Real Estate Espresso Victor Menasce

On today’s show we are looking at a rule in from the US Supreme Court which, at least in my mind is a win for the protection of property rights in the US. 

It would be great if other countries adopted a similar protection of property rights, but that is probably wishful thinking. This decision was a unanimous decision with a vote of 9-0. Justice Barrett authored the opinion on behalf of the justices.

We have to remember that the job of the court is to interpret and uphold the law and the constitution. This case involve the protections afforded by the 5th and 14th amendments of the US constitution.

----------

Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

As you know, I’ve been in Turkey for the past week at their national Builder Expo in Istanbul. On today’s show we are going deep on three aspects of interior finishes where we stand to save money in construction without experiencing a loss of quality. In fact, I would argue that in some cases, we are going to see an uptick in quality. It’s no secret that construction projects are facing pretty steep headwinds these days. There is price volatility in materials, in labor, and of course in capital costs at a time when some markets are experiencing falling rents due to oversupply. So digging deeper into value engineering our construction projects made sense. 

Some might be thinking, well Victor if you want to save money, why aren’t you traveling to China? It’s true that China has many great offerings. But I’m going to leave that question for another day. 

As a point of comparison, we’re going shopping online at lowes.com for specific line item pricing and see how that looks compared with what I saw this week in Turkey. 

-----------

Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

On today's show I'm coming to you live from the show floor at the TurkeyBuild Expo. This is the largest annual building expo in Turkey, now in its 46th year. The show has over 500 exhibitors, spanning half a dozen buildings, with over 52,000 attendees. The purpose in attending the show is to see if there are products that can be purchased directly from suppliers for use in our construction projects with a combination of superior quality and lower cost. This is the very essence of value engineering.

-------------

Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

Aaron Letzeiser is based in Chicago Illinois where he specializes in helping rental property owners secure the right kind of insurance coverage. On today's show we are talking about a few strategies that can help reduce the ballooning cost of insurance.

To connect with Aaron, visit obieinsurance.com

-----------

Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

I’m currently in Istanbul Turkey for their annual builder expo. This is a massive show with over 10 exhibition halls and they report that more than 52,000 people will attend the expo. I’ll do a separate show later this week specifically on the expo. 

On today’s show I’m sharing my observations about Turkey. I have visited several cities in Turkey over the years including Izmir, Istanbul, Anatolia, Kusadasi, and Effesus.   

It’s been about 5 years since I was here last and maybe 10 years since I spent any considerable time here. The first time I visited Istanbul I was 12 years old. I’ve seen the city grow up so to speak. 

Today, Istanbul is a very modern city. It is also a very populated city with over 15M people. 

I’ll have more to report in the coming days about the builder Expo.

------------

Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com

Today’s show is another example of out of control government spending.  

Italy's government said on Tuesday fiscal incentives for home renovations had had a "devastating" impact on public finances over the last four years and were to blame for the expected rise in the country's massive public debt through 2026.

The plan offered to pay homeowners 110% of the cost of energy saving renovations. Another project promised to cover 90% of the cost of improving the facade of a building.

The government underestimated the scheme's appeal, but also made a number of other errors.

With such generous handouts, homeowners had no reason to negotiate with builders over costs. On the contrary, since the rebate exceeded the actual cost, higher costs meant more money was left for the homeowners in their pocket. 

This effect was so predictable that you could see it coming from miles away. 

Asked why they got their forecasts so wrong, officials involved in the budgetary planning have said they had no precedent to draw on as no one outside Italy had ever offered to refund more than the costs of the renovations. I’m sorry this is just plain stupid. 

-------------

Host: Victor Menasce

email: podcast@victorjm.com