#328: Digging Into Our Acquisitions Process + How We’re Finding DTS Deals with our Acquisitions Manager, Justin Dragone

In this in-person episode of The Multifamily Wealth Podcast, host discusses the acquisitions process with Justin Dragone, Aligned Real Estate Partners' acquisitions manager. Justin shares his journey from a high school HGTV fan to a real estate professional, highlighting how he transitioned from a corporate brokerage environment at Marcus & Millichap to a more relationship-driven, direct-to-seller approach. The core of the conversation centers on their proven, multi-touch outreach strategy: cold calls, voicemails, texts, emails, and direct mail—used consistently over months to build trust and stay top-of-mind with sellers. They emphasize the importance of being relatable, casual, and prepared, avoiding suit-and-tie professionalism that alienates mom-and-pop owners. A key insight is that most deals take years to close, requiring patience and consistent follow-up. They also discuss how AI tools like Claude are used for underwriting, rent comps, and message refinement, but stress that human judgment and personalized messaging remain critical in a spam-filled outreach landscape. The episode concludes with a candid look at evolving market dynamics, including increased competition, rent control in Boston driving capital to Southern New Hampshire, and the growing challenge of standing out in a world of AI-generated outreach. Key takeaways include: (1) Building a deal pipeline requires consistent, multi-channel outreach over months—cold calling, texting, emailing, and direct mail—followed by patient, long-term relationship nurturing; (2) Success in direct-to-seller deals hinges on being relatable and personable, not corporate; (3) Speed to offer and execution—sending a contract the same day—creates a competitive edge; (4) Use AI as a productivity tool, but never replace human judgment and personalized messaging; (5) The most successful deals come from long-term trust-building, not immediate offers. The overall tone is pragmatic, encouraging, and grounded in real-world experience.