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Feb 27, 2016 · 21m · top-founders

This Creative Thinker Makes Bank on Real Estate In Weird Way With Ben Uyeda of Homemade Modern

Ben Uyeda · 12m spoken Nathan Latka · 7m spoken
0:00 / 0:00

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Host Nathan Latka interviews architect and developer Ben Uyeda, detailing how he combines corporate demographic research, sustainable green architecture, and targeted loft design to execute high-yield real estate developments.

How this conversation actually went

Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. Nathan holds 37.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →

Nathan as informed peer 2.5 Guest teaching 3.0 Guest disagreement 1.7 Nathan pushing back 1.2
05100:0010:0020:000:30–5:59 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Recap of Previous Episode Highlights Nathan introduces Ben and they engage in friendly banter about pickup football and sailing. Ben explains his philosophy on development and how he identified land in Jamaica Plain by spotting a Whole Foods proposal.6:00–8:40 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Negotiating Zoning Variances with Sustainable Design Ben details how he leveraged green design and 12-inch super-insulated walls to secure a zoning variance from the city for three units instead of two. Nathan mostly listens with admiration.8:40–11:10 · Nathan as informed peer 4/10 Financial Breakdown and Construction Costs Nathan presses Ben on the financial figures, prompting a breakdown of rental numbers and construction costs. Nathan steps in to recap the strategy and summarize the all-in budget around one million dollars.11:10–14:13 · Nathan as informed peer 3/10 Challenging Traditional Comps with Targeted Design Nathan pushes Ben to disclose an active purchase offer, leading Ben to explain how conventional real estate comps are based on flawed, outdated 30-year-old inventory rather than modern demographic data.14:13–19:41 · Nathan as informed peer 2/10 Mid-Roll Promotion and GoPro Giveaway Nathan runs through his Famous Five questions after a mid-roll promo. Ben politely dismisses standard entrepreneurial conventions around conferences, shiny productivity tools, and outsourcing.19:41–20:28 · Nathan as informed peer 1/10 Connecting Online and Interview Conclusion A quick wrap-up where Ben shares his website and Instagram handle, and Nathan delivers closing compliments before the podcast outro.0:30–5:59 · Guest teaching 2/10 Recap of Previous Episode Highlights Nathan introduces Ben and they engage in friendly banter about pickup football and sailing. Ben explains his philosophy on development and how he identified land in Jamaica Plain by spotting a Whole Foods proposal.6:00–8:40 · Guest teaching 4/10 Negotiating Zoning Variances with Sustainable Design Ben details how he leveraged green design and 12-inch super-insulated walls to secure a zoning variance from the city for three units instead of two. Nathan mostly listens with admiration.8:40–11:10 · Guest teaching 3/10 Financial Breakdown and Construction Costs Nathan presses Ben on the financial figures, prompting a breakdown of rental numbers and construction costs. Nathan steps in to recap the strategy and summarize the all-in budget around one million dollars.11:10–14:13 · Guest teaching 5/10 Challenging Traditional Comps with Targeted Design Nathan pushes Ben to disclose an active purchase offer, leading Ben to explain how conventional real estate comps are based on flawed, outdated 30-year-old inventory rather than modern demographic data.14:13–19:41 · Guest teaching 3/10 Mid-Roll Promotion and GoPro Giveaway Nathan runs through his Famous Five questions after a mid-roll promo. Ben politely dismisses standard entrepreneurial conventions around conferences, shiny productivity tools, and outsourcing.19:41–20:28 · Guest teaching 1/10 Connecting Online and Interview Conclusion A quick wrap-up where Ben shares his website and Instagram handle, and Nathan delivers closing compliments before the podcast outro.0:30–5:59 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Recap of Previous Episode Highlights Nathan introduces Ben and they engage in friendly banter about pickup football and sailing. Ben explains his philosophy on development and how he identified land in Jamaica Plain by spotting a Whole Foods proposal.6:00–8:40 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Negotiating Zoning Variances with Sustainable Design Ben details how he leveraged green design and 12-inch super-insulated walls to secure a zoning variance from the city for three units instead of two. Nathan mostly listens with admiration.8:40–11:10 · Guest disagreement 1/10 Financial Breakdown and Construction Costs Nathan presses Ben on the financial figures, prompting a breakdown of rental numbers and construction costs. Nathan steps in to recap the strategy and summarize the all-in budget around one million dollars.11:10–14:13 · Guest disagreement 4/10 Challenging Traditional Comps with Targeted Design Nathan pushes Ben to disclose an active purchase offer, leading Ben to explain how conventional real estate comps are based on flawed, outdated 30-year-old inventory rather than modern demographic data.14:13–19:41 · Guest disagreement 3/10 Mid-Roll Promotion and GoPro Giveaway Nathan runs through his Famous Five questions after a mid-roll promo. Ben politely dismisses standard entrepreneurial conventions around conferences, shiny productivity tools, and outsourcing.19:41–20:28 · Guest disagreement 0/10 Connecting Online and Interview Conclusion A quick wrap-up where Ben shares his website and Instagram handle, and Nathan delivers closing compliments before the podcast outro.0:30–5:59 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Recap of Previous Episode Highlights Nathan introduces Ben and they engage in friendly banter about pickup football and sailing. Ben explains his philosophy on development and how he identified land in Jamaica Plain by spotting a Whole Foods proposal.6:00–8:40 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Negotiating Zoning Variances with Sustainable Design Ben details how he leveraged green design and 12-inch super-insulated walls to secure a zoning variance from the city for three units instead of two. Nathan mostly listens with admiration.8:40–11:10 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Financial Breakdown and Construction Costs Nathan presses Ben on the financial figures, prompting a breakdown of rental numbers and construction costs. Nathan steps in to recap the strategy and summarize the all-in budget around one million dollars.11:10–14:13 · Nathan pushing back 2/10 Challenging Traditional Comps with Targeted Design Nathan pushes Ben to disclose an active purchase offer, leading Ben to explain how conventional real estate comps are based on flawed, outdated 30-year-old inventory rather than modern demographic data.14:13–19:41 · Nathan pushing back 1/10 Mid-Roll Promotion and GoPro Giveaway Nathan runs through his Famous Five questions after a mid-roll promo. Ben politely dismisses standard entrepreneurial conventions around conferences, shiny productivity tools, and outsourcing.19:41–20:28 · Nathan pushing back 0/10 Connecting Online and Interview Conclusion A quick wrap-up where Ben shares his website and Instagram handle, and Nathan delivers closing compliments before the podcast outro.

speaking balance: gold is Nathan, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)

0:00 · Nathan 77.4% · guest 22.6%0:00 · Nathan 77.4% · guest 22.6%3:00 · Nathan 9.6% · guest 90.4%3:00 · Nathan 9.6% · guest 90.4%6:00 · Nathan 16.9% · guest 83.1%6:00 · Nathan 16.9% · guest 83.1%9:00 · Nathan 45.9% · guest 54.1%9:00 · Nathan 45.9% · guest 54.1%12:00 · Nathan 39.8% · guest 60.2%12:00 · Nathan 39.8% · guest 60.2%15:00 · Nathan 28% · guest 72%15:00 · Nathan 28% · guest 72%18:00 · Nathan 46.2% · guest 53.8%18:00 · Nathan 46.2% · guest 53.8%21:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%21:00 · Nathan 100% · guest 0%
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 12:15 Ranting against traditional real estate comps

Ben forcefully dismisses traditional real estate professionals for using maddeningly bad data and relying on 30-year-old comparable sales.

 Hardest push from Nathan ▶ 11:54 Pressing for specific offer numbers

Nathan refuses to let Ben be vague about getting a fantastic offer, demanding that he give the audience an exact figure or price range.

 Biggest teaching moment ▶ 13:00 Demographic reality vs conventional floor plans

Ben explains the specific lifestyle and storage needs of young unmarried professionals in Boston, demonstrating why traditional two-bed two-bath floor plans fail modern buyers.

 Nathan holds their own ▶ 9:44 Summarizing the financial playbook

Nathan demonstrates his business acumen by breaking down Ben's complex strategy into clear actionable takeaways regarding whole foods positioning and unit arbitrage.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
ChapterTopicNathan as informed peerGuest teachingGuest disagreementNathan pushing backWhy
Recap of Previous Episode Highlights 3211 Nathan introduces Ben and they engage in friendly banter about pickup football and sailing. Ben explains his philosophy on development and how he identified land in Jamaica Plain by spotting a Whole Foods proposal.
Negotiating Zoning Variances with Sustainable Design 2411 Ben details how he leveraged green design and 12-inch super-insulated walls to secure a zoning variance from the city for three units instead of two. Nathan mostly listens with admiration.
Financial Breakdown and Construction Costs 4312 Nathan presses Ben on the financial figures, prompting a breakdown of rental numbers and construction costs. Nathan steps in to recap the strategy and summarize the all-in budget around one million dollars.
Challenging Traditional Comps with Targeted Design 3542 Nathan pushes Ben to disclose an active purchase offer, leading Ben to explain how conventional real estate comps are based on flawed, outdated 30-year-old inventory rather than modern demographic data.
Mid-Roll Promotion and GoPro Giveaway 2331 Nathan runs through his Famous Five questions after a mid-roll promo. Ben politely dismisses standard entrepreneurial conventions around conferences, shiny productivity tools, and outsourcing.
Connecting Online and Interview Conclusion 1100 A quick wrap-up where Ben shares his website and Instagram handle, and Nathan delivers closing compliments before the podcast outro.

Statements from this episode (10)

Insight
Uyeda: Architects' design sensibilities can become financial liabilities in real estate
“Traditionally when architects or designers, when they try to get into the development game, their design sensibilities can actually cost them from the financial side of things. When you really care about the design and that's like your passion, and then you tr…”
Ben Uyeda Feb 27, 2016 ▶ 2:51
Disclosure
Uyeda bought a vacant parcel zoned for two units for $100,000
“We got the blank land for just right around a 100,000 dollars. It was zoned for two units, right? So you could build a duplex there.”
Ben Uyeda Feb 27, 2016 ▶ 6:29
Insight
Uyeda used sustainable design to gain zoning variances over consumer premiums
“Now, I know that consumers don't always want to pay extra for that on the sort of either the renting end or on the purchasing end. So my strategy was, rather than try to make increase my margins there, is could I leverage that with the city to get some zoning …”
Ben Uyeda Feb 27, 2016 ▶ 6:58
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Uyeda: City granted three-unit zoning variance after six to eight months
“And after working with the city for about six to eight months, they granted the variance.”
Ben Uyeda Feb 27, 2016 ▶ 7:54
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Uyeda: 3-Unit Boston Property Will Generate ~$7,000 Monthly Rent
“Obviously with a three unit building, we're increasing that to about, you know, 7000 a month.”
Ben Uyeda Feb 27, 2016 ▶ 9:21
Disclosure
Uyeda: Property Development Includes ~$100,000 in Energy Upgrades
“We're probably spending about a 100,000 dollars in energy upgrades.”
Ben Uyeda Feb 27, 2016 ▶ 9:39
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Uyeda: 3-Unit Boston Build Will Cost ~$800,000 for Construction
“Hopefully it'll be around 800,000 for construction. You know with construction projects, it's normally, you don't realize how over budget you are until like sort of the last few payments, but I think it's gonna be right around 800,000 dollars for about 30, 320…”
Ben Uyeda Feb 27, 2016 ▶ 10:37
Disclosure
Uyeda Receives $500,000 Offer for Smallest Development Unit
“It's right, right around half a million for the smallest unit.”
Ben Uyeda Feb 27, 2016 ▶ 12:01
Insight
Uyeda: Single-Bath Lofts with Large Closets Cost Much Less to Build
“It's much cheaper to build a loft style buildings with, you know, one really nice bathroom and bigger closet space.”
Ben Uyeda Feb 27, 2016 ▶ 13:32
Opinion
Uyeda: Blue Apron plus TaskRabbit is the easiest personal chef hack
“Combining Blue Apron with Tass Rabbit is the quickest and easiest way to get a personal chef.”
Ben Uyeda Feb 27, 2016 ▶ 18:13
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