The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

Some days it seems like we live in an upside down world.   Today’s show fits in the category of “You can’t make this stuff up.” It’s just too bizarre for words, and it would be even funny if it were not for the fact that this is real. Charlie Munger, who is Warren Buffet’s business partner is famous for saying “show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome”. The latest bit of insanity coming out of the Biden White House is an idea whereby the government will charge a premium on borrowers with a good credit score in order to make it easier for those with a poor credit score to qualify for a loan. You heard me correctly. This is the equivalent of taking points away from an A student and giving extra marks to a C student, to make things more fair. The details are that a borrower with a credit score of 740 or higher will pay an additional  fee ontheir residential mortgage. ---------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

George is back in NY after spending the winter in Florida. On today's show we are delving into a topic that is explained briefly in a couple of pages in George's book on negotiation. His book is based on the course syllabus from when he taught negotiation at the law school at NYU for more than 20 years. ---------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

Jeff Schechter is now based in Nashville after building a sizeable turnkey rental portfolio in Indianapolis. On today's show we are talking about how the macro conditions are affecting turnkey rental assets and how it might be time to pivot into other opportunities. To connect with Jeff, visit highreturnrealestate.com ------------------ Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

On today’s show we're looking at some of the most common mistakes that I see multifamily investors make in their underwriting. I'm presented with opportunities for multifamily projects of all shapes and sizes across many markets on a daily and weekly basis. Sometimes this analysis is performed by lenders, sometimes by mortgage brokers, and sometimes by the principals themselves. So here we go I'm going to give you the top five mistakes I see most often when looking at a multifamily apartment pro forma. ------------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

On today’s show we are taking a look at some economic metrics that are not getting much airplay or analysis in the mainstream media. But we real estate investors need to pay attention.   We continue to have both government and Fed officials talking about how the economy is strong and resilient and that we may experience a mild recession later this year. This most recent statement is the closest we have seen Fed officials acknowledge the reality of our economic malaise. On today’s show we are going to look under the covers in the economy to see what is really going on. ------------------ Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

On today’s show we are going back to 1910. These were the origins of the formation of the Federal Reserve during a secretive meeting on Jekyll Island off the coast of Georgia.  Leading up to the fateful meetings that took place over nine days, there had been a series of runs on banks and financial panics in 1873, 1884, 1893 and 1907. These banking panics over the preceding decades had caused the outright failure of 1748 banks. The Federal Reserve Act of 1913 was a direct outcome of this clandestine meeting on Jekyll Island. The Federal Reserve was created to protect the banking system. It is owned by the member banks, not the US government. The Federal Reserve Banks that make up the Fed are not banks either in the traditional sense. I have been thinking, long and hard about whether the Federal Reserve has been mistaken in their interest-rate policy. After all, it is a bold statement for some Podcaster located in Canada to declare in unequivocal terms that the Federal Reserve with its hundreds of PhD‘s is utterly and completely incompetent.  All it takes is a few minutes of the most basic Internet research to realize that the banking system in the United States is backed into a corner from which it is virtually impossible to see away out. That is, unless the Federal Reserve makes a choice between raising interest rates to fight inflation or lowering interest rates to save the banking system. I I am completely convinced that this is the choice facing the Federal Reserve.  ------------ Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

On today’s show we’re asking about how crime and lawlessness is bad for business, bad for rent, and bad for real estate investment.  -------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

Switzerland is known for playing a central role in the global financial system. The nation’s stance of neutrality has earned it a position of trust in the financial system and the monetary system.  It’s no surprise that the Bank of International Settlements is based in Basel Switzerland.  Established in 1930, the BIS is owned by 63 central banks representing countries from around the world that together account for about 95% of world GDP. Because of the neutral position of this Swiss entity, the BIS is involved in many global initiatives. They host close to 200 meetings a year at their Basel headquarters. Every 8 weeks, the governors of the members central banks all meet at this location. The BIS is working hard to understand the global plumbing for central banks in particular. There are a number of pilot projects aimed at improving the global plumbing for central banks in particular relating to the rollout of central bank digital currencies across the globe. ----------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

Brennen Degner is based in Denver Colorado where he is a principal at DB Capital Management. They invest in multi-family assets in four states through the southwest part of the US. On today's show we are talking about the capital markets and the current market conditions that we are seeing for investors and developers underwriting deals and managing existing portfolios through the life cycle. To connect with Brennen, visit dbcap.com. --------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

David Chan is based in NYC where he specializes in agricultural land investing on a nation wide basis. You can learn more at their website farmtogether.com. David shares some eye opening statistics about agriculture in the United States. This is a truly fascinating conversation. --------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com