We just wrapped our 2nd Annual Multifamily Investor Summit, and I want to take you behind the scenes — what it was, why we put it on, what the speakers delivered, and honestly, why I almost talked myself out of ever doing it again.
If you followed any of our marketing leading up to the event, you saw us promoting it hard. But for those who missed it or are new to our community, let me tell you what this conference is really about.
What Is the Multifamily Investor Summit?
The Summit is a one-day conference Sage Real Estate puts on for our community — multifamily owners, housing providers, landlords, investors, and entrepreneurs. The people who believe, like I do, that investing in income-producing real estate is still one of the strongest places to build wealth, grow, and find opportunity.
Six years ago, when we started our YouTube channel, I had already been selling multifamily for years. But that was the moment I realized I wasn’t just running a brokerage — I was building a community. People who didn’t know us started following us. People who followed us started working with us, referring us, and growing their portfolios alongside us.
The Summit is where that community gets in the same room.
Why I Keep Saying “I Walk the Walk”
Here’s something I tell people all the time: what I preach, I do.
I’m not a broker who sells buildings without owning any myself. I’m out there investing, taking down deals, and dealing with the same headaches my clients deal with. I talk about that a lot because I think it matters. When I tell you something about this market, it’s coming from someone with skin in the game.
The Summit is an extension of that philosophy. It’s me pulling together the best people I know in this industry so our community can level up together.
This Year’s Speaker Lineup
We brought in serious talent this year. Here’s what each speaker delivered and why it mattered:
Jake Heller — AI and Commercial Real Estate
Jake is a pioneer on the forefront of AI in commercial real estate. He runs a collective you can sign up for where he’s doing all the heavy lifting — testing tools, building workflows, and teaching investors and brokers how to actually use AI.
His message: don’t fear AI. Work with it. It’s going to save you time and help you deliver a better product to your clients.
And if you’re thinking, “I’m just an apartment owner, this doesn’t apply to me” — think again. AI can help you:
- Analyze and underwrite deals
- Run different investment scenarios
- Tell you quickly if something pencils out
- Even take a photo of your apartment building and generate renderings of a facelift in the style you want
Some genuinely cool stuff. I’m already putting his examples to work.
Christopher Thornburg — Economic Outlook
Chris is one of the top economists in California, and he walked us through where the economy is heading — interest rates, rent trends, employment, banking. If you watched my recent market update video, you heard me reference his read on rates (spoiler: he expects them to go up, not down).
Having him on stage was one of the highlights of the day.
Dennis Block — Eviction & Landlord Law
Dennis is an eviction attorney, and he gave our audience the warnings they needed to hear. His message: it’s smart to own apartments, but you have to be smart about how you handle tenants. The do’s and don’ts when things go sideways. This stuff isn’t glamorous, but it’s the difference between a smooth operation and a lawsuit.
Geraldine Serrano — Cost Segregation
Geraldine broke down cost segregation — one of the most underused tax strategies in multifamily. If you own apartments and you’re not leveraging this, you’re likely leaving serious money on the table.
Expert Panel
- Phoebe — from our office
- Cody — from our office
- Brady — who builds ADUs (huge topic in Long Beach right now)
- Mike Osorio, F&M Bank — financing perspective
The panel covered the market, shared stories, and opened the floor for the kind of real-world Q&A you can’t get from a YouTube video.
The Honest Truth About Putting On a Conference
I’ll be real with you. When I’m in the thick of planning one of these, I always hit a moment where I think:
“I’m an investor. I’m a broker. Why am I putting on a conference?”
It’s stressful. It’s like planning a wedding — months of work leading into one day. At one point this year, I literally said to myself, “This is the last one.”
Then the event happened.
The connections people made. The feedback afterward — “That was beneficial.” “We loved that speaker.” “We learned a lot.” “We made real connections.” The sponsors telling us, “Budget us in for next year.”
That changed everything.
Why We Do It Anyway
There’s a strategic reason too. My marketing consultant told me early on: “Juan, no one else in Long Beach is doing this.” There are operators in other markets running events like this, but not here. This is one way we separate ourselves from every other multifamily brokerage in the city.
But the bigger reason is the one I keep coming back to:
The more value I provide, the more my business grows.
That’s what this YouTube channel is about. That’s what the Own More Doors podcast is about. That’s what the Summit is about. Whether you ever use our services or not, I want the experience of investing in multifamily to be better because you’re plugged into what we’re doing.
Save the Date: February 2027
It hasn’t even been a week since the event, and we’re already planning next year’s. We’ve secured sponsorships, we’re locking in the venue — this year we were at 350 Pine Ovation, and the space was incredible. Audio-visual was dialed in. Everything came together.
If you missed the 1st Annual or the 2nd Annual, here’s what I want you to know:
The 3rd Annual Multifamily Investor Summit is happening in February 2027. It’s going to be bigger. It’s going to be better.
I know it’s a year out. Mark it anyway. This is the room you want to be in if you’re serious about multifamily in Long Beach.
Want to Be Part of the Community?
If you’re a multifamily owner, an aspiring investor, or someone thinking about getting into income-producing real estate, we’d love to have you plugged into what we’re building.
Be the first to know — join our VIP Investor List for summit updates: sageregroup.com/vip-investor-resources/
