Property Profits Real Estate Podcast

A vacant fourplex in Kitchener had four old garage bays in the basement. Ara Palladian saw something different: space for two more units.
Ara brings a construction and structural background to multifamily investing. In this conversation, he walks through the Kitchener project and explains how his team is converting those garage spaces into two two bedroom walkout units.
The work includes replacing large drop steel beams with flush beams, removing and insulating the concrete slab, and creating more usable headroom. Ara also shares the numbers behind the project. The property was purchased for about $1.25 million. He expects to be all in for about $1.7 million, with what he describes as a conservative appraisal of about $2 million.
Ara and Dave also discuss why Ara prefers purpose built multifamily, why he wants more properties with 15 units or more, and why paying the right professionals can sometimes save far more than choosing the cheapest labor.
Key topics:
Turning a fourplex into a six unit property
Using structural and construction knowledge to uncover value
Replacing drop beams to improve basement space
Ara’s plan to refinance through CMHC
Recycling capital into future investments
Why Ara prefers purpose built multifamily
Moving toward properties with 15 units or more
How shorter renovation timelines can reduce holding costs
Guest information:
Ara Palladian is a real estate investor and licensed realtor with a background in construction and structural engineering. He focuses on value add multifamily projects in Cambridge, Kitchener, Waterloo, and Guelph.
Instagram: @PalladianConstruction
Email: arapalladian@gmail.com
Call to action:
Investors interested in buying multifamily properties or discussing potential capital partnerships can contact Ara by email or send him a message through @PalladianConstruction on Instagram.

Getting your boots dirty is about more than walking a property. For Tony Lopes, it also means digging into the financials, knowing your partners, and making sure a deal works before you buy.
Tony is the founder of Dirty Boots Capital and has just over 400 units across his own multifamily holdings and deals where he participates as a GP or LP. His main areas of focus are New Hampshire and Florida.
Tony shares why he is watching rising interest rates differently from some investors. Higher rates can put pressure on property values, which may create buying opportunities. But his rule remains simple: the deal needs to cash flow from day one.
He also talks about starting local. Instead of waiting for the perfect property, investors can use this time to learn their market, build spreadsheets, attend local real estate investment groups, and form relationships with the people they may need before a deal appears.
Key Topics and Takeaways
What the Dirty Boots Capital name means
Why Tony physically walks roofs, basements, and properties
Why financial statements deserve the same level of diligence as the physical property
Tony's focus on New Hampshire and Florida
Looking for opportunities with distressed operators and local banks
Why Tony wants deals to cash flow from day one
Why investors do not always need to start with large properties
How local investment groups can help build a real estate team
Why Tony likes attorneys, CPAs, and contractors who also understand real estate firsthand
Guest Information
Tony Lopes is the founder of Dirty Boots Capital. He has nearly 30 years of experience in real estate and focuses heavily on multifamily investing and property management.
Website: dirtybootscapital.com
Email: tonylopes@dirtybootscapital.com
Tony also discussed his book, Freedom at Risk: How to Protect Your Personal and Financial Freedoms.
Call to Action
Tony offered listeners a free copy of his book.
Email tonylopes@dirtybootscapital.com.
 

Getting institutional capital is not just about knowing the right people. Jon Siegel says investors need something they can “hang their hat on.”
Jon and his partners at Railfield came into multifamily with institutional lending backgrounds. They started Railfield in 2013 and went straight into institutional capital rather than raising money from friends and family.
Their early access to $50 million from a pension fund looked like a major head start. But after buying their first properties, they discovered that getting the next institutional investor was far from automatic.
Jon explains why a real track record matters. Institutional investors may dig into where returns actually came from. One investor even examined Railfield’s past deals to separate value created through NOI growth from value created through cap rate compression.
He also shares why operators need a clear niche, business plan, or other reason to stand apart from the many other multifamily firms looking for capital.
Key topics and takeaways:
Why Railfield calls itself a small institutional firm
How a lending background influenced its conservative approach to leverage
Why getting $50 million early did not make future capital easy to raise
What institutional investors may examine in an operator’s track record
Why operators need a clear hook when approaching capital partners
Why the first institutional relationship can be the hardest
Why Jon believes operators need to stay in the market during slower periods
Guest information:
Jon Siegel is a partner at Railfield, a multifamily investment firm based in Bethesda, Maryland. Railfield focuses on workforce housing and has about 4,500 units across roughly 15 or 16 properties.
Jon said Railfield primarily works with institutional and family office capital.
Email: jsiegel@railfieldrealty.com
Website: railfieldrealty.com
LinkedIn: Search for Jon Siegel, spelled S I E G E L
Call to action:
Jon said Railfield is always looking for two things: deals and money. He is interested in meeting people who want to invest capital and people who may have leads on potential deals that fit Railfield.
Listeners can contact Jon by email, find him on LinkedIn, or send a message through the Railfield website.

A senior housing deal can look good financially while the local market is already sending warning signs.
Jerry Vinci works on both sides of that challenge. Through Nordon, he helps investors look beyond traditional underwriting to understand whether an operator can sustain or grow occupancy in its local market. Through CCR Growth, he helps senior living operators examine the systems that take a family from first contact through move in.
Jerry shares one example where a community's Google rating had fallen from about 4.9 to 3.7 over eight months. Its search visibility had also dropped. Those public signals pointed to problems with residents and families and a possible future occupancy decline. The investment group ultimately repriced the deal by roughly $2 million to $3 million.
Jerry also explains why getting leads is only part of the occupancy picture. His team looks at how quickly a real salesperson contacts a family, how leads move toward a move in, what different lead sources cost, and how resident length of stay can affect future occupancy needs.
Key topics and takeaways:
Why senior housing performance is highly local
How reputation and search visibility can provide early warning signals
A deal that was repriced by roughly $2 million to $3 million
Why speed to human contact matters after a lead comes in
How resident length of stay can help operators think ahead about occupancy
Why the service inside a senior housing building is a major part of the product
Guest information:
Jerry Vinci runs two firms in the senior housing industry. Nordon focuses on the investment side and helps evaluate market facing signals connected to operator performance. CCR Growth helps operators improve marketing, sales, and operational systems tied to occupancy.
Jerry also hosts From Leads to Leases, a podcast focused on senior living marketing, sales, services, and industry challenges.
Connect with Jerry:
Nordon Advisory
https://nordonadvisory.com
Call to action:
If you are part of an investment group or an operator in senior housing, or you are looking to enter the space and want more information than traditional underwriting or appraisal provides, Jerry invites you to learn more through Nordon Advisory.

Conner Thomas calls his target properties “industrial apartments.” The idea comes from a mix of limited new supply and demand from many different types of local businesses.
At Greenwich Street Capital, Conner focuses on service industrial properties, including small bay industrial and flex storage. These properties sit between traditional self storage and larger industrial buildings.
Conner explains why new supply can be difficult to build in infill locations. He also talks about the different groups that use these spaces, from contractors and small businesses to people who need more storage than a garage can provide.
The conversation also covers how his background in institutional acquisitions shaped his approach. Conner looks at each property through a risk adjusted lens. He focuses on basis, stabilized yield, conservative leverage, and what could go wrong.
One example is a small bay industrial property in Santa Clara near NVIDIA. Greenwich Street Capital originally expected a medium term hold. After signing leases at rents 20% to 30% above underwriting, the company began considering an earlier sale.
Key Topics and Takeaways
Why Conner describes service industrial as “industrial apartments”
Why limited new supply is part of the investment thesis
How small businesses and service professionals create a broad tenant base
Why Greenwich Street Capital generally stays below 60% to 65% leverage
What happened with the Santa Clara small bay industrial deal
Why Conner discusses risks with investors before focusing on projected returns
Guest Information
Conner Thomas is the founder of Greenwich Street Capital.
His earlier career focused on acquisitions. He mentioned working at Morgan Stanley and DWS, where separate teams handled capital raising.
Greenwich Street Capital invests in service industrial properties, including flex storage and small bay industrial.
Website: greenwichstreetcap.com
Email as spoken in the transcript: Cthomas at Greenwich Street Cap
The full email domain ending was not clearly stated in the transcript.
Call to Action
Visit greenwichstreetcap.com to learn more about Greenwich Street Capital.
Conner said he is interested in connecting with people who want to learn more about investing with the company.
He is also interested in seeing service industrial and flex storage properties that may fit the company's strategy.

Chicago three flats give Lawrence Dunning something he values as an investor and developer: flexibility.
A standard 25 foot by 125 foot Chicago lot can work well for three units. Lawrence says the format creates options because buyers can include owner occupants, local investors, people completing a 1031 exchange, and investors from other parts of the country.
Lawrence also explains why he moved from rehabbing properties into new construction. After a difficult experience with a former partner, he spent time focusing on brokerage before developing a strong relationship with a client who became a friend and project partner.
Today, Lawrence is involved in several new construction projects while also working as a broker. He helps investors look at available opportunities, understand the pros and cons, and connect with property management.
He is also clear that Chicago comes with tradeoffs. Taxes and insurance can be high, and the market is tenant friendly. That is one reason Lawrence places so much importance on choosing the right property manager and screening tenants carefully.
Key topics and takeaways:
Why Lawrence moved from rehabs into new construction
Why Chicago three flats fit standard local lots
How three unit properties can create several possible exit options
Why Lawrence sees property management as a major part of the investment
How Chicago cap rates attract investors from around the country
Why Lawrence believes every real estate market comes with tradeoffs
Guest information:
Lawrence Dunning is a Chicago real estate investor, landlord, broker, developer, and podcaster. He works with investors looking for Chicago real estate and also works with developers building new construction properties.
Lawrence said he can be found by searching for Lawrence Dunning on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Call to action:
If you are looking to invest in Chicago real estate or want to talk about opportunities in the market, Lawrence invites people to reach out to him through LinkedIn or Instagram. He also mentioned helping investors see strong inventory before it reaches the market.