Real Estate Espresso

On today's show, we're talking about the lasting impact of war in the Persian Gulf on oil prices, and more importantly, the cascading effects on real estate here in the United States.When conflict broke out in the Persian Gulf, the first reaction in financial markets was almost automatic. Traders bid up the price of oil. That response is understandable. A large portion of the world's seaborne crude passes through the Strait of Hormuz, and any threat to supply got reflected in price almost instantly.But here's where we need to separate headlines from economic reality. A spike in oil prices does not affect every form of energy equally. In the United States, natural gas is largely a domestic market. It has its own supply dynamics, its own pipeline network, and its own storage system. So even if crude oil jumps dramatically because of geopolitical tensions, natural gas in the U.S. may hardly move. The US exports about 20% of its natural gas production. That percentage is limited by the capacity of the existing LNG plants. When all the LNG plants under construction are completed, the percentage of US production available for export might increase to 30 and maybe eventually 40%. But that is years and possibly decades away. So where will we actually see the impact?We'll see it first in transportation.Diesel prices matter enormously. Diesel is the fuel of the real economy. It moves construction materials, food, appliances, furniture, HVAC equipment, steel, lumber, concrete additives, and labor crews. If diesel rises meaningfully, the cost of moving goods rises with it. That affects construction sites, distributors, warehouse operators, and every supplier feeding construction.------------**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)  

If you've driven through any American town or suburb lately, chances are you've noticed a vacant Walgreens. Or a shuttered CVS. Or a boarded-up Rite Aid. These aren't isolated closures. This is a structural, sector-wide contraction that is reshaping the retail landscape in ways we haven't seen before.Here's the scale of what's happened. Walgreens has closed 1,200 stores over the past three years. CVS has shuttered more than 1,170 locations since 2022. And Rite Aid — a 63-year-old chain that once operated nearly 2,400 stores — went through bankruptcy twice and closed its last location in late 2025. It's gone. Entirely. In total, roughly 7,000 pharmacies across the country have closed since 2022. One in three pharmacies that existed in 2010 no longer exists today. Nearly 50 million Americans now live in what researchers are calling a pharmacy desert. So what does the industry say to do with 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)  

Joel Friedland is based in Chicago where he has a sizeable portfolio of industrial properties, virtually all of them are debt free. This is a choice, not an outcome. Today's conversation contains several counter-intuitive revelations. To connect with Joel visit https://www.britproperties.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)  

Joel Landon is based in Salt Lake City and he is with Heritage IRA. On today's show we are talking about the opportunity to reduce your 2025 tax obligation by taking action before April 15. Joel walks us through some of the types of opportunities that still exist to turn back the clock to 2025 and still influence the outcome. To connect with Joel and to learn more, visit heritageira.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)  

Today we're talking about the war in the Persian Gulf, and why a market like Lake Charles, Louisiana could be a real beneficiary, even if the war were to end today.The Strait of Hormuz is one of the most important energy chokepoints in the world. A meaningful share of global oil and gas moves through that corridor. When conflict disrupts flows through that region, the world starts looking for stable, dependable alternatives.The war is also widening the pricing gap between U.S. natural gas and gas in Europe and Asia. Scott makes the point very clearly. If you're a chemical manufacturer deciding where to build, and gas is $14 in Germany but $3 or $4 in Louisiana or Texas, that's not a hard decision. That makes Louisiana more attractive not only for LNG, but for petrochemical and energy-intensive manufacturing investment as well.Louisiana is already a major energy state, and several LNG projects in Calcasieu Parish have either advanced or received major commitments recently, including Woodside's Louisiana LNG project in 2025, while other Louisiana-area projects have also moved ahead. Just last week, Venture Global announced final investment decision for its CP2 project which is an $8.5B expansion of its LNG plant located south of Lake Charles on the Gulf coast.-------------**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 show, we are talking about performing even the most basic of due diligence when it comes to potential suppliers, customers, tenants, lenders, brokers.It is sad to say, but there are large ecosystems of fraudulent players out there. Due diligence is both an art and a science. In fact, I have an upcoming episode where I interview a specialist in due diligence. On that show, we will dive into some of the more sophisticated techniques.But on today's show, we are focussing on even the most simple forms of due diligence that are so easy to perform, and quite frankly expose those individuals with a questionable history.----------**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)  

Today we're looking at New York City, and specifically at the combined impact of two policies associated with Mayor Mamdani's housing agenda, a rent freeze on rent-stabilized apartments and a proposed 9.5% increase in property taxes.Now separately, each of these policies is a political choice. Together, they become something more serious. They become a stress test of whether private ownership still means private ownership, or whether ownership has been reduced to a set of obligations without the corresponding rights.This is not just an economic question. It is also a constitutional one.-------------**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)  

As part of my ongoing research for the podcast, I've been using AI to help streamline information gathering. That, in itself, is not too controversial. If you're tracking multiple markets, multiple asset classes, and multiple sources of institutional research, there's nothing unreasonable about wanting a faster way to collect reports, summarize themes, and identify what's changed.I installed an autonomous AI agent on my computer. I asked the agent to locate and download any new research reports from the major brokerages, CBRE, JLL, Marcus & Millichap, Colliers, and others. In my mind, that was a simple productivity task. Go find the latest market reports, download them, organize them, and save me the repetitive work. I asked it to perform this task every Sunday morning so that I would have a fresh download of reports to choose from each week.Some of the websites accepted normal interaction. Some did not. A number of them rejected queries that appeared to come from automated sources. In some cases, even with valid login credentials, the websites still resisted the activity.And this is where the experience changed.The agent became more persistent than I was comfortable with. It interpreted the blocked access not as a signal to stop, but as a problem to solve. It began trying alternate paths to achieve the objective. I didn't compromise the website and I didn't get access to files that I could not otherwise get through a browser interface. I'm not going to get into methods, because that's not the point, and frankly that's where the ethical and legal lines become very important. But in that moment, I realized something profound. Without intending to, I had placed myself in the role of someone effectively attempting to circumvent the security controls of a brokerage website.-------------**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)  

Today, I want to talk about the right questions to be asking when it comes to adopting AI in your business.There's a lot of noise around AI right now. Most of the conversation is centered on fear. People are asking whether AI will replace jobs, reduce headcount, or make certain roles obsolete. Those questions may be understandable, but they're not the most useful strategic questions.In many cases, they're the wrong questions.If the only thing you ask is, “How many fewer people do we need?”, you're already thinking too small. That's a cost-cutting mindset. It assumes the opportunity is limited to doing the same work with fewer resources.But the better question is, “What can we do now that was previously impossible?”That's the real opportunity.------------**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)  

Tom Staub is based in Austin Texas where he develops master planned communities through central and south-east Texas. On today's show we are talking about the attraction and challenges of land development.To connect with Tom, visit https://redoakvc.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)  

Robby Butler is Managing Director at Y Street Capital. He's based in St. Louis plays a key role in our company. On today's show we are talking about how real estate trends are affecting long term strategies of investing. To connect with Robby , visit https://www.linkedin.com/in/robby-butler/ or at https://ystreetcapital.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 a parallel between present day circumstances and 1973. The mid 1970's were characterized by the simultaneous surge in inflation and economic contraction. These were events that were up until that point considered to be mutually exclusive. The embargo didn't just cause a temporary blip; it changed the structural behavior of the U.S. economy. Even after the embargo ended in 1974, inflation expectations remained high. As prices rose, workers demanded higher wages to keep up. Employers then raised prices again to cover the higher wages, creating a self-reinforcing loop of inflation.If the oil supply remains constricted for more than a few weeks, I predict that stagflation will be upon us. It's a remake of the same movie with different actors. 

When I first started my training in electrical engineering I was using a large mainframe computer at the university. Most other students had to book time in one of the terminal rooms to gain access to the computer. They were limited to 60 minutes at a time. I purchased my own terminal which I had in my bedroom and got a second phone line and I had unlimited access to the computer. I also purchased one of the first personal computers. It had a tiny screen and it broke the link that tied me to the university mainframe. Fast forward to today and we all know how the distributed nature of computing has pushed the majority of processing into the palm of your hand. That doesn't mean data centers have disappeared. Today those traditional computing data centres provide a lot of the backbone that cannot practically processed on a personal device. If you look at the state of AI today, the vast majority of the computing is being done in a data center. I believe the Apple strategy is worth further examination because if Apple is correct, the demand for data centres will be reduced, but not eliminated.------------**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)  

Today we're talking about the HUD Express Lane initiative.Now, whenever government launches something called an Express Lane, people naturally assume it means the opposite. That's not what this is. This is not a magic wand. It is not a relaxation of standards. It is not a broad-based shortcut for every borrower and every property type. It is much more specific than that, and once you understand the details, there's a very important lesson in it for real estate investors. HUD announced the Express Lane on July 10, 2025, for FHA-insured Section 232/223(f) transactions involving residential care facilities. In plain English, we're talking about skilled nursing, memory care, assisted living, and board-and-care properties financed through HUD's healthcare lending platform. For eligible low-risk refinance applications, HUD said the new process could reduce the time from application submission to issuance of a Firm Commitment from as much as 150 days down to roughly 10 to 15 days. -------------**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)  

Last week we talked about property taxes being reset when land changes hands. That is true, but it is not the whole story. One of our listeners, Steve related a personal story which I'm going to share here. He writes:Your property tax episode struck home.  My family owned what started as landfill since 1969 in California.  In the late 90's it was full and a race track built on it.   The track builders signed a 25 year ground lease with extensions.  Since the lease was this long it was deemed an effective sale.  Taxes went from 15k/ year to over $200k per year.  Years later when we had to evict the tenants we got stuck with the new amount

Today I want to talk about the benefit of having an AI second brain in your real estate investing business.This is a topic that's getting more attention lately, and for good reason. There was a recent episode by Nate B. Jones on the idea of building a second brain with AI, and what I appreciate about the discussion is that it goes beyond simple productivity hacks. It gets to something much more fundamental. It gets to the importance of context. If you want to make real use of AI in your investing business, context is everything.The problem is that all of the AI tools are competing with each other and are essentially creating a walled garden. The work you perform in ChatGPT doesn't transfer to perplexity or to gemini or to Claude. They're all independent and yet some tools are better than others at performing specific functions. The problem in most real estate businesses is not the lack of data. It's the opposite. We have too much data, spread across too many systems, and almost none of it is connected in a meaningful way.-------------**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)  

Today's show is a live talk that I gave a few weeks ago in Sonoma on how to use AI to gain leverage in your real estate investing business. I know we are talking a lot about AI on the podcast lately. We're doing so because it is so impactful on so many aspects of the business. Enjoy....-------------**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)  

Chris Lento is based in Boston, but he invests across the Southeast United States. On today's show we are talking about some of the approaches his team uses to improve resident retention when the market gets saturated with new supply. To connect with Chris, you can find him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherlento/ or. at https://emcapitalgroup.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 how to set up the accounting for a construction project. There is a right way and a wrong way to do it. But first.Send an email to podcast@victorjm.com if you'd like to learn more about the Y Street Capital Storage Fund. Put the word storage in the subject line. If you've been looking for a thoughtful way to invest in storage, the Y Street Capital Storage Fund may be worth your attention. The Fund is currently invested in four storage assets, with additional growth planned for 2026.What I like about self-storage is its simplicity as a business and its resilience across a range of market conditions. When it's operated with discipline, there is real potential to create value through better management, improved occupancy, and steady revenue growth.For investors who want exposure to the sector without the concentration risk of a single asset, this Fund offers a more diversified approach.This announcement is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy securities. Any investment will be made only through the Fund's offering documents, and only by verified accredited investors residing in the United States, in compliance with applicable securities laws. If you'd like to learn more then On today's show, we're talking about something that sounds administrative on the surface, but in reality can make or break the financial control of a construction project. That is, how you choose your budget categories.Most people think of a budget as a list of costs. Land, permits, concrete, framing, electrical, plumbing, finishes, done. But that's not how a construction project behaves in real life. A construction budget is not simply a cost estimate. It is a control system. It is the framework that ties together invoicing, payment applications, loan draw requests, your banking records, your accounting system, and ultimately your reporting to investors and lenders.If you choose your budget categories intelligently, reconciling all of that can be relatively straightforward. If you choose poorly, the administrative effort multiplies. Not a little, a lot.-------------**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)  

Today we're going to talk about a due diligence mistake that shows up in underwriting all the time, and it can be a silent killer of your cash flow. It's the assumption that the existing property tax assessment, the number you see on the tax bill today, is a reliable input for your forward-looking pro forma. In some jurisdictions, it's not.In fact, in certain places the current tax bill is almost meaningless for a buyer, because the act of changing hands triggers a reassessment. And that reassessment is designed to “catch up” for years, sometimes decades, of artificially low increases under the prior owner.If you don't model that correctly, you can buy a property that looks like it has a healthy debt service coverage ratio, only to discover after closing that your taxes reset upward and your deal has a permanent drag on returns.Let's break down why this happens, where investors get fooled, and how to underwrite it the right way.First, why can the existing tax bill be misleading?Because property tax systems are not uniform.In one jurisdiction, the assessed value may track market value closely and update frequently. In another, the assessed value might move slowly, or be capped, or lag reality for years. Some places have rules that limit annual assessment increases for existing owners, and then reset the assessment to near-market value on sale.The seller might have held the asset for a long time. During that holding period, their assessed value increased at a limited rate, maybe one percent, two percent, or tied to inflation. Meanwhile, market values doubled.So the seller is paying taxes on a value that's anchored in the past.You, as the buyer, are stepping into the present.-------------**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)  

Today we're talking about an uncomfortable situation that every commercial property owner faces sooner or later.Your tenant is operating their business, and they violate city bylaws or environmental regulations. It could be improper waste disposal, illegal dumping, grease trap violations, noise, odours, storage in fire lanes, unauthorized outdoor use, hazardous materials, unpermitted alterations, you name it.And the question is, what is the owner responsible for, and what are you supposed to do when the tenant is not in compliance?-----------**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)  

Today I want to talk about learning AI, and why it's fundamentally different from learning most other professional skills.If you decide you want to become a doctor, you commit to a long, structured journey. Years of study, exams, residency, and then a licensing body tells the world, “Yes, this person meets the standard.” Same thing with engineering, law, accounting, IT security, even trades like electrical. You put in the reps, you cross the stage, you get the credential.And yes, the world changes. Doctors have continuing education. Lawyers track case law. Engineers adapt to new codes. But the underlying framework, the language, the standards of practice, those evolve slowly enough that your investment in learning compounds over a career.AI is different. In AI, what worked 90 days ago can be obsolete today. Not because the fundamentals changed, but because the toolset changed. The interface changed. The capabilities changed. The cost changed. The workflow changed. And the people around you, your competitors, your employees, your vendors, they are all adapting in real time. If you learned “the way” to do something with an AI model last quarter, there's a decent chance you are already working off an outdated playbook.So what does that mean if you're serious about learning it?It means you're not learning a profession with a stable body of knowledge. You're learning to operate inside a moving river.-------------**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)  

Today I want to talk about something that looks like it belongs in an auto industry newsletter, but it's actually a leading indicator for the broader economy, and it matters for real estate investors.Walk onto an auto dealer lot today and you'll see a lot more sheet metal sitting still than you're used to seeing. The lots look full, and in many cases, they are. But the more important metric is not “how many cars you see,” it's how long they're sitting there.Cox Automotive reported that in January 2026 the U.S. market began February with inventory around 2.77 million units, and the key line was this, days' supply jumped to 98, driven by a notably slower sales pace. When days' supply rises, the story is simple, the vehicle is not moving, the consumer is hesitating. And that jump happened fast. Cox noted days' supply around 76 in the prior period, then up to 98 as sales slowed. CarEdge tracks market day supply by vehicle, essentially how long it would take to sell existing listings at the current sales pace. In late winter 2026, some models are showing truly abnormal numbers, deep into the multiple hundreds of days. The attached notes you provided list examples like the Dodge Charger around 406 days, the Jeep Grand Wagoneer around 463 days, and the Volkswagen ID.4 around 480 days of supply, which is beyond “slow,” that's a demand breakdown at the price point. Even some Korean cars are showing huge inventory. The Hyundai Sonata has 201 days of inventory on dealer lots. The Hyundai Santa Crus has 222 days on dealer lots. The Buick Envision which incidentally is made in China has 267 days of inventory on dealer lots. The are more than a dozen models with over 200 days of inventory on dealer lots. ------------**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)  

Today we're looking at the book Abundance, by Ezra Klein, co-authored with Derek Thompson, published in 2025. Ezra Klein is a writer and editor. He has a columnist and editor at The Washington Post, a policy analyst at MSNBC, and a contributor to Bloomberg. He's written for The New Yorker and The New York Review of Books, and appeared on Face the Nation, The Daily Show, PBS NewsHour, and many more. He has earned a reputation of being somewhat left wing in his views. There is a danger in type casting people. As you will see, much of what he talks about in his book could be considered part of the libertarian and Republican core beliefs. In real estate, we live and die by the gap between what people need and what the market can deliver. When housing is scarce, rents rise, household formation slows, employers struggle to hire, and communities get brittle. Abundance is a book that argues the United States has not merely stumbled into scarcity, it has, in many ways, designed it. The authors' central claim is that we've built layers of well-intentioned rules and processes that make it painfully hard to build housing, infrastructure, and clean energy at the scale we say we want. -------------**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)  

Shadow Stats, launched by John Williams is famous for exposing the distortions in the currently published official economic statistics. Each successive administration has tweaked the metrics with small adjustments that make the numbers look slightly better. Cumulatively, over time, the distortions are large. On today's show I'm speaking with Jay Morse, part of the core team at Shadow Stats live on location in Sonoma. To connect with Jay and to learn more, email jaymorse.shadowstats@icloud.com or johnwilliams@shadowstats.com. The website is shadowstats.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)  

Today we are talking about a policy idea that keeps resurfacing around the world, taxing unrealized gains.If you have ever underwritten a deal, you already know the difference between a gain on paper and cash in the bank. Unrealized gains are accounting gains. They exist because an asset is worth more today than it was yesterday, at least according to some valuation method. But until you sell the asset, refinance it, or otherwise monetize it, that gain is not cash flow. It is potential.In the Netherlands, there is proposed legislation that would tax unrealized capital gains. It is being discussed under the umbrella of reforming “Box 3,” the part of the Dutch personal income tax system that applies to savings and investments. The Dutch lower house adopted a bill on February 12, 2026, often referred to as the Box 3 Actual Return Act, with an intended effective date of January 1, 2028, although the Finance Minister has already indicated amendments may be needed and that Senate approval is uncertain. So why is the Netherlands going down this road? Because their current system has been under pressure for years.Historically, Box 3 taxed investors based on a deemed return, a fictitious assumed rate of return, rather than what someone actually earned. When interest rates were near zero, people with cash savings were taxed as if they were earning healthy investment returns. Courts rejected that approach, and the government has been trying to craft a replacement. In response, a bill was advanced to move from deemed returns to “actual return.” The catch is in how “actual return” is defined.  Under the bill the system would tax actual annual returns at a flat rate, and that includes value increases that have not been realized through sale, in other words, unrealized gains. -------------**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)  

Today we are talking about a piece of legislation in Florida that, if it ultimately becomes law, could reshape how property taxes are calculated across the state for decades to come. It is House Joint Resolution 203, often referred to as HJR 203, and it has just passed the Florida House. Now, first, a reminder, a joint resolution like this is not a typical statute change. It proposes a constitutional amendment. In Florida, that means voters ultimately decide, and it generally requires a 60 percent approval threshold on the ballot. So what does HJR 203 propose?The short version is that it would gradually expand the homestead exemption for non school property taxes by $100,000 per year for ten years beginning in 2027, and by 2037, it would fully exempt homestead property from non school ad valorem taxes. School district levies remain. So why does this matter to real estate investors, even investors who do not own homesteads?Because property taxes are not just a line item. They are a transfer system. If you change who is exempt, you change who must carry the load, or you change what services get funded, or both. And if you change the tax base, you can change market behavior.------------**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)  

I'm coming to you live from Sonoma California where I've been attending a small business mastermind event. Today we are talking about something that, on the surface, looks like agriculture and tourism, but underneath is a case study in economic gravity. This is the result of direct observation and conversation with people who are local to the market. Northern California wine country, Napa and Sonoma in particular, has an aura of permanence. Rolling hills, tasting rooms, hospitality, luxury brands, and a global reputation built over decades. When something has that much cultural momentum, people assume it is immune to basic supply and demand. It is not.Every business lives inside a box of four forces, supply, demand, capital cost and regulation. We're not going to talk about capital cost today. When supply expands faster than demand, prices compress. When regulation rises, costs increase and flexibility disappears. When all three move against you at once, even great operators can find themselves trapped. --------------**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 biggest obstacle to manufacturing in the US. When I was deeply involved in the tech industry as a microprocessor design engineer, there was a culture. It's a culture that has turned out to be unhealthy and is one of the core reasons why we don't have manufacturing in North America. There will continue to be announcements of new data centres, of manufacturing, and perhaps other major investments. The success of those initiatives is not about tariffs, or the real estate, or the tax incentives offered by the local government. It's going to be about growing the talent pool of skills to gain critical mass in those geographic locations. Only then you will see the transformation of industrial activity in the country. That kind of brain trust is not developed in a week or a month. Where we have dozens of people with that deep expertise in a major city, you will find tens of thousands in Taiwan and China. ------------**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)  

Joseph lives in California and has a property in central Florida. The issue is a series of tenants causing damage and defaulting on their rent. Should I sell and cut my losses? -------------**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)  

Brett is based in Jacksonville Florida and specializes in reducing capital gains taxes. On today's show we are talking about substantial estate taxes that kick in above $15M in assets. Brett shares strategies for mitigating those taxes. To connect with Brett and to learn more visit capitalgainstaxsolutions.com. He also has a new book, available on Amazon called Building A Capital Gains Tax Exit Plan.-----------**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)  

Kelley is based in NYC and is the President of Rose Valley Management, an institutional firm with over 10,000 apartments in their portfolio nationwide. On today's show we are talking about how market dynamics have changed with the current over-supply in many primary markets. It involves adapting to market conditions to create a more competitive offer for existing tenants. To connect with Kelley, you can find her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelley-brine-37a4525/or visit https://www.rosevalleymanagement.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)  

Today we're talking about a phenomenon that's showing up in land markets across North America, especially in regions being marketed as “next wave” data center corridors.There is real data center demand. No question. But there's also a growing layer of speculative behavior that is creating noise, inflating expectations, and in some cases putting landowners at risk.Here's what's happening.A group of land speculators, often with no backing from an actual data center owner or operator, are putting large acreage under contract with the hope of reselling those contracts. They're not buying the land to build. They're trying to control the land long enough to flip the paper.In hot markets, controlling the asset is sometimes more valuable than owning it, at least for a short window. If you can tie up 200 acres near transmission lines and a proposed substation, you can market the contract like you're bringing a “site” to the table, even when you have no real end user.-------------**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)  

You've heard me say it numerous times. Energy is the economy. If you don't believe me, just look at Cuba. The country is being starved for oil and the country is unable to function. At first it was just the United States imposing sanctions on countries that it sees as violating international law. That includes Russia, Venezuela, Iran, North Korea, and certainly a few others. But those sanctions have been largely paper exercises involving money and financial instruments. It's only when a physical blockade of oil tankers severed energy trade routes that we started to see a real tangible impact. Other countries have joined in and impounded vessels that were carrying sanctioned oil. When it comes to global oil prices, the usual metrics of supply and demand seem to rule the day. The measure surplus or shortage is based on inventories consisting of tank storage and “oil on the water” which is oil in the hold of a ship. But what about the dark fleet that doesn't report its inventories? They are called “dark" because they turn off their AIS transponders which allows for position tracking. They participate in ship-to-ship (STS) transfers in international waters, and these ships frequently change country of registration to make tracking more difficult.That is how a “shipping problem” becomes an “oil price problem,” even when there is plenty of crude in the ground.An oil tanker crunch is coming. New ships are not being built fast enough and these older ships are going to be very difficult to bring back into good standing with the world's major insurers. We could see a global oil shortage because of a shortage of insurable ships. --------------**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)  

I asked an AI tool to write a program for me from scratch. Let me be clear, I've never written a software program for MacOS. I have not read any of the documentation on where to start or how to do it. I asked Claude to create a game of tic-tac-toe. The AI tool did the entire job in less than 15 minutes. I now have a functioning game of tic-tac-toe on my computer. It cost only a few pennies to create it, far less than the $2-5 that it originally estimated. The true power of the process is that I got the AI to write the instructions for writing the software from a pretty vague set of specifications. It showed me that far more complex problems can be solved using this approach with only a few minutes of thought. This opens up the world of solutions that would have been unthinkable only a few months ago. These tools are collapsing the cost of writing software virtually down to zero. The large scale adoption of these approaches will change the world. It has already. -------------**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)  

Mainstream headlines are saying, “home sales have slowed.” And on the surface, that's true. January's existing-home sales number came in down 8.4% from December, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of about 3.91 million units, according to the National Association of Realtors. But here's the question I want to explore today. Did demand actually slow, or did unusually cold January weather interfere with the mechanics of completing transactions in a way that makes the data look worse than the underlying reality?Now before you leave, today's podcast episode was an experiment. The podcast sounded like me, even to me. But it was not me. It was actually a synthesized version of my voice using artificial intelligence. This is the technology of Eleven Labs at work. I provided about 30 minutes of recorded audio from myself in order to train the AI to create a voice that sounds like me. I'd like feedback from you the listener. Drop me an email at victor@victorjm.com and let me know if you could tell it was not me. Maybe you thought it was actually me talking. Let me know that as well. I'd like to know either way. Let me be clear, I have no intention of stopping recording the podcast live. ---------------**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)  

There's an article in the most recent issue of the Harvard Business Review making the rounds arguing that organizations are doing too many transformations, too often, and that constant change is damaging. The authors point to change fatigue, shaken confidence from customers and investors, and leadership teams spending more time “doing transformation” than building products, serving customers, and creating value. They even recommend getting off what they call the “transformation treadmill,” and instead building a system that senses change early and makes steady adjustments.No question, the diagnosis of change fatigue is real. If you've ever watched a company reorganize itself three times in two years, you know exactly what they mean. People stop believing anything is real. They wait it out. The organization learns helplessness. The best people leave. So yes, random change, change for optics, and change that is disconnected from a real business problem, that is destructive.But here's where I want to rebut the conclusion.We are entering a period where the rate of change is not just high, it's accelerating, and it's being driven by artificial intelligence. And AI is not a productivity feature you bolt onto last year's workflow. AI is a general-purpose capability that changes how work is performed, who performs it, what skills matter, and how decisions get made. Treating it like an “add-on” is the corporate equivalent of adding a turbocharger to a horse.--------------**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 Roberts is CEO at Villa Homes specializing in volumetric modular construction in California and Colorado. The products range from backyard ADU solutions to fully detached homes rebuilding from the wildfires in Altadena. On today's show we are talking about the product design features and how the company is scaling.To connect with Sean and to learn more, visit villahomes.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)  

Jimmy Vreeland is based in St. Louis and invests in three different markets where he has a portfolio of single family homes at scale. To connect with Jimmy you can find him on Instagram and Facebook at:https://www.facebook.com/jimmy.vreelandhttps://jimmyvreeland.com/https://www.instagram.com/jimmyvreeland------------**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)  

This is a real estate podcast. But there is no part of the modern world that is insulated from advances in AI, as well as the negative consequences of AI. Today we're talking about the EU AI Act, and what it can mean for real estate investors who own property in Europe, especially if you use “smart” building tech like security cameras, access control, tenant screening, or building automation. I've long held the opinion that European legislation can often serve as a canary in the coal mine for what might happen elsewhere in the world. So we are looking at Europe's AI Act in that context. ------------**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)  

California AB 835 was signed into law in October 2023 and it directs the State Fire Marshal to research and develop recommendations for building standards that would allow “single stair” multifamily buildings above three stories, then report back to the legislature and the California Building Standards Commission. So this is not yet a statewide code change that suddenly makes single stair buildings legal everywhere tomorrow. It is a state-driven pathway to rewrite a very specific rule that has shaped apartment design for decades.And that rule is simple: once you go above a small building size, most codes require two enclosed stairways. That requirement drives the floor plate, the building core, the hallway length, the number of units you can fit, and the economics of what is even possible on a narrow or oddly shaped lot. Any time you touch fire and life safety code, you will get pushback, and some of it will be sincere and valid.The pro-single-stair argument is that many global cities allow this form safely with modern fire suppression, compartmentalization, smoke control, alarms, and design standards. There is ample research pointing to a strong safety record for small single stair apartment buildings and arguing the U.S. code is out of step with the evidence.------------**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)  

Welcome to the Real Estate Espresso Podcast, your morning shot of what's new in the world of real estate investing. I'm your host, Victor Menasce.On yesterdays show we talked about the employment numbers for the US from payroll processing company ADP. The ADP numbers were a weak but in my view accurate reflection of the state of the labor market in the US Today the Bureau of Labor Statistics published their employment report for January. I'm here to tell you to skip the headline and in particular pay attention to the part most people skip, the revisions. Because right now, the revisions are the story.The headline for January 2026 says total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 130,000, and the unemployment rate held at 4.3%.If you stopped there, you might conclude the labor market is reaccelerating. But here's the problem. In the same release, the BLS tells us that the entire year of 2025, after benchmark revisions, amounted to only +181,000 jobs on a seasonally adjusted basis. Think about that. One month, January 2026, prints 130,000, which is roughly the same magnitude as the entire net job growth for all of 2025. That should make you skeptical, not euphoric.------------**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)  

We regularly look at macro economic data to forecast interest rates. Interest rates affect one of the three main variable associated with any project. Those three variables are construction costs, capital costs and rent. Everything else is a rounding error by comparison. We are expecting new payroll data from the bureau of labor and statistics later this week. However, those numbers are full of approximations and adjustments. To me, the most reliable data actually comes from private enterprise which is the real time payroll data from ADP. The ADP data is not a survey or a statistical sample. It's the real data taken from real payroll transactions in the past month. We're going to start with the employment data and then look at bond yields. We know that the Fed funds rate has dropped 75 basis points in the past year. But the yield on the 10 year treasury has hardly budged in spite of everything that has happened. So let's start with the payroll info and analyze from there. The latest ADP National Employment Report, released on February 4, 2026, indicates a significantly cooling U.S. labor market. Private sector employment grew by only 22,000 jobs in January, falling well short of the Dow Jones consensus forecast of 45,000.If we look by sector, the modest growth was almost entirely propped up by Education and Health Services, which added 74,000 jobs. Without this surge, the overall private sector numbers would have been negative.Treasury yields generally shifted lower as the market reacted to the signs of a rapidly cooling labor market. This trend was amplified by a "flight to safety" as investors moved out of riskier assets like equities and into the relative security of government bonds.------**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)  

Today we're going to connect two stories that, on the surface, look very different. One is Japan, where government bond yields have been rising, and the commentary on financial social media is busy declaring Japan is “blowing up.”The other is the spring of 2023 in the United States, when Silicon Valley Bank, Signature Bank, and First Republic, all failed within weeks of each other. These events rhyme because the underlying physics is the same. Duration risk plus leverage plus flighty funding can turn a paper loss into a real loss in about a weekend.Let's start with the basic math. When interest rates rise, bond prices fall. That's not an opinion, that's bond arithmetic.--------------**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)  

Max Hansen has been practicing lawyer at the forefront of tax sheltering for nearly 50 years. His company was acquired by Accruit where he is now a senior partner. On today's show we are talking about structures for fractional ownership of property that can be sheltered from capital gains tax.To connect with Max and to learn more, visit https://accruit.com or email him directly at maxh@accruit.com. He can also be reached at 800-237-1031.-----------**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)  

Robert Siciliano is based in Boston where he specializes in digital security for businesses. On today's show we are talking about closing up a few of the wide open vulnerabilities that most businesses are exposed to.To connect with Robert visit protectnowllc.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 an office turnaround that can serve as a powerful lesson for all investors. This is a single office building in downtown Toronto, 70 York Street, and why its turnaround is one of the most practical case studies we have for navigating what many are calling the office apocalypse.It's a story about control, execution, and the discipline to create certainty in an uncertain market.Let me set the stage. 70 York is a 17-storey office building of roughly 210,000 square feet, connected to the PATH system, a well located asset in Toronto's core. It's not a brand new glass tower, it's a mid-80s vintage building with the kind of fundamentals that can still work, if you can get the leasing right. And then it lost its anchor tenant, HSBC.When a building is empty, it's tempting to cut rent to fill space. But cutting rent is not the only lever, and it's often the most destructive lever. What you want is durable tenancy, credit quality, and term length.The reported 6.8-year average lease term tells you KingSett pursued durable income. That matters for refinancing. It matters for valuation. And it matters for the eventual buyer.Which brings us to the exit.The building was sold off-market to Desjardins Global Asset Management and the Desjardins Group Pension Fund for about $134.6 million, reported at roughly a 6.5 percent cap rate and about $639 per square foot.In a world where office transactions are scarce, and capital is cautious, an off-market institutional sale tells you something. It tells you that stability, even in an office market, still has a buyer.But notice the order of operations. They didn't sell a vision. They sold certainty.-----------**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'm sharing an observation on the psychology of change and how it is impacting both investing and the voting public. ------------**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)  

Every gold rush is followed by a hangover. That's been true throughout history. It happened during Tulip Mania from 1634-1637. There was a gold rush in railways in the 1830's in the UK and then later in the 1870's to the 1890's in the US and Canada. There was an actual gold rush in 1896-1899 in the Klondike region of the Yukon close to the border with Alaska. It happened with automobiles in the early 1900's. It happened in radio and then in TV, and then with the Internet. But seriously folks, this time it's different, this AI thing is here to stay and the projections for its impact on the economy are well quantified. There are an increasing number of tools that are showing maps of both existing and planned data centres. The limiting factor for new data center investments is often described as being infrastructure related. That means optical fibre, large supply of base load electricity, and in many cases, ample water supply to provide cooling. The latest tool is a new open source database on a map called The IM3 Open Source Data Center Atlas. It provides locations and facility footprints (when available) of existing and projected data centers across the United States (U.S.).-------------**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)  

For really boring and predictable, visit YStreetCapital.com to learn more about our US Storage Fund. Register for our investor portal. Any investment would is restricted to accredited investors residing in the US by prospectus only and in compliance with SEC regulations. -------------Today we are going to talk about a quiet but meaningful shift on construction sites, one that most investors never see directly, but one that materially affects cost, schedule, and execution risk. We are talking about robots that translate CAD drawings into dimensionally accurate framing layouts directly on the job site.This is not science fiction. This is happening today.For decades, the process of laying out walls has been surprisingly analog. Usually the most experienced member of the framing crew would take printed drawings, pull tapes, snap chalk lines, mark plates, and hope that nothing drifted. Errors were common, especially as buildings became more complex and tolerances tighter. Every mistake cascaded downstream into framing conflicts, mechanical clashes, and rework. The state of the art today replaces that manual translation with robotic layout.The most widely deployed example is Dusty Robotics and their FieldPrinter system. The concept is straightforward but powerful. The robot takes a BIM or CAD model and prints the layout directly onto the slab or deck using ink, at full scale, with millimeter-level accuracy. Wall lines, door openings, column grids, even labels can be printed directly where the framer needs them.Another major entrant is HP, through its SitePrint robot. HP brings decades of large-format printing expertise into construction. SitePrint performs a similar function, translating digital models into printed layouts on concrete floors. The significance here is not just accuracy, but repeatability. A robot does not get tired. It does not misread a dimension. It prints what is in the model, every time.-----------**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 adoption of AI in the workplace. We're going to look at three studies that were done last year by Harvard University and the Boston Consulting Group. The third was done by Microsoft and looked at about 370,000 employees using Copilot. The studies looked at AI usage and productivity gains for certain types of tasks. The results were quite striking.The study found that even with widespread initial usage for the first three week, many employees stopped using AI in their daily work. In fact, the true adoption of AI in daily work seems to be following an 80/20 rule with nearly 80% dropping the use of AI almost altogether. For those on mobile devices, usage continued, but the usage shifted to being more like a search tool rather than a full on AI assistant.The issue doesn't appear to be related to basic training. People are averaging 6 hours of training and they learn how to generate prompts. The issue is that they hit a wall. The study found 20% monthly active usage. The rest are dormant after that initial period. So why am I telling you this? This is a real estate podcast, not an AI podcast. Real estate investing is a business like any other business. It has all of the same basic functions. It has a finance function, operations, customer service, quality assurance, project management. All of these functions can have their productivity improved to some degree with the adoption of AI somewhere in the workflow. -----------**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)