JF 4034: From Student Housing to Build-to-Rent, Partnerships and Community Impact ft. Jeff Niemeier

On this week’s episode of Multifamily Mastery, John Casmon interviews Jeff Niemeier. Jeff explains how his journey began in student housing, scaled into workforce rentals, and ultimately led him to focus on build-to-rent townhomes in Iowa. He shares how leveraging his unfair advantage of deep local knowledge and strong partnerships—has given him control over projects and higher margins than traditional multifamily. Jeff also details his entrepreneurial background in internet and cable services, his pivot into syndications, and why personal development, community involvement, and taking action are the cornerstones of long-term success. Jeff NiemeierCurrent role: Managing Principal, JB Capital; Host, Student of Money PodcastBased in: Cedar Rapids, IowaSay hi to them at: https://jbcapitalfund.com/| LinkedIn | YouTube This is a limited time offer, so head over to aspenfunds.us/bestever to download the investor deck—or grab their quick-start guide if you’re brand new to oil and gas investing. Visit investwithsunrise.com to learn more about investment opportunities.  Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at www.monarchmoney.com with code BESTEVER Get a 4-week trial, free postage, and a digital scale at ⁠https://www.stamps.com/cre⁠. Thanks to Stamps.com for sponsoring the show! 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Best Ever CRE Show, Matt Faircloth interviews Lane Kawaoka. Lane shares how he scaled from house hacking and turnkeys to mid-sized multifamily, then to more than a billion in acquisitions, and why smaller C-class assets can be the hardest to operate. He opens up about a tough partnership that required removing a GP, the critical role of bank draw paperwork and airtight operating agreements, and how tax status changes can swing valuations by seven figures. Lane also talks market lessons from the 2020s, why competent and ethical operators matter more than splits, and his Wealth Elevator framework for graduating from operator to true investor. Lane KawaokaCurrent role: Founder, The Wealth ElevatorBased in: HawaiiSay hi to them at: thewealthelevator.com/ | LinkedIn | YouTube This is a limited time offer, so head over to aspenfunds.us/bestever to download the investor deck—or grab their quick-start guide if you’re brand new to oil and gas investing. Visit investwithsunrise.com to learn more about investment opportunities.  Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at www.monarchmoney.com with code BESTEVER Get a 4-week trial, free postage, and a digital scale at ⁠https://www.stamps.com/cre⁠. Thanks to Stamps.com for sponsoring the show! 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of Passive Income Playbook, Pascal Wagner interviews Sean Smith. They dig into the search fund landscape from traditional and self-funded models to independent sponsors, why the silver tsunami and SBA financing make now a compelling moment, and Sean’s thesis of backing essential businesses serving attractive end markets. Sean also walks through his four-part diligence system and a 200+ point checklist, how he evaluates terms so LPs are actually protected, and what realistic deal flow looks like when you’re only closing on roughly 2 percent of what you review. If you’re curious how to be a sharper LP in small business acquisitions without running a company yourself, this one’s your roadmap. Sean SmithCurrent role: Managing Partner, Search Fund VenturesBased in: Chicago, IllinoisSay hi to them at: https://www.searchfundventures.co/ | Linkedin This is a limited time offer, so head over to aspenfunds.us/bestever to download the investor deck—or grab their quick-start guide if you’re brand new to oil and gas investing. Visit investwithsunrise.com to learn more about investment opportunities.  Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at www.monarchmoney.com with code BESTEVER Get a 4-week trial, free postage, and a digital scale at ⁠https://www.stamps.com/cre⁠. Thanks to Stamps.com for sponsoring the show! 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of Beyond Multifamily, Ash Patel interviews Spencer Carpenter, Best Ever CRE's Guest Booker. They explore how commercial real estate investors can use podcast guest appearances to expand their reach, build credibility, and attract capital. Spencer shares why preparation matters, the common mistakes that hold guests back, and the small details that can make a big impact on how you’re perceived. Spencer CarpenterCurrent role: Founder, Outlier AudioBased in: Oxford, PASay hi to them at: LinkedIn | Outlier Audio | Instagram This is a limited time offer, so head over to aspenfunds.us/bestever to download the investor deck—or grab their quick-start guide if you’re brand new to oil and gas investing. Visit investwithsunrise.com to learn more about investment opportunities.  Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at www.monarchmoney.com with code BESTEVER Get a 4-week trial, free postage, and a digital scale at ⁠https://www.stamps.com/cre⁠. Thanks to Stamps.com for sponsoring the show! 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

On this week’s episode of Best Ever CRE Show, John Casmon interviews fellow Best Ever host, Ash Patel. Ash breaks down why he shifted from multifamily to non-residential CRE, citing shrinking returns, intense competition and far greater room for creativity in retail, office, industrial and mixed-use. He shares case studies including a Louisville office portfolio bought for pennies on the dollar with a split-and-sell strategy, and an 80,000-square-foot Canton office deal that breaks even with one floor leased. They compare underwriting, leasing risk, and management intensity, with Ash arguing commercial can deliver higher NOI with fewer headaches when you play defense and buy creatively. This is a limited time offer, so head over to aspenfunds.us/bestever to download the investor deck—or grab their quick-start guide if you’re brand new to oil and gas investing. Visit investwithsunrise.com to learn more about investment opportunities.  Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at www.monarchmoney.com with code BESTEVER Get a 4-week trial, free postage, and a digital scale at ⁠https://www.stamps.com/cre⁠. Thanks to Stamps.com for sponsoring the show! 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of Unlimited Capital, Richard McGirr interviews Ryan Watts. Ryan shares how he co-founded Red River Development and scaled a Build-to-Rent platform to 1,900 units and $600M AUM by leaning on RIAs, family offices, high net worth investors, and a robust fund-manager channel. He explains why they prioritize prerecorded webinars, turnkey deal rooms, and third-party experts to help fund managers raise faster with more credibility. Ryan also previews their 206-home Waco, Texas BTR project, outlining a conservative 65% LTC capital stack, a merchant-build strategy targeting 2x equity, and why Texas demand makes the story compelling. Ryan WattsCurrent role: Co-Founder, Red River DevelopmentBased in: Dallas, TexasSay hi to them at: https://redriverdevelopment.com/ | LinkedIn This is a limited time offer, so head over to aspenfunds.us/bestever to download the investor deck—or grab their quick-start guide if you’re brand new to oil and gas investing. Visit investwithsunrise.com to learn more about investment opportunities.  Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at www.monarchmoney.com with code BESTEVER Get a 4-week trial, free postage, and a digital scale at ⁠https://www.stamps.com/cre⁠. Thanks to Stamps.com for sponsoring the show! 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of The Horizon, John discusses why inflation is rising in a slow “trickle,” with food prices leading the gains, and how this feeds into rising odds of Fed rate cuts and a ~4% 10-year treasury. He explains why today’s financing window—around 5% for agency multifamily—creates rare positive leverage and is already sparking activity. With construction starts falling and labor/material costs high, John outlines a favorable long-term setup: tighter future supply, elevated cap rates, and improving fundamentals. He also maps the risks (recession, weaker jobs data) and where to focus: Class A/B multifamily, necessity retail, medical office, and storage—while flagging trade-exposed West Coast industrial and some discretionary retail, and noting office as a potential “dark horse” on rising RTO pressure. This is a limited time offer, so head over to aspenfunds.us/bestever to download the investor deck—or grab their quick-start guide if you’re brand new to oil and gas investing. Visit investwithsunrise.com to learn more about investment opportunities.  Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at www.monarchmoney.com with code BESTEVER Get a 4-week trial, free postage, and a digital scale at ⁠https://www.stamps.com/cre⁠. Thanks to Stamps.com for sponsoring the show! 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of Multifamily Mastery, John Casmon interviews Axel Ragnarsson. Axel breaks down his direct to seller playbook for small to mid-size New England multifamily, from dream-list targeting to low-pressure, relationship-first outreach by phone, email, text, and mail to stay top of mind with unsophisticated owners. He shares how he overcame capital bottlenecks by building a marketing engine that attracts retail LPs via podcasts, LinkedIn, and a growing newsletter, plus the mindset shifts to handle rejection. Axel also unpacks scaling through vertical integration and people, including partnering into property management, hiring an acquisitions manager, and using VAs for asset management, along with tactical tips on list building, skip tracing, channel sequencing, and when to use cold calling versus direct mail. Axel RagnarssonCurrent role: Founder, Aligned Real Estate PartnersBased in: Boston, MassachusettsSay hi to them at: https://alignedrep.com | mailto:[email protected] This is a limited time offer, so head over to aspenfunds.us/bestever to download the investor deck—or grab their quick-start guide if you’re brand new to oil and gas investing. Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at www.monarchmoney.com with code BESTEVER Get a 4-week trial, free postage, and a digital scale at ⁠https://www.stamps.com/cre⁠. Thanks to Stamps.com for sponsoring the show! 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of Next Level CRE, Matt Faircloth interviews Mike Roeder. They dig into lessons from scaling Granite Towers Equity Group, including why words matter at the property level and how third-party teams should embody owner values. Mike breaks down risk controls like raising CapEx up front instead of out of cash flow, screening hard for delinquency and true affordability, and favoring 1980s–2000s assets with seven-year fixed-rate debt. He also shares hands-on asset management plays, from incentivized collections specialists and secret shopping to revenue boosts like monetizing structured parking and bulk Wi-Fi. Mike RoederCurrent role: Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Granite Towers Equity Group. Based in: Central Minnesota. Say hi to them at: https://www.granitetowersequitygroup.com/ | Instagram | YouTube This is a limited time offer, so head over to aspenfunds.us/bestever to download the investor deck—or grab their quick-start guide if you’re brand new to oil and gas investing. Visit investwithsunrise.com to learn more about investment opportunities.  Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at www.monarchmoney.com with code BESTEVER Get a 4-week trial, free postage, and a digital scale at ⁠https://www.stamps.com/cre⁠. Thanks to Stamps.com for sponsoring the show! 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode of Passive Income Playbook, Pascal Wagner interviews Amanda Han and Matt MacFarland. They break down the One Big Beautiful Bill for real estate investors, from the return of 100% bonus depreciation and why placed-in-service timing matters to smart ways LPs can plan for depreciation recapture instead of fearing it. Amanda and Matt also hit SALT cap relief, pass-through entity tax elections that can turn state taxes into deductible business expenses, and a niche but powerful new 100% write-off for buildings used directly in manufacturing. You’ll hear practical LP due-diligence red flags, how to sync exit timelines with your CPA, and why “strategy stacking” can compound savings across your portfolio. Amanda Han & Matt MacFarlandCurrent role: Managing Director & Co-founders, Keystone CPA. Based in: Fullerton, CaliforniaSay hi to them at: https://www.keystonecpa.com/ | LinkedIn | Instagram This is a limited time offer, so head over to aspenfunds.us/bestever to download the investor deck—or grab their quick-start guide if you’re brand new to oil and gas investing. Visit investwithsunrise.com to learn more about investment opportunities.  Get 50% Off Monarch Money, the all-in-one financial tool at www.monarchmoney.com with code BESTEVER Get a 4-week trial, free postage, and a digital scale at ⁠https://www.stamps.com/cre⁠. Thanks to Stamps.com for sponsoring the show! 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices