The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

Welcome to the Valentines Day edition of The Real Estate Espresso Podcast.  I’m celebrating Valentines Day with my wife on the beach in Mexico. We take time each year to recharge. Sometimes taking holidays is easier than others. We have both been working really hard over the past several months and even into our holiday, there hasn’t been a day of true disconnect or relaxation for both of us....

On today’s episode we are asking a very simple but important question. It’s a question that I believe rarely gets asked when considering a property.  The question is, “Who would choose to live in this property and are they someone who I want to have as a client?”  If I improve the property, will that change change enough about the property to attract my ideal client? If the property is a...

Colliers recently completed a market report on the state of office space. It contains some startling revelations.  Yes flexible office co-working space segment of the market accounted for 1/3 of all new leases signed last year. While still a small percentage of the overall market, its the fastest growing segment.

Last week, NY State Senate Deputy Leader Michael Gianaris announced he will introduce legislation to eliminate tax breaks for capital gains when investing in federal Qualified Opportunity Zones.    “The Opportunity Zone program was intended to help economically distressed areas but is being abused to grant tax breaks to already overdeveloped neighborhoods,” said Senator Michael Gianaris. “The stat...

This live Q&A session was part of a keynote address in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Some great questions that were very specific to the local geography, but universally applicable to almost any geography. 

Chuck has developed all types of properties in his extensive career in real estate investing. But he's a self storage specialist. This will be obvious from our conversation.  Chuck can be reached at creativerealestatenetwork.com/podcast  He has written a book on creative financing and it's a free download for our listeners.

This episode was recorded live at a conference in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The question came from a member of the audience. In my estimation, the one thing that distinguishes success is "resilience". I give an example of our neighbors who tried every trick under the sun to block the existence of our project. 

The economic indicators of recession are starting to trickle in. We are seeing ballooning inventories in multiple sectors of the economy. When times are good, suppliers increase production to meet the rising demand. But as always, they get a little ahead of themselves.  The auto industry sold 17.3 million vehicles last year. Frankly, some of that consumption was the result of major storm dama...

For many people it was a boring game. Well into the third quarter the game was tied at one field goal each. No team had managed an offensive run of more than five possessions of the ball. It was a game dominated by defence.  Games that involve lots of scoring, passes and receptions that defy physics make for an exciting game. Watching a game that is dominated by offence is so much fun. As real est...

On today’s show we’re talking about the main areas that owners run into trouble with contractors. There are 5 areas that I see over and over again. In some cases, these learning have been the result of first hand experience. There’s nothing more humbling than making a mistake when you really know better.  I believe it's really important to get references when selecting a contractor. My favour...

Today's episode shatters the law of reciprocity. It's a myth, it doesn't exist. There' another mechanism at play that we actually have more control over. When we understand that, the results are more powerful.

Abhi Golhar is the host of the nationally syndicated Think Realty radio show. He's a multi-family investor, a syndicator, and he specializes in tax liens. Join me for a fun conversation with Abhi. You can learn more about him at https://www.abhigolhar.com/

Leslie Smith is with Commercial Direct, an online based commercial lender who specializes in unusual commercial opportunities. Her take on commercial lending is a little non-traditional. But they've been in business for 20 years. A fascinating and refreshing approach.

Today's bonus episode was recorded live on the beach. It's also available as a video on Youtube. I describe how the show is recorded and edited. 

On today’s episode we are reviewing the book of the month. In order to be considered for book of the month, the book must meet a very simple criteria. It has to capable of changing you life, or your perspective on the world. Of course, whether it changes your life is up to you. You can consume the content, remark on how good it is and then continue your life without making any changes. In fact, th...

Today's episode is part 2 to Adam's question on Corporate Debt. On today's show we dig deeper into corporate debt and what are some of the issues surrounding it. What can cause corporate debt to become toxic? After studying is more deeply, I believe that we have a lower risk of another credit crisis resulting from corporate debt. The real threats to our economy and our banking system come from gov...

Today's episode is based on a question from Adam in Riverside California. He asks about how much of a risk corporate debt represents to our economy.  This is a great question, and it's a complex one to answer. So it will take a couple of episodes to answer this question. Today we're going to explain one of the widely accepted debt rating systems, and on tomorrow's show we will go deeper into...

Today's episode in another AMA episode - Ask Me Anything. Robin asks... In one of the previous episodes, you had mentioned about the advantages of using mini-splits in terms of cost savings. I had spoken to an HVAC specialist about this concept, and he mentioned some drawbacks.  - Any kind of serious maintenance/replacement down the line would require tearing down walls which can be quite exp...

Today's show is about another example of government overreach. In January 2017 Canadian federal government instituted a mortgage stress test rule. This required banks to subject borrowers to a financial stress test when applying for a residential mortgage loan. The stress test was designed to protect the marketplace and the banks from the risk of rising interest rates in the future. Borrowers woul...

Golf popularity is declining. It's a combination of cost, demographics, and the number of new golfers entering the sport. Many golf courses are being targeted for redevelopment. On today's show we have the story of an 18 hole course in Ottawa where the community opposition to redevelopment is extremely high. I'm talking with community leaders Jenna Sudds, and Neil Thompson to get their perspective...

Ty Crandal runs an organization called Credit Suite. They specialize in all forms of business credit, separate and distinct from personal credit. They assist companies in establishing credit scores for their business that will enable them to qualify for revolving credit facilities based strictly on the business, and not necessarily a fixed asset as collateral.  

Earlier this week the Wall Street Journal published a story criticizing the return of stated income loans. Many of the loans that precipitated the 2008 financial crisis were also stated income loans. It was one of those “here we go again” stories.  It tells the story of a 30 year old nursing student who managed to get a $610,000 loan with no tax returns and only 12 months of bank statements a...

On today’s show we examine what it means to be an investor. An investor is very distinct from a business operator, and distinct from a business owner, different than a broker, and different than a trader. An investor is truly passive. They don’t work for their money. They put their money to work for them.  An investor isn’t a gambler, nor are they a speculator. Those folks are called gamblers...

On today show we are talking about functional obsolescence. So what exactly is functional obsolescence? Those old 1950’s houses with the small kitchen that you can touch both walls when you stretch your arms out fully. You can put in new cupboards and appliances, but you will still have a tiny 1950’s kitchen. The functional flow of the home won’t match the needs of today’s modern family where the...

The US is building the most expensive wall in history. But it's not the one on the front page of every newspaper.  The proposed wall along the US Mexico border an expensive undertaking. The proposed budget allocation is a little under $6B. That’s a lot of money. In context, it represents less than 0.1% of total federal government spending. Spread over two years, it’s less than 0.05% of total...