“This cycle will separate real operators from everyone else.”

In this episode, Mark Shuler delivers an unfiltered breakdown of the multifamily market reset—and why 2026 is shaping up to be a defining year for investor returns.

Drawing on more than three decades of operating experience and a portfolio exceeding $300M AUM, Mark walks through how the easy-credit era masked weak operations, why cap rates and valuations have structurally reset, and what happens next as loans mature, DSCRs collapse, and lenders finally force resolution. From bond markets and interest rates to supply gluts, operating cost pressures, and the coming wave of distressed sales, this conversation connects macro forces directly to Main Street deal performance. If you’re an investor or entrepreneur trying to understand where risk truly sits—and where opportunity may emerge as weaker operators wash out—this episode is essential listening.

5 Key Takeaways from This Episode

1. The “easy money” era hid bad operators
   Artificially low interest rates allowed weak underwriting and poor operations to survive, inflating values and compressing cap rates beyond sustainable levels.
   
   
2. This is a reset—not a 2008-style collapse
   Liquidity still exists, but higher interest rates and rising cap rates have permanently changed valuations, forcing deals to reprice to historical norms.
   
   
3. Loan maturities are the real pressure point
   Many deals from 2019–2021 cannot refinance due to lower values and insufficient NOI, making “extend and pretend” no longer viable as 2026 approaches.
   
   
4. Operations now matter more than financial engineering
   Rising expenses, labor challenges, insurance, taxes, and vacancy pressures mean only strong, vertically integrated operators will attract lender confidence.
   
   
5. Opportunity favors prepared capital and proven operators
   As distressed assets hit the market, well-capitalized groups with operational depth will acquire at significantly lower bases before large institutions step in.

About Tim Mai

Tim Mai is a real estate investor, fund manager, mentor, and founder of HERO Mastermind for REI coaches.

He has helped many real estate investors and coaches become millionaires. Tim continues to help busy professionals earn income and build wealth through passive investing.

He is also a creative marketer and promoter with incredible knowledge and experience, which he freely shares.

He has lifted himself from the aftermath of war, achieving technical expertise in computers, followed by investment success in real estate, management skills, and a lofty position among real estate educators and internet marketers.

Tim is an industry leader who has acquired and exited well over $50 million worth of real estate and is currently an investor in over 2700 units of multifamily apartments.

Connect with Tim
Website: Capital Raising Party
Facebook: Tim Mai | Capital Raising Nation
Instagram: @timmaicom
Twitter: @timmai
LinkedIn: Tim Mai
YouTube: Tim Mai

What if you could legally raise capital from friends, family, and your community without running into the red tape that derails so many first-time raises?

In this episode of the Hero Capital Show, we sit down with Stella Han, founder of Fractional, to unpack how her platform has facilitated over $600M raised in the last five years by rethinking how capital is pooled and deployed. Stella shares her personal journey from real estate investor to tech founder, including a failed early raise that cost her tens of thousands of dollars and sparked the insight behind investment clubs. We dive into how investment clubs work, why the SEC treats them differently from syndications, when they outperform traditional 506 structures, and how operators can responsibly scale capital raising while engaging both accredited and non-accredited investors. If you’re an investor or entrepreneur looking for smarter, more flexible ways to raise capital—and avoid costly early mistakes—this is an episode you can’t afford to miss.

5 Key Takeaways from This Episode

1. Why investment clubs aren’t treated as securities
   Stella explains how active participation—especially in deal selection and voting—is the key reason the SEC does not regulate investment clubs like traditional syndications.
   
   
2. When an investment club beats a syndication or fund
   For raises around $5M or less, investment clubs can unlock capital from both accredited and non-accredited investors while offering a more engaging “seat at the table” experience.
   
   
3. How to raise capital without a deal under contract
   By raising around a clearly defined investment thesis or buy box, operators can secure capital first and deploy it only after members vote on deals—similar to a fund, but without securities filings.
   
   
4. Turning soft commitments into real commitments
   Fractional uses a small upfront transaction fee from investors to replace verbal promises with real financial commitment, dramatically reducing last-minute dropouts.
   
   
5. Using investment clubs alongside syndications
   Stella outlines how sophisticated operators run clubs and syndications in parallel—using clubs to engage broader communities while still raising larger checks through traditional structures.

About Tim Mai

Tim Mai is a real estate investor, fund manager, mentor, and founder of HERO Mastermind for REI coaches.

He has helped many real estate investors and coaches become millionaires. Tim continues to help busy professionals earn income and build wealth through passive investing.

He is also a creative marketer and promoter with incredible knowledge and experience, which he freely shares.

He has lifted himself from the aftermath of war, achieving technical expertise in computers, followed by investment success in real estate, management skills, and a lofty position among real estate educators and internet marketers.

Tim is an industry leader who has acquired and exited well over $50 million worth of real estate and is currently an investor in over 2700 units of multifamily apartments.

Connect with Tim
Website: Capital Raising Party
Facebook: Tim Mai | Capital Raising Nation
Instagram: @timmaicom
Twitter: @timmai
LinkedIn: Tim Mai
YouTube: Tim Mai

Discover how long it really takes to scale across single-family, multifamily, and retail while staying profitable in shifting markets.

In this episode, Bryant Aplass breaks down his journey from exiting a Fortune 500-focused apparel business to becoming a developer and fund manager behind hundreds of millions of dollars in real estate transactions. Drawing directly from real-world experience, Bryant walks through his evolution into retail single-tenant net lease deals, value-add land packaging, and manufactured housing—explaining how disciplined execution, short deal cycles, and strong partnerships drive consistent outcomes. Investors and entrepreneurs will gain a clear, behind-the-scenes look at how capital is deployed, how risk is managed, and why operational simplicity and alignment with national credit tenants have become central to his current strategy.

5 Key Takeaways to learn from the Episode

1. How Bryant transitioned from a high-volume operating business into real estate and applied operational discipline to investing and development.
   
   
2. Why single-tenant net lease retail and short-duration value-add projects are a core focus of his current investment strategy.
   
   
3. The role of creative financing, mentorship, and partnerships in accelerating deal execution and reducing costly learning curves.
   
   
4. How manufactured housing and land packaging are being used to address affordability while maintaining strong project economics.
   
   
5. What investors should understand about fund structures, alignment with LPs, and prioritizing cash flow and certainty over long, speculative timelines.

About Tim Mai

Tim Mai is a real estate investor, fund manager, mentor, and founder of HERO Mastermind for REI coaches.

He has helped many real estate investors and coaches become millionaires. Tim continues to help busy professionals earn income and build wealth through passive investing.

He is also a creative marketer and promoter with incredible knowledge and experience, which he freely shares.

He has lifted himself from the aftermath of war, achieving technical expertise in computers, followed by investment success in real estate, management skills, and a lofty position among real estate educators and internet marketers.

Tim is an industry leader who has acquired and exited well over $50 million worth of real estate and is currently an investor in over 2700 units of multifamily apartments.

Connect with Tim
Website: Capital Raising Party
Facebook: Tim Mai | Capital Raising Nation
Instagram: @timmaicom
Twitter: @timmai
LinkedIn: Tim Mai
YouTube: Tim Mai