The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Left Field Investing with Jim Pfeifer Jul 16, 2023

Show notes

Jmi Pfeifer is the founder of Left Field Investing an online investment club with about 1,800 members. On today's show we are talking about how the community operates.

To connect or to learn more, visit leftfieldinvesting,com

--------------------

Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@Victorjm.com

Building In Difficult Communities with Leandro Tyberg and Arturo Sneider Jul 15, 2023

Show notes

Leandro and Arturo are principals at Primestor, a Culver City development company specializing in building in some difficult parts of South Los Angeles. I love what these two guys are doing. You can connect with them at primestor.com

----------------

Host: Victor Menasce

podcast@victorjm.com

Evaluating Two Vastly Different Proposals Jul 14, 2023

Show notes

On today’s show we are talking about how to evaluate a proposal from a consultant. We are going to look at two proposals from different geotechnical engineers. These two proposals differ significantly in both price and scope. One proposal is nearly double the price of the other. How would you evaluate which quote to accept? Which proposal is better?

Let’s start with even asking the question: Why do you need a geotechnical engineer? What do they do, and why do you even need to spend money on this?

The geotechnical engineer does an analysis of the soil stability on your development site. They determine what it will take for your building to stay standing over the lifecycle of the building.

---------

Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

How Governments Lie About The Economy Jul 13, 2023

Show notes

On today’s show we are talking about some of the tricks that bureaucrats use to manipulate the inflation metrics that are being used to decide monetary policy. The cost of money affects the cost of virtually everything we buy. So the power to manipulate the economy and affect the fortunes of an entire population is in the hands of a handful of people who quite frankly have not earned the right to wield so much power.

But before we talk about the manipulations we need to define a few terms so that the incentive for the manipulation is clearly visible.

Let’s start with the gross domestic product. You calculate the GDP by adding up all of the economic activity and that gives you the gross domestic product. If the amount of economic activity has grown, by say, 2%, then the economy grew by 2%. But wait a minute, we know that there is this thing called inflation.

So in fact we need to subtract the rate of inflation from the GDP metric in order to get the real GDP metric that has been adjusted for inflation. In our example, if the economy grew in nominal terms by 2%, but inflation was running at 1%, then we would need to subtract the 1% inflation rate from the nominal GDP in order to get the real GDP.

So getting an accurate measurement of inflation is critical to getting an accurate measurement of GDP.

------------

Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied Jul 12, 2023

Show notes

On today’s show we are taking a look at a looming problem that threatens the functioning of the entire legal system in North America.

Justice delayed is justice denied. The rule of law depends upon having a functioning legal system. In the absence of a working legal system, criminals will increasingly take their chances that the statute of limitations will prevail and they will get away with offences that in a different environment would result in litigation, judgements, and possibly even criminal convictions.

There is a shortage of judges across both the US and Canada. The net result is that civil and criminal cases are going into a queue that is measured in years.

----------

Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

AMA - Developing Near Wetlands Jul 11, 2023

Show notes

This question comes from Elizabeth who asks:

I’m looking at a property which borders on an environmentally protected wetland area. Of the acreage, about 80% is outside the environmentally protected zone. So I should be able to develop on the part that is not environmentally protected. What should I look out for when considering this property?

------------

Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

What Are The Numbers Telling You? Jul 10, 2023

Show notes

On today’s show we are taking a look at the weeks ahead. We are expecting a number of announcements including the upcoming interest rate policy when the federal reserve meets near the end of July.

The latest numbers coming out of Washington suggest a robust economy. At least that is the official narrative. Yet there are so many other metrics pointing in the opposite direction.

------------

Host: Victor Menasce

Property Management Software with Vikas Gupta Jul 09, 2023

Show notes

Vikas Gupta is based in Pasadena California with a software startup called Azibo. Azibo is a software company that specializes in serving smaller independent landlords with a property management system that is highly integrated, but still easy for smaller landlords to use. To learn more or to connect, visit azibo.com

------------

Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

Insurance Industry Explained with Calvin Roberts Jul 08, 2023

Show notes

Calvin Roberts might be the youngest insurance brokerage principal I've ever met. But he is clearly one of the most knowledgeable. On today's show we are talking about the massive increases in insurance premiums and explaining the underlying factors.

To learn more or to connect with Calvin, visit falconinsagency.com.

-------------

Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

Building Inside Out Jul 07, 2023

Show notes

On today’s show we are talking about the architecture of the future. We are all accustomed to seeing the usual rectangular buildings with the vertical walls and 90 degree angles everywhere. Architects made them more interesting by articulating the facade with indentations and projections. Changing the materials on the exterior creates a sense of form, superimposed on what is still a rectangle.

I know what you’re thinking, any other shape is simply too costly to create. Standard materials can’t be used and it requires a tremendous amount of customization to create any other shape. All of this translates into extraordinary cost. With all of the emphasis on affordability, who needs a building shaped like a dolphin anyway? Ok, it doesn’t need to be a dolphin, but who needs a curved wall anyway? It’s going to make decorating the interior space difficult. Artwork won’t hang nicely on the walls. Our entire world is centred around flat surfaces. Even if it were practical to create irregular shapes in a building, would you really want that anyway?

What about those really tall narrow buildings that rise hundreds of feet into the air? When the buildings are that thin, how do they stay standing? Why don’t they fail in a wind storm?

On today’s show we’re going to answer these questions and more, with the answer coming from the world of crustaceans.

------------

Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected