The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Macro Economics With Josh Lessard Sep 24, 2023

Show notes

Josh Lessard is the research engine behind George Gammon and the Rebel Capitalist Show. On today's show we are talking about Josh's journey to becoming a central figure in the Rebel Capitalist team when he was just emerging from high school. To learn more from Josh, check out the Rebel Capitalist show on Youtube.

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

Asset Protection with Scott Smith Sep 23, 2023

Show notes

Scott Smith is based in Austin Texas where his law practice specializes in asset protection and insurance litigation. On today's show we are talking about structures to protect assets and create resilience from the many threats to your wealth. To connect and to learn more, visit royallegalsolutions.com

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

AMA - Who Are Your Mentors? Sep 22, 2023

Show notes

Robert asks - “Most successful people have mentors. Who are your mentors?”

This is such a great question. In fact I’m struck by the fact that in five and a half years producing a daily show, this topic has not come up before now.

I’ve had a number of mentors over the years. They date back to my days when I was in the tech industry.

I believe it is so important to have people to learn from in your life. Overwhelmingly, the people I look to for guidance are much older, and I have a few who are younger. For example, I have a mentor who is 21 years of age. More on that later.

Before I answer who my mentors are, I think it’s important to define what we mean by a mentor. Mentors are those who provide you guidance

What The Fed Didn't Say Sep 21, 2023

Show notes

On today’s show we are examining the latest Federal Reserve announcement and trying to make sense out of it for real estate investors.

We’re looking at what was said, the underlying assumptions, and what the likely decision points will be.

When asked if a soft landing was now a baseline expectation, Powell said “No, No” he wouldn't go that far. At this point he was off script. A soft landing is his hope, but not his base case. So he was clearly acknowledging that a soft landing is unlikely.

So here is my interpretation of what was said in totality. There are clear contradictions. The economic forecast says soft landing, and Powell was clear that he doesn’t believe the soft landing as the most likely outcome. He used the word “carefully” on numerous occasions to describe the Fed’s stance. He said that word more than I’ve heard him use it before. To me, that signals a recognition that conditions could change that would warrant a change in policy.

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

The Evolution of Working From Home Sep 20, 2023

Show notes

On today’s show we are looking at a new report on The Evolution of Work from Home published by three authors: Jose Maria Barrero, from the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México Nicholas Bloom University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Hoover Institution & Steven J. Davis from Stanford University

This 29 page paper has been in circulation since July as a working paper and was finally published yesterday by the Bureau of Economic Research.

This piece of research shows us how work from home has changed not just since the pandemic, but over a longer time period. Working from home has been rising in the United States for many decades, driven by the continuing improvements in technology that enables remote working.

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

New Development in Spokane Sep 19, 2023

Show notes

On today's show we are talking about a new development project in Spokane. We believe it's important to design products that are differentiated in the market. We will be hosting a webinar on September 19 and would invite you to attend. To register for the webinar, click on the link below. If you can't attend at the specific time, we will send you a recording of the webinar.

https://event.webinarjam.com/register/11/8y93rf9

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

Tofu Dregs Sep 18, 2023

Show notes

On today’s show we are talking about buildings that are built so fast that they cannot possibly be structurally sound.

Guess what? They’re not.

These buildings have been called Tofu Dreg buildings.

It’s not unusual in China to see 30 story buildings being erected in a fraction of the time we see in North America. Sometimes in only a couple of months. That’s incredibly fast. These buildings are clearly visible during construction. There is a concrete slab being poured on top of a grid of concrete columns. Many of them don’t have proper shear walls.

Observing virtually anything in China is very impressive. They throw armies of people at solving virtually any problem. I’ve witnessed this first hand on visits to China. Many of the projects are built by very low paid migrant workers.

The problem with using this approach in construction is that these buildings are structurally unsound. Concrete requires time to cure and harden. Concrete buildings have forces to contend with apart from just gravity. The lateral loads on a building due to the wind can cause them to collapse like a house of cards.

The number of high rise building failures in China is alarming. We are talking about buildings that are less than 20 years old. These buildings should not be failing, not even after 50 or 100 years.

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

New Development with Kent Ritter Sep 17, 2023

Show notes

Kent Ritter is based in Indianapolis where he has built a portfolio of multifamily apartments. His firm Hudson investing is undertaking its first development project in a suburb or Indianapolis and on today's show we are talking about the transition to new development and some of the nuances of making that shift. You can connect with Kent at kentritter.com

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

Industrial Investing with Ben Fraser Sep 16, 2023

Show notes

Ben Fraser is based in Kansas City and is involved in multiple asset classes. On today's show we're talking about industrial and understanding some of the nuances of that segment. To connect with Ben and to learn more, visit aspenfunds.us

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

The Banking Secret Is Out Sep 15, 2023

Show notes

On today’s show we are looking at a headline article in the WSJ.

The topic is banking. Think about it. Every bank’s risk management department would have stress tested the existing loan portfolio. They would have looked at the maturity dates of each loan, and forecast what would happen to those loans if they were refinanced at today’s rates.

We have not seen a massive wave of defaults yet. Yes, a few hotels have fallen over, and a bunch of corporate debt has caused bankruptcies. Trucking company “Yellow” is a great example of a company that fell into a debt trap. The SF Hilton is another.

By and large the banks are still showing strong balance sheets. But the signs are clear that they are not writing new loans. They want to write new loans. That’s how banks make money. They just can’t.

That’s why Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase was quoted as saying “All loans are bad”. This is not an issue of a few mid-sized banks. This is every single bank. We had more than a decade of low interest rates being “normalized”. Doubling and in some cases tripling the cost of capital in less than a year is inflicting massive pain across the entire debt based economy.

The Wall Street Journal article totally misses the essence of problem. The article is shrouded in sanitized language.

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

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