Deal Junkie Diaries: Michael Pouliot Talks Strategy for 2026 and Beyond

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In this episode, Ed welcomes Michael Pouliot of Carbon Real Estate Investments, a vertically integrated private equity firm operating workforce housing apartments across the Southeast. 

Pouliot explains Carbon’s buy box: 100–300 unit, older vintage (1970s–1990s) properties in strong school districts and stable submarkets, targeting families and raising rents about 20% through substantial CapEx that prioritizes deferred maintenance alongside unit upgrades. 

They talk about navigating Sunbelt challenges like insurance and taxes by avoiding high-risk areas, staying conservative in underwriting, and emphasizing strong entry pricing. Pouliot shares a bullish view that the next 12–18 months are a strong buying window as the market works through distress, debt maturities, and oversupply absorption, with more constructive sentiment and capital expected around 2027–2028. 

He outlines Carbon’s strategy for 2026: keep buying with fixed-rate, low-leverage debt, hold long-term, and offer investor liquidity via recapitalizations rather than selling assets. 

The conversation also covers regional scaling for operational efficiency, selective adoption of AI tools (voice/chat agents, SOP knowledge bases, automation) to augment staff, and Pouliot's perspective on purpose, mentorship, lifestyle trade-offs versus Wall Street, and how he defines success. Pouliot closes by directing viewers to investwithcarbon.com for Carbon’s weekly newsletter and content.

00:00 Cycle Outlook 2027-2028

00:11 Show Intro and Mission

00:52 Welcome and Subscribe

01:42 Meet Carbon Real Estate

02:44 Insurance and Tax Headwinds

05:07 Buy Box and Resident Avatar

07:01 Why Stable Markets Win

08:34 Distress Deals and Assumable Debt

12:29 Oversupply and Absorption Math

14:58 Strategy for 2026

18:41 Vertical Integration and CapEx

20:32 Tech and AI in Property Ops

14:23 AI Ops Automation

23:28 Human Touch Investing

24:31 Real Estate Tech Lag

25:19 Deal Junkie Purpose

26:23 Paranoia Prevents Errors

28:26 Wall Street What Ifs

33:38 Learning Diet Books

35:56 Defining Success Seasons

38:19 Life Outside Real Estate

41:05 Where To Follow Carbon

This week's book: How Countries Go Broke by Ray Dalio

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• Clark St Capital -> Passive real estate investments for busy business owners and executives
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Social Media:

• LinkedIn -> Ed Mathews (President at Clark St and Elevista)