The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

Latest Episodes:

When To Hire Interior Designers Jan 03, 2024

Show notes

On today’s show we are talking about how and when to hire an interior designer.

As developers and as building owners we often look to the architect to help us determine the aesthetic of our buildings. But often the skillset is not sufficient to cover the breadth of interior design.

We often hear the term interior decorator and some people use these terms interchangeably. But they are very different in my mind.

While there is some overlap in their responsibilities, there are distinct differences in terms of education, scope of work, and professional expertise.

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

AMA - What About Bitcoin? Jan 02, 2024

Show notes

Today is another AMA episode. Steve asks “Without a crystal ball but more broadly, what is your opinion of bitcoin as an investment?”

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

BOM - Noise by Daniel Kahneman Jan 01, 2024

Show notes

Our book this month is called “Noise: A Flaw in Human Judgement” by Daniel Kahneman, Olivier Sibony, and Cass Sunstein. Daniel Kahneman is an author, psychologist and economist notable for his work on hedonic psychology, psychology of judgment and decision-making. He is also known for his work in behavioral economics, for which he was awarded the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. He is also the author of Thinking Fast and Slow which we reviewed on the show last year. In this book, the authors make the distinction between different sources of deviation from the ideal target. The most obvious source of error is bias. But in many cases, noise can be as large as bias when it comes to introducing error or any unwanted form of variation.

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

Modular ADU's with Sean Roberts Dec 31, 2023

Show notes

Sean Roberts is based in Denver Colorado and is the CEO of Villa Homes. The company is focused on designing and building a wide product line of factory built accessory dwelling units for the California market. They are the largest supplier of volumetric ADUs in the state and target both residential in institutional clients.

To connect with Sean and to learn more, visit villahomes.com

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host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

Capital Allocation with Tim Lyons Dec 30, 2023

Show notes

Tim Lyons is managing two careers simultaneously. He's a Lieutenant with the NYC Fire Department and is also a managing partner with City Side Capital, a FINRA registered broker dealer license. On today's show we're talking about managing dual careers and capital allocation in today's environment.

To connect with Tim, visit citysidecap.com or check out the Passive Income Brothers Podcast.

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

The Year In Review Dec 30, 2023

Show notes

It appears as though a lot of people got 2023 wrong. What happened happened, and what didn’t happen, didn’t happen. But the history books are actually based on the narrative that is attached to what happened.

I was thinking hard about what to say about 2023 that would be insightful and meaningful.

We could attach the narrative that In 2023 interest rates went up. Or did they? The yield on the 10 year treasury was 3.83% on January 1 and we closed out the year at a yield of 3.88 today, up slightly from yesterday’s 3.77%. Hardly a monumental shift in a year. Yes the rate fluctuated substantially in the middle. In the end, it went sideways, it was a huge nothing burger.

We could say that interest rates went nowhere in 2023. It would actually be a true statement. But short term rates did increase in 2023 which definitely impacted many borrowers.

The Fed Funds rate went up from 4.5% at the start of 2023 to 5.5% today. When you look at the numbers in that context, it doesn’t seem monumental either. If you take it back to March 2022, then you see the most rapid increase in rates in modern history. But here too, the conclusion is subjective.

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

Does A Heat Pump Really Save Money? Dec 28, 2023

Show notes

On today’s show we are examining the ways in which energy efficient systems are not achieving their performance goals due in part to the way traditional systems have been used. As we are getting deeper into the winter heating season this is an important factor when it comes to energy efficiency and saving money in particular.

To understand this we need to take a closer look at how energy use is charged to the end customer and the interaction between the customer behaviour and the billing process and the third variable in the system which is the thermostat.

There is a very clear trend towards eliminating traditional heating systems replacing them with heat pumps. Heat pumps are theoretically more efficient than traditional counterparts like electric heaters, or petroleum based furnaces.

Increasingly the electric utilities have introduced a multi tiered time of use pricing model. The rate that you pay for electricity use varies widely based on when you use it.

On today's show I will show you how to avoid some traps that can cost you a lot of extra money for no good reason.

Florida's Live Local Act Dec 27, 2023

Show notes

On today’s show we are looking at Florida’s Live Local Act. Florida is an example of how one state has taken real steps to create the incentives for new affordable housing to be created. This legislation is a series of incentives designed to stimulate the development of workforce housing. Many of Florida’s high priced communities have become impossible for the people who work in those communities to live in those same communities. The result is that service staff that work in restaurants, clean homes, cut the lawn, teach in schools, work in hospitals are commuting from a long distance away.

Cities like Miami have very unusual characteristics in their housing market. There is very expensive new construction, and much less expensive housing that is quite old housing stock. The average is somewhere in the middle. But the averages can be misleading. There is virtually zero housing at the average. It’s almost a bipolar distribution with nothing in the middle. Many cities in Florida are increasingly experiencing this phenomenon. Cities like Palm Beach have virtually zero workforce housing.

The Act provides for a comprehensive, statewide workforce housing strategy, designed to increase the availability of affordable housing opportunities for Florida’s workforce, who desire to live within the communities they serve. To date, the funding program has enabled housing for about 13,000 families. That comes to an average of about $15,000 per household.

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

AMA - Is This Investment Too Good To Be True? Dec 26, 2023

Show notes

Today is another AMA episode. Today’s question comes from J who writes:

I’m performing due diligence on an investment opportunity for a conversion of an existing property into a multi-unit property. This is essentially a repartitioning of an existing 3000 SF property into multiple units. The total investment is about $1.5M and the deal sponsor is estimating that the property will be valued at $3M based on the income approach. It’s in an area that is not known for the most expensive properties. What questions should I be asking from a due diligence perspective?

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

What's Happening in China's Housing Market? Dec 25, 2023

Show notes

On today’s show we are looking at real estate in China to try and understand some of the factors that have molded that industry into what it has become today.

Private ownership of property in China began in the late 1970’s and accelerated through the 1980’s and 1990’s. At the same time, there was a mass migration from the farms in rural areas to the cities to work in factories.

In North America and Europe, when you buy a new condo apartment, you might give the developer a small deposit to show your commitment to purchase the unit when completed. But in China, buyers give typically a 40% downpayment and then secure a loan for 60% of the purchase price. The developer then gets the downpayment and the loan proceeds pre-construction and the new owner starts making payments to service the loan immediately, even though they might not take possession of their home for another 2-3 years.

Over the last 10 years the population has continued the shift from rural areas to the cities with the urban population growing by 200M people and the rural population shrinking by 146 million people.

So just like in the US where some cities have been shrinking. I’m thinking of cities like Detroit which has lost more than 50% of its population since the peak in the 1970’s, many small Chinese cities are getting hollowed out.

Some estimates put the number of vacant homes between 60M - 80M empty homes.

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