The Federal Housing Finance Agency just ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to figure out how to count cryptocurrency as an asset when evaluating mortgage applications. FHFA head Bill Pulte announced the move on X, saying it could help expand how lenders assess homebuyers' creditworthiness without forcing borrowers to liquidate their Bitcoin before closing. There are guardrails: only crypto stored on US-regulated exchanges would qualify. It's still early—both agencies need to draft proposals that must then pass their boards and the FHFA. But if implemented, this could open doors for crypto-wealthy borrowers who've been shut out of traditional mortgage lending..

The Sunshine State just became a buyer's paradise—but there's a catch. Six of America's 10 biggest buyers' markets are now in Florida, with sellers outnumbering buyers by massive margins (Miami leads at +197.7%). The culprit? Skyrocketing HOA fees and insurance costs are forcing condo owners to flee, especially along the coast where 71% of Atlantic-side condos are over 30 years old. New safety regulations following the 2021 Surfside collapse have pushed many HOA fees north of $1,000 monthly, pricing out retirees on fixed incomes. While coastal condo prices have dropped (Key West down 13.6%, Port St. Lucie down 19.6%), those monthly obligations keep climbing. For savvy investors willing to stomach higher carrying costs, Florida's fire sale might just be the deal of the decade.

The Federal Reserve might be warming up to a summer rate cut after all. Two Trump-appointed Fed governors—Chris Waller and Michelle Bowman—signaled they'd support lowering rates as soon as July if inflation stays tame, breaking from Chair Jerome Powell's wait-and-see approach. Their reasoning? Tariffs aren't driving up prices as much as feared since businesses are absorbing costs rather than passing them to consumers, and a cooling job market means workers can't demand big raises. Wall Street still bets on September for the first cut, with only 23% expecting July action. Powell testifies to Congress this week, where he'll likely face pressure to clarify the Fed's timeline—especially with inflation running just above the 2% target at 2.3%.

Last weekend, something extraordinary happened in Chicago. 

Twenty real estate operators ranging from hungry 20-somethings to seasoned entrepreneurs on their third or fourth venture, gathered for our Industrial IQ Bootcamp. 

It sold out in weeks with just a simple newsletter mention and an application form. 

No Facebook ads.

No sales funnels.

No "limited time" countdown clocks.

But here's what shocked me: by Sunday evening, every single participant rated the event 10/10 and said it "exceeded expectations." 

I'm still processing why it worked so well, because honestly?

I didn't expect this level of success.

Let me break down exactly what happened and why it flies in the face of every sales guru playbook I've ever seen.

Most events follow the same tired formula: pack the biggest room possible, pitch hard, create FOMO, then hit the audience with a high-ticket backend offer.

We did the exact opposite.

Here’s what we did: 

Venue: My friend Jittender's boardroom. 

Capacity: 20 people max. 

Selection process: Manual applications, not "click to buy" buttons. 

We didn't want just anyone; we wanted the right people.

The result?

Pure magic.

We had exactly two goals, and neither of them involved revenue:

Give as much value as we possibly can. We knew we'd share every single toolkit we've developed for the small-bay industry over the past five years. But we also knew that wasn't enough. The tools are useless without the right framework. We wanted to make sure they left with the right approach, mindset, and values to operate on a completely different level.

Amplify collaboration. I knew that a significant amount of value would come from the collective intelligence in the room. Twenty brains working together on real problems will always beat one person talking from a stage.

That’s it.

No revenue targets.

No conversion metrics.

No backend sales goals.

Here's where it gets interesting: we didn't have a "buy now" button.

We had an application.

When people applied, we looked them up on social media.

If we knew them personally, they were likely in.

If we didn't know them, we checked who they knew. 

The theory is simple: good people attract good people.

The vetting criteria wasn't about portfolio size or net worth.

It was simply: "Are they good people? Would we want to spend two days in a room with them?"

One week before the bootcamp, we did something unusual.

We held a group coaching call with my good friend and performance coach, Phil Towle.

We asked every participant a single, powerful question: "Why are you really here?"

The answers ranged from 20-something operators wanting to "acquire as many properties as possible" to seasoned entrepreneurs looking for their next chapter. 

Getting that "why" out in the open created something deeper than a transactional event, it became a co-creation experience before anyone even set foot in the room.

Most events hide their real agenda.

We put ours front and center.

I told them exactly what our "selfish" motives were:

Motive #1: We're launching Industrial IQ software, and participants are our perfect beta customers.

Motive #2: We're building a portfolio of small-bay industrial properties to eventually sell as a group to private equity in 3-5 years. We'd love for some of these folks to join us.

No hidden backends.

No surprise upsells.

Just honest intentions, disclosed upfront.

On Saturday evening, my partner Shea and I stepped out for a quick debrief.

Behind us, the energy in the room was electric.

Twenty people, most of whom had never met, were already scheduling dinners, discussing deals, and solving each other's problems in real time.

These weren't forced networking exercises—they were genuine connections forming organically.

"Dude, I think we killed it today," I said.

The collaboration was happening without any facilitation from us.

The real transformation wasn't happening when we were teaching, but in the spaces between.

Here are a few responses from the feedback:

"The openness and genuine desire to share and uplift others."

"Because I do not currently own a small bay, I was super interested in hearing the pitfalls and the buy criteria... you ultimately saved me from making a huge mistake. That is priceless!"

"The class size was perfect to be able to ask questions in real time... Shea and Saul were so patient and kind to answer any and all questions to make the learning experience fulfilling for everyone."

In our post-event survey, we asked: "Would you be interested in a follow-up call to brainstorm how we stay connected?"

Every single person said yes.

So we're doing a 2-hour Zoom session where we'll collectively figure out what comes next.

No predetermined agenda.

Just 20 smart people solving a problem together.

Because that's what worked: treating this like inviting good friends to figure something out, not selling them a predetermined solution.

We went completely against every sales book and every "proven system" out there. 

We chose:

The result?

Higher satisfaction, deeper connections, and a waiting list for something we haven't even decided to do again.

Here's what I learned: when you optimize for genuine value and authentic relationships, the business results follow naturally.

The participants become raving fans.

The connections compound.

The game starts coming to you instead of you chasing it.

There's nothing wrong with the quantity game.

But if you're going for quality?

Forget the KPIs.

Focus on transformation and collaboration.

The magic will handle the rest.