The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

In the mid 1800’s the Steam locomotive opened up the Western part of the United States and Canada for that matter. This new technology made migration possible on a large scale. It became possible to move people and materials. Not surprisingly, communities opened up within a very short distance of these railway lines. It was a technology breakthrough that enabled migration. The year was 1902, Ameri...

On today’s show we’re talking about how to negotiate with a seller who has no idea what is permitted on their property. There are numerous examples of properties that exist for historical reasons, but don’t comply with new zoning regulations. For example, new zoning regulations may have a minimum lot size, or perhaps new setback requirements. As long as you keep the existing structure within the e...

Spencer Gray hails from Indianapolis, Indiana where he heads up Gray Capital. Through partnerships over the past six years, he now owns a share in over 9,000 apartments. On today's show we are talking about how to scale the organization. To learn more or to connect with Spencer, visit graycapitalllc.com

Mike Zlotnik (Big Mike) lives in NYC where he has been specializing in hotel to residential conversion projects nationwide. This is an interesting segment that predates the pandemic and has risen in importance since the amount of distress in the hospitality industry. To connect with Mike and to learn more, visit bigmikefund.com.

On today’s show we’re talking about the many items that could prevent a development project from being realized. Some of these will be obvious, and then others simply defy rational explanation. Think of today’s show as a 5 minute Master-class on land development. Whenever you are contemplating a development project, there are dozens of constraints that are being placed on the development of a prop...

On today’s show we are talking about the top three mistakes that I see people make in an initial meeting when they are meeting with a potential business prospect. Confusing introduction It’s a bit of a cliche, but you don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. That has to do with the way you look, the energy level you bring to the interaction, and the way you introduce yourself. Some pe...

On today’s show we are talking about how market cycles form and the effect it can have on the economy and a business. How do you know when you are in a bubble and how do you protect against catastrophe when you are surrounded by insane market conditions? Market cycles are often driven by an irrational fear. We saw it last year during the early weeks of the pandemic. Grocery store shelves were empt...

While the world was distracted by a crippling pandemic, major economic shifts were underway and the headlines totally missed it. Changes that affect the course of history happen slowly at first, then all of a sudden. I believe we’re in one of those phases again, right now as we speak. The last time this happened was 1971. We’re still bearing the fallout of the damage that Richard Nixon did to the...

Collins asks.  I’m purchasing eight acres of Wetlands. Many people do not know the difference between Flood Zones and Wetlands... which limits the amount of people with whom one can discuss options. The entire site is designated as wetlands. I have an approved permit from the Army Corps of Engineers for a fill pad and building, but NOT a city approved building permit.  I would have...

Kyle Wilson is best known as the President of Jim Rohn International. He has worked with so many of the world's top personal development thought leaders including Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Mark Victor Hansen, Les Brown, Dennis Waitley, to name just a few. On today's show we're talking about how to build a long standing relationship with your customers without "selling them". Kyle is best known for...

Jas Takhar is one of Canada's top 1% brokers. He manages a large team in Toronto. On today's show we're talking about the market cycle and how investors should be looking at the dynamics in one of North America's fastest growing cities. 

On today’s show we’re talking about a losing bid. Any time you lose a bid on a property, there is a natural reaction to second guess your offer. Did we offer too little or was the winner out of their mind? It happened to us this week. There were a total of 8 offers on this property in a good location. We calculated our offer price based on a reasonable set of zoning assumptions and a reasonable ba...

On today’s show we’re going to look at one of the largest barriers to housing affordability. But before we do, we’re going back to basic principles. We’re going to start with the law of supply and demand. If demand goes up and supply goes down, then it follows that prices will rise until a new equilibrium is reached. That’s exactly what we’ve seen over the past year. But in areas of highest prices...

Today’s question comes from Jeremy. He asks, I’m looking to develop a residential subdivision that is close to a naval air force base. There are plenty of houses all around the subject property. Could the airport affect what gets built on the property? Jeremy this is a great question. The regions around airports are all subject to elevated noise levels. The good news is that modern civilian aircra...

On today’s show I’m going to share a rather unscientific observation. It’s not based on a statistical sample size of any significance. But the data is first hand and for that reason, I’m paying attention to it. A lot has been written about the pain of retail in the past year. There’s lots of office vacancy that has opened up as well. Many are wondering if the workplace of the future has been alter...

On today’s show we’re talking about the difficult topic of how to account for what has happened in the past year during the pandemic. Now I want to be clear, I’m not an accountant, and I don’t play one on a podcast. The questions raised on today’s show are for you to discuss with your accountant and make a determination for your specific circumstance on how to treat the situation. So here we go. I...

David Kafka is the Remax broker in Belize, specializing in helping foreigners who want to own property in Belize. On today's show we're talking about what it's like to own property there and how the economy has survived the pandemic. You can learn more or connect with David at 1stChoiceBelize.com

Cory Boatright hails from Oklahoma City where he has created a volume wholesaling business. In addition, Cory has also amassed a sizeable multi-family apartment portfolio. What sets Cory apart is that he is an expert at the art and science of marketing. On today's show we're talking about how to use split testing to refine any marketing campaign.  You can connect with Cory at REIProfits on In...

One of the widely accepted principles in the tax code is that you should be taxed on money you actually received. But there are a few examples of taxation on phantom income. The problem has the potential to get much bigger. On today’s show we’re talking about the concept of a deemed disposition. It’s pretty clear in the tax law of most western countries that if you sell an asset and you make a pro...

Today is the first of the month and on the first day of each month we review the book of the month. The book this month is by two of my favourite authors. Chip and Dan Heath are two brothers who are both university professors. One is at Stanford and the other is at Duke University. Together they have written multiple best selling books including Made to Stick and Decisive. Our book this month is c...

On today’s show we’re talking about the real estate shortage. The obvious question is that if the population has not been growing significantly, and immigration has been curtailed significantly as a result of the pandemic, then why do we have a housing shortage in such a big way. The fact is, we have seen migration that has produced the shortage. There are surpluses in a few areas like NYC, San Fr...

Today’s show is another AMA episode. Except, on today’s show I’ve had virtually the same question from several listeners in different geographies. I’ve synthesized a composite question which basically aims to cover the landscape of the question. The question is how to determine the density of apartments that you can build on a site having rather large dimensions. In one case, the property is in a...

On today’s show we’re talking about how some businesses were largely left out in the cold over the past year, despite being mandated to close, or drastically scale back their business to prevent spread of the pandemic. A number of new initiatives have been brought forward since December and again most recently in the past month. Last week the SBA revealed the much anticipated timeline for $28.6B g...

Today's show is an excerpt of a talk I gave at a podcasting workshop earlier this week. We're talking about how to provide an effective pitch to a show host or show producer and what makes a good guest.

On today's show George Ross and I are discussing how to handle inflation of construction material prices.