🎙️ Introduction
In this episode of CREPN Radio, host J. Darrin Gross welcomes Neal Bawa, CEO of Grocapitus Investments and MultifamilyU. Known as the “Mad Scientist of Multifamily,” Neal shares how his journey from the tech world to real estate led him to pioneer data-driven investing and technology-based property management. Neal unpacks his early experiences with syndication, his breakthrough in tenant lead generation, and why he believes technologists are poised to disrupt multifamily at scale. From optimizing NOI with overseas teams to predicting market cycles, this episode is packed with insights for investors seeking to think differently about real estate.
📌 Key Takeaways
✅ Accidental Start – Neal’s real estate journey began when his CEO tasked him with building a 27,000 sq. ft. campus from scratch—leading him to discover the scale and profitability of commercial projects.
✅ Early Syndication – Before he even knew the term, Neal syndicated office condos to doctors, realizing the power of raising capital from investors.
✅ Data-Driven Investor – Neal emphasizes market selection based on population, jobs, income, and affordability, noting there are 2,300+ distinct U.S. real estate cycles.
✅ Tech Disruption – Neal built a system generating 30,000 tenant leads per year, with 62% of leases coming directly from his team’s efforts—not property managers.
✅ NOI Optimization – By outsourcing leasing follow-ups and upsells (carports, pet fees, washer/dryer rentals) to a Philippines team, Neal captures the “final 20%” of property value often left untapped.
✅ Opportunity Zone Risk – While some zones are promising, Neal warns that blind capital flooding into distressed areas without fundamentals is a systemic risk that could mirror pre-2008 mistakes.
✅ Long-Term Outlook – Homeownership is projected to fall, construction costs keep rising, and multifamily remains a strong play—but investors must be disciplined with debt structures and market cycles.
⏱️ Chapters
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00:00 – Introduction – Host Darrin Gross opens CREPN Radio, welcomes Neal Bawa.
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04:00 – First Project – Neal’s trial by fire: building a 27,000 sq. ft. campus in nine months.
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10:00 – Early Syndication – Pitching doctors on office condos before knowing what syndication was.
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16:00 – Single Family to Multifamily – Buying 20+ single family/triplexes, then moving into syndications.
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24:00 – Investor to Operator – Attending 200 asset management calls, learning sponsor best practices.
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32:00 – Tech Epiphany – Discovering multifamily’s “old boys’ club” tech gap.
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36:00 – Tenant Marketing System – How Neal built a system generating 30,000 annual leads.
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44:00 – NOI Optimization – Outsourcing upsells and lead processing to overseas teams.
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52:00 – Market Cycles – Why there are 2,300 distinct cycles and how to pick the right innings.
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1:00:00 – Opportunity Zone Risks – Why billions flowing into distressed OZs could create systemic risk.
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1:10:00 – Recession Outlook – Why the next downturn won’t be like 2008 and how to prepare.
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1:18:00 – Closing Thoughts – Neal’s resources: MultifamilyU.com for education, Grocapitus.com for investments.
