The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

On today’s show I’m sharing what I’m learning at a conference. This is a small exclusive conference being held in a boutique hotel in Asheville NC. The conference is hosted by a large institutional lender and the attendees are mostly developers and investors in the lenders fund. There are about 80 attendees in the room. It’s a small intimate event where we have the opportunity to truly connect and...

On today’s show we are talking about how to secure a construction site. In any construction site there is a trade-off between efficiency and security.  When we are talking about security, there are three main aspects we are most concerned with. The first is for the safety of people who are prone to wandering onto the site outside of construction hours. The second relates to loss of valuable equipm...

On today’s show we are addressing a diversity of opinion on how valuation is determined for land in residential subdivisions. We recently had a builder assert that our pricing was too high for residential lots in a subdivision.  At the same time, we have also been successful in developing residential lots and selling them in the marketplace to builders across multiple markets.  When we price our l...

Amy Johnson is based in Salt Lake City where she is a partner at Y Street Capital. On today's show we're talking about how she went from high school teacher to developer. To connect with Amy, visit ystreetcapital.com ------------ **Real Estate Espresso Podcast:**  Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast]( https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1 )    iTun...

Alec Denney is based in Denver Colorado, but is a global nomad at heart. Through his journeys with partner Krista Fettke, they have built an international business focused in helping US citizens buy properties in Europe, Mexico, and Panama. In some cases the golden visa programs can provide a pathway to residency or citizenship for those seeking a second home. To connect with Alec, visit gatewayin...

Today’s question comes from Ramon who writes: "Many thanks once again for providing such great information and insightful perspectives on so many important topics.  Writing to ask about something I heard from one source, but cant find much information to support (or refute). We all know insurance premiums have been increasing across the board. The common narrative is that insurance claim payo...

On today's show we're dissecting yesterday's Fed rate cut announcement and what it means for us as real estate investors. The most meaningful part of the press conference was during the Q&A period when Chair Powell said that members of the FOMC shared their view in an informal poll. 17 out of 19 members said that they thought three more rate cuts would be appropriate in the next 12...

On today’s show we are talking about shingle chasers. These are the door to door sales teams that point out a problem on your roof and try to sell you on a new roof with zero out of pocket cost to you.  The scam works like this: Contractors knock on doors offering to inspect homeowners’ roofs for storm damage. They say they can help get a roof replacement covered by insurance, and they persuade th...

On today’s show we are taking a look at an impending risk. We have talked about this on the show in recent weeks.  There have been several news reports in the mainstream media about an impending labour strike by US Longshoremen on October 1. There are reports in Reuters, Bloomberg, CNBC and others.  The international longshoremen’s association held a two day meeting on September 4-5 with their wag...

On today’s show we are talking about a new paper published last Friday by Brent Johnson and  Michael Peregrine of Santiago Capital. Brent Johnson is famous for his dollar milkshake theory. This 44 page article is a deep dive into the Japanese carry trade. Many of you might remember a banking crisis that erupted in Japan last month as a result of the implosion of widespread carry trade activity. Wh...

Kevin Amolsch is a principal at Pine Financial, based in Denver Colorado. His firm lends locally in Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin and DC. On today's show we are talking about the criteria for lending and what makes sense for their business in the current environment. To connect with Kevin, visit https://pinefinancialgroup.com/ ------------- **Real Estate Espresso Podcast:**  Spotify: [The Rea...

On today’s show we are talking about how to find good data.  Last night I hosted an event and invited the Keynote Speaker from Costar to present to our audience. It was a great presentation and the speaker had lots of relevant statistics that would be of interest to anyone in my local market. There were numbers on multi-family apartments, on office, industrial.  During the informal part of the eve...

 On today’s show, we are looking at what global commodities prices are telling us very clearly about the global economy. You can manipulate inflation numbers. You can adjust GDP numbers. You can even fudge the unemployment rate.  But what thing we know beyond a shadow of a doubt is that when demand exceeds supply prices rise, and when supply exceeds demand, prices fall. When we think of pricing, s...

On today’s show we are talking about storm preparations. Hurricane Francine is making landfall along the Gulf coast as we speak. Our team owns and operates multiples properties along the Gulf coast. When a tropical system starts to form in the Gulf of Mexico we take notice and pay attention to the storm track several times a day.  Preparation involves communicating with residents to be ready for a...

We’ve all heard the rhetoric. The US has the best health care in the world. That’s true for some who can afford to pay for it. But on average, that’s not true.  On today’s show we are going to look at a report published by the Commonwealth Fund a little over a year ago. It was also reported in the American Journal of Managed Care earlier this year.  Now you might wonder why we would focus on this...

On today's show we are talking about a globally synchronized economic slowdown.  Canada reported its employment numbers late last week and the Canadian unemployment rate rose to 6.6%, the highest level in 7 years. We reported last week that the  We got the latest employment report for the US on Friday. The BLS reported numbers for the month of August. But at the same time that they reported Au...

Tony Lopes is based in New Hampshire, but invests in the sunbelt of the US. On today's show we are talking about the macro trends that will affect demand for rental housing in the next decade. To connect with Tony, email him directly at tony@dirtybootscapital.com or visit his website at https://dirtybootscapital.com/ -------------- **Real Estate Espresso Podcast:**  Spotify: [The Real Estate E...

Chris Lento is based in Boston, and his firm is investing in multi-family assets in the Southeast. On today's show we are looking at his assessment of the market conditions. You can connect with Chris at his firm EM Capital Group at emcapitalgroup.com --------------- **Real Estate Espresso Podcast:**  Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast]( https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw...

On today’s show we are talking about invasive species of plants that can play a role in your due diligence when purchasing property.  The first one I’m going to cover today is Wild Parsnip. Wild Parsnip is an invasive plant native to Europe and Asia.  Like giant hogweed and other members of the carrot family, it produces sap containing chemicals that can cause human skin to react to sunlight, resu...

On today’s show we are seeing another central bank drop their benchmark lending rate. The Bank of Canada dropped its benchmark interest rate for the third time in a row, leaving the rate at 4.25%. This is in stark contrast to the US Fed Funds rate which remains at 5.25%-5.5%. Each country seems to behave like they are economic islands. But we have a globally interconnected economy and no country i...

On today’s show we are taking a closer look at a new and emerging trend in building construction. This is a newer segment which fills a gap in the definition of building types. At one end of the spectrum for senior housing you have a simple market rate apartment which offers no services and will usually include basic amenities. As adults age, they might progress through various offerings starting...

On Thursday evening I passed by New York’s leaning tower. We’ve all heard of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. The modern day equivalent of that is the Millennium Tower in San Francisco. That building is leaning nearly 60cm, a little over 2 feet. Several attempts have been made to stabilize the Millennium Tower by underpinning the foundation and have actually destabilized the building even further.  New...

This question also comes from Chris who is asking a follow-on question from last week’s question on apartment turnover. Last week Chris was asking about how long to budget for making a unit rent ready. So here is his question. “If the average  apartment turn requiring cleaning and “light repair” is around $2,000 shouldn’t the tenant security deposit collected at lease signing be no less than this?...

Nate Silver's The Signal and the Noise: Why So Many Predictions Fail—But Some Don’t is a fascinating exploration of the art and science of prediction. In a world flooded with data and overwhelmed by uncertainty, Silver’s work sheds light on why so many forecasts go wrong and how we can improve our ability to make accurate predictions. -------------- **Real Estate Espresso Podcast:**  Spotify:...

Mark Livingston is based in Houston Texas. On today's show we are talking about storage in Houston and a collaboration between Mark and our development firm Y Street Capital. We will be hosting a webinar this coming Wednesday at 6PM CDT, 7PM EDT to share more details about this upcoming project. To register for the webinar, visit https://event.webinarjam.com/register/34/ooq9xuwg ------------ *...