The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

Globalization has made it possible to squeeze inventories down to nothing. Just-in-time delivery means these hyper-efficient, hyper-optimized supply chains can deliver the promise of owning no inventory and still meeting customer demand. Offshoring was the name of the game. First, Japan was the manufacturing location of choice. When Japan was too expensive, companies moved production to China. Whe...

Today we are talking about the state of assisted living across the nation. The mere mention of the terms senior housing, and assisted living generates a reaction from most investors. The natural reaction is to say something like “Oh senior housing is a hot area. There’s a lot of money to be made in assisted living.” That’s the urban wisdom. Beneath the surface, the reality is more complex. In most...

Stacy Rossetti travels the country with her family in an RV and acquires distressed storage facilities in secondary and tertiary markets. She does it the old fashioned way, over a cup of coffee with the owners. These tired owners invariably just want out of the day to day of running a small business.  There are so many ways to invest in real estate. Lifestyle design can be at the heart of you...

Every calendar quarter we take an entire day with the leadership team offsite to work on the business. This is an opportunity to pause and take stock of where we are and make course corrections if necessary. On today's show we're reviewing a snapshot of the past 90 days and getting input from members of the leadership team. Do you take the time to implement a culture of continuous improvement?

On today’s show we are talking about the land lottery. Now I’m an investor at heart and I’m not a fan of gambling. When we think of a lottery, there is a low cost to play the game and the potential payoff is huge. Naturally the odds of winning are low. But emotionally the payoff is so large that many people still choose to play the game. The expectation value is high enough that people see value i...

On today’s show we are talking about adapting work habits when you travel. This month I’m spending the entire month away from home and will be working from the beautiful ancient city of Rome. Working on a different time zone means that I have the mornings to myself and am able to get those focus tasks done without interruption while everyone is still sleeping in North America. Meetings don’t start...

You might be wondering how the Evergrande debacle in China happened. I’ve been to China and observed first hand how commercial construction is broadly undertaken. Once you understand what I have seen first hand, it’s little surprise that there are issues. ---------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

On today’s show we’re talking about getting trapped in the wrong orbit. Now I realize that when I use the word wrong, it sounds like I’m making something right and something else wrong. What that really means is getting trapped in an orbit that’s different from what you might have intended. This type of thing happens all the time in all kinds of industries. It stems from having imprecise goals. Th...

On today’s show we’re talking about the most boring of bureaucracy and how it’s designed to help you with your due diligence. A few months ago, we spoke about a particular disease called versionitis. This is when the version of a document is out of date and you make decisions based on an out of date or unofficial version of a document. There can be only one golden copy of a document, just like the...

Andrew Abernathey got his start in real estate at a young age. Today, he is the principal in several hundred million dollars worth of self storage. On today's show we're talking about the state of the storage industry and gaining some insights into how this segment can operate.  To connect and to learn more, reach out to Andrew at http://www.andrewabernathey.com/ ------------------- Host: Vic...

Gary Boomershine made the decision to cut the ties to real estate in an expensive primary market in exchange for a simpler setting. On today's show we talk about that move and his predictions for the next period in this unprecedented wave of uncertainty.  To connect with Gary, visit realestateinvestor.com. To get a copy of his upcoming book, visit realestateinvestor.com/growth.  --------...

Why do we need an org chart? Does it really help bring clarity? It might impress customers, but does it really inform who is doing what functions? The book this month is "Holacracy: The new management system for a rapidly changing world." by Brian Robertson.  host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

This question comes from Jeremy in Virginia. He asks, “I’m working on a concept for a light industrial warehouse building on a property that has some environmentally protected zones. The properties on either side are developed and are zoned light industrial. In addition, there is a tremendous amount of development in the immediate area. I think the main reason this property hasn’t been developed i...

Amazon has made a few headlines with the opening of bricks and mortar stores. Amazon is getting retail real estate. The move by Amazon has been seen as a vindication for traditional retailers who are saying “You see, retail is not dead”. Even online Amazon is coming back to retail. Some people are confused by Amazon and what makes them so successful. It’s not that they’re an online store. They won...

Economic downturns put entrenched players with market share on the defensive. They experience a drop in revenue and are doing everything they can to hang on financially. Those who can go on the offensive can acquire great business opportunities. Everything seems to be on sale. That’s what it was like in the wake of 2008. The pandemic however, did not create those conditions in a broad sense. On to...

Even though the pandemic is coming to an end, many restaurant owners are having a hard time hanging on. On today's show, we're taking a look at whether restaurants are a worthwhile venture.  ----------------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

Neal Bawa is the CEO of Grocapitus Investments. On today's show we're talking about the moves in the industry to make real estate more liquid. While the pieces are not all in place yet, Neal makes a compelling argument for where the industry is headed. To learn more about Neal, simply search for his name and you'll find numerous videos and webinars. You can also connect through his investment firm...

Today's show is a live talk from Dallas on a specific case study of a recently completed assisted living project. This talk is viewed through the lens of product design. We often think we are constructing a building. In truth, we're designing a product. This is a subtle but important distinction. -------------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com 

On today’s show we’re talking about the connection between energy prices and construction decisions. We typically make design decisions for new construction based on an economic break even analysis. In an environment when gas prices have doubled in the past year, and energy prices in Europe have increased 40% in the past two weeks, there can be a significant impact on the time to break even. If yo...

On today’s show we’re talking about global economic warfare. I’m here to tell you that interest rates are being artificially held down, but that we will see an end to that in a matter of weeks. The tools that governments use to stimulate the economy are becoming less and less effective. In essence, central banks and governments are out of ammo when it comes to influencing the economy. ------------...

What's it like to invest in China? There are plenty of risks investing in the US. But China has a special breed of risks. 

Canada held a Federal Election yesterday. Real Estate issues were front and center. But none of the parties seemed to be truly addressing the root cause issues. This was dog whistle politics at its best. Create a diversion that makes for good press coverage without actually doing anything.  ------------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

On today’s show we are talking about peril of thinking small. To be fair, the thinking is that the path to growing big was to start small and grow from there.  This past weekend I was at a conference in Dallas where I heard a similar question over and over again. --------------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

Travis Godon comes from Ely Nevada, a small town surrounded by miles of open space. Travis has leased thousands of acres of land for solar farms. This is a different kind of land development opportunity that is not that common. But the opportunity is sizeable and of growing importance. To connect with Travis, you can reach him on LinkedIn.  -------------------- host: Victor Menasce email: pod...

Today's show is a recording of a talk on how to raise capital at a live event at The Real Estate Guys Syndication Conference in Dallas Texas. ------------------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com