On March 25, 2026, the Senate Budget Committee held a hearing called, “Social Security: A Discussion on the Facts and the Path Forward.”

According to the testimony presented to the committee, the combined Social Security trust funds are projected to be depleted in 2034, and the retirement fund itself is projected to be depleted in 2033. At that point, absent changes in law, scheduled benefits would face an automatic reduction.

That's 7 to 8 years away. Everyone in that room understands the math. It's is not a mystery. This is not an ideological debate about whether arithmetic is real. The testimony was very direct. Lawmakers will need to increase program income by about one-third, lower scheduled benefits by about one-fourth, or adopt some combination of the two. Those are not my numbers. Those are the numbers presented in the hearing.

So why is the largest budget line item in government spending getting almost zero news coverage? In the meantime, the news is covering how the B52 is still flying.

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**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 have a new sponsor on the show. The Cost Segregation Guys are the leading service provider in the US and they have helped tens of thousands of owners improve the tax efficiency of their assets. To learn more, visit The Cost Segregation Guys.

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

The EOS Life by Gino Wickman asks a simple question: What would your life look like if your business actually served your life, instead of consuming it? Wickman frames that ideal around five conditions:

1. doing what you love,
2. with people you love,
3. making a huge difference,
4. being compensated appropriately,
5. and having time for other passions.

That is the central promise of the book.

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

**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’re talking about the flurry of new capabilities being released in Claude, and more specifically, how these new tools can take real work off your plate as a real estate investor.

There’s a big difference between a technology that is interesting and a technology that is useful. For a long time, artificial intelligence sat in that interesting category. It could summarize an article, write a paragraph, maybe help brainstorm a marketing idea. But that’s not where the real leverage is. The real leverage comes when the technology stops being a novelty and starts removing actual labor from your business.

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

**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 deflationary impact of an oil shock.

Now that might sound counterintuitive at first. After all, if oil prices spike, and if shortages appear in oil, aluminum, fertilizer, natural gas, and other key industrial inputs, most people’s first instinct is to call that inflationary. And at the consumer level, it certainly feels inflationary. You see it at the pump. You see it in groceries. You see it in utility bills. You see it in transportation and construction costs.

But that’s only the first-order effect.

The deeper question is this: what does a commodity shock do to the broader economy?

History gives us a fairly consistent answer. Oil shocks are not ultimately expansionary. They are contractionary. They are not the fuel for growth. They are the tax that crushes growth. In the 1970’s we called it stagflation.

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

**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 Seveney is based in Northern Virginia. He invests in distressed residential debt across the US. But not everywhere. There are some jurisdictions that heavily favor the borrower and make it difficult for a lender to protect their rights.

To connect with Chris, visit 7einvestments.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)

Shane Pogue is based in Dallas Texas where he uses his investigative skills to help investors with due diligence.

To connect with Shane, he can be found on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/shane-pogue-6b900a11a/

Today is another AMA episode, (Ask Me Anything). Our question comes from Tracy in Washington State who writes:

I’m working on a 144-unit apartment project in an older jurisdiction where the city is charging about $7,000 per unit for water and sewer—so roughly a $1M fee. At the same time, we’re bringing the main to the site, installing all laterals, and handling all on-site infrastructure.

Based on public records, the sewer system is operating at around 50% capacity, and the fees from this one project would represent a large portion of their annual water improvement budget. So it’s hard to see how the fee is tied to actual impact versus funding broader system upgrades.

On top of that, they’re requiring roughly 1,000 SF of open space per unit plus additional private open space. This equates out to over 3A on a 6A site, obviously this significantly impacts density and overall feasibility.

I have built in 5 different jurisdictions near by and they all have different requirements compared to this project. but similar requirements to each other: Water/sewer would be approx $42K and the open space requirement 200-300 sf per unit.

I feel that my project is right in line with the City goals stated in the comprehensive plan, but the development requirements would prevent almost any multi-family project from getting built.

In your experience, how do you actually get a city to move on issues like this? Push for a development agreement, challenge the fee structure and nexus, or leaning into the economic impact and negotiate

-----------

**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 analyzing an office to residential conversion project in Washington DC that was reported in the Wall Street Journal. The developer bought it at a great price of $25.53 per square foot, far below replacement cost. But the geometry of the building is not ideal. The usable area is far below the total unless major modifications are made to the building's interior. The biggest question is whether the market will realistically absorb a large number of units in that location, given the lack of community amenities like schools, groceries, health care. It's in the tourist and business core of Washington DC.

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

**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)