Uncontested Investing

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we break down one of the most misunderstood tools in real estate tax strategy: Opportunity Zones. We unpack what a Qualified Opportunity Zone actually is, how the program was created under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, and why it matters for investors looking to defer capital gains, reduce tax liability, and potentially eliminate gains entirely on long-term projects.

We walk through a real-world example from the Brunswick Naval Air Station in Maine, talk about converting old mills and strip malls into housing, and outline the three big tax incentives: deferral, step-up in basis, and full exclusion after a 10-year hold. Then we flip to the other side of the coin—market risk in distressed areas, zoning and code upgrades, long-term commitment, and why due diligence and local planning insight are non-negotiable.

If you've been hearing about Opportunity Zones but aren't sure how they work or whether they fit your strategy, this episode will give you a clear framework for spotting good OZ deals, avoiding landmines, and partnering with the right fund managers and tax pros. 

Key Talking Points of the Episode

00:00 Introduction

01:25 What are opportunity zones and how were they created?

02:24 Not all opportunity zones are created equal

03:20 Key tax benefits: deferral, reduction, and elimination

04:25 Impact investing: breathing life into distressed communities

05:02 Tax terms explained: Deferral of capital gains, step-up in basis, and more

06:36 Housing shortage, mills, and adaptive reuse

07:32 Qualified Opportunity Funds & 180-day rule

09:24 Residential developments in opportunity zones

10:28 Commercial and mixed-use opportunities

11:27 Redevelopment & infrastructure improvement

12:16 Build-to-rent on raw land in opportunity zones

13:01 The market risks in a distressed area

14:11 Planning board meetings and understanding regulatory and compliance risk

15:39 Long-term commitment and exit strategy

16:05 Do opportunity zones fit your investment goals?

17:01 Partnering with experienced Opportunity Fund managers

18:05 The importance of understanding property taxes when investing in opportunity zones

19:16 Opportunity zones in broader economic development

20:33 Scaling from residential to commercial

Quotables

"Not all opportunity zones are created equal, not all are going to be tailor made like the one that you found, but they still are a great investment opportunity."

"What doesn't look like a pretty picture on the onset can actually going to be one of the most fruitful investments that an investor can make."

"Do they align with your investment goals. Don't just do it because it's trendy or because you heard about it on a podcast."

Links

RCN Capital

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we dive deep into one of the most powerful (and ignored) ways to increase cash flow and boost NOI: property tax appeals. I'm joined by Alison Tulio, President of Incenter Tax Solutions and a seasoned real estate attorney who specializes in helping investors reduce over-assessed property taxes on both residential and commercial real estate.

Whether you own single-family rentals, multifamily, office, industrial, or manage multi-state real estate portfolios, this episode will show you how your property tax bill is quietly eating into your returns and what you can do to fix it. Alison explains why assessments are climbing nationwide, how COVID reshaped office and industrial values, and why distressed commercial properties are some of the best candidates for aggressive tax appeals right now.

We break down practical, zero-risk steps you can take to:

• Get your property taxes reviewed annually

• Spot when you're over-assessed and leaving money on the table

• Avoid common mistakes investors make when they appeal property taxes on their own

• Protect yourself from triggering a tax increase by misunderstanding local rules

Alison also shares a real-world case study where a skeptical client saw a 63% reduction on a single property and saved $180,000 in property taxes without taking on additional risk.

If you care about net operating income (NOI), commercial property values, and keeping more cash in every deal, this conversation is a masterclass on how to lower your property taxes, increase cash flow, and improve returns on your real estate investments. Tune in, take notes, and start treating property tax strategy like the profit lever it really is.

Key Talking Points of the Episode

00:00 Introduction

00:52 Who is Alison Tulio?

01:24 Reinventing in down cycles (2008 & COVID)

02:01 Who Incenter Tax Solutions serves

03:15 The Incenter Tax Solutions mission: Education first

04:25 Helping investors understand and leverage property taxes

05:20 Nationwide coverage & portfolio streamlining

06:30 Alison's time as outside counsel to lenders & servicers

07:38 Deal Maker/Deal Breaker: The turning point in Alison's career

09:06 Why you should have your property taxes reviewed

10:07 How to get started with Incenter Tax Solutions

11:20 Why tax strategy education is important for real estate investors

12:07 Most common mistakes investors make regarding property taxes

13:57 What's the Word? Work hard, play hard

15:24 Opportunity zones and planning for abatements

16:48 Tools & proprietary software for property tax assessment

17:45 Case Study: From skeptic to $180K in savings

18:50 How Incenter Tax Solutions educates investors

19:46 Market strategy and COVID-hit cities

20:24 Alison's life outside of real estate: Family, salt life, working out

21:12 How to get in touch with Alison

Quotables

"We're saving, I mean, we're slashing those property taxes in half and commercials are big ticket items."

"You should 100% have someone look at your property taxes every year."

"Trust the process. You'll see that it's really not too good to be true, and it actually works."

Links

Incenter Tax Solutions

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we sit down with Alex Glickman, the Global Real Estate & Hospitality Practice Leader at Gallagher and one of the most trusted experts in real estate insurance and risk management. With more than 40 years in the industry, Alex has navigated every market cycle, natural disaster, and underwriting shift, giving her unmatched insight into how investors can protect their portfolios in today's environment.

We dive deep into how climate events, rising insurance premiums, and increased claim activity are transforming the way lenders and carriers evaluate real estate deals. Alex explains the key insurance policies every real estate investor must understand, how risk is priced, and the major blind spots investors often overlook like pollution liability, tenant-related losses, builder's risk coverage, and professional liability.

If you want to learn how insurance truly impacts your deal analysis, cash flow, lender requirements, and long-term portfolio strategy, this episode delivers a masterclass in real estate risk mitigation and asset protection from one of the brightest minds in the industry.

Key Talking Points of the Episode

00:00 Introduction

01:15 How Alex accidentally entered insurance after not getting into Harvard Law

02:01 Building a career in a "stodgy" industry and redefining real estate risk

03:00 What drives Gallagher's innovative insurance products

03:52 How storms, wildfires, and extreme weather affect investor insurance strategies

05:37 Why floods are now being reported on every real estate deal

06:38 How insurance actually protects people during their worst moments

07:31 Lender requirements vs. investor needs—why these often clash

08:04 Why real estate insurance is not one-size-fits-all

09:18 Leading a global practice and the importance of learning international norms

11:53 Taking a stand: the career-defining moment that changed Alex's life

13:52 The must-have insurance policies every real estate investor should understand

15:05 Pollution liability: the most overlooked risk in multifamily & SFR

16:25 Insurance needs for fix-and-flips, new construction, and ground-up projects

17:06 Landlord policies vs. tenant policies—who covers what?

18:20 Can landlords create revenue streams from tenant insurance?

19:45 Liability risks investors must understand (injuries, explosions, pet issues, more)

22:26 One-word motto for investors: "One more step."

23:12 How AI and tech are transforming real estate insurance

24:40 Predictive modeling, storm path forecasting, and real-time risk analytics

25:18 Why cheap insurance can destroy your investment

26:55 What's next for Gallagher and Alex's mission to reshape the industry

Quotables

"Insurance is not monolithic. Real estate is not monolithic. You need someone who understands your asset type."

"One more step. If you take one more step than everybody else every day, you will be successful."

"I don't fear bullies. That moment changed my life—and I've never looked back."

Links

RCN Capital

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we sit down with Alex Fahsel, the co-founder of Property Shield, a groundbreaking company that's changing how investors protect their assets from fraud and scams.

At just 23 years old, Alex built Property Shield while finishing college at the University of Georgia—and today, it operates in over 35 states, helping investors prevent rental fraud, wire fraud, and title scams that have cost renters and landlords more than a billion dollars.

We unpack how AI and machine learning are being used to fight fraudulent listings, what every investor needs to know about protecting their portfolios, and how small investors can stay one step ahead of increasingly sophisticated scammers.

If you invest in single-family rentals, multifamily properties, or land, this episode is your crash course in risk management, due diligence, and fraud prevention straight from one of the brightest young innovators in the industry.

Key Talking Points of the Episode

00:00 Introduction

01:15 How an internship at Progress Residential inspired Alex's idea

02:25 Turning a college project into a real business

03:40 The birth of Property Shield and early lessons learned

04:48 How AI detects fraudulent listings and impersonations online

07:28 The shocking scale of real estate fraud across major cities

09:04 The devastating impact of fraud on mom-and-pop investors and tenants

11:07 Property Shield's nationwide growth and expansion goals

13:08 Why small property managers and investors are hardest to reach

15:28 The first deal that changed everything—finding trust and opportunity

17:45 Breaking down other common types of real estate fraud

20:30 Wire fraud and phishing—why the biggest scams happen before closing

23:06 Using AI and automation to detect scams faster than ever

24:23 Deepfakes, AI-generated voices, and the next wave of fraud risks

26:10 How persistence can help you achieve success

27:23 Why investors should always use title companies and attorneys

28:07 How Property Shield is developing new partnerships to fight title fraud

29:50 The goal: catching fraudulent listings before they ever go live

31:38 Future of Property Shield: predictive analytics and risk scoring

Quotables

"We're seeing that between 20 and 25% of all online real estate listings have at least one fraudulent duplicate."

"Fraudsters are using AI, so we have to use AI. It's the only way to keep up."

"Persistence. That's the one word I'd use to sum up this journey. You just keep chugging along."

Links

Property Shield

In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we dive deep into the economic indicators that every real estate investor should track to make smarter, data-driven investment decisions.

We break down the most important real estate market metrics including GDP, unemployment rates, inflation, interest rates, and consumer confidence, and show you how each one affects property values, rental demand, competition, and overall investor behavior.

You'll discover how to use economic data and housing trends to identify opportunities in any market, why local economic indicators are just as critical as national ones, and how housing starts, building permits, and lending standards can signal where the market is headed next.

Whether you're a beginner investor or a seasoned real estate professional, this episode gives you the tools to read the market like an analyst and make confident investment decisions that keep you one step ahead.

Key Talking Points of the Episode

00:00 Introduction

00:53 Gross Domestic Product (GDP): What it means for real estate demand and values

01:39 How overconfidence during GDP booms can backfire

02:25 Predicting rental demand and payment risk through unemployment rates and labor strength

03:06 Tenant vetting during high unemployment: What to look for beyond credit scores

04:23 How interest rates and Federal Reserve activity drive housing and investor activity

06:01 Competition, timing, and refinancing strategies in fluctuating rate environments

07:19 Leveraging high-rate periods for long-term rental growth and portfolio positioning

08:51 Inflation: The "evil twin" of interest rates and how it shapes investor strategy

10:01 Why real estate is a hedge against inflation and how to use appreciation to your advantage

11:52 Housing starts and building permits: What they reveal about inventory and investor sentiment

12:36 Build-to-Rent trends and zoning changes creating new opportunities for small developers

15:18 Consumer Confidence Index: Gauging optimism and its ripple effects on real estate activity

16:51 Mortgage rates and lending standards: What changing criteria reveal about affordability

17:53 How to partner with your lender to stay informed and adapt to market shifts

18:50 Local vs. national data: How to spot opportunities by studying your own backyard

22:00 Ignoring media noise: Why your numbers and market matter more than the headlines

Quotables

"GDP is the low-hanging fruit—it's what everyone's heard of, but few investors truly understand how it affects their deals."

"Real estate is one of the best hedges against inflation, because if prices go up, your assets appreciate too."

"Don't get distracted by national headlines. If your numbers work locally, keep buying."

Links

RCN Capital