No Vacancy with Taylor Avakian

Land use attorney Dave Rand on California housing law, builder’s remedy, CEQA, Measure ULA, and why Los Angeles keeps making new housing harder even as the state rewrites the rules. Taylor Avakian sits down with Dave Rand of Rand Paster & Nelson LLP, a land-use attorney who has helped entitle thousands of market-rate and affordable units across Southern California.

They talk through the reality of developing in Los Angeles...

*John Ward of Turnstone Capital joins Taylor Avakian on the No Vacancy podcast for a deep conversation on decades in multifamily real estate, from early loan officer days to building and managing apartment portfolios across California, Arizona, Texas, and Colorado.*

John shares how he got started in the late 1970s, moved from FHA lending into flipping and converting small multifamily properties, navigated market cycles including the...

*26-year-old Shant Samuelian is building $300M+ in large-family affordable housing projects across Los Angeles through Samuelian Group.*In this episode of No Vacancy, Taylor Avakian sits down with the founder and CEO of Samuelian Group to unpack how a USC real estate development graduate moved from market-rate multifamily into LIHTC-driven affordable housing, why he focuses on 2- and 3-bedroom family units with parking instead of s...

Sean Burton, co-founder and CEO of Cityview, joins Taylor Avakian on the No Vacancy podcast for a deep conversation on scaling a vertically integrated multifamily firm, navigating cycles from the Great Financial Crisis through COVID, and the realities of investing and developing housing across the Western U.S. and beyond.

They cover Cityview’s origins in 2003 with a focus on infill housing, the decision to vertically integrate...

*Keith Wasserman of Gelt Venture Partners shares how he scaled from a single fourplex in Bakersfield to thousands of multifamily units and billions in real estate assets through syndication, disciplined operations, and long-term investor focus.*Sponsor - Loan TitanUpscale your experience withhttps://loantitan.com/Sponsor - AI for CRE CollectiveAI for CRE Community: https://www.skool.com/ai-for-cre-collective/about?ref=3b3ff2c0ccce4...

Martin Muoto, founder of SoLa Impact and Model/Z, joins Taylor Avakian on No Vacancy for a wide-ranging conversation on affordable and workforce housing in California. They cover the realities of building in Los Angeles, the shift from acquisition-rehab to ground-up development, and how modular construction is being used to change cost and timeline math in one of the toughest markets in the country. The discussion also explores inv...

*Niv V. Davidovich, LA's go-to eviction attorney with 10,000+ cases, reveals why being a landlord in Los Angeles has become one of the toughest real estate plays in America.*From 6-month eviction timelines and emotional distress lawsuits to aggressive tenant screening and the realities of funded legal aid, this is the raw, unfiltered truth about the current rental market and what property owners are actually facing in 2026.In this ...

*Grant Cardone sits down with Taylor Avakian on No Vacancy for a raw conversation on building massive multifamily wealth, raising capital on his own terms, and why he's betting big on Bitcoin alongside real estate.*In this full episode, Grant breaks down his journey from car salesman to running one of the largest private multifamily portfolios in the U.S., the lessons that shaped his approach to deals and capital, how he thinks abo...

*Taylor Avakian sits down with legendary West Side Los Angeles real estate syndicator Larry Taylor.* With more than 50 years focused exclusively on LA’s most desirable submarkets, Larry shares perspective on current pricing and opportunities, the unique advantages of the West Side, and principles refined across every interest rate and economic cycle.From the lasting appeal of prime locations like Century City and Santa Monica...

*Adam Miller for LA Mayor: Tech Billionaire on Fixing LA's Housing Crisis, Homelessness & Government Inefficiency | No Vacancy Podcast*Taylor Avakian sits down with Adam Miller — founder and former CEO of Cornerstone OnDemand (sold for $5.2 billion) — who is running for Mayor of Los Angeles. In this wide-ranging conversation, Miller breaks down his bold plan to transform the city through operational excellence, acco...

*No Vacancy Podcast: Richard Mehta (Xenon Investments) on Building a 3,300 Unit Empire in Los Angeles*Taylor Avakian sits down with Richard Mehta, co-founder of Xenon Investments. Richard has built one of the most impressive multifamily portfolios in LA with roughly 3,300 apartment units, mostly on the Westside, Mid-Wilshire, Koreatown, and parts of the San Fernando Valley.In this episode, he opens up about his journey from losing ...

Lourdes Castro Ramirez, President and CEO of HACLA (Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles), joins Taylor Avakian on the No Vacancy Podcast for an in-depth conversation on the affordable housing crisis, Section 8 vouchers, public housing, and strategies to address homelessness in Los Angeles.

In this episode, Lourdes breaks down how HACLA serves over 200,000 Angelenos, the realities of rental subsidies, emergency housing vouch...

Bob Buente, President & CEO of 1010 Development Corporation, joins Taylor Avakian on the No Vacancy Podcast for a deep dive into the real world of affordable housing development in Los Angeles. With over 30 years of experience as a faith-based nonprofit developer managing 400+ units, Bob reveals the "black arts" of financing affordable housing — from 9% and 4% tax credits, tax-exempt bonds, layered public subsidies, devel...

Randall Kaplan, Co-Founder of Akamai Technologies, shares his extraordinary journey from failed lawyer to building a $35 billion unicorn company in this powerful No Vacancy Podcast interview with commercial real estate broker Taylor Avakian.From writing 300 personalized cold letters to land a dream job with Eli Broad at SunAmerica, to co-founding Akamai during the dot-com era, navigating massive success and setbacks, mentoring with...

Randy Johnson, the real estate veteran who helped master develop Playa Vista from Howard Hughes land into a thriving 6000 unit neighborhood, joins Taylor Avakian on the No Vacancy podcast.

In this in depth conversation, Randy shares the full story behind Playa Vista: navigating 30 lawsuits, coastal commission battles, methane mitigation, massive infrastructure costs, multiple ownership changes, the Dreamworks saga, and turning wetl...

Alain R'bibo, top commercial real estate transaction attorney, strategic advisor, and Partner at Allen Matkins with over 20 years of experience, joins Taylor Avakian on the No Vacancy Podcast. With billions in deals across acquisitions, dispositions, leasing, joint ventures, and development, Alain shares insider perspectives on navigating complex CRE transactions in Los Angeles, California, and nationwide.

From why many multifamily ...

Greg Hebner, Managing Director and majority owner of Arixa Capital (formerly Erickson), joins Taylor Avakian on the No Vacancy Podcast for an in-depth conversation on private real estate lending, scaling a multi-billion dollar platform, and navigating today's CRE market.

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Sponsor – AI for CRE CollectiveAI for CRE Community: https://www.sk...

Nadine Watt, CEO of Watt Capital Partners, joins Taylor Avakian on the No Vacancy Podcast for an in-depth conversation on LA commercial real estate, the evolution of a multi-generational family dynasty, and the future of Century City offices.Third-generation leader Nadine Watt shares the remarkable history of Watt Capital Partners from her grandfather Ray Watt building homes for post-WWII veterans and pioneering timeshares and mast...

In this full episode of the *No Vacancy Podcast*, host *Taylor Avakian* interviews *Marc Menowitz* (also referred to as Mark in the episode), CEO of *Apartment Corp* — a Los Angeles-based multifamily real estate powerhouse managing over 17,000 apartment units nationwide.Marc, a fourth-generation real estate investor, shares his journey from coder and inventor to building a national portfolio focused on *affordable housing* (S...