In this episode of Uncontested Investing, Suzanne and I break down one of the biggest unlocks for scaling your real estate portfolio: building a repeatable process that drives consistent growth. We walk through the full lifecycle of a deal, from deal sourcing, underwriting, financing, operations, property management, to exit strategy and show you how to turn each step into a system you can run again and again, in any market. 

We talk about practical tools like CRMs, project management platforms, cost-estimation software, virtual assistants, and outbound call partners, plus the habits and mindset you need to stick to your buy box, remove emotion from decisions, and constantly refine your process.

If you're looking to scale from "doing deals" to running a real real estate investing business, this episode will help you tighten up your systems, build a better team, and create the kind of predictability every investor wants in an unpredictable market.

Key Talking Points of the Episode

00:00 Introduction

01:41 Dealing with reliability in an unpredictable industry

02:15 Boundaries, buy box & taking emotion out of deals

03:30 Why it's important to document your processes

04:32 Pillar 1: Deal sourcing & building a pipeline

06:24 Leveraging networks to your advantage

07:05 Pillar 2: Due diligence & underwriting

08:01 Checklists and automations

09:10 Pillar 3: Financing strategy & lender relationships

10:21 How to establish credibility with lenders

11:01 Pillar 4: Operations & property management

12:21 Tenant screening tips to keep your properties full

13:28 Vacancy, renewals, reviews & tenant referrals

15:30 Pillar 5: Exit strategy (know it before you enter)

17:29 Tools and technology that support repeatability

18:16 Virtual assistant support for scaling companies

19:33 The impact of nurturing relationships

20:15 Project management tools: Asana & Trello

22:01 Automation for lead generation and follow ups

23:03 Process over outcome: the athlete mindset

23:53 The importance of being intentional

24:12 KPIs, self-review, and the right approach to your mistakes

25:50 Building a team that supports scale

27:06 Culture, communication & continuous training

28:17 Audit your process & start small

29:42 Collaboration over isolation

Quotables

"The market can bounce off the walls… if you can have that tunnel vision on what works for you and block out the rest of the noise, that's where you're going to find success and consistent growth."

"Without numerous properties, you can't build a repeatable process."

"One month of vacancy, you could easily say, is a hundred dollars off the rental rate that you want to get just to not have it vacant."

Links

RCN Capital

https://www.rcncapital.com/podcast

https://www.instagram.com/rcn_capital/

info@rcncapital.com

REI INK

https://rei-ink.com/

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we hit pause on deals and dive into something every real estate investor needs to do at least once a year: reflect, reassess, and reset your plan for the new year. We talk through how to review your wins, losses, systems, market strategy, portfolio performance, team, and mindset so you're not just repeating the same year over and over. 

We cover how to celebrate business highlights, identify what actually moved the needle, and cut the processes, platforms, and partnerships that didn't. We also dig into market insights, changing interest rates, new legislation, tenant screening, BRRRR, non-core dispositions, portfolio optimization, alternative capital (IRAs, 1031 exchanges), new markets, hiring, culture, personal habits, and community.

If you're serious about leveling up your real estate investing business in 2026 and beyond, this episode will give you a practical framework to turn this past year's lessons into a better plan, better systems, and better results

Key Talking Points of the Episode

00:00 Introduction

01:16 Why investors should start with the wins before anything else

02:10 Did you stay flexible when the plan broke?

03:13 Owning the good and the bad

04:11 Leading by example and being in the trenches with your team

06:03 Operational lessons: systems that scaled vs. systems that broke

07:25 Deal-level lessons: best vs. worst deals

08:38 The importance of learning from your mistakes

09:11 Team & partnership lessons: hiring, firing, and fit

10:37 Firing is painful… but not firing can be worse

12:00 Mindset lessons: did you actually become the CEO?

13:44 Leveraging market insights for planning for the year

14:15 Interest rates, scarcity & competitiveness

15:22 New legislation & unlawful occupancy (squatting)

16:50 Improving tenant screening processes

18:17 Predictions vs. reality: did you pivot quickly enough?

19:41 Reviewing your portfolio to choose properties to keep, fix, or sell

20:45 Non-core strategy & using BRRRR to recycle equity

21:36 Get your documentation and data ready before you need capital

22:08 Goal-setting that actually sticks

23:07 Strategic focus: new markets, assets, and models

25:26 Team growth, onboarding & culture by design

27:19 Professional & personal development

28:31 Tracking results & embracing automation

29:32 Community: one of the most underused levers

30:03 Competition vs. collaboration

Quotables

"You need to personally acknowledge your strengths and weaknesses… being ready to relinquish control… that's a huge hurdle when you transition from employee to owner."

"Every successful investor that we've had on the show… they've all learned lessons the hard way. But it's about taking those lessons and then turning them into success."

"One of the most important lessons that we hope investors learn throughout the course of any year is that they can't do this by themselves."

Links

RCN Capital

https://www.rcncapital.com/podcast

https://www.instagram.com/rcn_capital/

info@rcncapital.com

REI INK

https://rei-ink.com/

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we sit down with Bruce McNeilage, co-founder of Kinlock Partners, to break down what it really takes to scale a real estate portfolio across multiple markets and asset classes. With nearly two decades of experience building and operating thousands of units, Bruce shares hard-earned lessons from single-family rentals and build-to-rent communities to large multifamily developments and self-storage projects.

We explore how Bruce identifies high-growth real estate markets like Nashville, Atlanta, and Columbia, why job drivers and industry concentration matter more than hype, and how investors can successfully transition from single-family investing into multifamily ownership.

Whether you're a newer investor looking to scale responsibly or an experienced operator refining your strategy, this episode delivers a practical, no-nonsense roadmap to building durable cash-flowing assets, reducing risk, and growing long-term wealth through real estate investing.

Key Talking Points of the Episode

00:00 Introduction

01:10 Who is Bruce Mcneilage?

03:16 Bootstrapping growth without institutional capital

04:28 Navigating niche communities and neighborhoods

06:06 Scaling from SFR and build-to-rent to condo and multifamily development

07:08 On-site maintenance, resident experience, and controlling operating costs

10:14 Deal Breaker / Deal Maker: due diligence failures and early wins

11:43 Financing challenges when moving from single-family to multifamily

12:30 Operational risks: scale magnifies maintenance and management issues

13:37 Market selection metrics: jobs, automotive plants, and economic drivers

14:20 How to handle the complexities of multifamily property management

16:35 The "collector" approach: managing multiple small properties efficiently

18:53 "Empty houses make me no money" - vacancy, tenants, and cash flow philosophy

20:26 Dealing with tenants: trespassing, squatters, and evictions

21:53 Tenant screening: background checks, credit checks, and fraud prevention

23:20 Tools and systems for tenant screening

24:00 Starting small, bootstrapping portfolios, and long-term wealth building

25:58 Hard work, sacrifice, and the realities behind long-term success

27:17 Partnerships, complementary skill sets, and team building

27:40 New projects: large-scale self-storage development

Quotables

"Empty houses make me no money."

"Ninety-two percent of this business is choosing the right tenant."

"People see the success, but they don't see the 90% below the surface."

Links

RCN Capital

https://www.rcncapital.com/podcast

https://www.instagram.com/rcn_capital/

info@rcncapital.com

REI INK

https://rei-ink.com/