The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

Chris Lento is based in Boston, but he invests across the Southeast United States. On today's show we are talking about some of the approaches his team uses to improve resident retention when the market gets saturated with new supply. To connect with Chris, you can find him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherlento/ or. at https://emcapitalgroup.com/ -------------- **Real Est...

On today’s show we are talking about how to set up the accounting for a construction project. There is a right way and a wrong way to do it. But first. Send an email to podcast@victorjm.com if you’d like to learn more about the Y Street Capital Storage Fund. Put the word storage in the subject line.  If you’ve been looking for a thoughtful way to invest in storage, the Y Street Capital Storage Fun...

Today we’re going to talk about a due diligence mistake that shows up in underwriting all the time, and it can be a silent killer of your cash flow. It’s the assumption that the existing property tax assessment, the number you see on the tax bill today, is a reliable input for your forward-looking pro forma. In some jurisdictions, it’s not. In fact, in certain places the current tax bill is almost...

Today we’re talking about an uncomfortable situation that every commercial property owner faces sooner or later. Your tenant is operating their business, and they violate city bylaws or environmental regulations. It could be improper waste disposal, illegal dumping, grease trap violations, noise, odours, storage in fire lanes, unauthorized outdoor use, hazardous materials, unpermitted alterations,...

Today I want to talk about learning AI, and why it’s fundamentally different from learning most other professional skills. If you decide you want to become a doctor, you commit to a long, structured journey. Years of study, exams, residency, and then a licensing body tells the world, “Yes, this person meets the standard.” Same thing with engineering, law, accounting, IT security, even trades like...

Today I want to talk about something that looks like it belongs in an auto industry newsletter, but it’s actually a leading indicator for the broader economy, and it matters for real estate investors. Walk onto an auto dealer lot today and you’ll see a lot more sheet metal sitting still than you’re used to seeing. The lots look full, and in many cases, they are. But the more important metric is no...

Today we’re looking at the book Abundance , by Ezra Klein, co-authored with Derek Thompson, published in 2025.  Ezra Klein is a writer and editor. He has a columnist and editor at The Washington Post, a policy analyst at MSNBC, and a contributor to Bloomberg. He’s written for The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books, and appeared on Face the Nation, The Daily Show, PBS NewsHour, and many mo...

Shadow Stats, launched by John Williams is famous for exposing the distortions in the currently published official economic statistics. Each successive administration has tweaked the metrics with small adjustments that make the numbers look slightly better. Cumulatively, over time, the distortions are large. On today's show I'm speaking with Jay Morse, part of the core team at Shadow Stats...

Today we are talking about a policy idea that keeps resurfacing around the world, taxing unrealized gains. If you have ever underwritten a deal, you already know the difference between a gain on paper and cash in the bank. Unrealized gains are accounting gains. They exist because an asset is worth more today than it was yesterday, at least according to some valuation method. But until you sell the...

Today we are talking about a piece of legislation in Florida that, if it ultimately becomes law, could reshape how property taxes are calculated across the state for decades to come. It is House Joint Resolution 203, often referred to as HJR 203, and it has just passed the Florida House.  Now, first, a reminder, a joint resolution like this is not a typical statute change. It proposes a constituti...

I’m coming to you live from Sonoma California where I’ve been attending a small business mastermind event. Today we are talking about something that, on the surface, looks like agriculture and tourism, but underneath is a case study in economic gravity. This is the result of direct observation and conversation with people who are local to the market.  Northern California wine country, Napa and Son...

On today’s show we are talking about the biggest obstacle to manufacturing in the US. When I was deeply involved in the tech industry as a microprocessor design engineer, there was a culture. It’s a culture that has turned out to be unhealthy and is one of the core reasons why we don’t have manufacturing in North America.  There will continue to be announcements of new data centres, of manufacturi...

Joseph lives in California and has a property in central Florida. The issue is a series of tenants causing damage and defaulting on their rent. Should I sell and cut my losses? ------------- **Real Estate Espresso Podcast:**  Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast]( https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1 )    iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast]( https:/...

Brett is based in Jacksonville Florida and specializes in reducing capital gains taxes. On today's show we are talking about substantial estate taxes that kick in above $15M in assets. Brett shares strategies for mitigating those taxes. To connect with Brett and to learn more visit capitalgainstaxsolutions.com . He also has a new book, available on Amazon called Building A Capital Gains Tax Ex...

Kelley is based in NYC and is the President of Rose Valley Management, an institutional firm with over 10,000 apartments in their portfolio nationwide. On today's show we are talking about how market dynamics have changed with the current over-supply in many primary markets. It involves adapting to market conditions to create a more competitive offer for existing tenants. To connect with Kelle...

Today we’re talking about a phenomenon that’s showing up in land markets across North America, especially in regions being marketed as “next wave” data center corridors. There is real data center demand. No question. But there’s also a growing layer of speculative behavior that is creating noise, inflating expectations, and in some cases putting landowners at risk. Here’s what’s happening. A group...

You’ve heard me say it numerous times. Energy is the economy. If you don’t believe me, just look at Cuba. The country is being starved for oil and the country is unable to function. At first it was just the United States imposing sanctions on countries that it sees as violating international law. That includes Russia, Venezuela, Iran, North Korea, and certainly a few others. But those sanctions ha...

I asked an AI tool to write a program for me from scratch. Let me be clear, I’ve never written a software program for MacOS. I have not read any of the documentation on where to start or how to do it.  I asked Claude to create a game of tic-tac-toe. The AI tool did the entire job in less than 15 minutes. I now have a functioning game of tic-tac-toe on my computer. It cost only a few pennies to cre...

Mainstream headlines are saying, “home sales have slowed.” And on the surface, that’s true. January’s existing-home sales number came in down 8.4% from December, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 3.91 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors.  But here’s the question I want to explore today. Did demand actually slow, or did unusually cold January weather interfe...

There’s an article in the most recent issue of the Harvard Business Review making the rounds arguing that organizations are doing too many transformations, too often, and that constant change is damaging. The authors point to change fatigue, shaken confidence from customers and investors, and leadership teams spending more time “doing transformation” than building products, serving customers, and...

Sean Roberts is CEO at Villa Homes specializing in volumetric modular construction in California and Colorado. The products range from backyard ADU solutions to fully detached homes rebuilding from the wildfires in Altadena. On today's show we are talking about the product design features and how the company is scaling. To connect with Sean and to learn more, visit villahomes.com -------------...

Jimmy Vreeland is based in St. Louis and invests in three different markets where he has a portfolio of single family homes at scale. To connect with Jimmy you can find him on Instagram and Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/jimmy.vreeland https://jimmyvreeland.com/ https://www.instagram.com/jimmyvreeland ------------ **Real Estate Espresso Podcast:**  Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast...

This is a real estate podcast. But there is no part of the modern world that is insulated from advances in AI, as well as the negative consequences of AI.  Today we’re talking about the EU AI Act, and what it can mean for real estate investors who own property in Europe, especially if you use “smart” building tech like security cameras, access control, tenant screening, or building automation. I’v...

California AB 835 was signed into law in October 2023 and it directs the State Fire Marshal to research and develop recommendations for building standards that would allow “single stair” multifamily buildings above three stories, then report back to the legislature and the California Building Standards Commission.  So this is not yet a statewide code change that suddenly makes single stair buildin...

Welcome to the Real Estate Espresso Podcast, your morning shot of what’s new in the world of real estate investing. I’m your host, Victor Menasce. On yesterdays show we talked about the employment numbers for the US from payroll processing company ADP. The ADP numbers were a weak but in my view accurate reflection of the state of the labor market in the US Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics publ...