April 2026: The Investor Journey
- Michele Correa
- 3 days ago
- 9 min read
What We’ve Been Up To
April was one of those months where everything seemed to happen at once. A flip that has been a very long time coming finally closed, I made it to Edmonton to see the projects in person (including watching a demolition which was one of the coolest things I have seen in a while), attended the TYT MVP Mastermind in Lake Louise, had achilles surgery, and watched my niece get married. Oh, and I started using a new task management tool to streamline my “to do’s”. We will get to all of it.
Grab a coffee. There is a lot to cover.
The Edmonton Flip Finally Closed!
This one deserves its own moment. Our Edmonton flip closed this month, and I will not pretend it was a smooth ride because it was not. This project took over a year longer than anticipated and came with more hurdles than I could have predicted when we started. There were many challenges that taught us some very hard lessons.
I am going to save the full story for another time because the learnings from this project deserve a proper write-up, not a paragraph squeezed into a monthly newsletter. I want to lay it all out so that if you ever do a flip, you will know key things to look for and what to avoid. That is coming.
For now, I will just say: it closed. The chapter is done. And we are smarter for it.
Edmonton Site Visit: Six Infills and a Demolition
I made it to Edmonton this month and it was so worth the trip. Getting boots on the ground and seeing the projects in person is something I prioritize because there are things you notice on site that you simply cannot see in photos or reports. It also matters to me to look the team in the eye, walk the properties, and understand exactly what our investors are putting their trust and their capital into.
The demolition was the highlight. Two old bungalows came down to make way for our two newest 8-unit infills, and watching it happen in person was so fun. It moves fast. One day there are two houses sitting on a lot, and within days there will be a foundation going in. Before a single piece of concrete has been poured, Franken Homes, our builder, has already fielded two calls from people asking when the units will be available to rent. In a market where Edmonton rentals have softened a little, that kind of early interest tells you a lot about the location we chose.
The other infills are all progressing well. Seeing them at various stages, from drywall to framing to mechanical, reminds me why I love this work. There is something deeply satisfying about watching a vision become a building that families will actually live in.
MVP Mastermind in Lake Louise
I spent a week at the Trust Your Talent MVP Mastermind in Lake Louise in April and came home with a full brain and a lot to think about. These events always push me in ways I do not fully expect going in.
The biggest thing I came away with was clarity around getting our three-year business plan properly documented. I have had the vision in my head for a long time, but there is something different about putting it on paper with real structure behind it. What are we building toward? What does growth actually look like over the next three years? Having that written down changes how you make decisions day to day because you have something concrete to measure against. It is one of those things you know you should do and keep putting off. The mastermind gave me the push and the framework to actually do it.
The other big takeaway was around protecting my time. I am someone who genuinely wants to help people and be available, and that is not a bad thing. However it can quietly become a problem when you are running on everyone else's schedule instead of your own. The conversations at MVP reinforced something I already knew but needed to hear out loud: not everyone gets access to my time on demand. My best work, my best thinking, and my best decisions happen when I am intentional about where my time and energy go. I am working on structures and boundaries that protect that. It is a practice, not a switch, but I am committed to it. Time blocking for deep work has been hugely beneficial.
Lake Louise in the spring is also absolutely stunning. I managed to take my first steps without my boot there after surgery and even made it out to the frozen lake! It looks so different than in the summer.
What I'm Learning About AI (And Why It's Less Scary Than You Think)
I attended three live AI training sessions over the past couple of weeks and I want to share my insights, because I think a lot of you are probably sitting in the same spot I was not that long ago. Curious. A little overwhelmed. Not sure where to start.
The further I go down this road, the less intimidating it becomes. AI is moving fast, there is no question about that. New tools are launching constantly and it can feel like you need to learn everything at once just to keep up. One of the speakers said something that really stuck with me. He said don't try to learn it all. Pick one tool that is useful for your business, start there, and go deep. That was great advice.
For me, that tool is Claude. I have been using it for content, SOPs, research, and now I am starting to build out automations that are saving me time every week. I shared in a previous newsletter how I went from spending $10,000 a year on certain tasks to about $30 a month using AI. It keeps compounding as I learn more.
All of these sessions touched on the concept of AI fluency levels. Most of us start by using AI as a tool, asking it questions and getting answers. That is level one and it is a great place to start. Level two is teaching it your voice, your business, your standards, so it starts responding the way you would. I have been working at this level for a while now. Level three is where it gets really interesting: building your own agent, an AI that doesn't just answer questions but takes actions on your behalf. That is where I am headed next, and I will take you along for the ride as I figure it out.
A few other things from the sessions worth passing along: the speakers were clear that AI should always have a human verification step before it takes action on anything important, whether that is sending an email, updating a pricing tool, or posting on social media. The goal is not to hand everything over blindly. The goal is to remove the repetitive, time-consuming work so you can focus on the decisions that actually need you.
And for those of you who are watching the short-term rental part of my journey, there was a great discussion about AI being incredibly useful in the property acquisition phase, running pro forma analysis, evaluating markets, and stress-testing numbers before you ever make an offer. That is something I am already building into how we evaluate our STR properties.
The bottom line is this: AI is not replacing the relationships, the judgment, or the purpose behind what we do. It is giving us more time to show up for those things. And that is a trade I am very willing to make. If you are curious about how I am using it in the CEP business specifically, just hit reply. I am happy to share what is working.
Family & Life
My Niece's Wedding
One of my nieces got married this month and it was a beautiful day. She looked like an absolute princess and we are so happy for her and her new husband. There is something about a wedding that just fills you up, and dancing the night away with family is one of those things that reminds you what all the hard work is actually for.
The Drive Home from Edmonton
Doug and I recently drove home from Edmonton together, which gave us several uninterrupted hours of conversation. No phones ringing, no to-do lists interrupting, just the two of us talking about where we are and where we are going. We talked about the girls, us, our work, travel plans, and what the next phase of our life will look like. I find it interesting that some of the best thinking happens not in a scheduled planning session, but on a long drive with someone you trust. If you have a long drive coming up, put the podcast away for part of it. Just talk.
Achilles Surgery Recovery
For those following along, recovery is going well. I am following the protocol, doing my physio, and trusting the process. I had my surgeon followup and he had to remind me to be patient as the full healing process takes 12-16 weeks and it has only been 6 weeks. I feel like I am at the point I was before the surgery so fingers crossed it keeps improving.
Useful Tool
I have been using Todoist for a few weeks now and I want to share it because it is solving a very specific problem I have had for a long time. I am an out of sight, out of mind person. If something is not directly in front of me, there is a good chance it will fall through the cracks, so I was living with sticky notes, a daily digital planner and things in my head at 2am when I should be sleeping. With my digital daily planner, I found my “to do list for the day” was always overly ambitious and I kept copying tasks over day to day.
Todoist is my new home for everything that needs to get done, whether that is today, this week, or three months from now. I can capture a task the second it comes to me (either by talking or typing), drop it into the right date or category, and trust that it will show up when it is supposed to. No more rewriting the same list every morning. No more sticky note graveyard on my desk (you know the one). It hasn’t stopped the “overly ambitious part” (though I am getting better with my new time blocking routine), however it is easy to drag and drop to the next day or change the date for the task to show up.
What I like most is that it is simple enough to actually use, and accessible from my phone so I can add things on the go. If you are someone who struggles to keep track of what needs to happen and when, it is worth trying. There is a free version.
Check it out at todoist.com
Useful Resource
This one is specifically for anyone investing or considering investing in Edmonton. The City of Edmonton has created an interactive map that layers its district policy and planning information onto a visual map of the city. You can see nodes and corridors, employment areas, heritage designations, mass transit stations, and other policies that are in effect.
If you are evaluating infill lots, development sites, or any kind of property where zoning and future planning matters (and it always matters), this tool is useful.
Explore the map here: Edmonton District Planning Interactive Map
What I'm Listening To:
Given that we just got back from Disneyworld in March and I had Disney very much on the brain, this one felt perfectly timed. Be Our Guest is the Disney Institute's breakdown of how Disney has built one of the most recognized customer service cultures in the world. Here are the five things that stuck with me most:
1. Know your guest. Disney calls it guestology. Before you design anything, you need to deeply understand what the people you serve actually want, not what you assume they want. They study it obsessively. It is worth asking: how well do we actually know our investors and tenants?
2. Set clear quality standards. Once you know what your guests want, you define what excellent looks like across every touchpoint. Safety, courtesy, the show, efficiency, in that order of priority. Everything else flows from having those standards agreed on and lived out.
3. Your people are cast members, not staff. Everyone at Disney is performing a role in a larger story. The attitude, the language, the training, it all reinforces that they are part of creating an experience, not just showing up for a shift. Culture is built through language and repetition.
4. Design the environment intentionally. Every physical detail at a Disney park is deliberate. Trash cans are placed exactly 30 steps apart because that is how far people walk before they start looking for one. The environment either supports or undermines the experience. This one made me think about everything from our rental units to our investor communications.
5. Exceed expectations, do not just meet them. Satisfying a guest is the floor, not the ceiling. The goal is to create moments they did not expect. That is what makes people come back and tell others. Easy to say, takes real intention to execute.
Easy listen if you are in the hospitality, real estate, or any business where experience matters. Which is all of us, really.
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That's a Wrap for April!
What's one thing you are working on heading into May? Just hit reply, I would love to hear from you.
If making your money work harder for you by investing in real estate without all the hassles is something that interests you, or if you want to partner alongside us and learn as you participate, reach out to us at michele@correaequitypartners.com. We can discuss your goals and see if we are a fit to work together and invest with purpose.
Invest with Purpose. Build Wealth. Create the Freedom to Live Life on Your Terms.
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