PassivePockets: The Passive Real Estate Investing Show

This Episode

Chris breaks down one of the biggest questions active real estate investors face as their portfolios mature: should you keep, refinance, or sell your rental properties?

Drawing from his own shift from active landlord to passive investor, Chris explains why many investors get stuck evaluating properties based on their original investment instead of their current equity. A rental that looks like an “infinite return” on paper may actually be producing weak cash flow on equity or underperforming compared to simpler, more passive alternatives.

The episode walks through a practical framework for re-underwriting each asset in your portfolio every year. Chris explains how to evaluate whether a property still aligns with your cash flow goals, lifestyle goals, and “do not want” list, especially if you are trying to reduce management headaches, increase income, or transition into more passive investments.

Chris also compares several real-world paths: keeping and optimizing a rental, doing a cash-out refinance and reinvesting the proceeds, selling and paying taxes, using a traditional 1031 exchange, or using a “lazy 1031” strategy where depreciation from a new investment may help offset taxes. The goal is not to prescribe one right answer, but to challenge the assumption that holding forever or avoiding taxes at all costs is always the best move.

Key takeaways:

Why original cash-on-cash return can be misleading once a property has built significant equity

How to calculate cash flow on equity and return on equity

Why your portfolio decisions should start with cash flow and lifestyle goals

How to use the keep, refi, or sell framework for each rental property

When a cash-out refinance can increase cash flow without selling the asset

Why paying taxes may still make sense if the remaining capital can be redeployed into better-performing investments

How “lazy 1031” strategies, depreciation, DSTs, 721 exchanges, and other tools can help active investors transition toward passive ownership

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Disclaimer

The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only. All host and participant opinions are their own. Investment in any asset, real estate included, involves risk, so use your best judgment and consult with qualified advisors before investing. You should only risk capital you can afford to lose. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This podcast may contain paid advertisements or other promotional materials for real estate investment advisers, investment funds, and investment opportunities, which should not be interpreted as a recommendation, endorsement, or testimonial by PassivePockets, LLC or any of its affiliates. Viewers must conduct their own due diligence and consider their own financial situations before engaging with any advertised offerings, products, or services. PassivePockets, LLC disclaims all liability for direct, indirect, consequential, or other damages arising out of reliance on information and advertisements presented in this podcast.

In this PassivePockets community roundtable, Chris Lopez sits down with Adam Cranmer, Pascal Wagner, and Christy Burakovsky to talk through real portfolio moves, new investments, and the questions LPs should be asking before and after they write a check.

The conversation starts with portfolio updates: Adam shares why he invested in Alturas’ retail-focused fund through an SPV, passed on a strong sponsor because the deal was outside their core market, and received capital back from a debt fund that no longer fit the team’s risk/reward standards. Pascal walks through how he’s helping manage his mom’s portfolio by diversifying across multiple credit and lending funds, while also keeping dry powder available for single-family foreclosure opportunities. Christy shares why she’s still looking at single-family for tax planning purposes and why she recently invested in a non-performing loan fund after getting comfortable with the math, risk profile, and strategy.

Then the group digs into a nuanced but important LP topic: return of capital vs. return on capital. Christy breaks down how distributions can either reduce your invested basis or represent earnings on top of your original investment, and why that difference can impact taxes, pref calculations, redemption mechanics, and long-term portfolio tracking. The panel debates whether return of capital truly de-risks an investment, how compounding can quietly increase exposure to a single deal or operator, and why LPs need to understand how these mechanics are written into the legal documents.

Finally, the roundtable turns to sponsor questions and due diligence etiquette. Adam shares a recent example of an operator who stopped accepting capital from PassivePockets members because the volume of questions became too time-consuming. The group debates where the line is between reasonable diligence and overwhelming a sponsor, why LPs should not be afraid to ask thoughtful questions, and how operators can reduce friction with better data rooms, clear reporting, and transparent communication. The takeaway: ask the questions, understand what you’re asking, and remember that good diligence continues after the wire is sent.

Key takeaways:

How experienced LPs are repositioning portfolios across retail, debt funds, NPLs, and single-family rentals

Why Adam passed on a strong sponsor when the deal fell outside their proven market expertise

How Pascal thinks about diversification, cash flow, and protecting family capital

Why Christy is focused on tax planning, single-family exposure, and non-performing loans

The difference between return of capital and return on capital, and why it matters

How compounding can unintentionally increase concentration risk

Why LPs should ask better questions, not just more questions

How data rooms, reporting, and sponsor communication can make diligence more efficient

Why post-investment follow-up is just as important as upfront diligence

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Disclaimer

The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only. All host and participant opinions are their own. Investment in any asset, real estate included, involves risk, so use your best judgment and consult with qualified advisors before investing. You should only risk capital you can afford to lose. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This podcast may contain paid advertisements or other promotional materials for real estate investment advisers, investment funds, and investment opportunities, which should not be interpreted as a recommendation, endorsement, or testimonial by PassivePockets, LLC or any of its affiliates. Viewers must conduct their own due diligence and consider their own financial situations before engaging with any advertised offerings, products, or services. PassivePockets, LLC disclaims all liability for direct, indirect, consequential, or other damages arising out of reliance on information and advertisements presented in this podcast.

This Episode

Ryan and Steven Watts of Red River Development join Chris to break down the build-to-rent market, why Red River focuses on secondary markets, and how recent housing legislation could reshape the future of single-family rental investing.

Ryan and Steven share how their backgrounds in energy, banking, construction, development, and property management led them to launch Red River in 2020, right as COVID was reshaping housing demand and capital markets. Since then, the company has grown to more than 2,200 units and roughly $690 million in assets under management, with a focus on purpose-built rental communities designed for renters who want more space, privacy, and flexibility than traditional apartments can offer.

The conversation also digs into the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act and why early Senate language could have been highly disruptive to the build-to-rent industry. Steven explains why the final version was ultimately positive for BTR, how it preserved the distinction between scattered-site single-family rental aggregation and purpose-built rental communities, and why institutional capital may increasingly shift toward BTR as a result.

Chris, Ryan, and Steven also get tactical on Red River’s current Waco, Texas project: a 206-home Trulo Homes community on 20 acres near major retail, entertainment, downtown Waco, and Baylor University. They walk through the capital stack, construction debt, personal guarantees, commercial construction approach, phasing strategy, and how Red River de-risks development by lining up permits, contractors, GMP pricing, and leasing phases before and during construction.

Key takeaways:

How Ryan and Steven’s backgrounds led to the launch of Red River Development

Why build-to-rent serves renters graduating out of apartments or downsizing from homeownership

How the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act changed from a potential BTR headwind into a positive catalyst

Why institutional capital may move away from scattered-site rentals and toward purpose-built BTR communities

What Red River looks for in secondary markets, suburban sites, demographics, schools, retail access, and job centers

How the Waco project is structured, including a 65% loan-to-cost construction loan and a $55 million total capitalization

Why Red River uses a commercial construction approach to build faster and reduce execution risk

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Disclaimer

The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only. All host and participant opinions are their own. Investment in any asset, real estate included, involves risk, so use your best judgment and consult with qualified advisors before investing. You should only risk capital you can afford to lose. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This podcast may contain paid advertisements or other promotional materials for real estate investment advisers, investment funds, and investment opportunities, which should not be interpreted as a recommendation, endorsement, or testimonial by PassivePockets, LLC or any of its affiliates. Viewers must conduct their own due diligence and consider their own financial situations before engaging with any advertised offerings, products, or services. PassivePockets, LLC disclaims all liability for direct, indirect, consequential, or other damages arising out of reliance on information and advertisements presented in this podcast.

Jeff Axley of Ridgeline Capital Partners joins Chris to break down medical office buildings, one of the healthcare real estate niches more LPs are starting to pay attention to. Jeff walks through how his background across office, multifamily, development, restructuring, industrial, and master-planned communities ultimately led him to focus on medical office as a more durable, recession-resilient asset class.

Chris and Jeff start with the basics: what medical office buildings are, how they differ from hospitals, senior housing, skilled nursing, assisted living, and other parts of the healthcare real estate landscape, and why outpatient care has become such an important long-term trend. Jeff explains why medical office can behave like traditional office in some ways, but with important differences: longer leases, triple-net structures, higher tenant improvement costs, more specialized build-outs, and stickier tenants who are much harder to move once they have expensive medical infrastructure in place.

They also dig into the current market opportunity. While traditional office and multifamily have faced major headwinds, medical office occupancy and rents remain strong, with supply typically built to match tenant demand rather than speculative growth. Jeff explains why buying existing medical office at a meaningful discount to replacement cost can create a protected basis, how rising construction costs support the value of existing buildings, and what LPs should look for when evaluating MOB underwriting.

Key takeaways:

What medical office buildings are and how they fit into the broader healthcare real estate landscape

Why outpatient care, aging demographics, technology, and reimbursement pressure support long-term MOB demand

How medical office differs from traditional office through lease structure, tenant improvements, plumbing, foot traffic, and tenant stickiness

Why MOB supply is typically more controlled than multifamily or traditional office supply

How triple-net leases help owners pass through operating expenses, while still requiring competitive cost management

Why replacement cost matters and how buying existing buildings below new construction cost can create downside protection

What LPs should watch in MOB deals, including going-in cap rate, cost of financing, positive leverage, stabilized yield on cost, and exit cap assumptions

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Disclaimer

The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only. All host and participant opinions are their own. Investment in any asset, real estate included, involves risk, so use your best judgment and consult with qualified advisors before investing. You should only risk capital you can afford to lose. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This podcast may contain paid advertisements or other promotional materials for real estate investment advisers, investment funds, and investment opportunities, which should not be interpreted as a recommendation, endorsement, or testimonial by PassivePockets, LLC or any of its affiliates. Viewers must conduct their own due diligence and consider their own financial situations before engaging with any advertised offerings, products, or services. PassivePockets, LLC disclaims all liability for direct, indirect, consequential, or other damages arising out of reliance on information and advertisements presented in this podcast.

August Biniaz of CPI Capital joins Chris to unpack why his firm is bringing Canadian capital into U.S. real estate and why he believes the U.S. remains one of the most attractive rental markets in the world. August walks through his path from fix-and-flips and ground-up construction to launching CPI Capital, a firm built to help Canadian investors access U.S. multifamily and build-to-rent opportunities.

Chris and August dig into the cross-border investing mechanics, including why Canadian investors look south for stronger yields, how withholding taxes and entity structures matter, and why CPI uses limited partnerships rather than LLCs for syndicated deals involving Canadian capital. August also explains how CPI recently created a vehicle that allows Canadian investors to use retirement accounts for U.S. real estate investments.

The conversation then shifts to the current multifamily cycle. August shares why he believes Sunbelt multifamily is near the bottom of the cycle, why distress and repricing may create attractive entry points, and how CPI is evaluating a Dallas-area deal that has corrected significantly from its 2022 basis. Chris pushes on downside risk, debt maturity, interest rates, and macro uncertainty, while August explains why he believes conviction, basis, and business plan discipline matter most in this phase of the cycle.

They also discuss CPI’s build-to-rent strategy, including duplex communities in San Antonio, a build-to-hold project in Denton, and why August views BTR as “horizontal multifamily” serving a growing renter-by-choice demographic.

Key takeaways:

Why CPI Capital was created to help Canadian investors access U.S. real estate

How U.S. multifamily yields compare to similar Canadian markets

Why cross-border tax structure, withholding, and entity choice matter

How Canadian retirement accounts can be directed into certain real estate vehicles

Why August believes Sunbelt multifamily is near the bottom of the cycle

How CPI is underwriting distressed or repriced multifamily opportunities today

Why CPI is focused on Texas and Florida, especially DFW, San Antonio, and Tampa

How build-to-rent fits CPI’s thesis and serves renters by choice

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Disclaimer

The content of this podcast is for informational purposes only. All host and participant opinions are their own. Investment in any asset, real estate included, involves risk, so use your best judgment and consult with qualified advisors before investing. You should only risk capital you can afford to lose. Past performance is not indicative of future results. This podcast may contain paid advertisements or other promotional materials for real estate investment advisers, investment funds, and investment opportunities, which should not be interpreted as a recommendation, endorsement, or testimonial by PassivePockets, LLC or any of its affiliates. Viewers must conduct their own due diligence and consider their own financial situations before engaging with any advertised offerings, products, or services. PassivePockets, LLC disclaims all liability for direct, indirect, consequential, or other damages arising out of reliance on information and advertisements presented in this podcast.