He started managing apartments in 1971. He bought his first 10 units for $20,000 during the market downturn of the 1970s. He rode the Tax Reform Act crash of 1986. The S&L crisis. 2008. Covid. Every single cycle. And he is still buying.
In Episode 4 of Lessons the Hard Way, Sam Chillingworth sits down with Joe Beasley - 55-year multifamily veteran, longtime Two Waters Capital partner, and the man who knows where every body is buried in Atlanta real estate.
Joe does not own a computer. He runs his budgets with a pencil. He knows every tenant by name. And he has more hard-won wisdom about market cycles, C and B class assets, and how to create value in a downturn than most operators will accumulate in a lifetime.
In this episode:
• How Joe got started in 1971: on-site manager at a 48-unit property, farming mindset, no rulebook
• Buying 10 units for $20,000 during the 1970s oil embargo downturn
• The carpet installation disaster and other lessons from doing it yourself
• Growing to nearly 4,000 units: all class C, blue collar, pencil-and-paper
• The Tax Reform Act of 1986: how it wiped out tax shelter syndications overnight
• The S&L crisis, the RTC, and how the cycle reset from 1989 to 1991
• 2008 and beyond: creating value by buying distressed and renovating
• Why C and B class properties outperform A on return per dollar invested
• The OREO opportunity right now: buying in below 50% without lender approval
• Why Joe believes we have already hit the bottom of the current cycle
• The right time to buy: not at the bottom, but 2 to 5% on the way back up
• The pencil budget philosophy and why Joe wants to throw every computer in the Atlantic
• What Joe regrets: not mentoring his team hands-on while he still has the chance
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🔗 Two Waters Capital: 2waterscapital.com
0:00 Show intro
1:09 Welcome: introducing Joe Beasley, 55-year multifamily veteran
1:30 How Joe got started: necessity, a new baby, and a 48-unit property in 1971
2:15 The farming mindset: no rulebook, just figure it out
2:40 First lessons: cutting grass in yellowjacket country and managing older residents
3:45 Hiring the first on-site manager and scaling to more properties
4:28 The carpet installation disaster: a lesson in knowing what you don't know
7:21 The 1970s market: baby boomers, oil embargo, inflation, and opportunity
8:31 Buying the first 10 units for $20,000 during the downturn
9:25 The partner in dress slacks who showed up to a roofing job as the boss
10:59 Growing to nearly 4,000 units: all class C, blue collar properties
11:25 The Tax Reform Act of 1986: how it ended tax shelter syndications overnight
13:04 The S&L crisis, the RTC, and waiting for the reset
14:24 The cycle restarts 1989 to 1991: same pattern, every time
15:17 Atlanta's population explosion and the demand it created
16:19 2008 and the commercial mortgage-backed securities collapse
17:30 Why C and B class properties outperform A on return per dollar
18:35 The current opportunity: OREO deals and buying in below 50%
19:37 Joint venture strategy: keep the mortgage, bring in a partner
20:17 Looking outside the box: the conventional way no longer works
22:09 Why nobody is building blue collar housing and what that means for investors
23:43 Never signing personally: the risk management philosophy
25:50 Eight Atlanta properties in five years: $35 million net to investors
28:08 Knowing your tenants by name: what property management used to look like
33:12 Each cycle has its own solution: you cannot copy the last one
35:37 Has the market hit bottom? Joe says yes and explains why
37:24 The brown scale: buy not at the bottom but 2 to 5% on the way back up
39:09 Leasing season timing: why right now is the window to act
43:16 B minus to B plus: the value add play with the best risk-adjusted return
47:08 National averages vs. local reality: know your submarket
48:17 Why Brian calls Joe the man who knows where every body is buried
49:01 Joe visits a property he managed when his first daughter was born 55 years ago
50:26 The 87-year-old maintenance man who was there when the building was built
51:57 Advice for outside investors coming into Atlanta right now
53:06 Joe's philosophy: show me something and let me figure out how to make it work
54:15 Joe's one regret: not mentoring his team hands-on while he still can
55:49 Looking ahead: more deals, the next turnaround, and staying in the game
56:14 Closing
real estate market cycles | multifamily investing podcast | C class real estate investing | how to survive real estate downturns | accredited investor education | Atlanta real estate investing | value add multifamily | real estate 2025 market | Joe Beasley real estate | Lessons the Hard Way podcast
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