The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

A milestone date is just another day, or is it? As we enter 2020, the only thing that’s different is that we are a day older, either more tired, or better rested, depending on what you did in the past 24 hours. It’s part of the social dialog to set New Year Resolutions. The fact is, less than 4% of the population actually set goals, and then the subset who do usually don’t meet their goals. So aga...

The Real Estate Espresso Podcast is your morning shot of what's new in the world of real estate investing.  

Today’s book is in a completely different track from books we’ve reviewed in the past. Today’s book is called “The Body: A Guide For Occupants”. By Bill Bryson. Bill Bryson was born in Des Moines, Iowa. For twenty years he lived in England, where he worked for the Times and the Independent, and wrote for most major British and American publications. Bill Bryson has written more than 20 books and h...

Today is New Year’s Eve and it also marks the end of a decade. On today’s show, we’re taking a look at the decade in review. A decade ago we were in a post-911 world where many western countries were embroiled in conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. There was the genocide in Syria and the collapse of the society in Venezuela and numerous other conflicts like the Ukraine have been a blemish on our hu...

On today’s show we are looking back on 2019. The year in retrospect. 2019 is notable as much for what happened as for what didn’t. For me personally, it was a year of mixed results. We completed construction on two projects. We completed the refinance on two apartment buildings. We sold three assets for a good number. We have a major assisted living project finally get into construction after mont...

Steffany Boldrini entered the world of real estate investing from a technology background in Silicon Valley. She is also the host of the Commercial Real Estate Investing From A to Z Podcast. She can be reached at www.montecarlorei.com.

On today's show I'm asking George how to set expectations with myself and stakeholders when projects are running late and I'm carrying some of my 2019 goals into 2020. Love his practical no-nonsense approach.

On today’s show we’re looking at the efforts to disrupt the traditional real estate markets. British company Purple Bricks announced earlier this year that they are pulling out of the US market. The company is one of several fixed fee brokerage companies that have tried to penetrate and disrupt the traditional residential real estate brokerage industry. The heavy use of software, combined with min...

Whitney from Phoenix asks. How many apartment units do you think I would need to retire comfortably if I’m just relying on the monthly cash flow. I’m finding it hard to project the cash flow into the future and properly model for inflation. Any thoughts on how I can analyze and plan would be helpful. Thanks. Well Whitney, this is a great question. I’m not sure how many years you have until retirem...

Thank you to all the loyal listeners. Producing a show each day has turned into a labor of love for me. I truly appreciate the letters and emails that I receive from you. I’d like to read a message I received earlier this week from Dr. Kevin Hsu in NYC. He writes, Dear Victor. My main reason to contact you was just to say thanks for sharing your insights. I just found your podcast in the past coup...

On today’s show we’re talking about value engineering your finished product. It’s hard to believe that a little bit of software makes it possible to save a bunch of money in the communications infrastructure for your projects. Today’s property has so many connections. There is water, sewer, electricity, telephone, Cable TV, internet, natural gas. When you are supplying services to a multi-family a...

On today’s show we are talking about a proposed change to the accredited investor definition by the SEC. The effect of the change would be to make more private investment options available to individual investors who have a level of financial education and sophistication. The purpose of today’s show is to open the topic for you to investigate further. I’m not a lawyer, and I’m definitely not a sec...

Owen Barrett from San Diego is a specialist in energy management. On today's show we're talking about the economics of solar power for multi-family apartment and commercial real estate projects. He can be reached at valueaddsolar.com.  

I take several days each year to get clear on my goals and to set quarterly goals. This is such a vital exercise. On today's show I'm talking with my friend Rich Danby about goal setting in front of a live studio audience. 

This question comes from Kyle. I am considering a new construction MF project. My business partner is a home builder and general contractor. Through my research on MF syndication it sounds like the majority of these deals follow the same cycle: - Value Add Building - Refinance once units are rehabbed to market value - Payback investors with refi money When it comes to new construction how does you...

I’m coming to you live on location from Key Biscayne Florida. One of the most beautiful places to visit in the US are the Florida Keys. The waterfront homes in the keys are a dream to me. Many of them are built up on stilts to protect them from the storm surge of the occasional hurricane. This strip of islands stretches all the way from Miami to Key West. From the very first Key, called Virginia k...

On today’s show we’re talking about what’s happening in France. I spend several months a year in France and I used to manage a team of 110 people in France for several years. I understand a little about French culture, and it’s very different than we’re accustomed to in North America. Unlike in the US and Canada, the business environment in France is highly dominated by labour unions. In fact, any...

On today’s show we’re talking about the war on short term rentals. Communities around North America have been establishing new regulations designed to reduce the number and scope of short term rentals in their communities. Many communities are facing a shortage of affordable housing and the perception exists that homes are being removed from the rental market and put into the more lucrative short...

On today’s show we’re talking about opinions. The nice part about opinions is that there is no shortage of them. The world is unlikely to run out of them any time soon. Last week we reported on the podcast that Fannie Mae had published their housing confidence metrics showing a very high consumer confidence index as it relates to housing. A new report published by CCN paints a far more pessimistic...

On today's show, I'm talking with George about how to maintain liquidity in your business. Having cash on hand is vital for dealing with the unexpected. I love George's practical wisdom and common sense approach. 

Josh McCallen is the CEO of Renault Winery and specializes in redevelopment of distressed resort properties. On today's show we talk about what it means to be a parent and integral to the family when the  business life of an entrepreneur can pull you in many other directions. Join me for a very intimate and vulnerable conversation. 

Today is another AMA episode, Hayden from Atlanta asks: I received an appraisal which in my opinion does not reflect an accurate picture of the property value. The comparable properties listed in the report include agricultural land with zero entitlements, versus my property which already is zoned for development, is fully paved and has 46,000 SF of buildings on it. The appraiser ultimately ignore...

On today’s show we’re talking about home buyer sentiment. The folks at Fannie Mae have some of the best research in the country and last week they published their The Home Purchase Sentiment Index® (HPSI). It is a composite index designed to track consumers’ housing-related attitudes, intentions, and perceptions, using the net results of six questions from the National Housing Survey® (NHS). The i...

Today’s episode comes to you thanks to Wayne in Austin Texas. His keen eye noticed that there might be some changes coming to the building code in Portland Oregon. In reference to the new initiative in Portland, Wayne asks, “Victor, will this kill commercial and residential investment in Portland?” Portland is not immune to a growing homelessness problem. Like San Francisco, Los Angles, Miami, New...

On today’s show we’re talking about the office real estate market. And no, we’re not talking about WeWork. I had the opportunity to take over a co-working space that had been operated by an accountant. they had the master lease for about a 7,000 square foot office space that had been divided up into small offices ranging in size from 100 square feet up to about 800 square feet. There were a total...