Is owning a rental property really the smartest way to build wealth—or just the most familiar one?

For many investors, the first instinct is to buy a rental property and become a landlord, but owning one property can bring concentration risk, unexpected expenses, and more hands-on responsibility than expected. As markets shift, it is essential to understand how real estate fits within a diversified financial plan.

In this episode, Shannon Kiefhaber, real estate investor and asset manager at Riverside Group and Twenty-Five Eight Capital, opens up about her transition from single-family rentals to multifamily syndications and commercial assets. Listen in as she explains how to evaluate return on equity, what passive investing through syndications really looks like, and how to align real estate decisions with your long-term wealth strategy.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why many investors underestimate the true cost of owning a single rental property.
• How vacancy, capital expenditures, and property management impact cash flow.
• The difference between concentration risk and diversified real estate exposure.
• What a real estate syndication is and how limited partners participate.
• How metrics like cash-on-cash return, IRR, and equity multiple compare to market benchmarks.
• How depreciation and cost segregation can enhance tax strategy.
• The importance of aligning real estate investments with your overall financial plan.

Ideas Worth Sharing:

• “The problem is people dramatically underestimating the true cost of owning a rental property and overestimating the benefit of having only one property. I'm not trying to say rental properties are bad, but I think scale matters here.” - Shannon Kiefhaber
• “For building wealth, it's not about necessarily doing more and more deals—it's about building something or designing something that supports the lifestyle I want to live.” - Shannon Kiefhaber
• “If you’ve been holding real estate for the past 10 years, it’s a great time to hold real estate. It’s highly appreciated. And so now you have to actually start looking at another metric called return on equity.” - Shannon Kiefhaber

Resources:

• Shannon Kiefhaber: LinkedIn
• Genevieve George: Website | LinkedIn
• Riverside Group Commercial Real Estate
• Twenty-Five Eight Capital

Connect with Us:

If you're ready to stop avoiding your finances and start building the future you deserve, schedule a free call with me at pelicanfinancialplanning.com and let’s create your personalized financial plan together.

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