The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

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BOM - Stretch Not Snap by Alex Freytag Jun 01, 2025

Show notes

Alex Freytag's "Stretch Not Snap" is a business fable that addresses a common challenge faced by entrepreneurial companies: how to transform the employee mindset into one of ownership, engagement, and shared vision, particularly through the strategic implementation of incentive plans.

The book builds upon the foundation laid in another business fable book by Gino Wickman and Mike Paton's "Get A Grip”. Freytag revisits the characters of Vic and Eileen, the leaders of Swan Services, as they navigate the next phase of their entrepreneurial journey.

The story opens with Vic and Eileen facing a growing frustration. While their company, Swan Services, has successfully implemented the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) – gaining traction, clarity on priorities, and leadership team alignment – they observe a fundamental disconnect among their employees. Despite the company's progress and the leaders' dedication, a prevailing "me-first" or "entitlement" mentality has taken root. Employees seem to expect bonuses and rewards merely for showing up, rather than genuinely connecting their daily efforts to the company's overarching vision and financial health. This disengagement is stifling Swan Services' potential and preventing the full realization of its culture.

The core of "Stretch Not Snap" is the unfolding of the ProfitWorks Solution, a methodology designed to create a self-funded incentive plan that genuinely drives employee engagement and financial results. The fable illustrates this solution through the practical challenges and successes faced by Vic, Eileen, and their team. The essence of the ProfitWorks Solution revolves around six key principles:

1. Financial Literacy and Transparency

2. Identifying Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Leading Measures

3. The Self-Funded Incentive Plan

4. Ending the Entitlement Mentality

5. Sharing the Vision and Building Ownership

6. Continuous Learning and Adaptation

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George Ross on Preparing For Negotiation May 31, 2025

Show notes

George Ross taught negotiation at the law school at NYU for over 20 years. He honed those skills over a career working with Goldman and DiLorenzo, his own law firm, and as Executive Vice President in The Trump Organization. Today we are talking about preparation for negotiation, a topic that he emphasizes in his book.

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Did You Fail To Ask The Question? May 31, 2025

Show notes

At Y Street Capital, we have several projects across several states. We currently have two storage projects in construction and we have more in the pipeline. If you would like to learn more about our storage fund, click HERE find out more about our storage projects. If you don't have an account on our investor portal, you can register and we promise not to spam you with tons of email. These opportunities are only open to accredited investors residing in the United States and are in compliance with SEC regulations.

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On today’s show we are talking about staffing projects with the best people possible. Yesterday I had an experience that quite frankly was humbling. I’ll come back to that later.

In the world of traditional HR, the emphasis is overwhelmingly on skills and experience. But when you hire for a key role you are always looking for a combination of both skills and attributes. Skills are those things that can be learned over a relatively short time period. Attributes are developed over a much longer period and reflect the makeup of the individual.

We look for a set of attributes across several dimensions including their sphere of influence, their planning horizon, their ability to handle complex multi dimensional problems, their financial acumen, their character.

The humbling part is at the end. Enjoy....

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Security Versus Convenience May 30, 2025

Show notes

On today’s show we are talking about the tradeoff between security and convenience. Your phone is a device that has so much knowledge about you embedded within it.

How long before the very devices that we rely upon to act as our communication device, our camera, our entertainment screen, our wallet, and the key to unlock the entry door to our home becomes too much of a liability?

The epidemic of identity theft has been problematic for some time. It used to be the case that identity theft could allow someone to get a credit card in your name.

So the question is what do you as a real estate investor need to know to protect your properties? How do you prevent someone from entering a building who is not authorized to do so?

Smart building systems are extremely convenient. But are they secure? How do you perform the evaluation to know whether you are buying the right system?

These are more questions than answers. Even if you have an answer today, who knows whether the answer will still be correct in a year or a month or a week from now. The capability of AI systems is growing at an exponential rate.

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Clear Path for AI Software In Real Estate May 28, 2025

Show notes

Computer algorithms are great at processing vast amounts of data and then making either recommendations or decisions based on that data. AI is even better at that process. Yet somehow consumer groups feel like landlords have a disadvantage when it comes to data and therefore should not have the right to use that market data when it comes to setting rates for a rental property.

The latest legislation to pass through the US Congress has a Federal statute that aims to block the states and local governments from oversight of AI and automated decision systems for 10 years.

This won’t block claims of anti-competitive behaviour. If successfully passed, this would give companies like Yardi, RealPage, and numerous others a clearer path to use their algorithms for the benefit of making pricing decisions based on supply and demand.

If the data is being used for landlords to collude, then that would constitute a cartel which violates anti-trust laws. But the use of data for dynamic pricing, both up and down does not constitute collusion. The new legislation keeps the playing field favouring the development of technology to improve market efficiency. The states should not be blocking the use of technology.

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NY Candidates for Mayor Hurt Housing May 27, 2025

Show notes

This is not a political podcast. It’s a real estate podcast. Now NYC is an important market for real estate. I personally don’t invest in NYC for reasons that many will understand.

Part of the affordability problem is that NYC’s population is made up of 25% low income families. As housing demand has increased, so too have rents. Affordable rents get pushed further and further away which increases commute times.

The race for Mayor in NYC is a hotly contested one with an incredible array of candidates. When I say incredible, it’s because each of these candidates can bring sweeping impacts to this city of 8.5M people. If people flock to NY, or if they leave NY, it affects other markets in a material way.

There are seven candidates on the democratic ticket for Mayor. The incumbent Mayor Adams who is under criminal investigation is running as an independent. There is one republican candidate. The Democratic primary is going to be held on June 24 which could reshape the election.

On today’s show we are going to look at the top 3 candidates according to the polling results and dissect their real estate platforms.

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Which Tax Credits Are Disappearing? May 26, 2025

Show notes

The latest tax legislation winding its way through the Congress and the Senate is sunsetting a number of tax credits. These can have a material impact on your projects. So understanding them is important.

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Rich Doctor - Dr. Tom Burns May 26, 2025

Show notes

Dr. Tom Burns is based in Austin Texas where he invests and develops real estate. On today's show Tom and I are having a fireside chat about perspective on the current market conditions. Tom is one of my favorite people in the world. He maintains perspective and wisdom even during turbulent moments.

To connect with Tom and to learn more visit richdoctor.com or email him directly at tom@richdoctor.com

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Mobile Home Parks with Jack Martin May 24, 2025

Show notes

Jack Martin is based in Scottsdale Arizona and invests in mobile home parks in business friendly states. On today's show we are talking about the investment mandate that is their focus. To connect with Jack and to learn more, visit 52ten.com

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The Dirty Underbelly of City Politics May 23, 2025

Show notes

On today’s show we are talking about our project in Colorado Springs. If you’ve been listening to the show for a while then you will know that we are the developer of a master planned community on the edge of Colorado Springs. This 1800 acre project was successfully annexed into the city of Colorado Springs at the end of January this year.

The latest move has been the launch of a petition, which having a sufficient number of signatures would put the annexation of our property to a public special election. This is precisely what was done. The ballots in the special election were mailed out to Colorado Springs voters today.

There is a single large development inside the boundary of the city which comprises approximately 18,000 acres. This property was annexed into the city in the 1990’s. Over 85% of the city’s development land is owned by one party. They have been taking steps over the years that would stifle competition for new homes and make their development the only game in town.

The citizens of Colorado Springs need to know that this election is not about a small patch of land that is immediately adjacent to land that is owned by the city. It is about developer corruption and a monopoly for a single developer.

We could not have predicted this the trajectory of this development project. We did not expect to uncover the dirty underbelly of politics and influence peddling.

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