The Real Estate Espresso Podcast

Let me start with a simple observation. Insurance companies are in the business of selling policies, and one of the most effective ways to sell more coverage is to describe what could go wrong. Fire, flood, fraud, lawsuits. Every scenario sounds plausible when someone paints the picture for you. And once you've heard the worst-case story, saying no feels reckless.But here's the thing. A scary scenario is not the same as a scenario that is likely to hurt you. Your job as an owner is to separate the two.Let me give you a recent example from my own portfolio. My previous insurer had included loss of income coverage as part of our commercial property policy. On paper, it sounded sensible. If the building is damaged so badly that you can't occupy it, the policy pays you for the income you lose while the space is being repaired.The problem is that this isn't how our business would actually respond to that situation. If the building were damaged to the point of being uninhabitable, we would not shut down. We'd find a temporary sublease, move the team and the operations into that space, and keep running while the original building was repaired. The business would continue. The income would continue. We would never collect on that policy. When we removed the loss of income coverage from the policy, our premium dropped by more than 50 percent. Think about that. More than half of the premium was tied to a coverage we would never realistically use in the way it was written.Now, I want to be careful here. I'm not telling you to strip coverage from your policy. Loss of income coverage can be essential for some businesses. If you operate a restaurant, a medical office, or a manufacturing facility that can't easily relocate, a shutdown really could be catastrophic, and that coverage may be worth every dollar. The point is that the right answer depends on how your business actually operates, not on how the salesperson frames the risk.----------**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: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])  **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)  

Spencer Patton is based in Atlanta as a partner in ICM Asset Managment. The company is headquartered in Calgary and invests in both Canadian and US projects. On today's show we are talking about the macro challenges facing the industry and where the opportunities are emerging. They currently have about $2B in assets under management. To connect with Spencer, email him at [email protected] or visit the website at icmassetmanagement.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: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])  **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)  

Nathaniel Kiger is based in Seattle Washington. He specializes in affordable housing using government subsidies. On today's show we are talking about the criteria that make for a viable project versus one that meets demand, but loses money. Ton connect with Nathaniel, visit https://www.lee-associates.com/northwest/nate-kiger/------------**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: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])  **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 episode, we’re peeling back the layers on the latest U.S. Nonfarm Payroll report. If you turn on the news or listen to government officials at the podium, the narrative remains steadfast: the economy is robust, the labor market is resilient, and the elusive "soft landing" has been achieved.But as real estate investors and market operators, we know that headline figures are written for optics, while the truth is buried in the revisions. When you dig into the hard numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a starkly different economic picture comes into focus—one marked by underlying contraction, vanishing jobs, and a sharp deceleration in consumer-facing sectors.July’s payroll numbers were quietly revised downward by 31,000 positions. That single adjustment flipped July from a previously reported gain of +21,000 jobs into a net loss of 10,000 jobs. August wasn’t spared either—it was revised down by 29,000 jobs, bringing its total down from +162,000 to +133,000.In total, 60,000 jobs that were previously announced to great fanfare were erased retroactively.Throughout the summer, official initial estimates painted a picture of an unbroken consumer spending spree at restaurants, bars, and resorts. But remember the FIFA World Cup was hosted in June and July. Does it make sense that hiring in hospitality would accelerate after the World Cup was over? Does it make sense that hospitality is growing at the same time that arlines like American Airlines and United Airlines reduce capacity and cuts flight? Airlines do not cut flights or trim seat capacity on a whim. They do so because forward bookings are softening and corporate travel budgets are being tightened. Airline capacity is a premier leading indicator for hospitality performance.Expect more revisions. ------------**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: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])  **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)  

Our book this month is The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz. Ben  co-founded Loudcloud, a cloud computing company launched during the technology boom of the late 1990s. Soon afterward, the dot-com crash created an extremely difficult operating environment. The company faced declining markets, financial pressure, layoffs, strategic changes, and the constant possibility of failure. Loudcloud was eventually transformed into Opsware and later sold to Hewlett-Packard for approximately $1.6 billion.His book is a practical, candid examination of what it really means to lead a company through uncertainty, crisis, rapid growth, and difficult decisions. Unlike many business books that focus on formulas for success, Horowitz concentrates on the situations where formulas stop working. His central message is simple but powerful: the hardest problems in business usually do not have obvious solutions, and leadership is often defined by how a person responds when every available choice carries risk.----------**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: [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected])  **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)