Episode 755

Building Wealth with Flex Space & Land Development | Alec McElhhiny

Alec McElhhiny shares how he scaled from house hacking a duplex to developing high-profit flex spaces through LandPlay.com and creative land deals.

In this episode of RealDealChat, Jack Hoss sits down with Alec McElhhiny, founder of LandPlay.com, to discuss how he went from an actuary crunching numbers to a real estate developer building niche flex space projects across Texas.

Alec breaks down the math behind wealth-building through real estate, why flex space is booming, and how to find undervalued land that performs in any market. He also explains the “riches in the niches” principle and why picking one strategy and executing it better than anyone else is the fastest path to seven-figure success.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this conversation:

  • How Alec bought his first duplex with an FHA loan & scaled fast
  • Why flex space is outperforming multifamily in 2025
  • The difference between industrial flex and retail flex properties
  • Why adding A/C or outdoor storage can add $2–3 per sq ft in rent
  • How to find land under market value (and flip or develop it safely)
  • Building vertically integrated systems for higher margins
  • The benefits of blue-collar tenants and long-term cash flow
  • Market trends in Austin, San Antonio, and the I-35 growth corridor
  • How to raise private capital without institutional partners
  • Why doing the opposite of the headlines often creates the best returns
  • The “do it now” rule that saves time and multiplies productivity

📍 Learn more about Alec’s projects and connect at LandPlay.com


💡 Want help scaling your real estate business with AI and automation?

Visit https://realdealcrew.com


Timestamps

00:00 – From actuary to real estate investor

02:00 – How house hacking led to commercial deals

03:00 – What makes flex space so profitable

05:00 – Blue-collar tenants: reliable and recession-resistant

07:00 – Why the I-35 Texas corridor is a development goldmine

09:00 – Lessons from overpaying on the first deal

10:00 – Finding land under market value

12:00 – Ignoring the news & listening to the market

14:00 – Raising private money through relationships

16:00 – Why traditional flex is overbuilt & how to niche down

17:00 – Retail flex: combining visibility & industrial function

18:00 – Adding outdoor storage for higher returns

19:00 – AC in warehouses: the overlooked rent booster

21:00 – De-risking projects through shorter approval cycles

22:00 – “Riches in the niches” explained

23:00 – Books, mindset & the Think and Grow Rich principle

24:00 – The “do it now” mindset for investors


#RealEstateInvesting #FlexSpace #LandDevelopment #CommercialRealEstate #AlecMcElhhiny #LandPlay #RealDealChat #PassiveIncome #TexasRealEstate #RealEstateDevelopment #RealEstateAutomation #IndustrialRealEstate #RetailFlex #RealEstateMindset #WealthBuilding


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RealDealChat / Lessons from Real Estate Investors
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About your host

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Jack Hoss

We gather amazing stories from leaders in Real Estate Investing. In each episode, our guests will tell you what they are doing that works, what they tried that failed, and best of all you'll learn actionable steps to take your real estate investing to the next level.