Palmy Kitti and her sister Nan started a fashion business with $2,000. Years later their biggest client shut down all its retail stores and 95% of their income was gone overnight. They moved into flipping houses in Los Angeles, then into multifamily syndication. Seven and a half years in, Palmy says they have nearly half a billion dollars in assets under management across Georgia, Arkansas and Texas.

Now a lot of that business runs through AI. After a property management changeover, her system flagged that one property had more cash than its reports showed. They'd overfunded the reserve account by $169,000. Finding that used to mean people matching rent rolls against the T12 and the general ledger by hand. She says it took her less than five minutes.

She's just as clear about where AI stops. "You can have the best AI tools, but AI doesn't give you that judgment. You have to make that judgment."

What Ed and Palmy get into:

• The $169,000 her AI caught in a reserve account after a property management changeover
• A fire that burned eight units with only two occupied, and the eight-page report that got the insurer to approve business interruption on all eight: $136,000 through August
• Her AI investment committee, with a risk role, a capital role and a market role that each try to find the flaws in a deal before a CEO role sums it up
• Why AI multiplies the advantage you already have and can't create one for you
• Ed's rule for the AI agents in his flip business: they handle execution, never judgment
• How a newer investor can use AI to bring real value to an experienced general partner
• The partner who stole her investor list, and the partners who went quiet during a refinance
• Why drinks on Thursday doesn't mean you get married on Saturday
• The investor on their dead list who invested five years later
• "Earn to own," and what Fortune Builders taught her about owning assets before buying things

Also in this episode, Questions from the Underground: when do I quit the job? Ed covers what has to be in place before you leave your W-2: insurance, cash reserves, debt, plus structure and protection.

Book mentioned:

• The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs by Carmine Gallo, Palmy's pick

Learn about Palmy's AI operating system at kittiroadmap.com, and find The Kitti Sisters at thekittisisters.com and on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.

Got a question you want answered on the show? Send it to ed@clarkst.com.

Recorded September 2026.

Real Estate Underground with Ed Mathews. Find us wherever you get your podcasts, at clarkst.com/podcast or elevista.com/podcast

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Additional Resources:

• Clark St Capital -> Passive real estate investments for busy business owners and executives
• Elevista -> AI SaaS for real estate investors
• Clark St Academy on YouTube -> Learn how to invest in real estate

Social Media:

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

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