Ritter on Real Estate The Power of Focus When Building a Niche Multifamily Portfolio ft. Axel Ragnarsson
On this week’s episode, Kent is joined by Axel Ragnarsson—founder of Aligned Real Estate Partners and host of The Multifamily Wealth Podcast. Axel breaks down why his team targets small-to-mid multifamily in New Hampshire and Rhode Island, winning on inefficiencies while packaging assets into funds to spread risk. He gets tactical on the tech that lets a scattered-site portfolio scale (self-showings, workflow automation, AI assistants, virtual staging), and he explains how a narrow, local focus has outperformed the “go bigger” mantra. You’ll also hear the one question he’d ask any sponsor before wiring funds—and why building a PM company that helps employees become investors is his proudest win.
Key Takeaways
- “Small” can scale: Inefficiencies in 5–50 unit deals create discounted buys; bundling multiple properties in a fund structure diversifies vacancy/renovation risk.
- Why New Hampshire: Positive population trends, business-friendly taxes, and supply constraints support durable occupancy and rent growth.
- Ops stack that matters: Self-showings (Tenant Turner), AppFolio + LeadSimple automations, virtual maintenance triage, AI chat for leasing FAQs, and AI-powered renderings/virtual staging to pre-lease units.
- LP diligence tip: Ask sponsors to describe a deal that went wrong and exactly how they handled it—accountability and operating chops matter more than pitch decks.
- Focus wins: A tight geographic niche and repeatable processes beat chasing shiny objects.
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