The Road To Real Estate: Recent Episodes
Alex Thiakos
Alex Kritt is an associate real estate broker at Colliers International. In this episode, we talk about his early interest in real estate, as well as what he focuses on today.
Michael Ezgur is a partner at Acosta Ezgur LLC. In this episode, we talk about real estate law, zoning, and development.
Regina Stilp is a founding principal of Farpoint Development. In this episode, we discuss early on in her career at Sterling Bay and the development of the West Loop. We also talk about her current company Farpoint, and her expertise in design and ground up construction.
Dionne Clifton is the owner of LIVE Real estate group. In this episode, we discuss how she started her brokerage company, teaching sales at the university, and Airbnb Investments.
Susie Sliver is an Executive Vice President at Millennium Properties. In this episode, we discuss how she transitioned from tax to real estate, some advice she received on how to be a good broker, and much more.
This episode is a continuation off our first real estate investing episode with Jack Wei, so I would check it out if you haven’t already. He has had a few months under his belt after closing on his property, finding tenants, and using contractors remotely, and we learn the secrets to automating your investment properties, so I would stick around.
Rob Kowalski is a Planning and Developing director for the city of Champaign, Illinois. In this episode, we discuss how and why Costco decided to develop in Champaign, as well as why some companies such as Trader Joes do not want to develop in the city. We also discuss how the over saturation of campus town apartments affects the rent market, and much more.
Mike Morawski is the founder and owner of My Core Intentions. Mike has one of the greatest comeback story I have heard and I really enjoyed this conversation. We discuss multifamily investing, his time in jail, his books, and his discovery of faith.
Alan Lev is a chairman at Belgravia group. In this episode, he talks about how he had no early real estate interest, after graduating Illinois with an accounting degree and going to law school shortly after. We discuss the good and the bad of real estate development, and about the risk required to be a partner at a development firm. We also dive into the Ted Talk Alan has coming up and get a little sneak peak of what he will be talking about.
Joe Neigo is a residential and multifamily broker who owns Niego Real Estate. In this episode, we discuss his transition from being drafted in the NBA, to starting his own real estate company. We talked about how he used an FHA loan to get his first property, and how he added many more properties to his portfolio through his career. We also talk about the keys to being a successful real estate broker.
On our second episode on Real Estate investing 101, we spoke with Peter Kritikos who is a first-time real estate investor. In this episode, we discuss the good and the bad of investing with partners, building your team through your network, creating an LLC, managing real estate, and much more. I really enjoyed this conversation and I hope you do as well.
Welcome to the first edition of the Real estate investing 101 where we learn different ways and tricks to invest in real estate. On this episode we have Jack Wei who is a first-time real estate investor, who is about to close on his first property. We discuss what an FHA loan is, and he takes us through all the key steps before closing on his property. I really learned a lot from this conversation, and I hope you do as well. Thank you for driving down the road to real estate and enjoy the show
Adam Levy is a Senior Director of Investment Sales at KW Commercial. In this episode, we discuss his transition from working for United Arline’s into commercial brokerage. We also learn about Commercial investing, Net leases, 1031 exchange, and much more.
Aana Tsakiris is an Acquisitions Associate at Heitman. In this episode, we discuss her early interest into brokerage through her father, as well as Rho Epsilon Real Estate Club at Illinois. We also discuss her company Heitman, a real estate investment management firm, as well as go into detail about private equity within real estate.
Lucas Stone is a Sales and Leasing agent at ICM Properties. In this episode, we learn what it takes to be a great salesman, dive into elevator pitches, as well as many different tips and tricks on how to retain client’s long term. We also discuss the process of getting a brokerage license and go through the from start to finish on how to lease an apartment. Lucas also gives some very valuable life advice, so make sure to stick around to the end of the episode.
Matthew Kappas is a Real estate debt originations analyst at Corevest finance. In this episode we discuss Matthews time at Boston University, and his transition moving to New York. We talk about how he was able to attain his internships and why connection are key to gaining more opportunities in the real estate world. We also dive into his company Corevest, which primarily deals in private lending, as well as what Matthew does for the company.
Patrick Coughlin is a real estate manager at Insite real estate, and it is very interesting because right out of college, Patrick would have never thought he would be working in the real estate world just a few years later. One summer after working as a special education teacher, he sought out a mentor of his who worked for Insight and asked for a mentorship. Fast-forward three years, Patrick works with clients to help find land for their company to build on. In this episode, we discuss what his position entails, relationships with brokers and locals in his area, and much more.
Logan Walker is a Jr. Manager at the Onni Group. In this episode, we discuss the importance of mentors within rho epsilon as well as the Eisenberg foundation. We also dive into the development side of real estate and talk about the Seattle market where he currently works. He also updates us on the market of development, and what asset classes are being built.
Adam Haefner is a Principal at Avison Young in the Des Plains Illinois. He is a commercial real estate broker who specializes in industrial sales, leasing, development, and much more. We discuss his interest in real estate through college, as well as starting out in the industry cold calling as a first-time broker. We discuss his current position at Avison Young, the industrial real estate market, as well as the important characteristics necessary to be a good salesman are.
Ben Goldman is an investment sales associate at Kiser Group. He has been a good friend of mine, as we served on the executive board of the University of Illinois real estate club, Rho Epsilon. Having recently graduated, Ben and I talked a lot about his experience in the real estate recruiting process, as well why networking is extremely important throughout college. Ben will also talk about his position at Kiser, working heavily with multifamily real estate brokerage,. As a Broker, Ben reiterates the importance of “following through” and how critical integrity is when dealing with buyers and sellers. Thank you for driving down the road to real estate and enjoy the show.
Al Klairmont is the owner of Imperial Realty, based out of Chicago, Illinois. Right out of college, he had to make a pivotal career decision: whether to get a job or work for his father’s real-estate company. Al was thrown into the fire, as he had to quickly learn everything about managing properties. Fast forward, over 40 years later, Al has built an enormous real estate portfolio. The bulk of his properties consists mainly of class C office buildings, as well as many other property types. He has also spent a good portion of his time giving back to various organizations, as well as inspiring real estate professionals through the Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation, which we will get into much later in the podcast.