The $1 Billion Real Estate Scam Being Solved by Property Shield with Alex Fahsel
Release Date: 11/11/2025
Creating an Exit Plan to Maximize Your ROI
Uncontested Investing
In this episode of Uncontested Investing, Suzanne and I break down one of the most important and most overlooked parts of being a real estate investor: creating an exit plan that maximizes your return on investment. We walk through the major exit strategies investors actually use in today’s market like fix and flip, buy and hold, BRRRR, seller financing, lease options, 1031 exchanges, and portfolio sales, and show you how to match the right strategy to your timeline, risk tolerance, capital needs, and market conditions. We also talk about building your exit plan on day one, why you...
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Setting up Systems and Automations to Scale Efficiently
Uncontested Investing
In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we dig into one of the biggest levers for scaling your real estate business: systems and automations. We break down how to move from being the self-employed investor who answers 2 a.m. toilet calls to becoming a true business owner with structure, processes, and the right people in place. We walk through systemizing lead generation, deal analysis, acquisitions, property management, maintenance, rent collection, investor relations, and team communication, and we share practical ways to integrate tools like CRMs, project management...
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Creating Passive Income Streams to Fund More Deals
Uncontested Investing
In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we break down how to create passive income streams that don’t just pay the bills, but actually fund more real estate deals. We walk through long-term rentals, short-term/vacation rentals, notes, private lending, REITs and funds, affiliate income, education products, and real-estate-adjacent businesses, and show you how each one can create steady cash flow, better financing terms, and more buying power as you scale your portfolio. We also dig into the tactical side: using IRAs and tax strategy, working with specialized CPAs, leveraging passive...
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Developing A Repeatable Process for Consistent Growth in Your Business
Uncontested Investing
In this episode of Uncontested Investing, Suzanne and I break down one of the biggest unlocks for scaling your real estate portfolio: building a repeatable process that drives consistent growth. We walk through the full lifecycle of a deal, from deal sourcing, underwriting, financing, operations, property management, to exit strategy and show you how to turn each step into a system you can run again and again, in any market.  We talk about practical tools like CRMs, project management platforms, cost-estimation software, virtual assistants, and outbound call partners, plus the...
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Reflecting on Lessons Learned & Planning for the New Year
Uncontested Investing
In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we hit pause on deals and dive into something every real estate investor needs to do at least once a year: reflect, reassess, and reset your plan for the new year. We talk through how to review your wins, losses, systems, market strategy, portfolio performance, team, and mindset so you’re not just repeating the same year over and over.  We cover how to celebrate business highlights, identify what actually moved the needle, and cut the processes, platforms, and partnerships that didn’t. We also dig into market insights, changing...
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Why Empty Houses Make No Money & Other Scaling Lessons Investors Miss with Bruce McNeilage
Uncontested Investing
In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we sit down with Bruce McNeilage, co-founder of Kinlock Partners, to break down what it really takes to scale a real estate portfolio across multiple markets and asset classes. With nearly two decades of experience building and operating thousands of units, Bruce shares hard-earned lessons from single-family rentals and build-to-rent communities to large multifamily developments and self-storage projects. We explore how Bruce identifies high-growth real estate markets like Nashville, Atlanta, and Columbia, why job drivers and industry...
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Structuring Your Portfolio: LLCs, Partnerships, and Trusts
Uncontested Investing
In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we keep our tax and legal strategy series rolling with a topic every real estate investor needs to get right: how to structure your portfolio with LLCs, partnerships, and trusts. We break down how the right entity structure protects your personal assets, improves tax efficiency, and sets up clean estate and succession planning as you scale from one rental to a full portfolio.  We walk through when to form an LLC, how to use partnerships to access capital and expertise, and where revocable and irrevocable trusts fit into long-term legacy...
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Cost Segregation Studies for Depreciation Benefits
Uncontested Investing
In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we are wrapping up our tax and legal strategy series with a deep dive into cost segregation studies and how they can supercharge your depreciation, tax savings, and cash flow. Most investors focus on appreciation – but if you’re not using depreciation the right way, especially on larger commercial and multifamily assets, you’re probably leaving money on the table.  We break down what a cost segregation study actually is, which property types it makes sense for, and how engineers and specialized firms reclassify parts of your...
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The 1031 Exchange Playbook: How Investors Scale Faster While Deferring Taxes
Uncontested Investing
In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we stay on our tax and legal strategies theme and break down one of the most powerful tools in real estate investing: the 1031 exchange. We walk through what a 1031 actually is, how it lets you defer capital gains taxes when you swap one investment property for another, and why it’s such a big lever for portfolio growth, net worth, and long-term scaling.  We talk about the 45-day identification and 180-day closing rules, the role of a qualified intermediary, and how to move from a duplex into a four-family, commercial building, or...
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How Opportunity Zones Could Be Your Next Opportunity with Tax Benefits
Uncontested Investing
In this episode of Uncontested Investing, we break down one of the most misunderstood tools in real estate tax strategy: Opportunity Zones. We unpack what a Qualified Opportunity Zone actually is, how the program was created under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, and why it matters for investors looking to defer capital gains, reduce tax liability, and potentially eliminate gains entirely on long-term projects. We walk through a real-world example from the Brunswick Naval Air Station in Maine, talk about converting old mills and strip malls into housing, and outline the three big tax...
info_outlineIn this episode of Uncontested Investing, we sit down with Alex Fahsel, the co-founder of Property Shield, a groundbreaking company that’s changing how investors protect their assets from fraud and scams.
At just 23 years old, Alex built Property Shield while finishing college at the University of Georgia—and today, it operates in over 35 states, helping investors prevent rental fraud, wire fraud, and title scams that have cost renters and landlords more than a billion dollars.
We unpack how AI and machine learning are being used to fight fraudulent listings, what every investor needs to know about protecting their portfolios, and how small investors can stay one step ahead of increasingly sophisticated scammers.
If you invest in single-family rentals, multifamily properties, or land, this episode is your crash course in risk management, due diligence, and fraud prevention straight from one of the brightest young innovators in the industry.
Key Talking Points of the Episode
00:00 Introduction
01:15 How an internship at Progress Residential inspired Alex’s idea
02:25 Turning a college project into a real business
03:40 The birth of Property Shield and early lessons learned
04:48 How AI detects fraudulent listings and impersonations online
07:28 The shocking scale of real estate fraud across major cities
09:04 The devastating impact of fraud on mom-and-pop investors and tenants
11:07 Property Shield’s nationwide growth and expansion goals
13:08 Why small property managers and investors are hardest to reach
15:28 The first deal that changed everything—finding trust and opportunity
17:45 Breaking down other common types of real estate fraud
20:30 Wire fraud and phishing—why the biggest scams happen before closing
23:06 Using AI and automation to detect scams faster than ever
24:23 Deepfakes, AI-generated voices, and the next wave of fraud risks
26:10 How persistence can help you achieve success
27:23 Why investors should always use title companies and attorneys
28:07 How Property Shield is developing new partnerships to fight title fraud
29:50 The goal: catching fraudulent listings before they ever go live
31:38 Future of Property Shield: predictive analytics and risk scoring
Quotables
“We’re seeing that between 20 and 25% of all online real estate listings have at least one fraudulent duplicate.”
“Fraudsters are using AI, so we have to use AI. It’s the only way to keep up.”
“Persistence. That’s the one word I’d use to sum up this journey. You just keep chugging along.”
Links
Property Shield
RCN Capital
https://www.rcncapital.com/podcast
https://www.instagram.com/rcn_capital/
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