The Best Ever CRE Show

*Previously aired episode* Joe Fairless interviews AI-savvy investors Paul Hopkins, Perry Zheng, Lance Pederson, and Bo Barron to explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping commercial real estate acquisitions. The panel shares practical tools—like Google’s Notebook LM, ChatGPT, AI21, and Claude—and strategies for deal analysis, underwriting, parsing PDFs, and even creating custom GPTs to automate offering memorandum reviews. They discuss how AI streamlines market research, transforms spreadsheets into semantic data, and helps underwrite deals more accurately and efficiently, while also acknowledging its limits in replacing human decision-making and deal sourcing relationships. Paul Hopkins COO and Partner ⁠https://cpicapital.ca/⁠ Perry Zheng Founder and CEO ⁠https://www.cashflowportal.com/⁠ Lance Pederson CEO and Co-Founder ⁠https://www.passiveadvantage.com/⁠ Bo Barron CEO ⁠https://barroncommercial.com/ Join us at Best Ever Conference 2026! Find more info at: https://www.besteverconference.com/  Join the Best Ever Community  The Best Ever Community is live and growing - and we want serious commercial real estate investors like you inside. It’s free to join, but you must apply and meet the criteria.  Connect with top operators, LPs, GPs, and more, get real insights, and be part of a curated network built to help you grow. Apply now at⁠ ⁠⁠⁠www.bestevercommunity.com⁠⁠ Podcast production done by⁠ ⁠Outlier Audio⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Chang shares a year-end perspective on where commercial real estate stands after 2025 and what he’s watching heading into 2026. He breaks down the sharp slowdown in job creation following tariff uncertainty, rising unemployment among young adults, and how those trends are already impacting household formation, apartment absorption, and overall CRE demand. John also explains why institutional capital is quietly coming back off the sidelines, why retail may be the most resilient sector near-term, and how pent-up demand could drive a powerful rebound once economic clarity returns. Despite near-term choppiness, he makes the case that 2025–2026 entry points could set investors up well for the long-term cycle ahead. Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at www.monarchmoney.com with code BESTEVER Visit bestevercrypto.com today to get started and earn up to $2,500 in bonus crypto. Join us at Best Ever Conference 2026! Find more info at: https://www.besteverconference.com/  Join the Best Ever Community  The Best Ever Community is live and growing - and we want serious commercial real estate investors like you inside. It’s free to join, but you must apply and meet the criteria.  Connect with top operators, LPs, GPs, and more, get real insights, and be part of a curated network built to help you grow. Apply now at⁠ ⁠⁠⁠www.bestevercommunity.com⁠⁠ Podcast production done by⁠ ⁠Outlier Audio⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Casmon interviews Keith Miller about scaling from small backyard ADU and infill development projects into large-scale modular and manufactured home communities as a way to solve affordability and construction bottlenecks. Keith explains how subcontractor shortages, cost overruns, and timeline risk pushed his team toward factory-built housing, which offers faster delivery, more predictable pricing, and comparable quality to site-built homes. They break down the real differences between manufactured and modular housing, how Freddie and Fannie financing has changed the game, and why these homes can appraise and sell like traditional single-family residences. The conversation also covers Keith’s transition from a full-time teaching career to real estate, the importance of building a rental income base before going full time, and how thoughtful development can create both investor returns and meaningful social impact. Keith MillerCurrent role: Co-Founder, Upslope GroupBased in: MontanaSay hi to them at: https://upslopegroup.com/ Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at www.monarchmoney.com with code BESTEVER Visit bestevercrypto.com today to get started and earn up to $2,500 in bonus crypto. Join us at Best Ever Conference 2026! Find more info at: https://www.besteverconference.com/  Join the Best Ever Community  The Best Ever Community is live and growing - and we want serious commercial real estate investors like you inside. It’s free to join, but you must apply and meet the criteria.  Connect with top operators, LPs, GPs, and more, get real insights, and be part of a curated network built to help you grow. Apply now at⁠ ⁠⁠⁠www.bestevercommunity.com⁠⁠ Podcast production done by⁠ ⁠Outlier Audio⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this engaging discussion, Maurice Philogene, a real estate investor and founder of Try Life On, shares his transformative journey from various careers to achieving financial freedom through strategic investing. He emphasizes the importance of lifestyle design, prioritizing personal fulfillment over financial status, and the lessons learned from past mistakes, including the 2008 financial crisis. Maurice also dives into international investments in Cyprus and Lebanon, stressing the significance of building authentic relationships over mere profit, and offers insights into parenting and fostering financial literacy.

A year-end roundtable reveals surprising market developments from 2025, highlighting hidden distress and the importance of liquidity and discipline. The discussion focuses on the shift towards cash flow and capital preservation among LPs, along with evolving opportunities in small-cap multifamily and discounted office assets for 2026. The hosts debate the role of bridge debt, the need for strong operator-LP relationships, and the implications of AI in real estate operations. Key questions for LPs are emphasized, alongside lessons learned from past investor interviews.

In a lively discussion, Chris Streit, CEO of CSA Partners and expert in cost segregation, sheds light on the importance of tax deferral strategies as we approach 2025. He emphasizes that the return of 100% bonus depreciation doesn’t lessen the urgency for cost seg. Chris explains the look-back/catch-up depreciation technique, allowing retroactive savings without amendments. He also dives into the complexities of 1245 recapture and how a 1245 exchange can minimize tax burdens, while highlighting the risks of doing accelerated depreciation incorrectly.

Matt Faircloth interviews Ash Patel, and the two hosts do a 2025 look-back / 2026 look-forward on what they’re seeing across major commercial asset classes—plus where they think real estate operators are headed after the last couple years of “extend and pretend”. They start with why triple-net retail has stayed surprisingly strong (including the “no new supply” reality) and why office still feels “toxic” for many banks—creating an “office tsunami” of opportunities and pain as debt resets and distressed deals trade at steep discounts. From there, they dig into multifamily as a tale of two outcomes (legacy fixed-rate wins vs. floating-rate fights), the competitive “insiders only” nature of mobile home parks as private equity pours in, and why self-storage may be overbuilt—while still leaving room for niche plays like wine/boat/RV storage and service-heavy concepts. Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at www.monarchmoney.com with code BESTEVER Visit bestevercrypto.com today to get started and earn up to $2,500 in bonus crypto. Join us at Best Ever Conference 2026! Find more info at: https://www.besteverconference.com/  Join the Best Ever Community  The Best Ever Community is live and growing - and we want serious commercial real estate investors like you inside. It’s free to join, but you must apply and meet the criteria.  Connect with top operators, LPs, GPs, and more, get real insights, and be part of a curated network built to help you grow. Apply now at⁠ ⁠⁠⁠www.bestevercommunity.com⁠⁠ Podcast production done by⁠ ⁠Outlier Audio⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Richard McGirr interviews Maria Zondervan, a fund-of-funds operator who pivoted from a career as an endangered-species wildlife biologist into multifamily investing after realizing she needed to build legacy wealth for her special-needs son. Maria explains why she disliked directly operating multifamily and instead built a model where she partners with other fund managers to write larger checks, negotiate better tiers/terms, and put more “eyes on the deal” during due diligence. She also breaks down how her group manages risk and investor expectations—doing fewer, higher-quality equity deals and leaning on an income fund for liquidity—plus how she qualifies investors to avoid placing “all their savings” into illiquid syndications. Finally, Maria shares her investor lead-gen approach: primarily in-person education and speaking, with social media used mostly to stay top-of-mind rather than as a primary acquisition channel. Maria ZondervanCurrent role: CEO, Blue Vikings CapitalBased in: Orlando, FloridaSay hi to them at: https://www.bluevikingscapital.com/ | https://linktr.ee/bluevikingscapital Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at www.monarchmoney.com with code BESTEVER Visit bestevercrypto.com today to get started and earn up to $2,500 in bonus crypto. Join us at Best Ever Conference 2026! Find more info at: https://www.besteverconference.com/  Join the Best Ever Community  The Best Ever Community is live and growing - and we want serious commercial real estate investors like you inside. It’s free to join, but you must apply and meet the criteria.  Connect with top operators, LPs, GPs, and more, get real insights, and be part of a curated network built to help you grow. Apply now at⁠ ⁠⁠⁠www.bestevercommunity.com⁠⁠ Podcast production done by⁠ ⁠Outlier Audio⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Chang shares insights from the retail real estate sector, highlighting how uncertainty and job growth slowdown are shaping market decisions. He discusses the surprising health of consumer debt relative to income and savings. With millennials entering peak earning years, there's a projected surge in spending of $150 billion. Retail is leading the NCREIF return index and may play a key role in a potential real estate cycle shift in 2026. Chang also explores the implications of Fed rate cuts and labor dynamics influenced by immigration policies.

Yonah Weiss, the 'Cost Seg King' and cost segregation expert, dives deep into advanced depreciation strategies. He elucidates how cost segregation can be a powerful cash-flow tool for real estate investors. Topics include depreciation recapture, the nuances of 1031 exchanges, and how short-term rental loopholes can benefit investors. Yonah also shares insights on building a strong LinkedIn presence and the importance of authentic engagement. Plus, he discusses market trends, the impact of AI, and the enduring value of in-person networking.