The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

Latest Episodes:

AMA - Where To Find Distressed Deals? Apr 07, 2023

Show notes

Michael asks:
I listened to your podcast about bridge loan default/buying opportunities that would hit the market. Was this message mostly for big institutional investors or for anyone investing in real estate? I was wondering how to find these opportunities to be ready for them when they are available.

Can you give suggestions on the number one source of these deals? Are they brokers? With bankers? or REITs? I'm not really sure where to look.

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

Declining Dollar Dominance Apr 07, 2023

Show notes

Today's show was delayed by a widespread power and internet outage in Ottawa as a result of an ice storm.

There has been a lot written in recent weeks about the US dollar and the potential loss of the reserve currency status. Rumors of the BRICS nations forming their own crypto currency between their trading block has been making news headlines.

I’ve actually held off in publishing a podcast on this topic. Merely repeating what you can read in the WSJ and on Bloomberg would not be adding value. I would need to provide an angle that would bring something new to the dialog.

If the US dollar were to lose confidence on a global basis, it would be devastating to the US economy. The result would be a drop in demand for US Treasuries. But since the US government is the largest debtor of all, they will need buyers for those treasuries. In order to attract buyers, they will need to raise the interest rate relative to other offerings in the market.

For the last three decades of globalization, the US has exported its inflation. The manufacturer who sells Christmas ornaments to Walmart collects US dollars from Walmart and then takes those dollars to the bank to exchange into Yuan. The bank then turns those dollars to the Chinese central bank who have an excess of dollars. Rather than sit on those dollars, the Chinese central bank used those dollars to purchase other commodities like oil which they need to fuel their economy, or they use the dollars to buy US Treasuries. In so doing, the US successfully exported it’s inflation.

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

Question on Foreign Investment Apr 05, 2023

Show notes

On today’s show we’re going to speak about a question that I received during a live zoom meeting. The question was about whether I thought it was a good idea to raise capital in the US for large scale industrial projects in India. The thesis was that there is a large and growing logistics opportunity in India and that it could be a great opportunity for US investors.

While the specifics of the question relate to industrial projects in India, you can substitute your favorite project. It would be beach front homes in Costa Rica, or hotels in Rio de Janeiro. My answer would be largely the same.

The Industrial land in India thesis makes sense. But that doesn’t mean that raising money in the US will be easy. In fact, I would contend that it will be quite the opposite.

----------- Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

Show Me The Incentive Apr 04, 2023

Show notes

On today’s show we are taking a look at a new law in the city of Los Angeles that has been recently amended called SB8.

This new rule states that no new development can take place that demolishes housing whether occupied or vacant unless replacement housing is constructed that maintains equivalent affordable and very affordable units and rents those units to low income households.

What are the intended consequences, and what are the non-intended consequences of this new rule?

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

What Does Quantitative Tightening Mean For Real Estate Investors? Apr 03, 2023

Show notes

Why is our money supply shrinking so much? Will that precipitate a credit crunch? On today's show we are looking at QT and what is driving it.

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

Brad Cartier Apr 02, 2023

Show notes

Brad Cartier specializes in developing new "missing middle" multi-family apartment buildings in secondary and tertiary markets within a radius of Ottawa Canada. On today's show we are talking about the merits of missing middle investment opportunities.

To connect with Brad, you can find him on LinkedIn. Also visit his newletter which can be found on Twitter at https://twitter.com/briefcasere

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

BOM - Signals by Dr. Pippa Malmgren Apr 01, 2023

Show notes

Dr. Pippa Malmgren is a very well informed economist who has served as a former presidential adviser and a national security advisor to the Joint Chiefs of the US military. She is extremely well connected and offers insights that are not being shared in the mainstream media.

I believe that seeing things as they are happening before they become news is a competitive advantage.

"Signals" by Pippa Malmgren is a thought-provoking and insightful book that explores the power of economic and geopolitical signals in today's interconnected world. In this book, Malmgren offers a unique perspective on the importance of paying attention to the subtle signals that can indicate shifts in the global economy and political landscape.

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

Housing Affordability Initiatives Mar 31, 2023

Show notes

Governments across the US and Canada are starting to become creative when it comes to addressing the issue of affordability.

Rather than a straight cash handout, different schemes are aimed at assisting financing. California, Utah and Idaho are three states that have recently implemented programs aimed at improving housing affordability.

But the problem is that the true cost is often a combination of variables. Many of these programs have an impact of less than 5% on the cost of housing. Those families struggling with finding affordable housing are not just 5% off from their majic number. The gap is much larger.

At least governments get to claim that they did something.

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

AMA - The City Has It Wrong Mar 30, 2023

Show notes

Tracy from Washington State asks:

What does one do when a City imposes/interprets a code ruling wrong? I have a situation where a City official did not follow the standard guidelines for fire protection in a multifamily unit. Normally if buildings are located 10 feet or further apart standard attic venting can be applied and we designed our duplexes accordingly. When we submitted our plans the City would not let us install venting in the soffit because the homes were 10 feet from the property line and "they did not know what the neighbors would do". Now given we were responsible for all the builds on the street (and could control this), and the setback requirements would not let a home be any closer than the current spacing this was silly. We even went to the surrounding jurisdictions and they agreed we should be allowed to vent the attics. We told the City in question about the stance of the other jurisdictions but the building official was new and stubborn.

So we installed attic fans to compensate. But given a litany of circumstances, the attic fans were not enough (extreme cold weather required extreme heat in the homes) and mold has formed on some roof sheathing due to condensation collecting.

Now I have not only mold mitigation to do (which is done and approved by the City)

I am moving through this but this is not the first time this City has caused problems. They did not meet the statutory timeline for subdivision approval (which they admitted to but I let go) and when they lost staff they extended the normal building permit process from 3 weeks to 6 months costing me hundreds of thousands of dollars in holding costs.

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

Looking For A Needle In A Haystack Mar 29, 2023

Show notes

On today show, we are looking at how human behaviour can vary predictably damage to global banking system. There are many examples and many repeated opportunities in history to see this phenomenon at work.

But on today show, we are going to look at a very recent example that most of us can easily relate to. In the early days of the pandemic, we started to experience shortages of every day staples. Households emptied the grocery store, shelves of non-perishable food items Like canned soup, pasta and rice, prepared foods like frozen pizza, and everyone’s favourite toilet paper.

The human response to the risk of a shortage was to start hoarding. Paradoxically, it was the hoarding behaviour that created the shortage. I’ll make sure there is enough toilet paper for me and enough chicken soup for me even if it means that somebody else will not have access to toilet paper or chicken soup.

That was 2020. That was the pandemic. This is now. We are not experiencing shortages any longer. Why are we even talking about shortages?

Well that is actually incorrect. We are experiencing shortages and we are seeing the exact same behaviour that we saw with toilet paper.

We are seeing people starting to hoard their cash, out of of a sense of anxiety about the banking system.

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Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com