Sep 8, 2026 · 28m · paul-morris
Building Wealth Abroad: Lessons for the Foreign Investor
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
Real estate investor Leslie Romanesco joins hosts Paul Morris and Josh Spitson to contrast disciplined, 15-year debt-amortizing property investments in France with patient, live-in cosmetic renovations in prime Los Angeles neighborhoods. The discussion highlights how conservative underwriting, geographic focus, and private capital autonomy combine to build durable multi-generational wealth.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Paul holds 53.8% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
Paul as informed peer 5.1 Guest teaching 2.7 Guest disagreement 1.1 Paul pushing back 1.2
speaking balance: gold is Paul, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 7:33 Leslie counters return multiple expectations
Leslie counters Paul's assumption that an investment must double in 15 years, arguing that even modest 40 percent appreciation represents immense gain when debt service is fully subsidized.
Hardest push from Paul ▶ 5:00 Paul presses on financing ratios and numbersPaul interrupts Leslie's generalized description to demand specific numbers and down payment percentages on the asset that fails to cash flow immediately.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 1:16 Leslie outlines European 15-year mortgage advantagesLeslie educates the hosts on French lending standards, contrasting shorter 15-year amortization terms and lower interest rates against standard domestic 30-year mortgages.
Paul holds their own ▶ 19:35 Paul details navigating the 2008 market collapsePaul demonstrates real estate acumen by recounting how he injected 800,000 dollars into an underwater home during the financial crash and later exited for 6.2 million dollars.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | Paul as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | Paul pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic Investing in French Real Estate Markets | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Leslie explains the mechanics of buying residential properties in France, citing 15-year loans and warning against cheap historical castles. Paul chimes in agreeing that foreign investments require trusted local contacts. | |
| Cash Flow Expectations and 15-Year Payoff Frameworks | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | Leslie describes her strategy of breaking even on 15-year notes on new builds rather than seeking immediate cash flow. Paul drills down on specific purchase figures and down payment requirements, sharing insights about international buyer preferences. | |
| Evaluating Return Multiples and Strategic Tenant Targeting | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | Paul runs the math assuming a property should double over 15 years, but Leslie reframes the calculus by pointing out that even a 40 percent gain yields strong returns when costs are covered. She also highlights targeted tenant demographics like hospital and university staff. | |
| Geographic Clustering and Remote Property Management Logistics | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Josh and Paul explore the logistics of clustering remote properties under a single manager, and Leslie introduces her local Los Angeles strategy of slow rolling 1920s residential renovations. | |
| Personal Capital Flexibility Versus Syndicate Investor Obligations | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Paul delivers an extensive breakdown comparing personal capital patience against syndicate investor hurdle rates using his Joshua Tree portfolio as a case study. Leslie validates this distinction regarding partnership alignment. | |
| Overcoming Emotion and Evaluating Unit Density in Primary Residences | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Josh asks about lessons learned, prompting Leslie to describe removing emotion from underwriting and the personal trade-offs of living inside an active multi-unit development project. | |
| Market Timing Realities and the Middle-of-the-Road Opportunity | 7 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Paul shares a detailed narrative of his 2008 Santa Monica crash experience, renovating an underwater home and eventually exiting at peak, leading into Leslie articulating the unique upside in middle-of-the-road properties. | |
| Professional Advisory Insight and Scarcity in Premier Locations | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | Leslie discusses setting realistic client expectations, while Paul gives an anecdote of an affluent buyer purchasing a 20-million-dollar fixer in a 40-million-dollar neighborhood to capture pure land and location value. | |
| Sweat Equity in Luxury Markets and Intentional Family Wealth Building | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Paul illustrates how a peer built wealth living through phased renovations, and then synthesizes Leslie's current investment thesis as a middle-of-the-road minus play poised for major upside. |
Statements from this episode (14)
Romanesco: Investors should only buy property where they have local oversight
“I learned from my dad at a young age, invest in, you know, places that you would live, places that you have family, places that you have contacts, because somebody has got to manage that property or keep an eye on it.”
Romanesco: French property loans offer lower rates and 15-year terms
“Interest rates are much lower their 15 year term instead of 30, which is nice. So the great thing, yeah, the great thing about investing in France is that you know, you pay off Your loan's much more quickly.”
Romanesco says Americans buy struggling Italian and French towns' one-dollar castles
“Yeah, I think there are a lot of Americans and various other, that are investing in France in those, in Italy, In those, you know, it's a dollar, you know, a dollar for a castle because those towns are struggling and they need to bring new life in. And I think…”
Romanesco bought a new construction property to pay off in 15 years
“We have one property that we, for, you know, we knew that we would pay it off in 15 years. It's in a great location. It was brand new construction, and that we would break even, right? So as long as we kept at least, even if it was down for a month, you know, …”
Romanesco puts down 25% to finance overseas property purchases
“So we have purchased a few just free and clear and then otherwise we're putting down about 20, 20, 25, 25%. I think we had to put down 25% in order to get the financing.”
Romanesco caps foreign investment property purchase prices at 500,000
“Yeah, the properties, we're not going over 500,000.”
Morris expects property in a great area to double over 15 years
“You would hope that in 15 years it would be worth, you know, it could, should be worth double in a great area, you know, 15 years later, I would think, right?”
Romanesco targets hospital and university tenants for reliable turnover
“Location-wise for us is something that's very rentable, right? Close to, so like if it's close to university, if it's close to hospital, those kinds of things, and those are often the tenants that we're looking for. We don't want someone that's necessarily You…”
Morris: Remote real estate investors should cluster acquisitions in one area
“My first thing is invest where, you know, or invest, invest where you live really nearby. But if I were going outside the area and I were doing, and I made a decision to go outside the area, I would think about buying a few in the same area so that you then do…”
Romanesco executes a slow-roll live-in residential renovation strategy in LA
“We don't put ourselves in a position where we have to sell at any particular time. We can time things. And so we invest in something that we believe in, in a location that we like. We live there, we do the work, we maybe do addition, do whatever we need to get…”
Morris removed a Joshua Tree property from a fund to protect returns
“We pulled it out of the portfolio with the investors because we knew that, like, we're just going to sit on this one, and when you sit on one, it's going to drive the rate of return for the portfolio down a lot. So when we're looking at, hey, you know, we want…”
Morris renovated a $2.1M Santa Monica home and sold for $6.2M
“I bought it for 2.1. I would put like seven or 800,000 dollars in it through the market crash. I bought it for 2.1. In six months, it was worth 1.6. You know, that was my entire down payment. Yeah. You know, flushed. So I still put the money in it, you know, I…”