“Who is worth listening to?”

My take

This is where I send people who are just starting out. The episodes are practical, the guests talk about their mistakes too, and the presentation does not sell dreams. It is important to remember that their world is American, so anything related to tax, financing and contracts needs translating to the market you are buying in.

What you will come away with

• A shared vocabulary: cash flow, yield, leverage and cost of capital
• How investors plan their first deal
• Questions to ask before choosing a property manager

My take

Few people talk seriously about investing across borders, and here it is a regular topic. I like the connection between the macro picture and the individual deal, and the emphasis on holding structures and asset protection, which are exactly the questions we resolve before signing.

What you will come away with

• A framework for thinking about diversifying across countries
• Why the holding structure matters as much as the property
• How the macro picture and interest rates enter the decision

My take

This is the podcast I recommend to developers. The conversations are with people who make decisions on a large scale, and you hear how they think about the cycle, financing and risk. There are no tips here; there is judgment.

What you will come away with

• How major decision-makers read the cycle
• The financing language of commercial real estate
• Questions a developer should ask their lender

My take

To understand where the big money is flowing, you need to listen to those who cover it. This is an institutional lens, not a private investor's, but it explains why a particular market is heating up or cooling down long before it reaches the headlines.

What you will come away with

• How institutional players choose markets
• Trends in real estate credit
• A vocabulary that will help you sit across from an institutional lender

My take

For me it is a European reference point. Regulation, landlord-tenant relations and tax rules in the UK are very different from those in the US, and it is a good reminder that in every country the game is different. I appreciate their honesty when the market is not good.

What you will come away with

• How regulation changes the economics of a deal
• Thinking about tax already at the purchase stage
• How to read market news without panicking

My take

Anyone considering investing with a group or joining someone else's deal will find the right questions here. I listen especially to the episodes on relations between partners and on what happens when the business plan goes wrong, because that is when the contract is truly tested.

What you will come away with

• What to ask whoever is raising the capital
• How a syndication deal is structured
• What happens to partners when the plan goes wrong

My take

The idea of investing in a market where you do not live is exactly the situation of the Israeli investor. The emphasis on data and on choosing a market before choosing a property is right. Just remember that they are also in the business of connecting investors with deals, so listen with a critical ear.

What you will come away with

• How to choose a market before choosing a property
• Employment, migration and rent data as indicators
• What needs to work when you are far from the property

My take

It is not a real estate podcast, and yet I recommend it. Most of the surprises in the deals I see come from interest rates, currency and construction costs, and here you understand them before they reach the contract.

What you will come away with

• How interest rates and credit reach the property's price
• Why construction costs move
• Understanding the economic environment the deal lives in

My take

It is sharp and thought-provoking on everything to do with leverage and inflation. I recommend listening to it alongside a more conservative voice, because its approach is bold. Leverage is a tool, and the financing agreement determines whether it works for you or against you.

What you will come away with

• How leverage and inflation work together
• Why cash flow matters more than appreciation
• Questions to ask before taking a loan

My take

Most podcasts talk to investors. Here they talk to those who build. The combination of the developer's and the contractor's perspectives explains where projects get stuck, and the answer almost always starts with the construction agreement.

What you will come away with

• What a project looks like from the developer's side and the contractor's side
• Where projects usually get stuck
• What to check before signing with a main contractor

My take

It is one of the Hebrew podcasts that discuss investing abroad in depth rather than in headlines. It explains the differences between markets within the US and what an Israeli investor needs to understand before buying. As with any podcast by someone who also advises on deals, it is worth listening with questions of your own.

What you will come away with

• The differences between markets within the US
• What an investor from Israel needs to check remotely
• The basic vocabulary of residential investing in the US

My take

For a developer, it is a weekly lesson in the industry's language: planning, authorities, residents and financing. Those building abroad will benefit from it too, because the challenges are more similar than they seem. In every country there is a planning committee, there are rights holders and there is a lender.

What you will come away with

• How the industry talks about planning and authorities
• What holds projects up and how to deal with it
• Names of professionals worth knowing

My take

As a lawyer, this is the podcast closest to my world. It shows how law and policy shape the market, and that is exactly what an investor needs to understand before entering a new country: who sets the rules and how they change.

What you will come away with

• How housing policy affects prices
• The connection between planning, law and the market
• Critical thinking about regulation

My take

I recommend it to developers because of the question at its core: how decisions are made. The conversations deal with ways of thinking, not this week's interest rate, and that is what stays with you after the market changes.

What you will come away with

• How developers make decisions under uncertainty
• The difficulties on the way to a deal and how to get through them
• What developers who last over time have in common

My take

Short, focused episodes from a news organization, so you hear several sides. It is especially good for understanding the relationship between apartment owners and the developer, an issue that comes up in every project, in every country.

What you will come away with

• The apartment owners' side of a project
• Where disputes arise and how to prevent them
• Updates on regulation in Israel

My take

What I like here is the distinction between investing on instinct and investing through a process. It is the same distinction I make with clients: first you understand, then you sign.

What you will come away with

• How to build an investment process instead of a gut feeling
• The connection between real estate and the rest of the portfolio
• Habits of deliberate investors

My take

Light in presentation and serious in its questions. It is especially good for those who have not yet decided whether real estate suits them, because it also talks about the personal side of the decision, not just the numbers.

What you will come away with

• Check whether real estate investing suits you
• The personal side of a financial decision
• Stories of investors at the start of the road

My take

Real estate is only part of the picture, and here you see all of it. I recommend it to anyone who wants to understand where an investment abroad sits within their overall portfolio, before deciding on a single property.

What you will come away with

• How real estate fits into an investment portfolio
• The basics of taxation, leverage and mortgages
• Basic financial vocabulary for talking with advisers

My take

What interests me here is the honesty about mistakes at the start of the road. Most of my clients come to me after one deal that did not go as planned, and hearing someone break down such a mistake out loud is worth a lot.

What you will come away with

• Common mistakes in the first deal
• How investors look for an opportunity
• Thinking about partnerships with other investors

My take

Commercial real estate is the next stage for many investors, and it is a world with different contracts, tenants and risks. This is a good way to get to know the language before entering it, and also to hear how new tools are changing the work.

What you will come away with

• The difference between residential and commercial
• What technology tools change in a developer's work
• Developers' stories of their journey