The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

Kelly Koontz is based in Seattle Washington where he is a principal at Submetering Solutions. The company specializes in all forms of submetering for the major utilities like water, gas, electric and more. Some of the newer technology meters don't require cutting pipes and merely wrap around the pipes. To connect with Kelly or to learn more, visit submetersolutions.com/espresso and you will be able to get in touch directly. ---------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

The Fed is losing money. Now you might say, how can the Fed lose money? Isn’t the Fed the very definition of money? Can’t they just print more? Well I guess sure they can. But printing money only works as long as confidence remains in the currency. It works until it doesn’t. When it doesn’t, then it’s incredibly difficult to restore that confidence.  ------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

Chris Prefontaine is based in Rhode Island where he invests in the local and nearby states. The strategies he teaches apply nationwide. To connect or to learn more, visit smartrealestatecoach.com. To get a copy of the free book, visit whickedsmartbooks.com/victor1 and they will mail a physical book to you at no cost. ------------ Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

On today’s show we are talking about the technology in some of the newest materials for new construction. It’s increasingly common to have building plans examiners and building inspectors reject materials for use in a new construction project. This often comes down to an issue of liability.  Gone are the days of stick building a frame and slapping on some siding. There is an entire building science and modern buildings have a lot of technology built into the structure, the cladding, the windows, in fact the entire building envelope.  Buildings can degrade with moisture and multiple defences agains moisture penetration are key to having a long life building.  That means designing layers to keep moisture out, and then making sure that moisture has a way to get out if it does happen to penetrate the first layer. The other source of moisture is the result of condensation. This happens when there is a difference in temperature between inside and outside. If its colder outside, then moisture is likely to be on the outside. If it’s colder inside, then moisture is likely to condense on the inside. Both can be a problem.  The latest innovation is something called an air barrier. These new technologies have created confusion with contractors and many of them don’t understand the difference.  ------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

When I speak with listeners of the podcast, I’ve been asked on numerous occasions how I come up with topics for the daily show. More specifically, how do I decide what angle to explore on a particular topic.  I get this question often, so I decided to dedicate a few minutes to sharing how the background work happens in coming up with a new episode.  When deciding the content for the show, I’m looking for a variety of topics that are going to be interesting to my listening audience.  That means a mix of topics that are more evergreen in nature, as well as topics that are a tie-in to the news. An evergreen topic is not tied to a particular point in time. For example, I did an episode on water rights and how they differ from one jurisdiction to another.  Tie-ins are related to what’s happening now. For example, if the Fed makes an announcement on interest rates, then I’m going to report on that in real time. Talking about it a week later makes no sense.  Real estate investing is affected by many factors, ranging from the macro-economy to the micro. Then there are specific vertical asset classes each with their own dynamics.  ----------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

On today’s show we are talking about ways in which you could get a solar system almost for free. That’s right, you heard me correctly. Under the inflation reduction act, the US Federal government offers a tax credit of up to 30% of the cost of a solar power generation system being installed. When talking solar power, I’m talking about commercial systems that would serve an entire business like a warehouse. But there are additional incentives that can be layered on top of the investment tax credits.  There is a program of grants administered by the US department of agriculture call REAP which is an acronym short for Rural Energy For America Program. ------------ Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

On today’s show we’re talking about getting paid, and who gets paid and in what order. Investment options often include a waterfall provision. This defines the order of precedence of payment. This is an important element of any investment. On today’s show we are going to look at a few of the popular offerings we see in the market, and then we are going to share what we do in our projects. To be clear, we are not soliciting for investment here. This is an educational piece designed to explore investment structure so that you can better evaluate whether a particular structure is beneficial for you. Of course you want to consult your CPA to make sure there are no unintended tax consequences.  At the most basic level, the waterfall speaks to who gets paid in a project and in what order. There are infinite possibilities for the structure you could define for how investors and shareholders get paid. You can get as sophisticated as you want. But if investors can’t understand it, it’s not worth the extra complexity.  ------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

On today show we are looking at a tug-of-war that is underway in the financial markets. There is also a competition for capital between government and private enterprise. For the moment it appears as though government is winning that battle for dollars. We have an economy that is partially being controlled by two gigantic levers. The first lever is monetary policy and the second lever is fiscal policy.  But before we use these terms, it would be useful to define them.  Monetary policy is controlled by the central bank. Those decisions affect bank liquidity, the printing of currency units, and the setting of interest rate policy.  Fiscal policy refers to the decisions made by governments to spend money. Fiscal policy affects taxation, entitlement programs, public infrastructure projects, military spending and so on.  We literally have a situation where central banks are standing with both feet on the brakes. Governments on the other hand, have their foot firmly on the Excelerator. If you have ever tried this in your car do you realize of course that you will either burn out your engine or your brakes very quickly. governments of course. ----------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

Galen Hair is a lawyer who specializes in litigating insurance claims on behalf of real estate owners against insurance companies. On today's show we are talking about the insurance landscape and what property owners can do in the current environment. To connect with Galen, visit https://insuranceclaimhq.com/ --------------- Host: Victor Menasce email: podcast@victorjm.com

Jason Buxbaum is based in Phoenix Arizona and invests in developing and redeveloping workforce housing across multiple markets in Arizona and Texas. On today's show we are talking about the market dynamics and how they're changing. Opportunity that disappeared for a while is now reappearing in a different form. To connect with Jason, visit JevanCapital.com