of business acquisitions, this is an honest, no-hype conversation about risk, integrity, and what it really takes to win. Connect with Jed Morris: Find him on LinkedIn (send a DM—he replies personally) and join his free Searcher School community, with a paid coaching program available through the same platform. His book, Buyer Beware, is on the way. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2531226/support] For business or property evaluations you can reach me at 615-212-5524 Or  Carson@passive.investments [Carson@passive.investments] Connect with me: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carsonjones/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/carsonjones/] Other Episodes: https://carsonscorner.media/ [https://carsonscorner.media/] https://passive.investments/podcast/ [https://passive.investments/podcast/] Watch all episodes with no commercials on Vimeo here: https://vimeo.com/showcase/12248178 [https://vimeo.com/showcase/12248178] https://rumble.com/c/Carsonscorner [https://rumble.com/c/Carsonscorner] Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered professional advice. Always consult your attorney, CPA, or financial advisor before making any financial decisions. All investments and property ownership carry risk, including the potential loss of principal.