The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

 On today show we are looking forward to this upcoming year 2025. Last month, our team took an entire week offsite on a cruise ship for our annual goal setting retreat. The process of goal setting starts with gaining clarity on your values, and then bringing your goals into alignment with those values. If your goals are not in alignment with your values, you will experience a profound dissonance in your life. One of the things I personally struggle with is finding the balance between planning versus doing. Some days it feels like there is so much to do that. There is no time left to plan. Some days, no, many days, I experience what feels like a personal battle with the clock. It seems like there are never enough hours in the day to complete what I want to get done. So much so that it felt like the end of the year and the entire month of December was a sprint to the finish line to complete our goals for the year. A goal without a plan is merely a hope. I hope without a plan is a recipe for failure. So after the champagne is on ice for tonight‘s new year celebration, I will be spending the bulk of the day translating those goals that are lacking a plan Into something far more concrete. ---------------- **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 year that was 2024. Of course this is a real estate show, so we’re going to focus on those things that have influenced the world of real estate investing.  On today’s show we are going to take a retrospective look at valuation. It doesn’t matter what the asset is, the mantra of buy low, sell high applies to virtually any asset.  When you’re in a bubble, it feels really good. You might be tempted to think that you’re really brilliant to have foreseen such amazing market conditions. When you buy at the top of the market, you have to be thinking that the market has a lot of room to grow. It's a dangerous place to be. ------------- **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)  

Joe Downs is based in Philadelphia, but invests in storage assets nation wide. On today's show we are talking about the evolving state of the storage industry. To connect with Joe, visit belrosestoragegroup.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)  

Ivan Barratt is based in Indianapolis, where he invests across the midwest. So far he has amassed about 9,000 units and has launched their fifth fund. On today's show we are talking about his strategy at Bam Capital. To connect with Ivan and to learn more, visit bamcapital.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 today’s show we are talking about the implications of “drill baby drill” on real estate across the United States. The US has an abundance of energy, thanks to the fracking revolution. The oil produced in the United States is mostly a light sweet crude. There is a surplus of this crude oil and the US exports a bunch of it. The US imports heavy oil which is then combined with the light oil in order to produce the spectrum of products that an oil refinery is designed to separate from the crude oil. The US has a lot of associated natural gas coming from its oil wells. This gas is either captured into a pipeline network or flared off at the well head. Some have installed small electric generators next to the well head and are producing low cost electricity.  Natural gas is the preferred fuel source for generating electricity. It is the cleanest of all fossil fuels. But it is also the most inconvenient to transport. By super cooling it and compressing it, the gas can be liquified and transported by ship.  The US exports about 10% of its natural gas production. That is the limit of the liquefaction capacity in the country today. Most of these LNG plants are located along the gulf coast in Louisiana and Texas. Each one of these LNG plants costs a few billion dollars to build. Natural gas is incredibly cheap in the US compared with the rest of the world. The US price is currently hovering around $2.87 per million BTU. In Europe and Asia, the current price is about $35 per million BTU. That is a huge price disparity. The best way to address the problem is to build more LNG capacity in the US.   ------------ **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 potential for a global trade war and what it could mean for real estate investors in the US and Canada.  President Trump has not yet taken office and he is rattling markets all over the world with the threat of tariffs.  In order to understand the threat, we need to look deeper beneath the surface. We can look at the use of tariffs during the first Trump administration and look at the latest statements from the president to better understand where this is all headed. In the days following the US federal election, president elect Trump put out a tweet on the X platform saying that he would impose a tariff of 25% on all goods imported from Mexico and Canada. --------------- **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 talking about different types of cash flow investments. A few days ago on the podcast we talked about the four investment buckets.  There is the safety bucket  The cash flow bucket  The growth bucket  The speculative risk bucket  All investors should be thinking about the allocation of assets into each of these four categories. On today’s show we are going to zero in exclusively on the cash flow bucket. ------------ **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 talking about a specific category of lawyer who tends to work on contingency. That means the client does not shell out any cash up front. All of the compensation is paid at the back end with a split of the proceeds from the litigation. These lawyers approach the condo boards, usually unsolicited, and offer to get them a settlement from the builder for any defects. If they can prove that the builder tried to knowingly hide a defect, they could extract triple punitive damages.  These types of cases can often be seen as legalized extortion. Construction defect attorneys can sometimes be seen as predators by developers due to the nature of their work, which often involves identifying and pursuing claims against developers for alleged construction defects. -------------- **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 a major step forward in generative AI.  The latest release is O3, which is the premier model, and then O3 Mini, which is faster and more efficient and costs less money. How good is it? What's the difference? The first release O1 was announced three months ago. Now three months later, they're already doing the next one, which is O3. Technically they couldn't name it O2. Sam Altman said it should have been named O2, but there's a company called O2, a telecom company in the UK. So they didn't want to infringe on the trademark. So, they're naming it O3, but it is essentially the next model. It's the next version after O1. A recent interview last week with Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft highlights where AI is heading when it comes to revolutionizing software development and software applications as we know them.  --------------- **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)  

Brian Decker is based in Scottsdale Arizona where he is developing AI solutions for home services businesses. On today's show we are talking about the changes affecting the entire industry. To learn more and to connect with Brian, visit Instagram at "thebriandecker". ---------------- **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)