How to Turn a W-2 Into 100 Doors: From Nursing to Multifamily & Assisted Living
Savannah Arroyo shares how she parlayed a nursing career into a scalable real-estate portfolio by tapping home equity, moving quickly from single-family to multifamily, and raising capital through relationship-driven 506(b) syndications. She walks through underwriting in uncertain markets, investor communications, deal structures (including no-pref splits), and why she’s expanding into assisted living where her healthcare operations background is a unique advantage.
The Storage Strategy Every Investor Should Know
Derek and guest Jacob Vanderslice dive deep into the mindset and mechanics behind building a durable real-estate business — specifically self-storage. Jacob shares how he went from fighting fires to building a multi-state storage empire by surviving market cycles, raising capital responsibly, and developing systems that scale.
They discuss the current market environment, rising rates, cracks in the economy, deal flow challenges, overpriced assets, and investor fear. Jacob explains why transparency and delivering bad news quickly is critical when managing investor capital, and why operational excellence matters more now than ever.
The conversation also covers sourcing off-market deals, building long-term investor trust, managing a large operations team, navigating overhead, and avoiding the pitfalls that wipe out rookies. The episode ends with timeless advice: take action, take smart risks, and don’t wait for the perfect deal.
How Derek Vickers Built a $20M Mobile Home Park Empire
In this episode of the Generations of Wealth Podcast, host Derek Dombeck sits down with fellow real estate powerhouse Derek Vickers, the founder of Victory Capital.
Vickers went from door-to-door insurance salesman making $13K a year to owning 44 mobile home parks and over 2,100 lots across the Sunbelt — all in just a few years.
They unpack the truth about persistence, negotiation, and scaling, while revealing how mindset and accountability can completely change your financial trajectory. Whether you’re a beginner or seasoned investor, this conversation offers a masterclass in building wealth through discipline, people skills, and problem solving.
How to Navigate Lending, Syndications & Industrial Investing in 2025
In this 37-minute episode, Derek Dombeck sits down with David Hansel, founder of Alpha Funding and Lucerne Capital Partners, for a deep dive into the evolution from single-family flips to commercial and industrial real estate investing. David shares his journey through market cycles, how he built a thriving lending business during the 2008 crash, and how he transitioned into managing over $300M+ in assets through funds and syndications.
You’ll gain first-hand insights into hard money lending, fund management, and small-bay industrial investing — with actionable advice for both new and seasoned investors.
How to Convert Hotels into Apartments (Safely & Profitably)
Derek sits down with Ryan Sudek, CEO of Sage Investment Group, to unpack a repeatable system for converting underperforming hotels/motels into studio apartments—filling an affordability gap while targeting strong returns.
They cover market selection, underwriting, construction (sprinklers, sub-panels, kitchens), property management at 100–200 unit scale, and the capital stack behind Sage’s evergreen fund (quarterly distributions, 1031 within the fund, portfolio diversification). Expect practical detail on risk controls (change-of-use permits before closing, value engineering, local code strategy), tenant quality myths (longer average tenancy than market), and why exterior-corridor assets speed construction. The episode closes with goals (10–15 conversions/year, path to 15k units) and how deals actually reach the team (direct-to-seller, lenders, brokers, 60–70 LOIs out at any time).
Syndications vs. Funds (and SEC Traps): Kevin Kim’s Playbook for Raising Capital the Right Way
Derek sits down with securities attorney Kevin Kim (Fortra Law) to demystify raising capital for real-estate deals—covering when to use a syndication vs. a fund, realistic startup costs, 506(b) vs. 506(c) advertising rules, what actually happens when regulators come knocking, and how note offerings compare to LP/GP fund structures. They also hit modern twists like series LLC funds, why most beginners should avoid tokenization, and a pragmatic outlook for late-2025 across SFR, small multifamily, and shaky commercial sectors. If you raise money (or plan to), this is your compliance-and-strategy cheat sheet straight from a former regulator.
What Is a Capital Stack? Simple Breakdown for Real Estate Investors
Derek sits down with multifamily syndicator Randy Langenderfer to unpack his journey from corporate exec to full-time investor and coach. Randy shares the hard-won lessons from starting as an LP, moving into GP roles, structuring deals that align incentives, navigating the interest-rate shock, and where the next opportunities will likely appear. If you want specific questions to vet sponsors, a clear take on 70/30 PREF vs 80/20 “simple stack,” and a realistic read on distressed deals ahead, this one’s for you.
How to Vet Passive Deals (and Avoid Getting Burned)
Derek sits down with Houston-based investor and capital raiser David Priest to unpack two decades of lessons: surviving the 2008 crash, shifting from transactional work to passive/commercial deals, why operator track record and conservative underwriting beat flashy pro formas, and how to protect yourself in today’s capital stacks (avoid bridge debt, prefer simple structures with LPs directly behind the bank). They also cover buying when others panic, the power of boots-on-the-ground, and a novel principal-protection approach for LPs.
How to Survive a Real Estate Crash in 2025
Derek sits down with David “Dave” Seymour (A&E’s Flipping Boston) for a blunt, no-fluff masterclass on thriving through market cycles. Dave shares his firefighter-to-investor story, the costly lessons behind refis and 2007, how TV fame and hard-money lending actually work, why control of capital beats “cheap” bank money, and the underwriting discipline needed now. They unpack Florida’s boom-bust dynamics, pivoting plays (from land to pickleball to flex), building real networks (and a strict “no-a**hole policy”), and Dave’s 2025–26 plan: scalable education + cherry-picked commercial deals—grounded in faith, family, and service.
Master Passive Income w/ Dustin Heiner
Derek sits down with investor and podcaster Dustin Heiner to unpack how he went from a government IT job to becoming “successfully unemployed.” Dustin shares the layoff story that sparked his pivot, why he invests strictly for monthly cash flow (not appreciation), and his “build the business first, then buy inventory” framework. They dive into systems, out-of-state teams, market cycles (including the short-term rental glut), and creative deals—plus Derek’s zero-interest win and a live subject-to opportunity that emerged from a tenant call.