Deal Junkie Diaries: Michael Pouliot Talks Strategy for 2026 and Beyond

In this episode, Ed welcomes Michael Pouliot of Carbon Real Estate Investments, a vertically integrated private equity firm operating workforce housing apartments across the Southeast. Pouliot explains Carbon’s buy box: 100–300 unit, older vintage (1970s–1990s) properties in strong school districts and stable submarkets, targeting families and raising rents about 20% through substantial CapEx that prioritizes deferred maintenance alongside unit upgrades. They talk about navigating Sunbelt challenges like insurance and taxes by avoiding high-risk areas, staying conservative in underwriting, and emphasizing strong entry pricing. Pouliot shares a bullish view that the next 12–18 months are a strong buying window as the market works through distress, debt maturities, and oversupply absorption, with more constructive sentiment and capital expected around 2027–2028. He outlines Carbon’s strategy for 2026: keep buying with fixed-rate, low-leverage debt, hold long-term, and offer investor liquidity via recapitalizations rather than selling assets. The conversation also covers regional scaling for operational efficiency, selective adoption of AI tools (voice/chat agents, SOP knowledge bases, automation) to augment staff, and Pouliot's perspective on purpose, mentorship, lifestyle trade-offs versus Wall Street, and how he defines success. Pouliot closes by directing viewers to investwithcarbon.com for Carbon’s weekly newsletter and content.00:00 Cycle Outlook 2027-202800:11 Show Intro and Mission00:52 Welcome and Subscribe01:42 Meet Carbon Real Estate02:44 Insurance and Tax Headwinds05:07 Buy Box and Resident Avatar07:01 Why Stable Markets Win08:34 Distress Deals and Assumable Debt12:29 Oversupply and Absorption Math14:58 Strategy for 202618:41 Vertical Integration and CapEx20:32 Tech and AI in Property Ops14:23 AI Ops Automation23:28 Human Touch Investing24:31 Real Estate Tech Lag25:19 Deal Junkie Purpose26:23 Paranoia Prevents Errors28:26 Wall Street What Ifs33:38 Learning Diet Books35:56 Defining Success Seasons38:19 Life Outside Real Estate41:05 Where To Follow CarbonThis week's book: How Countries Go Broke by Ray DalioElevista - Speed as a Service™Elevista Connect is the first AI-powered lead conversion system built for real estate investors. 🎧 Subscribe to Real Estate Underground for weekly insights on building wealth through real estate, without sacrificing your sanity.Additional Resources:Clark St Capital -> Passive real estate investments for busy business owners and executivesElevista -> AI SaaS for real estate investorsClark St Academy on YouTube -> Learn how to invest in real estateSocial Media:LinkedIn -> Ed Mathews (President at Clark St and Elevista)Heads up: If you find this week's book intriguing and you buy using our link, we receive a small commission that helps support the show. Thank you!