Mac Shelton is the co-founder of Sweetbay Capital, a real estate private equity firm focused on value-add multifamily investments in Virginia and the Carolinas. With a background in private equity and mezzanine lending, Mac blends institutional financial experience with a data-driven approach to real estate. Since 2021, he and his team have built a portfolio of over 340 units, concentrating on under-the-radar markets like Roanoke, VA, where rent growth consistently outpaces new supply.
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Key Takeaways
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Rent growth—not population growth—is the key driver of returns
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Markets with less outside capital often outperform due to better entry pricing and lower volatility
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Renovation premiums are often overestimated—test before scaling your plan
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Conservative exit underwriting should account for the next buyer’s view, not just your own
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Transparency with investors builds trust and fuels long-term partnerships
Topics
Why Sweetbay Focuses on Smaller Markets
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Smaller markets like Roanoke and Columbia are producing higher rent growth with lower acquisition costs
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Mac compares tertiary markets to places like Raleigh in the early 2000s—under the radar but primed for stable returns
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Oversupply in “hot” metros like Raleigh and Charlotte is driving rents down, while less popular markets remain steady
Data Over Hype: What Drives Rent Growth
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Rent growth is more important than population growth and is driven by renter population relative to new supply
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Mac shares an analysis comparing Roanoke to Raleigh, Charlotte, and Greenville—showing similar or better rent performance with lower price per door
Why Lease Trade-Outs and Renewals Matter
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Lease trade-outs measure organic rent growth, but renewals give even clearer insight into demand
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Renewals at 3–4% growth without renovations are often a better gauge than turnover metrics
Exit Assumptions: Thinking Like the Next Buyer
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Every acquisition includes a re-underwrite from the future buyer’s perspective
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Mac shares how he checks cap rate assumptions against current comps and validates price-per-door benchmarks
Transitioning from Private Equity to Real Estate
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Mac started his career in private equity and gradually began acquiring rentals with his bonus income
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His first syndication scaled a student rental model he’d already executed personally
Investor Communication and Building Trust
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Sweetbay Capital emphasizes detailed offering memorandums with full fee transparency and CapEx justifications
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Quarterly reports compare actuals vs original projections—no adjusted budgets or post-hoc explanations
Advice for New Syndicators
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Don’t start syndicating without doing your own deals first—prove the model with your money
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Sweetbay’s first deal had no promote, just a 3% acquisition fee, to reduce friction and earn investor trust
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The best way to grow capital is to return it and reinvest with a strong track record
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Round of Insights
Failure that set Mac up for success: Skipping early rent tests on a renovation project led to budget overruns—he learned the value of testing rent potential before scaling upgrades.
Digital or mobile resource: LandGlide – a $100/year app that offers a consolidated GIS view to quickly check property ownership and transaction history.
Book recommendation: Best Ever Apartment Syndication Book by Joe Fairless – a foundational guide Mac used to build the blueprint for Sweetbay.
Daily habit: Morning exercise—whether running, walking the dog, or hitting the gym—centers Mac and sets the tone for a productive day.
#1 insight for finding great markets: Ignore hype. Focus on fundamentals like rent-to-price ratios, supply dynamics, and how picked-over the market really is.
Favorite restaurant in Raleigh, NC: For casual: MoJoe’s Burger Joint. For upscale: Stanbury.
Next Steps
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Connect with Mac on LinkedIn
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Visit sweetbay-capital.com to learn more about their deals and investor resources
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