The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

Victor Menasce
  • 4.9 (133)
  • Investing
  • Updated Daily

Welcome to The Real Estate Espresso Podcast, your morning shot of what's new in the world of real estate investing. Join investor, syndicator, developer, and author Victor J. Menasce as he shares his daily real estate investment outlook. Our weekday episodes deliver 5 minutes of high-energy, high-impact content to fuel your success. Plus, don't miss our weekend editions featuring exclusive interviews with renowned guests such as Robert Kiyosaki, Robert Helms, Peter Schiff, and more.

  1. 16h ago

    Is The Software Business Model Dead?

    Today we’re going to venture outside real estate for a few minutes and talk about software. But this is really a discussion about business economics, and those principles apply to every industry. For the past twenty years, one of the most attractive business models in technology has been Software as a Service, or SaaS. Instead of buying software once, customers pay every month or every year. From the software company’s perspective, this is wonderful. Revenue becomes recurring and predictable. Investors love recurring revenue, and software companies have been valued accordingly. But artificial intelligence may be starting to challenge the fundamental economics of that model. We recently conducted an audit of the software subscriptions inside our own business. Like many companies, we had accumulated numerous applications over the years. Accounting software, project management software, communication tools, document management, CRM systems, design tools, and numerous specialized applications. What became obvious was that we were paying for a tremendous amount of capability that we simply weren’t using. In several cases we were subscribing to the highest tier because, at some point, somebody believed we needed one particular feature. When we looked carefully at actual usage, we discovered that the basic version accomplished virtually everything we needed. We downgraded several subscriptions and, in some cases, reduced the cost by more than fifty percent. Did productivity decline? Not at all. Suppose your company uses only ten percent of the functionality in a large project management platform. What if instead you built exactly the workflow your organization needs? Instead of changing your business process to accommodate somebody else’s software, the software accommodates your business process. There is something very attractive about that. But before declaring the SaaS industry dead, we need to distinguish between development cost and lifecycle cost. ---------- **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)

  2. 1d ago

    Will Treasury Intervention Make A Difference?

    On August 20, I'm going to be hosting a webinar on how to use AI to validate the quotes you receive from contractors and subcontractors. To register for the webinar click HERE. Even if you can't attend live, we will send you the recording. -------------- Today we're talking about an announcement from the U.S. Treasury Department that has generated a surprising amount of noise in the financial markets. The two words getting attention are Treasury buybacks. Treasury announced today, August 19, that beginning September 9 it will increase, by at least double, the size of its liquidity support buyback operations for longer-dated Treasury securities. Specifically, the maximum size for operations in the 10-to-20-year and 20-to-30-year sectors will increase from $2 billion to at least $4 billion per operation. It might be coincidence, but this happened on the same day that US debt topped $40T. The country’s “total public debt outstanding” officially hit $40.047 trillion on Tuesday, the Treasury Department reported Wednesday, ticking up from $39.987 trillion a day earlier. Immediately, people started describing this as quantitative easing, QE light, yield curve control, and even a new version of Operation Twist. I think we need to separate the mechanics from the headlines. A Treasury buyback is not the same thing as Federal Reserve quantitative easing. The Treasury is already issuing enormous quantities of debt. In a buyback operation, Treasury can issue securities in one part of the market and use some of those proceeds to repurchase securities that are already outstanding. The important distinction is which securities they are buying. The liquidity support program primarily targets what are called off-the-run Treasury securities. When Treasury issues a new 10-year note, for example, that newly issued security becomes the on-the-run Treasury. It tends to trade very actively. The older 10-year securities that were issued previously become off-the-run securities. They're still Treasury obligations. Their credit quality hasn't changed. But they don't necessarily trade with the same liquidity. That becomes important during periods of market stress. If a large investor needs to sell a significant quantity of an older Treasury security, there may not be as deep a pool of buyers as there is for the newest issue. -------------- **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)

  3. 2d ago

    AMA - Can Office Conversions Deliver Class B?

    Today's episode is another AMA, or Ask Me Anything. Today's question comes from Charles, who asks: "What is your opinion of office-to-residential conversions? Namely, are they attractive enough to become a Class B property? I see repurposed motels as apartments, which I personally do not like, but I suppose there is a market for those properties." ------------ **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)

  4. 3d ago

    AI In Construction

    Later this week we're hosting a deep dive webinar on AI In Construction. To register, click HERE . Since the beginning, construction drawings have been one of the hardest documents for artificial intelligence to understand. That makes sense when you think about it. A construction drawing is not simply a page of text. It contains symbols, dimensions, schedules, notes, details and references to information that might appear twenty pages later. A symbol on the floor plan may tell you almost nothing until you find the corresponding detail or section. But something has changed dramatically over the past couple of months. The newest generation of reasoning models has become substantially better at reading and cross-referencing construction drawings. Testing across structural, civil, mechanical and electrical drawings is now showing surprisingly strong performance, particularly when the task involves extracting information from schedules, identifying specific elements and following references between sheets. That matters even if you're not a contractor. Suppose you're renovating an apartment building, replacing a roof, building out an office or doing a major addition to your house. The contractor hands you an estimate or a quote. Is it a fair price? How do you know? This is where AI is becoming genuinely useful. Register for the webinar. We have nothing to sell, just sharing how we are using AI in estimating. --------------- **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)

  5. 4d ago

    Remote Management with Christina Kovacs

    Christina Kovacs is based in Fort Lauderdale, but she invests primarily in Missouri. On today's show we are talking about the pitfalls of remote management and how to set things up for success. To connect with Christina, visit https://www.christinakovacs.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)

  6. 5d ago

    Apartment Portfolios with Andrew Cushman

    Andrew Cushman is based in Southern California, but invests mostly in the South Eastern states. On today's show we are talking about the distress in the market and what is driving the distress. Portfolios in secondary markets in states like Georgia and the Carolinas are seeing high occupancy and rent growth. To connect with Andrew visit https://www.vpacq.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)

  7. 6d ago

    Lessons From WeWork

    On today’s show we’re talking about Adam Neumann, the founder of WeWork. There are probably few entrepreneurs in recent memory whose rise and fall has been documented as extensively as Adam Neumann. WeWork went from being one of the most celebrated private companies in the world, valued at roughly $47 billion at its peak, to one of the most spectacular failed IPOs in recent history. The company ultimately filed for bankruptcy years later. But perhaps the more interesting story for investors isn’t the collapse of WeWork. It’s what happened to Adam Neumann afterward. Because somehow, after becoming the public face of one of the largest venture-capital failures of the past decade, Neumann managed to convince sophisticated investors to give him hundreds of millions of dollars to build another real estate company. There is a lesson in that. And it starts with understanding what actually went wrong at WeWork. ------------ **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)

  8. Aug 14

    Japan's Intervention Failed

    On today’s show we’re going to connect three things that might seem completely unrelated: the Japanese yen, United States Treasury bonds, and the interest rate on your next real estate loan. They are more closely connected than you might think. So why should a real estate investor in Dallas, Atlanta, or Phoenix care what happens to the Japanese yen? Because Japan is the largest foreign holder of United States Treasury securities. The latest Treasury data puts Japanese holdings at roughly 1.2 trillion dollars. When Japan wants to defend the yen, it needs to buy yen and sell foreign currency assets. Those reserves include an enormous portfolio of United States government securities. Now, Japan does not necessarily have to dump Treasuries into the open market. In fact, the Federal Reserve has a facility specifically designed to prevent that from happening. It’s called the FIMA Repo Facility. It allows foreign monetary authorities to temporarily exchange Treasury securities for dollars rather than selling those securities outright into the market. The Federal Reserve explicitly says one purpose of the facility is to support the smooth functioning of the Treasury market by providing an alternative source of dollars.  The Japanese yen has been under extraordinary pressure. It recently traded near 164 yen to the dollar, a level not seen in roughly four decades. Japan and the United States responded with a rare coordinated intervention designed to strengthen the yen. For a few days it worked. The yen strengthened to around 155. But here we are less than two weeks later, and the yen is back near 159. These interventions are not working. If the yen stabilizes, much of this concern disappears. If it doesn’t, the choices become progressively more uncomfortable. Japan can intervene again. It can raise domestic interest rates more aggressively. It can access dollar liquidity against its Treasury portfolio. Or ultimately, it can sell some foreign assets. Every choice has consequences. We could see bond yields rise just because Japan can't tolerate buying oil in US dollars at 165 Yen to the dollar. ------------- **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)

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About

Welcome to The Real Estate Espresso Podcast, your morning shot of what's new in the world of real estate investing. Join investor, syndicator, developer, and author Victor J. Menasce as he shares his daily real estate investment outlook. Our weekday episodes deliver 5 minutes of high-energy, high-impact content to fuel your success. Plus, don't miss our weekend editions featuring exclusive interviews with renowned guests such as Robert Kiyosaki, Robert Helms, Peter Schiff, and more.

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