Property Profits Real Estate Podcast

How many units can you fit on a property?
Brian Koons says that used to be the main question.
Now he asks a different one: What creates a good rental product in a good neighborhood?
Expanded Description
Brian Koons works in the San Diego ADU market, where high property prices make cash flow difficult without getting creative.
His focus is often on distressed single family homes and small multifamily properties where more units can be added.
Brian explains why he likes projects that end with four units. In his experience, that gives him a useful balance between density, parking, yard space, privacy, and easier lending compared with projects that move into the five unit and commercial lending space.
He also shares why distressed properties give him more flexibility. A project might be renovated and sold, sold with permits, completed and sold, or completed and held as a rental.
Brian also talks about how his thinking has changed over time. Instead of trying to squeeze as many units as possible onto a lot, he now pays close attention to livability and often prefers larger two and three bedroom ADUs.
Key Topics and Takeaways
Why distressed one to four unit properties can offer several exit options
Why Brian sees four total units as a useful sweet spot
The importance of parking, privacy, yard space, and neighborhood character
Why Brian now prefers larger two and three bedroom ADUs in many projects
Why current cash flow is only one part of his long term investment thesis
How Brian uses different architects and contractors for different project types
Guest Information
Brian Koons is a San Diego developer and development manager.
He spent eight years in the Marine Corps before moving into development. He later ran development for a company with 580 projects before starting his own business.
Today, he manages projects for himself, investors, and property owners who want help building ADUs.

A tax lien purchase does not always lead to a property. For Jim Tannehill, that is part of the model.
Jim and his team may evaluate hundreds of properties before an annual tax sale. They narrow those properties down, set maximum bids, purchase tax liens, and then wait through the redemption period.
If the owner pays the taxes and required costs, Jim gets his principal back along with interest. If the lien is not redeemed and the legal process is completed correctly, his team may eventually acquire the deed.
Jim explains that the tax sale is only one piece of the puzzle. Once a property is acquired, his team still has to decide whether selling it, renovating and selling it, or holding it as a rental makes the most sense.
Jim also shares why discipline matters. His team stays inside specific buying parameters instead of chasing every cheap property that appears at the auction.
Key topics and takeaways:
Why Jim sees tax sales as an acquisition strategy rather than the entire business
Why his team may drive by 500 to 1,000 properties before an auction
How roughly 220 possible bids can turn into around 100 winning liens
Why only about one third of those liens may become deeds today
How redeemed liens return principal plus interest
Why renovation money is included in the original capital budget
The mistake that led Jim to buy a garage instead of the house he thought he was bidding on
Why parcel numbers and county GIS information matter
How Jim decides whether to sell, renovate and sell, or hold a property
Guest Information:
Jim Tannehill is a real estate investor who has spent roughly a decade building a portfolio of income producing properties. His company self manages a portfolio in the 200 property range, with a focus on duplexes and single family homes.

A shelter is not always the final stop before someone gets permanent housing. Felicia Edelman says many people need a middle ground first.
Felicia and her husband have operated transitional shared housing in South Los Angeles since January 2010. Their residents include men coming from jails, prisons, treatment centers, hospitals, shelters, the streets, and other agencies.
Felicia explains how the model works financially and operationally. Their typical duplex has five bedrooms on each side, with shared rooms and 20 to 30 men across the property. Residents generally pay between $600 and $800 per month. Utilities are included, and Felicia says they do not require an application fee, security deposit, credit check, or background check.
She also explains why onsite management matters. Many of their house managers were once residents themselves and have personal experience with jail or prison. Felicia says this helps new residents feel understood and gives each house people who can set the tone and help de escalate problems.
Key topics and takeaways:
Why Felicia calls transitional housing the middle ground between shelters and permanent housing
How shared rooms make the housing more affordable for residents
Why a typical SOS Housing duplex may house 20 to 30 men
How former residents become onsite house managers
Why Felicia believes community inside the house is important
How residents sometimes shop and cook together
Why the typical stay is about three to six months
How the shared living model can also work on a smaller scale
Guest information:
Felicia Edelman is a shared housing expert with SOS Housing. She and her husband opened their first transitional housing location in January 2010.

Iron Ridge Capital went more than three years without buying a property because the deals did not make sense.
That choice was not always popular with investors who wanted another opportunity. But Erik Nordstrom and Erik Strom had already lived through a major real estate correction. They knew what it felt like when a deal became stressful and financing became difficult.
In this conversation, Erik and Erik explain how Iron Ridge approached the recent multifamily market. They talk about underwriting higher rates, building their property management operation, watching property data every morning, and protecting relationships with investors that have taken as long as 15 to 20 years to build.
They also explain why the current market feels different. Iron Ridge historically bought about one or two deals each year. The team now sees enough opportunity that they are looking at buying roughly three to five deals a year while the window remains open.
Key topics and takeaways:
Why Iron Ridge stopped buying from January 2022 until May 2025
How experience from the 2008 and 2009 financial crisis shaped their decisions
Why property operations matter as much as buying the right deal
Why the leadership team reviews property data every morning
Why they believe future general partners should first learn with their own money
How Iron Ridge protects long term relationships with roughly 140 investors
Why the team sees the next 24 months as an important buying period
Guest information:
Erik Nordstrom and Erik Strom are part of Iron Ridge Capital. The company focuses on multifamily investing, syndication, and property management in the Dallas Fort Worth area.
Iron Ridge manages about 2,200 multifamily units and owns about 660 units.

Jason Williams built his underwriting system so a user could import a rent roll and T12, push a button, and have about 90 percent of the work completed. Then the Excel model became so complex that sharing it with other people created a new problem.
Jason explains how that frustration led him to create a web based underwriting app that uses AI to read an OM, rent roll, and T12 and fill in much of the information automatically.
The conversation also goes inside Jason’s own real estate portfolio. He talks openly about being the lead sponsor on two multifamily properties, including one that is doing very well and another that is taking most of his attention.
Dave and Jason also dig into a new manufactured home community Jason is developing near Waco, Texas. The 18 acre project is planned for about 100 homes, but a zoning issue and a pre annexation agreement delayed construction and forced Jason and his partners into negotiations with the city.
Key topics and takeaways:
Why Jason is currently focused on improving an existing multifamily property instead of buying more
The zoning issue affecting his planned 100 home manufactured home community
How his chemical engineering background shaped the way he builds underwriting systems
How he learned multifamily underwriting after entering apartment syndication in 2017
Why his Excel model eventually became difficult for clients to use
How his new web app uses AI to process an OM, rent roll, and T12
Why Ironclad Underwriting Mastery grew from people asking Jason for help
Guest information:
Jason L. Williams, Ph.D. has been involved in real estate for more than 20 years. He entered multifamily investing in 2017 after meeting his mentor, Joe Fairless.
Jason is involved in multifamily properties, single family homes, smaller residential multifamily properties, and the development of a manufactured home community in Central Texas.
He also hosts the Ironclad Underwriting Podcast with his business partner Frank Patalano.
Website:
ironcladunderwriting.com
Resources mentioned:
Ironclad Underwriting Podcast
Ironclad Underwriting newsletter
Free underwriting resources
Ironclad underwriting web app
Call to action:
Visit ironcladunderwriting.com to find Jason’s resources, podcast, and newsletter.
Jason said his newsletter is sent twice a month, on the first and the fifteenth.
You can also sign up through the site to become a beta tester for his underwriting web app. At the time of the conversation, the app was in open beta and free to use.

Chris Wise is not looking for the largest apartment buildings in the market. He is focused on a smaller Class C multifamily range that he believes often sits between large institutions and smaller local owners.
Expanded Description
Chris and his team focus mainly on 20 to 60 unit Class C properties in Louisville and other Midwest markets.
Part of the opportunity comes from problems other buyers may not want to handle. Chris talks about deferred maintenance, inaccurate property information, older building systems, and properties that may have been poorly managed.
Instead of building the plan around rent increases alone, Chris says his team puts major attention on expenses. That includes property management, maintenance, utilities, billing, and replacing problem components before they become larger failures.
He also walks through a Louisville property that was about 60 percent occupied when they bought it. After repairs, inspections, lease work, and renovations, the property reached about 95 percent occupancy in roughly three months.
Key Topics and Takeaways
Why Chris focuses on Class C properties with about 20 to 60 units
The gray area between larger institutions and smaller operators
Why deferred maintenance can create both problems and opportunity
Why property records and billing information need to be verified
Using expense control as a major part of the value add plan
Working with HUD, veterans programs, and other housing organizations
A Louisville property that moved from about 60 percent to 95 percent occupancy
Why Chris thinks about the exit before buying
How structure and calendar control help him manage six companies and family life
Guest Information
Chris Wise is a real estate investor and lawyer based in Louisville, Kentucky.
His real estate focus is Class C value add multifamily, mainly in the 20 to 60 unit range. His team looks in Louisville and across parts of the Midwest, including Kansas City.
Chris said he is interested in connecting with:
Institutions
Retail investors
Registered investment advisors
Family offices