The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

On today’s show we are taking a look at what might be one of the most significant counter punches in the effort to dominate the global economy.  There are many ways in which countries make foreign investments. The US having the privilege of maintaining the world reserve currency has seen much of the world’s debt denominated in US dollars. But the US has rarely been an investor in foreign companies, nor in foreign countries. This stands in stark contrast to other countries like Saudi Arabia, China, Norway, UAE, Kuwait, and dozens of other countries that have sovereign wealth funds.  The US does deliver substantial foreign aid in the form of grants. But the US is rarely an investor in foreign projects. On the other hand, China has carved out substantial foreign influence by funding foreign infrastructure projects.  Today the US announced a new sovereign wealth fund that will be designed to compete with the like of China when it comes to foreign investment.  The fact is that when $900B dollars are going to be allocated and invested over a period of time, that represents a massive opportunity for savvy investors who are paying attention to ride the coat tails of that investment.  ------------- **Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

On today’s show it we are examining what the implications of a full scale trade war will mean.  The White House executive order that was issued this past weekend has a structure that I find very familiar. It falls under the classic structure of an argument within a married couple. This is of the form when one spouse says to the other, “ if you loved me, you would take out the trash.” And then they spend the rest of the time arguing about the trash instead of the core issue which is that one member of the marriage is feeling unloved. Linking together two unrelated items is a very primitive but well known negotiating technique. I’m going to manipulate you into taking out the garbage by putting the relationship and whether you love me on the line.   This is precisely my assessment of the executive order.  The fact is, the tariff is not about trade. It’s about border security. President Trump’s election promise was to secure the national borders. The US can’t do it alone in any reasonable timeframe. Enlisting the cooperation of both Canada and Mexico is key to accomplishing his objective quickly.  I personally don’t believe that the result will be a protracted trade war, even though the outward appearance is precisely that. The media has and will latch onto the devastating economic impact that a protracted trade war would have on the Canadian economy. That level of publicity will bring immense pressure to the Canadian government to make the necessary changes at the border at a time when Canada’s government is completely in disarray. There is arguably nobody in charge at this moment.  -------------- **Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

Sean Graham has two businesses. He is based in Detroit where he invests in self storage across the midwest. In addition, he runs a cost segregation practice. Today's episode brings these two worlds together with an interesting twist at the end of the episode. To connect with Sean, email him at sean@mavencostseg.com. ------------- **Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

On the first day of each month we review the book of the month. In order for a book to be worthy of book of the month it has to meet a very simple criteria. It has to be impactful enough to change your life, or your perspective on the world. Our book this month was written by BJ Fogg who teaches at Stanford University. He emphasizes that making big changes is incredibly difficult and virtually proned to failure. But small, minute changes, made deliberately can be stacked in a cumulative way to create larger changes. This book is a compelling read and quite frankly, I'm recommending it to the accountability group we formed to help participants in our 2025 Goal Setting Retreat achieve their goals. ---------------- **Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

On today’s show we are looking at the latest Fed announcement. But what is more interesting is to look at the divergence between the Fed and the Bank of Canada and the European Central Bank and what it means for the economy. ------------- **Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

When a bubble gets burst, the pin usually gets the blame. But it's not the pin's fault. How do bubbles form? What is the definition of a bubble? Bubbles form when three things come together: A massive amount of capital injected into a segment A story which supports the unlimited upside potential which is fuelling the frenzy The income from the market is not enough to support the investment.  On today's show we dissect the optimizations that Deepseek made to undercut the entire AI industry. These shortcuts are obvious in hindsight. ------------- **Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

On today's show I am live on location at our major 1783 acre development project in Colorado Springs. This is a two part episode. The first part was recorded live on location just after sunrise and prior to the city council meeting and the second part was recorded after the city council meeting late in the afternoon just as the sun was setting. Enjoy... -----------------

On today’s show we are looking at the impact of the announcements over the past week emanating from the White House to understand the impact on real estate investors.  First of all, I think you need to take President Trump seriously, but not necessarily literally.  We tend to look at various initiatives and evaluate them through a lens that is not necessarily the same lens that the administration sees. When that happens, you are likely to have a reaction that the initiative makes no sense.  It’s not that it doesn’t make sense. It’s that you don’t understand the rationale or the end objective. In the past few days we have seen so many counter-current changes in the economy. We have seen the first moves by the White House. But so far we have not seen any counter punches. We have not seen a response from China, or Canada or Mexico or the European Union. We don’t know what legal challenges might cause an overnight injunction to some of the initiatives. We don’t know if an injunction will stop an initiative, or merely delay it until the Congress enacts legislation to implement the President’s agenda.  We live in an interconnected world now more than ever, even if it's currently pivoting around Donald Trump, but other people will respond to what he's planning to do, and that will create massive volatility. ---------------- **Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

On today’s show we are taking a look at the changing landscape in retail real estate. This is the third in a series of episodes focused on the retail landscape.  Last week we looked at the impact of e-commerce on bricks and mortar retail. We also looked at the global supply demand dynamics in the US market. On today’s show we are focusing on experiential retail. This is based on the thesis that customers will come into your store if you give them another reason to come into the store other than just to buy something.  As it turns out, when people come to a store, they tend to buy anyway. Sometimes it’s an impulse buy unrelated to the event. At other times, the event that brought you into the store stimulates the purchase.  It used to be the case that stores would turn over their inventory only a few times a year. The large department stores would turn over their fashion lines every 90 days with the changing of the seasons. That meant there was only 4 reasons to come into the store in a year. Companies like The Limited revolutionized the industry by changing their inventory monthly.  The more reasons you can give people to set foot in your store, the higher the chance they will buy something. Once a customer buys something, then there are more opportunities to upsell on something else.  On today’s show we’re going to look at some examples of what some retailers are doing to create a sticky customer experience. By offering more than just products, retailers create an emotional connection with customers, making the shopping experience memorable and enjoyable.  --------------- **Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)  

Dave Dubeau is based in Kamloops, British Columbia. He is focused on helping other investors and syndicators develop relationships with potential partners by inviting them as a guest on a podcast. He's written a book on the process and is passionate about educating people on the process. To connect with Dave and to learn more, visit https://20accreditedinvestorsbook.com/bonus. The coupon code "espresso" will give you access to more resources. -------------- **Real Estate Espresso Podcast:** Spotify: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://open.spotify.com/show/3GvtwRmTq4r3es8cbw8jW0?si=c75ea506a6694ef1)   iTunes: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-real-estate-espresso-podcast/id1340482613)   Website: [www.victorjm.com](http://www.victorjm.com)   LinkedIn: [Victor Menasce](http://www.linkedin.com/in/vmenasce)   YouTube: [The Real Estate Espresso Podcast](http://www.youtube.com/@victorjmenasce6734)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/realestateespresso](http://www.facebook.com/realestateespresso)   Email: [podcast@victorjm.com](mailto:podcast@victorjm.com)  **Y Street Capital:** Website: [www.ystreetcapital.com](http://www.ystreetcapital.com)   Facebook: [www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital](https://www.facebook.com/YStreetCapital)   Instagram: [@ystreetcapital](http://www.instagram.com/ystreetcapital)