Distressed to Success: Conversations with Community Transformation Leaders

About Distressed to Success: Conversations with Community Transformation Leaders

Distressed to Success is a podcast that discovers how savvy investors and entrepreneurs are profitably transforming underserved communities through strategic investment and innovative business models. Host Brian Seidensticker, Co-Founder of Last Best Partners, interviews local developers, business leaders, entrepreneurs, and investment professionals who have successfully brought private capital into distressed areas while generating sustainable returns. From Low Income Housing Tax Credits to creative financing solutions, each episode uncovers actionable strategies for identifying investment opportunities that deliver both financial returns and meaningful community revitalization. Learn from leaders who have transformed cities like Detroit, Cleveland, and Memphis through profitable ventures that create lasting community improvement. Whether you're a high-net-worth investor, local developer, or community development professional, discover how to turn distressed assets into thriving neighborhoods while building sustainable businesses that benefit both your portfolio and your community.

Publisher

Brian Seidensticker

Category

business

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

19 Aug 2025

Latest episode

14 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

1 of 24 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   14 Oct 2026

   The “Try Not to Suck” Philosophy: Derek Morton at Netgain Property Management Services

   In this episode of Distressed to Success, Brian speaks with Derek Morton, owner and principal at Netgain Property Management. Derek walks us through the unlikely moment that launched his real estate career, when a simple housing tip from friends became a full-blown property management business back in 2016, and how he “disobeyed” his own hesitations (and, humorously, his wife’s) to build a portfolio that today spans 650 units across Utah. From his early days in the title industry to recognizing a gap in stable, empathetic property services, Derek shares the personal stories and bold decisions that fueled Netgain’s rapid growth. As Derek scaled from a few rentals to managing properties statewide, he encountered the familiar “glass ceilings” of any growing enterprise. He explains how hitting major benchmarks, around 250 units and again during his northern Utah expansion, forced him to “break” and reinvent his systems, refine his vendor relationships, and lean into a simple corporate ethos: “We just try not to suck. And if we suck, we fix it.” Listeners learn why hands-on leadership, honest communication, and a relentless focus on resident experience became the pillars of Netgain’s culture, helping minimize churn among both owners and tenants. Toward the end of the conversation, Derek reveals some of Netgain’s most innovative community-focused programs, from security deposit alternatives with Obligo and LeaseGuard to flexible rent payments through Flex, all designed to keep people housed and thriving. He even outlines his vision for future resident benefit packages, complete with mental health support, because, as he puts it, “it’s easier to keep someone housed than to rehouse them.” Tune in for insights on overcoming fear of failure, empowering your team, and transforming distressed properties into profitable, people-first communities. Timestamps Derek’s journey into real estate & founding Netgain Property Management – 00:01:05 Scaling pains and wins: growing from zero to 650 properties – 00:04:27 Establishing the company ethos “We try not to suck” & building scalable systems – 00:05:59 Strategic market expansion & “breaking” then reinventing systems – 00:24:15 Tenant hardship solutions: security deposit alternatives & flexible rent payments – 00:36:19 Connect with Derek Derek’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derekdmorton/Website: https://www.netgainpm.com/ Get in touch with Brian Last Best Partners' Website: https://www.lastbestpartners.com/Brian's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-seidensticker-90117021Podcast LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/distressed-to-success-podcast Subscribe to follow the show!

2. 

   30 Sept 2026

   From Radio DJ to Property Management Pro with Kelly Rafuse of Crimson Cape Property Management

   In this episode of Distressed to Success, Brian speaks with Kelly Rafuse, founder of Crimson Cape Property Management, about the art, and business, of turning undervalued rental properties into reliable, cash-flowing assets. Kelly takes us back to her start as a Top 40 radio DJ in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, and how a modest real-estate buy-in in 2007 quickly morphed into a full-time property management career. Instead of chasing headline markets like Austin or South Florida, she doubled down on northeastern Pennsylvania’s “C-class” housing stock, learning by doing, making plenty of mistakes, and ultimately rescuing buildings abandoned by overwhelmed landlords. Along the way she shares the pivotal moment she decided to swap her own investor hat for a business mindset, formally launching Crimson Cape to fill the void left by underperforming property managers. Kelly and Brian dive into a standout case study, a dilapidated, seven-unit brick row home that came with zero rent and near-unlivable conditions. Kelly recounts evicting nonpaying tenants, overseeing a $4,000 garbage haul, coordinating major rehab work, and finally leasing the first unit at $1,350 a month (plus pets). The turnaround not only restored cash flow but sparked neighborhood revitalization, underscoring how one property manager’s stewardship benefits every homeowner on the street. Kelly also opens up about scaling her firm to 75 doors, building a lean team with part-time help, and embracing technology, from vendor automation through Venderoo to naming her ChatGPT assistant “Data”, to keep both properties and her sanity in order. For any investor or manager looking to breathe new life into distressed markets, this episode is packed with pragmatic lessons: treat management as a specialized business, lean into systems and AI, and never underestimate the ripple effect of doing right by tenants and communities. Timestamps Introduction & overview of Crimson Cape Property Management – 00:02 Investing in off-nominal markets in Northeastern Pennsylvania – 01:03 Transition from radio career to real estate investing and self-taught property management – 01:39 Case study: transforming a distressed 7-unit brick row home – 09:18 Carve-out advice & embracing AI as a force multiplier in property management – 27:18 Connect with Kelly Crimson’s Cape Property Management Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Crimson-Cape-Property-Management/61563987965031/ Get in touch with Brian Last Best Partners' Website: https://www.lastbestpartners.com/ Brian's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-seidensticker-90117021 Podcast LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/distressed-to-success-podcast Subscribe to follow the show!

3. 

   16 Sept 2026

   Managing for Profit & Purpose: Michael Poon of Redleaf Property Solutions on Caring for Communities

   In this episode of Distressed to Success, Brian speaks with Michael Poon, a property investor-manager based in Hamilton, Ontario. Michael walks us through his unlikely journey from anthropology researcher to real-estate entrepreneur, showing how he turned a secondary market often overlooked by big-name investors into a thriving, ethical business. Along the way, he discovered that real estate is rarely the passive income stream it’s made out to be, and that the key to true profitability lies in doing more of what property managers should do and less of what they shouldn’t. Together, Brian and Michael dig into the hard-won lessons of managing rental buildings in “rough” neighborhoods: the importance of setting clear expectations, balancing empathy with enforcement, and always putting ethics at the forefront. Michael shares eye-opening stories, from negotiating voluntary cash-for-keys agreements that boosted building value without ugly evictions, to crafting compassionate payment plans for tenants in financial distress, that illustrate how treating people as partners, rather than problems, leads to lower vacancy, higher rents, and better returns. Timestamps Michael’s real estate journey & path to property management – 01:49 Key pain points in property management & the importance of ethics & empathy – 03:34 Unethical eviction tactics & their legal consequences – 11:05 Ethical tenant relocation via cash-for-keys negotiations – 14:28 Handling tenant non-payment: payment plans & emergency housing fund – 21:08 Connect with Michael Michael’s LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-poon-50057919b/Website:https://redleafpropertysolutions.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/redleaf_propertysolutionsFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/michaelpoonhingkinBook mentioned The Happiness Advantage: How a Positive Brain Fuels Success in Work and Life by Shawn Achor: https://www.amazon.com.br/Happiness-Advantage-Positive-Brain-Success/dp/0307591557 Get in touch with Brian Last Best Partners' Website: https://www.lastbestpartners.com/Brian's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-seidensticker-90117021Podcast LinkedIn Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/distressed-to-success-podcastBook mentioned The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho:https://www.amazon.com/Alchemist-Spiritual-Self-Discovery-Novel_Get-Captivating/dp/0062315005 Subscribe to follow the show!

Inside a recent episode

Jill Ferrari of Schenk & Bruetsch: Building Equity, Inclusion & Sustainability

Published 1 Apr 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] Yeah, so Brownfield redevelopment is really problem solving. And when Michigan launched all of its financial tools for Brownfield redevelopment, I was a consultant at the time and a light bulb just went off. And I thought, this is solving a problem for developers. This is solving a cash flow issue, a capital stack issue, and dove into the program right away in the late 1990s, early 2000s, because I knew that if we could balance out the cost for these sites, then we're breaking down those barriers and we're going to see more sites develop. So every site is a problem that needs to be solved by a community of problem solvers. […]

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