The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

Last month RealPage paid a $3.3M settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over allegedly failing to take adequate care during criminal background checks for potential tenants. Earlier this year, Ascenda paid $1.1M in a class action lawsuit for failing to get proper consent during employment background checks. Property owners and property managers in Illinois have received judgements against th...

On today's show we're showcasing a different way of developing through private public partnerships. Some transportation authorities have control over land without requiring the usual public consultation and zoning process for entitlements. If you have a dream of building a waterfront marquis property, you'd be amazed at what might be possible.

We all face choices. The decision to accept a problem is made in an instant. It’s an instinctive reflexive reaction usually made on the basis of an emotional response rather than a rational response. If you’ve chosen to downplay the problem, then chances are you won’t deal with it until it mushrooms to the point where the problem is large enough you can no longer ignore it. Let's say you accept th...

Kyle Wilson was the founder of Jim Rohn International and was Jim Rohn's business partner for 18 years. In this casual conversation, we're talking about the birth of an entire industry and some of the marketing fundamentals that today's technologies often short-circuit. Kyle is a kindred spirit and we share a lot of the same values. I think that becomes readily apparent in the conversation. Enjoy....

Dr. Bryant took a departure from dentistry after selling his multi-location practice and ventured into the world of real estate investing and wealth management. The High Speed Alliance is a group of Doctors and Dentists who come together several times a year in exotic locations to mastermind on investment. Listen to this great conversation on the beach on location in Sandestin Florida.

Generally speaking people are willing to be educated. They don’t want to be sold. They’re willing if its an area they’re interested in. If they’re not interested, it’s spam. In the movie star wars, Luke Skywalker is the hero of the story. But he needs a guide, in this case Yoda who will team him. Yoda isn’t the star of the movie. He’s in a supporting role. The problem arises when the ethics of the...

We are delighted to announce that Ravi Ghanta is the winner of the 100,000 download contest and has won an autographed copy of Robert Kiyosaki’s book “Second Chance”. On today’s episode we review Benjamin Hardy’s book “Willpower Doesn’t Work”. Benjamin Hardy is a PhD student in psychology at Clemson University. His groundbreaking book shows conclusively that everything you’ve tried and failed usin...

Recent reports from numerous data sources are showing that homeowners in the US are living longer in the same place between moves. In fact, the average time in the same home has more than doubled in the last decade. In particular, the coastal areas have experienced the lowest inventories, the worst affordability and the lowest mobility.

John from Huntsville Alabama asks "I'm contemplating a large new multifamily development. What questions should I be asking the city to determine if my project is viable?"

I’ve been talking to a number of investors who are interested in getting into development. Today’s episode is an advisory talk on what you may want to consider before jumping into the world of development. The first thing is that you should avoid development if at all possible. If you can get the equivalent product in the market by buying and repositioning an existing asset, then that’s what you s...

This week I spoke with George on a wide range of topics, starting with the stock market volatility. George was Executive Vice President in the Trump organization for over 30 years and he brings a unique perspective. He's been in business for over 60 years, taught negotiation at the law school at NYU for over 20 years, and is the author of two best selling books on real estate and negotiation.

Two weeks ago hurricane Michael tore a swath of destruction through this coastal community. We toured the area and spoke first hand with local residents.

This week, The Bank of Canada increased its benchmark interest rate 0.25% to 1.75%. They also signaled increases in the future might be necessary. So Why do interest rates rise?

Fair Isaac Corporation, the creator of the FICO score will introduce the Ultra-FICO score early in 2019. It's designed to make it possible for millions of borrowers who marginally don't qualify for loans today to have access to credit. The idea is that it will make more credit available without increasing risk to lenders. Is this a good idea? Listen and find out.

Could there be a situation where prices increase, but asset values decrease? On today’s episode we will examine this very question. In an inflationary environment, the cost of construction goes up. In fact we’ve seen very real increases in the cost of construction over the past several years. In 2014, you could routinely build new B class apartments for $88 per square foot. That’s exactly what I w...

In celebration of 100,000 downloads, we're going to be giving away an autographed copy of Robert Kiyosaki's latest book "Second Chance". If you would like to enter to win, send an email to victor@victorjm.com and put 100,000 in the subject line. Today is another AMA episode - Ask Me Anything. David from Pittsburgh asks "How much passion do you need to consider moving from a passive investor to a f...

The broad economy seems to be performing strongly, but we are also seeing weakness in new home construction at the same time. At the root of this is money. On today’s episode we’re going to follow the trail of the money and see some of the factors that are influencing the housing market. We will eventually see this slowdown reflected in the macro economic numbers.

Tammy Mitchell is an expert in relational capital. If you're not familiar with that term, we break it down in detail and describe the power of developing deep and meaning relationships with people of significance.

Russell Westcott is a Canadian from Western Canada who has built a reputation as an investor, an educator, and a specialist at raising capital. In today's episode we're talking about exploiting new zoning rules to attain higher density and lower the cost of development.

The question of rent control centers around the broader issue of affordable housing.. The rates for housing have increased faster than wages have grown in the same time period. This is particularly true in major markets we're we have seen dramatic increases and real estate prices. Governments cannot force investors to make investments that lose money. When rent controls are in place, existing buil...

Back in the day, items you could not find in a local department store could be ordered from the Sears Catalog. They owned the market. The Sears brands became synonymous with quality. The Sears Kenmore appliances were a rebranding of other appliances from Maytag and Amana. Sears Craftsman tools were as good as any tools on the market. They were well positioned as as retailer and in the culture of a...

In the past couple of months I’ve seen a dramatic uptick in the number of deals that are coming into my email. I’m getting an average of 10 deals a day being offered to me. Most of these are not a fit. On today's episode we do a deep dive on two deals that we passed on and explain why.

On today's show we are talking about making the transition from full time employee to full-time real estate investor. This is one of the most difficult pathways to navigate. Some people think that they will wait to accumulate enough real estate to replace their employment income and then they will quit their job. After all, real estate brings passive income, doesn't it?

In two days last week, the stock market lost 5% of its value, and then rebounded partly on Friday. There's no question that over 100m, a sprinter is faster than a distance runner. But life isn't a sprint, and you can't sprint a marathon.

Michael is the host of the very popular Apartment Building Investing Podcast and he's just written a new book called "Financial Freedom With Real Estate Investing". Michael and I have developed a friendship over the past several years and it's great to have him finally on the show.