The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

Every calendar quarter we take an entire day with the leadership team offsite to work on the business. This is an opportunity to pause and take stock of where we are and make course corrections if necessary. On today's show we're reviewing a snapshot of the past 90 days and getting input from members of the leadership team. Do you take the time to implement a culture of continuous improvement?

On today’s show we are talking about the land lottery. Now I’m an investor at heart and I’m not a fan of gambling. When we think of a lottery, there is a low cost to play the game and the potential payoff is huge. Naturally the odds of winning are low. But emotionally the payoff is so large that many people still choose to play the game. The expectation value is high enough that people see value in spending a few dollars even if statistics says they should not. Ok so we know what a lottery is. What does this to do with land? The value of land is directly a function of what you can do with it, combined with the demand for the finished product in that location. Land can be worth only a few thousand dollars an acre if all you can do is grow grass on it. But it can be worth a few thousand dollars per square foot if it is in the highest demand areas of New York, London or Paris. Land is land, but you can transform land into that winning lottery ticket through the zoning and entitlement process. But unlike a real lottery, you don’t put any investment in a piece of land that has a low chance of being improved. Imagine if you could take a look at all the lottery tickets and discard the ones you know are not winning tickets. Now you are left with the ones that will at least win something. I don’t know if I’m over stretching this analogy. Maybe I am.

On today’s show we are talking about adapting work habits when you travel. This month I’m spending the entire month away from home and will be working from the beautiful ancient city of Rome. Working on a different time zone means that I have the mornings to myself and am able to get those focus tasks done without interruption while everyone is still sleeping in North America. Meetings don’t start before 3PM for me which is 9AM east coast time. The most difficult thing to manage is the time zone to the west coast, where we have at most one hour of overlap. 6PM in Europe is 9AM in California and Washington. If I don’t establish boundaries, then the temptation exists to work at all hours of the day.

You might be wondering how the Evergrande debacle in China happened. I’ve been to China and observed first hand how commercial construction is broadly undertaken. Once you understand what I have seen first hand, it’s little surprise that there are issues. ---------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

On today’s show we’re talking about getting trapped in the wrong orbit. Now I realize that when I use the word wrong, it sounds like I’m making something right and something else wrong. What that really means is getting trapped in an orbit that’s different from what you might have intended. This type of thing happens all the time in all kinds of industries. It stems from having imprecise goals. That lack of clarity can be a trap. ----------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

On today’s show we’re talking about the most boring of bureaucracy and how it’s designed to help you with your due diligence. A few months ago, we spoke about a particular disease called versionitis. This is when the version of a document is out of date and you make decisions based on an out of date or unofficial version of a document. There can be only one golden copy of a document, just like there can be only one copy of your passport. That’s incredibly important in the world of real estate investing. That’s why the county recorder office has only one job to do. Their job is to maintain official records. ----------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

Andrew Abernathey got his start in real estate at a young age. Today, he is the principal in several hundred million dollars worth of self storage. On today's show we're talking about the state of the storage industry and gaining some insights into how this segment can operate.  To connect and to learn more, reach out to Andrew at http://www.andrewabernathey.com/ ------------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

Gary Boomershine made the decision to cut the ties to real estate in an expensive primary market in exchange for a simpler setting. On today's show we talk about that move and his predictions for the next period in this unprecedented wave of uncertainty.  To connect with Gary, visit realestateinvestor.com. To get a copy of his upcoming book, visit realestateinvestor.com/growth.  --------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

Why do we need an org chart? Does it really help bring clarity? It might impress customers, but does it really inform who is doing what functions? The book this month is "Holacracy: The new management system for a rapidly changing world." by Brian Robertson.  host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

This question comes from Jeremy in Virginia. He asks, “I’m working on a concept for a light industrial warehouse building on a property that has some environmentally protected zones. The properties on either side are developed and are zoned light industrial. In addition, there is a tremendous amount of development in the immediate area. I think the main reason this property hasn’t been developed is the presence of the wetlands on the property. Would you consider developing it, and if so under what conditions? ------------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com