The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

Ben Spiegel is based in Greenwich, Connecticut where he specializes in design and construction of luxury RV Parks. This is an asset class that is often overlooked. To connect with Ben, visit redwoodcapitaladvisors.com ---------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

Hayden Crabtree is a storage developer based in Atlanta, Georgia. On today's show we are talking about a project in Fort Myers that went sideways in the approval process. This is a powerful story packed full of lessons. To connect with Hayden, he is @haydencrabtree on Instagram. His book "Skip The Flip" is available on Amazon and his cost segregation business is at remotecostseg.com...

While the US Federal Reserve has made very few signals about what is happening in the economy, there are many more alarms being sounded by central banks elsewhere in the world. On today’s show we are looking at what those other central banks are saying and some of the policy changes that have already occurred.  The most visible signal we are accustomed to seeing in a recession is job losses. So fa...

Today’s question comes from Chandler who writes: I was turned onto your podcast a little over a year ago and have received tremendous value from your insights ever since. Thank you for your consistent efforts to deliver information about the nuts and bolts of the real estate world.  A little over a year ago, I purchased my first storage facility. After completing a fairly substantial facelift on t...

Today’s question comes from Jonathan who asks. Your recent episode on the NAR lawsuit settlement left me with a question. From what I understand, NAR recently settled the class action lawsuit and buyer’s will be required to hire and pay their own buyer agents. You mentioned in that episode that the practice is now matching what was already the practice in commercial real estate. So when you are bu...

Where is the line between break and enter, theft, and a tenant being evicted unlawfully?  Well, that is now being finally clarified in a couple of states. If someone breaks into your house and starts stealing your stuff, then you would do the natural thing and call the police to have the crooks arrested. But when the police show up, if those people claim to be a tenant, the police will probably te...

On today’s show we are talking about flooding. When it rains you have to think about where the water is going to go. We’ve all heard the advice about how to always pitch your tent in a high location and to avoid the low spots where water will flow in the event of a rainstorm. The same advice applies to construction. Except the construction itself can be a source of problems when it comes to storm...

On today's show we are jumping into the realm of Artificial Intelligence and George is answer a question that was composed by an AI bot. ------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

Today's show is an extract from a longer talk given by Dr. Chris Martenson at the Ottawa Real Estate Investors Organization on March 13. Chris is the founder of Peak Prosperity. You will find lots of amazing content on a wide spectrum of topics at the Peak Prosperity website. To learn more and to connect with Chris visit peakprosperity.com --------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@vi...

On today’s show we are talking about how education is changing, and in particular what that means for owners of student housing.  When you make an investment in student housing you are making a few fundamental assumptions. The enrolment in the institution will grow or at least remain constant.  Students will still need to come to campus to attend classes. Foreign students entering the country will...

On today’s show we are making sense out of the latest results from the Federal Open Market Committee’s two day meeting which concluded on Wednesday of this week with J Powell’s press conference on Wednesday afternoon. I watched the press conference in its entirety. Chair Powell didn’t field too many difficult questions.  There were a couple of things in the press conference that I thought were not...

Earlier this week, the National Association of Realtors announced a settlement agreement to the class action lawsuit that was widely publicized late last year. On today's show we are talking about the implications of the settlement. Sadly, the likely result is that it will harm the very people the lawsuit was designed to help. For commercial transactions, there is no impact. The practices in r...

On today's show we are looking at what investors are predicting for the coming year. Data from Colliers and CBRE form the basis of today's show. The CBRE investor sentiment survey indicates what investors think will happen this coming year. ------------ Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

On today’s show we are talking about market fundamentals. Our listeners are real estate investors. But that means they’re investors first. The investor mindset is based on fundamentals.  When we assign value to a corporation, that translates into a share price if that stock is publicly traded. All other things being equal, the stock will trade at a multiple of net earnings.  The conventional wisdo...

Jon and Kevin Ratner form part of the Forest City legacy and are currently leading a new venture called The Max Collaborative. They've taken their decades of experience running a public real estate development company and translated into unique product offerings with energy efficiency, design and sustainability as underpinning qualities. To connect with Jon and Kevin, visit themaxcollaborative...

Erik Oliver is based in Salt Lake City where he specializes in Cost Segregation. On today's show we are talking about how to handle the uncertainty of changing legislation in the realm of depreciation. To connect with Erik and to learn more visit costsegauthority.com You can also reach out the team directly at Cost Segregation Authority Scott Santiago  Phone Number: 385-853-7011 ssantiago@cost...

On today's show we are talking about some news items on short term rentals. 1 ) New policy at AirBnb governing the use of security cameras 2) European Union passes new rules for data sharing between the platforms and regulatory bodies 3) Some interesting short term rental stats from the European Union --------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

This question comes from Marc who writes: I’m not sure how I feel about corporately owned single family homes. Part of me thinks that ultimately this will destroy the fabric of a community if too much of the country’s single family housing stock is owned by large corporations. Maybe I’m not seeing it, but how in your mind does corporate ownership of single family homes benefit communities? -------...

On today’s show we are talking about the power of a platform. Amazon is one of the most widely used sites on the internet. In fact, they also have 1.5M employees. We will come back to that later.  Jeff Bezos and Marc Benioff recently entered the real estate game in a big way.  Marc Benioff is well known for being a founder at salesforce.com and he has a personal net worth of about 10.5B. Together,...

On today’s show we are looking at the most cost effective ways to value engineer a new build and still comply with the increasingly stringent energy codes that are permeating the building code across North America. These building codes are local. That is to say, they can vary from one place to the next.  When it comes to energy codes, there are two approaches that are used. The prescriptive method...

On today’s show we are taking a look at pricing practices in the storage industry. Storage is a product that is fairly sticky.  That is to say, moving a lot of personal belongings into a storage locker is time intensive. It often involves renting a truck and taking a Saturday afternoon to make a few trips. The decision to rent a storage unit is often event driven. The storage company might even ha...

Matias Daroch is based in Miami Florida where he specializes in both design and development of luxury spec homes. On today's show we are talking about some of the design considerations in that part of the world. To learn more and to connect with Matias, visit http://mikarchitecture.com ------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

Marc is a very "active" passive investor in the sense that he performs deep due diligence on potential investments. But deep due diligence is often beyond the capacity of a single investor. On today's show we are talking about a unique approach to due diligence. To connect with Marc, visit PartTimeInvestors.com or email him directly at Marc@PartTimeInvestors.com ------------ Host: Vi...

Today's question comes from Rob who asks: What is the economic difference, and the difference in investment thesis, between the different types of RV parks? ----------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

The statistics are clear. Inventory is rising. But what does it mean? On today's show we are looking past the numbers alone. ------------ Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com