EPS 347 - From Immigrants to Entrepreneurs to Multifamily Owners: Vivek & Asha’s American Dream

Vivek and Asha, founders of Starcore Capital, are successful entrepreneurs and multifamily operators in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Their story began when they immigrated to the United States in 2010 with two young children, determined to build a better future for their family.

Their journey was not without challenges. After Vivek unexpectedly lost his job, they quickly realized they wanted greater control over their financial future. That setback became the catalyst for entrepreneurship.

They first entered the business world by starting a granite import company, learning many lessons through trial and error. They later launched a successful cookware brand, where their focus on customer service, operational efficiency, and building strong systems helped drive the company's growth.

That entrepreneurial experience eventually led them to multifamily real estate. They began as passive investors, using education and mentorship to better understand the business before making the transition to acquiring and operating apartment communities themselves.

Today, Vivek and Asha bring an operator's mindset to multifamily investing—emphasizing strong systems, disciplined underwriting, teamwork, and data-driven decision-making. They believe the current DFW market cycle is creating compelling opportunities as distressed properties and motivated sellers begin to emerge.

Now, through Starcore Capital, they are taking the next step by launching a multifamily investment fund focused on opportunities throughout DFW. Their goal is to combine their entrepreneurial experience, operational expertise, and disciplined investment approach to identify and improve well-located multifamily assets.

The Old Capital Multifamily Accelerator is built for investors who are ready to move beyond podcasts, books, and seminars—and start evaluating real multifamily opportunities.

To contact- Vivek & Asha: vivek@starcorecapital.com

Learn alongside experienced apartment owners, brokers, property managers, attorneys, and other industry professionals as we walk through the entire acquisition process—from finding and underwriting deals to financing, due diligence, raising equity, and submitting an offer. This isn't about theory. It's about learning how apartment deals actually get done in today's market. Real Deals. Real Experts. Real-World Experience.

Learn more and apply to the Old Capital Multifamily Accelerator:
OldCapitalAccelerator.com

ASK MIKE MONDAY: "Is Multifamily Finally Turning the Corner?"

In this episode of Ask Mike Mondays, Paul and Michael discuss improving apartment fundamentals, lender-driven sales, distressed opportunities, and why today's reset in values could create an attractive buying window.

They also introduce the Old Capital Accelerator Program and Michael shares three simple rules he's learned from decades of multifamily investing.

Old Capital Accelerator Program
Paul introduces the Old Capital Accelerator, a hands-on multifamily education program designed to help investors move from learning about apartments to evaluating and pursuing real opportunities.

Participants work with actual deals, learn underwriting and financing, understand due diligence and operations, and gain access to experienced owners and industry professionals. The focus is real-world education and experience—not promoting a particular sponsor or investment.
Learn more: oldcapitalaccelerator.com

What's Happening in Multifamily?
The market remains unpredictable. Many sellers still have yesterday's pricing expectations, while buyers are underwriting based on today's higher interest rates, expenses, and required returns.

Meanwhile, lenders are increasingly influencing which properties come to market—sometimes pushing over-leveraged borrowers toward a sale or foreclosure. Some properties are now trading near values last seen years ago, creating what Michael describes as a potential "lost decade" in apartment values for certain owners.

Are Fundamentals Improving?
Despite negative headlines, Michael is seeing encouraging signs across SPI Advisory's portfolio:
• DFW properties are now 90%+ occupied
• Portfolio-wide occupancy is approximately 95%
• Apartment absorption remains strong across DFW, Austin, and San Antonio
• New construction is slowing
• Concessions could decline as excess supply is absorbed
The key point: apartment values have fallen significantly, but renter demand remains strong.

Is This a Buying Opportunity?
Investor sentiment remains cautious, but fundamentals are beginning to stabilize.
Today's buyers may benefit from lower valuations, less competition, improving occupancy, slowing new supply, available debt capital, and significant tax benefits. Equity remains difficult to raise, which could create an advantage for experienced investors with capital and the ability to execute. Michael believes today's risk-adjusted opportunities—particularly in workforce housing—may be among the most attractive in years.

Michael Becker's 3 Rules of Multifamily Investing
Rule #1: Don't buy in the hood.
A cheap property isn't necessarily a good investment.
Rule #2: The business isn't always fair.
Track record, credibility, and relationships matter.
Rule #3: Don't be a jerk. 
Multifamily is a relationship business. Your reputation follows you—and compounds over time.

Key Takeaway
The multifamily market isn't suddenly easy again. Distressed properties can be complicated, equity remains challenging, and buyers and sellers still don't always agree on value. But values have reset, occupancy is improving, new supply is slowing, and debt capital is available. For disciplined investors, this could create one of the more interesting acquisition windows we've seen in years.

Old Capital Accelerator: oldcapitalaccelerator.com
SPI Advisory: spiadvisory.com

EPS 346 - Let’s do this together: Old Capital Accelerator Program

Why Join the Old Capital Multifamily Accelerator?
                    
Most aspiring apartment investors don't fail because they lack information—they fail because they don't know how to turn that information into their first acquisition.
The Old Capital Multifamily Accelerator Program is designed to bridge that gap.

Learn by Working on Real Deals

Forget hypothetical case studies. You'll underwrite current apartment opportunities, analyze actual financials, and participate in the same decision-making process experienced investors use before submitting a Letter of Intent (LOI).

Learn Directly from Experienced Operators

Gain access to seasoned apartment owners, commercial lenders, attorneys, contractors, property managers, brokers, and other industry professionals who have successfully closed and operated multifamily investments. Ask questions, receive honest feedback, and learn from their real-world experiences—both successes and mistakes.

Follow a Proven Roadmap

Instead of trying to figure everything out on your own, you'll follow a structured step-by-step process covering acquisitions, underwriting, due diligence, capital raising, financing, asset management, and property management. Each session builds on the previous one, giving you a clear path from finding a deal to closing one.

Build Confidence Before You Risk Capital

Practice negotiating LOIs, underwriting deals, reviewing due diligence, and presenting investment opportunities in a collaborative environment. You'll develop the skills and confidence needed before committing your own money to a transaction.

Stay Current with Today's Market

Apartment investing has changed dramatically over the past few years. The Accelerator focuses on today's lending environment, interest rates, insurance costs, operating challenges, and capital markets so you're learning strategies that work now—not what worked five years ago.

Join a Community That Continues Beyond Four Weeks

The Accelerator isn't just a class—it's a community. After the initial four-week program, members continue learning through monthly case studies, quarterly property tours, market updates, and ongoing networking with active apartment investors.

Expand Your Professional Network

Many successful apartment acquisitions begin with relationships. You'll build connections with investors, lenders, brokers, operators, and potential partners who can help you source deals, raise capital, solve problems, and grow your business.

Move from Education to Execution

The ultimate goal isn't simply to teach apartment investing—it's to help you take action. Whether your objective is buying your first apartment community or becoming a stronger syndicator, the Accelerator provides the knowledge, accountability, resources, and community to help you get there.
The difference isn't more education. It's having experienced professionals and a community walking beside you as you pursue your first—or next—apartment acquisition.
To get more information on the Old Capital Accelerator: OldCapitalPodcast.com 

Watch Old Capital Accelerator on Vimeo

EPS 345 - “The Next Multifamily Buying Wave? Preparing for Opportunity in a Changing Market”

On this episode of the Old Capital Real Estate Investing Podcast, Paul Peebles and James Eng, take a deep dive into the dramatic shift happening across the multifamily housing market—and why today’s uncertainty may create tomorrow’s buying opportunities.

After years of rapid appreciation, easy debt, and aggressive investor competition, the apartment market is experiencing a major reset. The discussion explores how the market evolved from the steady growth years of 2015–2020 into the buying frenzy of 2021–2022, when historically low interest rates and abundant capital drove prices to unsustainable levels. Properties routinely received dozens of tours and competing offers, pushing values to record highs.

Now, with higher interest rates and tighter lending standards, the landscape has changed dramatically. Multifamily values in many markets have fallen 20–30%, refinancing has become increasingly difficult, and lenders are beginning to repossess properties that can no longer support their debt structures. Many listings entering the market today are lender-controlled or distressed assets—signs that the market may be approaching a bottoming phase.

The episode also compares today’s environment to previous real estate downturns, including the late 1980s savings-and-loan crisis and the 2008 financial collapse. One recurring lesson remains clear: excessive leverage, overbuilding, and risky loan structures eventually lead to painful corrections.

But with disruption comes opportunity.

Paul & James- discuss why experienced investors are preparing for a significant wave of multifamily buying opportunities in the coming years. Rather than focusing solely on today’s cash flow metrics, investors may soon have the chance to acquire quality real estate at discounted “price-per-pound” valuations.

The conversation also highlights common investor mistakes during market transitions:

Moving too quickly without proper due diligence
Investing purely for tax benefits
Waiting endlessly for the “perfect” deal and missing opportunities altogether

To help investors prepare for the next cycle, the episode introduces the Old Capital Accelerator Program—a hands-on educational and networking platform designed to bridge the gap between learning about apartment investing and actually closing deals.

Topics Covered:
Why multifamily prices are resetting
The impact of rising interest rates on apartment owners
Distressed assets and lender-owned opportunities
Historical real estate cycles and lessons learned
Investor psychology during downturns
Building a disciplined acquisition strategy
Why the next buying wave may reward prepared investors
About the Old Capital Accelerator Program

The Accelerator Program is designed for serious multifamily investors looking to transition from education into execution.

Participants will experience:

Interactive cohort-based learning
Real property tours and deal analysis
Weekly Zoom sessions with experienced operators
Discussions on acquisitions, asset management, capital raising, and dispositions
Access to seasoned GPs, LPs, and Old Capital professionals
Practical underwriting experience and live deal feedback

The program is intended for accredited investors and experienced professionals who are financially prepared to actively pursue apartment investments.

Final Takeaway

This episode is ultimately about preparation. Market dislocation often creates extraordinary buying opportunities—but only for investors who are educated, disciplined, and ready to act when the timing is right.

The next multifamily cycle may already be forming. The question is: will you be ready when the opportunities arrive?

EPS 344 - “Texas Multifamily Cycles, Professional Property Management & Surviving Market Downturns”

Veteran multifamily operator Dusty Wolf joins the Old Capital Real Estate Investing Podcast for a deep dive into the realities of apartment ownership, property management, and surviving multiple real estate cycles in Texas. With nearly five decades in the business and leadership over thousands of apartment units across Texas, Dusty shares firsthand lessons from some of the most challenging periods in commercial real estate history — including the oil crisis, the Savings & Loan collapse, the Great Financial Crisis, and today’s multifamily slowdown.
Dusty explains how every downturn forced owners and operators to adapt, become more professional, and focus on operational discipline. From the devastating impact of the 1986 tax reform changes to mass foreclosures and the creation of the RTC, this episode provides historical perspective that today’s investors desperately need.
The conversation also explores current apartment market challenges facing Texas owners, including declining occupancies in B & C class properties, demographic shifts, labor disruptions, rising operating costs, and the growing pressure on syndicators managing large investor groups. Dusty discusses why many operators underestimate the importance of staffing, vendor relationships, and resident retention — and why cutting corners during difficult times can permanently damage an asset.
Key themes throughout the episode include:
• Why professional property management matters more during downturns
• Lessons learned from 40+ years of real estate cycles
• The evolution of apartment syndication and investor expectations
• Operational mistakes owners make during market stress
• Why resident retention and customer service are critical in Texas multifamily
• How patience and long-term thinking separate survivors from forced sellers
• Why many experienced operators remain optimistic about 2026 and 2027
Dusty also shares candid advice for apartment investors navigating today’s market: multifamily investing is not a “get rich quick” business. Success requires patience, strong operations, adequate capital, and a willingness to let experienced professionals manage the day-to-day execution.
To contact Dusty Wolf: dwolf@centrapartners.com

Ready to unlock the potential of multifamily syndications? Learn how Michael Becker’s proven real estate syndication strategies can help you grow wealth and build long-term financial success. Visit SPIADVISORY.COM to start your journey today.

EPS 343 - “Don’t Get on the ‘Bad Boy List’: Inside Agency Loan Compliance”

Closing the loan is just the beginning. In this episode of the Old Capital Podcast, we dive into the hidden world of Agency asset management—where property condition, communication, and execution determine whether you stay in good standing…or get flagged. Learn how to avoid slipping to a “4,” navigate new Fannie and Freddie requirements, and position yourself for your next deal—not your last.
Key Takeaways:
Agency Loan Basics- Agency loans are typically non-recourse, with the property and cash flow as primary collateral.
Importance of Property Maintenance- Maintaining the asset protects the lender collateral. Deferred maintenance can lead to operational issues and lender intervention.
Asset Management Process- Post-closing oversight shifts to asset management. Heavy communication expected- especially in year one. Annual inspections standard, with increased scrutiny if issues arise.
Property Rating System- Scale from 1 (new) to 5 (uninhabitable) A “2” is the target’ a “4” triggers serious oversight and additional capital requirements. Falling to a “4” can result in “A-Check” status, limiting future borrowing ability. New tracking systems flag repeat property issues.
Final Takeaway:
Agency lenders are paying closer attention than ever. The investors who succeed are the ones who stay proactive—maintaining their properties, communicating early, and treating asset management as a critical part of the investment, not an afterthought.

Ready to unlock the potential of multifamily syndications? Learn how Michael Becker’s proven real estate syndication strategies can help you grow wealth and build long-term financial success. Visit SPIADVISORY.COM to start your journey today.

EPS 342 - “Equity Dried Up. Deals Are Cracking. Now What?”

Raising equity used to be the easy part—today, it’s the biggest hurdle. Veteran real estate securities attorney Eugene Trowbridge unpacks the legal landmines, capital challenges, and shifting dynamics in apartment syndication. From SEC rules to struggling deals and cautious investors, this conversation connects the dots on why deals aren’t penciling—and what smart operators must do to survive and win in today’s market.
Key Takeaways:
The New Reality of Raising Equity 1) Equity has gone from abundant to scarce almost overnight 2) Many investors are either fully deployed or sitting on the sidelines waiting for clarity 3) Larger deals ($10M+) increasing require multiple GPs and creative capital stacks
Legal Structure Matters More Than Ever 1) Understanding Regulation D (506B vs 506C) is critical. 506B: Relationship-based, no advertising, limited sophisticated investors 506C: Allows advertising but requires strict accreditation verification.
Market Stress is Exposing Weak Deals: Rising interest rates + bridge debt + depleted reserves = distressed assets.
The Hidden Risk in Capital Raising: Not all “capital raisers” are operating legally. Transaction-based compensation without property licensing can trigger SEC enforcement.
Final Thought:
Today’s market is separating professionals from pretenders. Capital is harder, deals are riskier, and the legal framework matters more than ever. The operators who understand both the financial AND regulatory side of the business will be the ones still standing when the market turns.
To contact Gene Trowbridge: gene@tnllp.com

Ready to unlock the potential of multifamily syndications? Learn how Michael Becker’s proven real estate syndication strategies can help you grow wealth and build long-term financial success. Visit SPIADVISORY.COM to start your journey today.