<![CDATA[Apex Professional Construction, Apex Real Estate Investments, Chase Calhoun Real Estate - Blog Old]]>Fri, 20 Feb 2026 02:20:24 -0600Weebly<![CDATA[From Panic to Profit: A Real-World Autopsy of Our First Real Estate Deals]]>Tue, 13 May 2025 19:00:47 GMThttps://www.chasecalhoun.com/blog-old/from-panic-to-profit-a-real-world-autopsy-of-our-first-real-estate-deals

From Demo Day to Payday: The Playbook We Wish We Had

By Chase Calhoun

If you caught our latest Relentless Growth episode—“Our First Real Estate Deals: Profits, Pitfalls & What We’d Do Differently”—you already watched Jack Maher and me drag our very first projects out of the archives (numbers, cringe-worthy missteps, possum-sized surprises and all). Below is the expanded playbook I wish someone had handed me before I swung a single demo hammer.

1. Know Your Exit Before You Enter

Every line item flows from the finish line. On Day 1, ask yourself: “How will we refinance or dispose of this—and at what cap rate?” A ½-point exit swing can vaporize thin spreads, so run a quick sensitivity grid before you ever draft the offer.

2. Five Mistakes We Paid to Learn

  • Financing first, math second. Low down-payments looked sexy—total cost of capital didn’t.
  • DIY overload. Swinging every hammer saved pennies, cost months.
  • Under-scoping renos. We budgeted like HGTV, not like GC bids.
  • Rent comps on wishful thinking. Granite ≠ $200 premium in a C-class ZIP.
  • No written systems. Every decision lived in our heads; scaling was brutal.

3. Five Plays That Still Print Money

  • Buy near job anchors. Hospitals & universities shield vacancy.
  • House-hack the project. Living in it cut living costs by ~30 %.
  • Early construction vocabulary. Knowing “lag bolt” from “Tapcon” keeps bids honest.
  • Local-bank relationships. Community lenders now fund eight-figure lines.
  • Document everything. Photos & spreadsheets from Deal #1 still fuel our content engine.

4. Redoing the Deal in 2025? Adjust Here

  • Stress-test 0.75 % higher exit cap rates than today’s broker whisper.
  • Rate caps on bridge debt—volatility’s not done.
  • Material quotes in writing (30-day lock). Lumber bids swing like crypto.
  • 10–15 % contingency. Industry averages run $95–$220 / sq ft for duplexes (national mean ≈ $130 / sq ft).

5. Bottom Line

Your first deal will never be perfect—but if you debrief it ruthlessly, it can bankroll a lifetime of better ones. Nail your exit strategy, over-communicate with lenders and subs, and document every lesson for the next property.

6. Dig Deeper

➔ Watch the full episode on YouTube
➔ Join the Relentless Growth Insider list for subscriber-only case studies and early access to new BTR projects hitting the pipeline this summer: Join Our Mailing List

See you out there—keep grinding, keep learning, and as always… stay relentless.

]]><![CDATA[Faith, Family, Fitness & Real Estate: How We Keep All Four Plates Spinning (Without Letting Any Crash)]]>Thu, 08 May 2025 20:17:27 GMThttps://www.chasecalhoun.com/blog-old/faith-family-fitness-real-estate-how-we-keep-all-four-plates-spinning-without-letting-any-crashFaith, Family, Fitness & Real Estate: How We Keep All Four Plates Spinning (Without Letting Any Crash)
By Chase Calhoun
If you tuned in to the newest episode of Relentless Growth—“Balancing Real Estate Success, Faith, Family & Fitness” with my good friend and co-host Jack Maher—you already heard the honest, in-the-trenches version of how we juggle business, barbells, Bible study, and bedtime stories. If you missed it, catch the show here → Watch the full episode on YouTube. YouTube
Below is the expanded playbook: key takeaways from the conversation, plus the data, tools, and habits we lean on every day to stay anchored while scaling up. Grab your notepad (or screenshot the highlights) and let’s dig in.

1. Build a Calendar That Reflects Your Real Priorities“Show me your Google Calendar and I’ll show you your values.”
Weekly, Jack and I each time-block:
  • Faith: quiet time, church, men’s group
  • Family: non-negotiable date night, 1:1 kid time, phone-off dinners
  • Fitness: long-ride brick sessions for Ironman prep, strength blocks
  • Fortune (Business): EOS Level-10s, deal underwriting, investor calls
By locking those blocks before the week starts, work no longer cannibalizes the other pillars. A 2024 Hubstaff survey found 77 % of workers still experience burnout even though 60 % claim “good” work-life balance—proof that without firm boundaries, the calendar will overflow. Hubstaff
Pro tip: Color-code each pillar. Your screen becomes a visual KPI dashboard—if the week looks lopsided, fix it before Monday hits.

2. Automate—and Delegate—Everything You CanEntrepreneurs are 2× more likely than the general population to report poor work-life balance. Founder Reports The cure isn’t grinding harder; it’s removing yourself from low-impact loops.
  • Real estate: Our PM team handles 95 % of tenant requests through AppFolio.
  • Fitness: Online coaching app auto-uploads cycling power files to TrainingPeaks—coach tweaks next week’s plan without a single email.
  • Family: Instacart for groceries, robo-advisors for kids’ 529s, and Calendly links for anyone wanting a “quick coffee.”
Every task that leaves your headspace buys margin for faith, family, or a heavier deadlift.

3. Stack Wins With Micro-HabitsInstead of overhauling everything January 1, we install 1–2-minute habits:
PillarMicro-HabitWhy It WorksFaithRead one Proverb daily at breakfastSmall dose of wisdom without adding a meeting
Family90-second “high/low” chat with each kid at bedtimeForces daily emotional check-in
Fitness10 push-ups every time you refill waterExtra 50–100 reps a day, no gym needed
BusinessStart meetings with 60-sec gratitude roundResearch links gratitude to sharper problem-solving
Tiny reps, huge compound interest.

4. Guard Recovery Like You Guard RevenueSleep trackers keep my recovery score in the same spreadsheet as project IRRs—because a sleep-deprived leader costs the company real money. Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workplace reports that only 21 % of employees feel engaged, with managers hit hardest. Gallup.com A wiped-out owner drags everyone down.
  • Hard stop at 9 PM screens-off (blue light crushes melatonin).
  • Sunday digital Sabbath—phone in a drawer after church until dinner.
  • Quarterly couples retreat (Brenda and I steal two kid-free nights to reset vision and marriage KPIs).

5. Create One Overarching ScorecardJack and I track four numbers each week:
  1. Hours of focused prayer/Bible study
  2. Workouts completed
  3. Quality family touch-points (≥3)
  4. Revenue-generating actions (offers made, units under rehab, podcast downloads)
If any metric lags three weeks straight, we IDS (“Identify, Discuss, Solve”) it just like an EOS rock. Deloitte’s 2024 Gen Z & Millennial survey shows job stress and work-life balance rank top in overall wellbeing; treating personal pillars like business KPIs keeps them from slipping. Deloitte United States

6. Surround Yourself With People Who Call You HigherFrom GoBundance brothers to our Relentless Growth listeners, community sets the temperature. And yes—the episode’s best laugh came when Jack roasted my 5 AM ice-bath selfie. Accountability + humor beats grinding alone every time.
Deskbird’s 2024 report lists perfectionism and unsupportive culture as the top two work-life killers—solve both by choosing inner circles that celebrate the wins and call out the excuses. Deskbird

Ready to Dive Deeper?
  1. Watch the full podcast episode here.
  2. Download my free duplex pro-forma template.
  3. Join our investor list for first look at the next tranche of BTR projects hitting the pipeline this summer.
👉 Want the inside track on new deals, build-cost data, and subscriber-only case studies? Join our mailing list here.
See you on the job site (or the bike trail)—until then, keep stacking bricks and building freedom.
]]><![CDATA[From Dirt to Doors: A Real-World Walkthrough of Building Duplex Rentals]]>Thu, 08 May 2025 20:08:21 GMThttps://www.chasecalhoun.com/blog-old/from-dirt-to-doors-a-real-world-walkthrough-of-building-duplex-rentalsFrom Dirt to Doors: A Real-World Walkthrough of Building Duplex Rentals
By Chase Calhoun
If you caught my latest YouTube episode, “Building Duplex Rentals: Start-to-Finish Tour + Funny Surprise Visitor!” you saw two side-by-side projects in radically different stages—one slab just poured, the other gearing up for lease-up. Today I’m expanding on that tour with a step-by-step playbook, real cost benchmarks, and hard-won lessons you can use on your own build-to-rent (BTR) deals. YouTube

1. Start with the Exit—and Work BackwardKnow your rent targets and refinance plan on day one. For our Little Rock duplexes (≈1,350 sq ft per side), we’re underwriting $1,550–$1,650 monthly rents based on nearby comps and the 2025 surge in renter demand that BTR properties keep capturing nationwide. Institutional research projects continued growth in this sector as affordability pushes more families toward purpose-built rentals. Cushman & Wakefield
Pro tip: Run a sensitivity table on exit cap rates before you buy the dirt. A half-point swing can erase your margin if you’re banking on a quick refi.

2. Land Acquisition & Due Diligence
  • Lot cost ceiling: I aim for land at 8–12 % of projected ARV. Anything higher crushes cash‐on‐cash.
  • Zoning check: Verify duplex use-by-right or secure a conditional use permit early—fees are cheap compared to redesigning after you’ve poured piers.
  • Infrastructure: Confirm water, sewer, and three-phase power capacity. Nobody wants a $25k utility surprise eating the contingency line.

3. Budget Benchmarks (2025 Numbers)Cost BucketTypical RangeMy Target*Land (per finished lot)$20–$55 k$32 k
Hard Costs$130–$200 / sq ft national avg HomeAdvisorBankrate$142 / sq ft
Soft Costs (plans, permits, interest)7–12 % of hard9 %
Contingency5 %5 %
*Little Rock labor & materials; adjust for your market.
At these numbers our all-in is roughly $410k. With stabilized rents of $3,200/mo and a 6.25 % fixed-rate DSCR loan, we’re penciling $700+ monthly cash flow and ≈20 % IRR over 10 years. Real-life investor Brannon Potts is seeing similar spreads—about $330 per unit—by keeping build costs near $120 / sq ft and self-managing the GC relationship. Business Insider

4. Construction Phases in the Field
  1. Site Work & Slab – Laser-grade pads, post-tension slab, sleeves for utilities.
  2. Frame---to-Dry-in – Roof on within 14 days of set; schedule windows before the framers leave.
  3. MEPs Rough – Place HVAC returns high to free furniture walls (my favorite framing tweak from the video).
  4. Inspections & Insulation – Use open-cell spray foam in party walls for sound + R-value without adding furring complexity.
  5. Finishes – Standardize SKUs across all projects to keep change orders—and margin erosion—near zero.
Surprise visitor bonus: Yes, that possum in the dumpster reminded us why lids stay closed after framing crews leave!

5. Financing: Construction-to-Perm in One ShotLocal banks still quote 75–80 % LTC if you demonstrate a proven cost-control track record. Structure interest-only during construction, roll to a 30-year amortizing note at C/O, then refi into agency debt once you’ve got seasoned rents. Bring ≈20 % cash for draws between inspections—that’s the same buffer I recommend to clients who toured the site last week. (If you missed the episode Q&A, rewind to the 4-minute mark.)

6. Operational Edge Once the Keys Turn Over
  • Lease-Up: Offer a 14-month first lease—tenants lock an extra month of security, you stagger winter turnovers.
  • Maintenance: Pre-install smart water-leak sensors behind every sink (≈$60 each vs. a $3k insurance claim).
  • CapEx Reserve: Set aside $300 per unit per year—new builds cost less up front, but roofs still age.

Bottom LineBuilding duplex rentals isn’t just stacking two single-family homes back-to-back. Done right, you squeeze more doors out of the same footprint, reap economies of scale on everything from framing to lawn care, and lock in returns that beat most turnkey single-family acquisitions in today’s compressed cap‐rate environment. With smart land buys, tight cost control, and a crystal-clear exit plan, you can go from raw dirt to cash-flowing doors in under 12 months--and have a good laugh when uninvited wildlife drops by.
Ready to dive deeper?
  1. Watch the full on-site tour here.
  2. Download my free duplex pro-forma template.
  3. Join our investor list for first look at the next tranche of BTR projects hitting the pipeline this summer.
👉 Want the inside track on new deals, build-cost data, and subscriber-only case studies? Join our mailing list here.
See you on the job site—until then, keep stacking bricks and building freedom.
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