Real Takk Podcast: Recent Episodes

Real Takk

Hosted by Takk Yamaguchi, one of the founding agents of Compass. (formally known as Urban Compass). This channel discusses all things real estate tech, national markets, brokerage, management, & operations with some of the best & brightest minds in the industry. Follow Takk at @takkyamaguchi on Twitter & IG, Takk Yamaguchi on Youtube, and his webiste www.thetakkteam.com

Today on the show we’re joined by Reese Chase, Real Estate Advisor with Compass in South Florida. Reese didn’t come up the traditional way. He got his start renovating investment properties—tearing into the bones of homes, figuring out what actually creates value, and learning firsthand what makes a property sell. That hands-on construction background still shapes how he works with clients today, whether he’s helping sellers maximize equity before listing or guiding buyers through both the purchase and potential rehab.

Now based in the Broward County market, Reese brings deep local knowledge from Plantation to the coast, with a particular strength in investment properties, rehabs, and larger estate and acreage deals. He’s closed over $50 million in career sales and is known for combining that renovator’s eye with strong negotiation and a no-nonsense, service-first approach.

When he’s not working deals, you’ll usually find him on the water—fishing both the east and west coasts of Florida. For Reese, boating and fishing aren’t just hobbies; they’re how he stays connected to the South Florida lifestyle he helps his clients live every day.

We’re excited to dig into his path, the South Florida market, and what he’s seeing right now.

Follow him on Instagram at reesechase.re

My special guest on this episode is none other than my friend who shares a name with one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time — but this is definitely not Tom Brady, the NFL legend. No touchdowns on the field here, but plenty in the investment sales game.

Tom Brady & I first met almost two decades ago at what was once known as Town Real Estate, here in the same office we’re in today on 5th Avenue & 17th Street. Fast forward to today: Tom was recently a Managing Director at BKREA (BK Real Estate Advisors), run by Bob Knakal, also a friend of the pod, and has since transitioned to Douglas Elliman Commercial.

With nearly two decades in the NYC commercial real estate trenches, Tom specializes in Manhattan’s mixed-use and multifamily investment sales. He’s been closing major deals, including the Friars Club, a historic elevator building spanning 15K square feet across six floors with 33 feet of frontage, offering stunning architecture and flexible potential for private club, hospitality, embassy, or luxury residential use. The club in its heyday boasted members including Johnny Carson, Jimmy Fallon, and Joan Rivers, and was known for its comedy roasts of showbiz legends.

From navigating interest rates and office recovery to spotting opportunities in an evolving market, Tom brings that street-level expertise and war stories you don’t want to miss.

Please give Tom a follow on IG @TVBNYC

It’s officially the start of the summer season — and in true solo pod fashion, we’re kicking it off with a timely breakdown of the brand new NYC Pied-à-Terre Tax that just got enacted. In this episode, I walk through exactly how the new surcharge works (Phase 1 vs. Phase 2), why the crazy-low DOF market value on high-end condos actually shields many owners from the tax in both phases, and what the switch to comparable sales in 2028 could mean in the long term. Then we zoom out: the never-ending “tax the rich” playbook in NYC and beyond. I compare the actual tax landscape of 2021–2026 (post-COVID, Inflation Reduction Act, state cuts vs targeted hikes) against 2005–2010 (recession-era increases) at the federal, state, and major city levels. Property taxes, mansion taxes, transfer taxes, income surtaxes — who’s really raising what, and how much? Follow me for more: LinkedInXInstagramYouTube

Pleased to have my friend & industry veteran, Justin Rubinstein, founder of J. Rubinstein Homes, back on the pod. We jump on this quick episode to discuss the newly proposed pied-à-terre tax by Mayor Mamdani. We discuss the pros, cons, and likely pain points of this tax, as well as the political climate in our real estate industry. I end the episode by reading the recently released letter from Vornado Realty Trust CEO Steve Roth, which he addressed at a recent REBNY (Real Estate Board of New York) conference.

Please check out Justin's updated website, along with his recent interview with our Founder & CEO, Rob Reffkin, here or here! Follow my socials: InstagramLinkedInX

Very excited to have Brandon Polakoff, Principal and Head of NYC Investment Sales at Avison Young, join us on this episode of the Real Takk Pod.

Based in the firm’s New York City office, Brandon leads a team of more than 30 professionals, guiding clients through the sale of multifamily, office, development, and retail assets across New York City and beyond.

Brandon joined Avison Young in 2018 and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming one of the company’s youngest Principals. He’s been involved in approximately $5 billion in transactions and has consistently ranked as the top producer for Avison Young’s Tri-State Investment Sales group, and has earned multiple awards in the commercial field since.

Prior to joining Avison Young, Brandon worked in investment sales at Cushman & Wakefield (following its acquisition of Massey Knakal Realty Services), with earlier experience and internships at Silverstein Properties and Beacon Capital Partners. He brings over a decade of specialized experience, particularly in the multifamily sector, where he has helped build and scale Avison Young’s platform in the region.

A highly regarded leader in commercial real estate, Brandon’s accolades include:

Commercial Observer’s Power 100 list (2024 and 2025)
Commercial Observer’s 30 Under 30
Crain’s New York Rising Stars and Notable Leaders in Real Estate
GlobeSt’s 50 Under 40 and Aspiring Leaders
Connect Media’s Next Generation Award
And multiple “Ones to Watch” and Rising Stars honors from New York Real Estate Journal and Real Estate Weekly

Brandon holds a BA in Economics from Trinity College, where he was a member of the lacrosse team and earned All-Academic and All-Sportsmanship honors.

Please follow Brandon on LinkedIn & Instagram, and check his listings on the company website.

I’m excited to bring Gabe Phillips onto The Real Takk Podcast. Gabe is the founder and CEO of Catalyst Power, a New York-based integrated energy company that’s helping mid-market commercial and industrial businesses across the Northeast decarbonize their operations without the burden of upfront costs.

Gabe’s journey in energy began with trading electricity and gas at Sempra Energy Trading. He went on to found GP Energy Management, a full-service energy trading and risk management platform, which he successfully built and sold. From there, he launched Catalyst Power from the ground up, creating a true one-stop shop for building owners: retail electricity supply, cogeneration, on-site solar, battery storage, community solar, and EV charging infrastructure. The goal is simple but powerful — dramatically lower energy bills while shrinking the carbon footprint.

Gabe was recently named one of Goldman Sachs’ Most Exceptional Entrepreneurs of 2025, and his expertise lands right at the intersection of commercial real estate, sustainability, and the evolving way New York buildings are powered. With Local Law 97 penalties now in full effect, this discussion is more relevant than ever for our audience of property owners and managers.

Catalyst Power's Website

Gabe's LinkedIn

I am thrilled to have Ann Korchak, the Board President of the Small Property Owners of New York, or SPONY. What exactly is SPONY? They are a non-profit, all-volunteer advocacy and education organization founded in 1984. It represents small housing providers—primarily independent, family-owned landlords and multi-generational businesses in New York City (and, to some extent, statewide)—who own and manage smaller multifamily buildings (often with an average of around 11 units per member, many of whom live in or alongside their properties). In short, SPONY positions itself as the voice for the "little guy" in NYC's housing ecosystem: small-scale landlords who provide a significant portion of the city's rental stock but face disproportionate burdens from overregulation, high costs, and policies that favor larger entities or tenants over owners without adequate protections.

Anna has become a powerful voice in Albany and at City Hall—testifying on issues like tax liens, good cause eviction, rent guidelines, and policies like COPA —always pushing for balanced, sustainable solutions that support both owners and tenants without driving small providers out of business. She's been featured in outlets like the New York Post, The Real Deal, the NYT, and at various industry events, as recently as 72 hours ago. Please follow her organization on:

Spony's X

Spony's Instagram

SPONY's Website

Ann's LinkedIn

In this solo episode of The Real Takk Podcast, I unpack the complexities of NYC rezoning and spotlight the Midtown South Mixed-Use Plan, approved in August 2025. After decades of outdated zoning, it finally opens 42 blocks to nearly 10,000 new homes.

Then I dive into this month's hottest topic: the renewed attention on the Epstein files following the DOJ's massive January 2026 document release, with a focus on the elite real estate connections and broker name-dropping linked to Epstein's former Upper East Side townhouse.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to The Real Takk Podcast, where we dive deep into the high-stakes world of NYC real estate, the stories behind the deals, and the lives of the power players making it all happen. AND it’s that time of the year again! The end-of-the-year wrap-up pod is here, where we discuss all things real estate in 2025, along with our prediction pod for real estate in 2026. Today, I'm absolutely thrilled to introduce our guest, Frank Giordano, a seasoned New York City real estate advisor and the Director of Brokerage Services at Charney Companies, a dynamic boutique firm specializing in sales, leasing, and investments across the city's luxury and multifamily markets. With over a decade of hands-on experience, Frank honed his expertise at Compass, where he collaborated with top agents on high-profile new developments like One York Street, 70 Greene Street, and 88 Franklin Street. A graduate of Pace University's Lubin School of Business with a focus on entrepreneurship, Frank and I first met when he was just a young 20-year-old front desk administrator, starting from the ground up, at the once legendary real estate brokerage Town Real Estate, here in this very same office building almost 18 years ago. We became great friends, ultimately taking him on a trip to Japan and inviting his family, and, fast forward, he now lives with his wife, Sarah, and son Leo in the Gramercy Park neighborhood.

Please follow Frank on the socials @f_roundtown on IG

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to The Real Takk Podcast, where we dive deep into the high-stakes world of NYC real estate, the stories behind the deals, and the lives of the power players making it all happen. AND it’s that time of the year again! The end-of-the-year wrap-up pod is here, where we discuss all things real estate in 2025, along with our prediction pod for real estate in 2026!

Today, I'm absolutely thrilled to introduce our guest, Esther Patten, a powerhouse real estate agent with Compass in the heart of NYC. With over 15 years of expertise navigating the fast-paced worlds of Manhattan and Brooklyn, Esther is your go-to expert for everything from sleek condo sales and co-op closings to savvy multi-family investments, cutting-edge new developments, and seamless residential leasing. She's shattered records—like setting the bar for the priciest townhouse in Bedford-Stuyvesant at 1 Verona Place—and has racked up an impressive $360 million in transactions, all while building her success almost entirely on glowing client referrals and deep-rooted connections with investors, developers, buyers, and sellers across the city.

A proud Northwestern University alum and former Division I women's basketball player, Esther brings that same competitive edge and Midwestern grit to every deal, making her an invaluable resource for clients from Chicago and beyond. She's passionate about giving back, supporting causes like the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and Meals on Wheels NYC, and when she's not outpacing the market, you'll find her dominating on the court in women's basketball leagues or fueling up with high-energy workouts at Barry's Bootcamp and Tone House.

@estherpatten

We're back with an annual tradition of wrapping up the good & the bad of real estate in 2025, and the prediction pod of 2026. I am here with my good friend Elkin Serna,

Elkin is voted the “Best Realtor in the USA” by his daughter and is the principal of the Serna Team here in NYC. He is a 9-time NYC Marathon Runner and part of the prestigious Real Trends 2025 by sales volume. I have had the pleasure of knowing for almost 2 decades in the real estate business. Born in Colombia and a New Yorker since age 10, Elkin brings that Wall Street grit from a decade in finance before joining the brokerage world. Elkin & I first met at a showing for one of the portfolios I represented in Midtown Manhattan. Eventually, I worked in the same office at the now-defunct brokerage TOWN Real Estate, once located here at 110 5th Avenue. Please follow Elkin on the socials @elkinjserna

I’m absolutely thrilled to introduce a powerhouse who's not just reshaping the Boise, Idaho market but inspiring a whole generation of agents with her blend of grit, heart, and unyielding expertise.

Please join me in welcoming Rachel Hausman Masse, a trailblazing real estate advisor with Compass in Boise, Idaho. What sets her apart isn't just the numbers; Rachel grew up in a generational real estate brokerage family, where her grandparents were home builders in Chicago, her mother was a top agent in her neighborhood, and now Rachel who joined the family business right out of college, eventually starting from scratch once again to open up her real estate practice in Boise Idaho with her family. Rachel is a nonstop hustler, working & showing homes while in labor, connecting with buyers while on her flight to Oregon, hosting client events, & closing over 150 transactions per year while raising her two daughters with her husband.

On this episode, we’ll discuss her family, her upbringing, the difficulties of being in this business, and, of course, learn about the housing market dynamics of Boise, Idaho.

Please give her a follow on Instagram at @rachelsellsboise

Compass Website

Rachel's Website

Very excited to bring back Chris Okada of Okada & Co., this time in person, since he last joined us back during the depths of COVID back in the summer of 2020.

Chris is the founder & owner of Okada & Co, a commercial real estate brokerage firm specializing in the ownership, acquisition, & leasing of office, building, land, & storage facilities across NYC & New Jersey. Chris & his firm are tasked with overseeing a portfolio of more than 110 Manhattan properties spanning 6.5 million square feet, a market share that he has grown significantly since 2021. He’s also been involved in residential new development at 432 West 52nd Street, along with acquisitions of commercial building 41-15 West 34th Street, retail properties like 894 Avenue of Americas on West 32nd Street, 148 West 24th Street (where the Barcade is located), and the retail at 135 West 52nd Street (across 6.5 Avenue)

Chris’s story is a unique one, as he hails from a real estate family whose parents moved from Japan in the 60s. His father carved out a niche in the commercial real estate world, working with companies like Toyota Motors, Mitsubishi, Kawasaki, Sony, and many restaurant and hospitality companies to establish their first North American headquarters back in 1967.

Chris has been featured numerous times in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Crain's Business, The New York Post, The Real Deal Magazine, & The NY Observer, to name a few. He also has a powerful presence on his social media platforms, including Instagram & LinkedIn, which I will plug in the show notes. His insightful posts are educational, thought-provoking, and likely the most interesting among the many commercial thought leaders in his business.

Please give Chris Okada a follow on:

Instagram

Linkedin

Okada & Co Website

Join me on a quick episode to discuss the results of the NYC Fare Act, government intervention in NYC real estate, and my thoughts on Compass's acquisition of Corcoran & Anywhere Real Estate.

Pleased to bring on Tanya Delahoz, one of our founding agents of our Breckenridge, Colorado market in Summit County. Hailing from New Jersey, Tanya grew up as a competitive ski racer throughout childhood. What should have been a quick stop to Breck during those years ended up being a 25+year tenure as a permanent resident, where she now resides with her husband and two children.

For those of you who are aware of Breckenridge, the resort town has just been named The Most Charming Small Town Downtowns by HGTV, making it the only Colorado town included in the list of 40 most charming small town downtowns in the US. The city is right off Highway 70, which also connects to prominent resorts like Beaver Creek, Vail, Copper, Arapahoe Basin, & loveland ski resorts. Just about an hour away from Denver, Colorado, the area is a major attraction for locals & the global ski & outdoor enthusiasts.

Founded in 1859 during the Colorado Gold Rush, Breckenridge was a mining town before becoming a ski destination. The resort’s Peak 9 was named after a prospector, and remnants of mining history, like old equipment, can still be seen around town.

Please follow Tanya at the links below!

Instagram

Website

Compass

I welcome Lauren Mitrick Wood from Compass Chicago for the second time on the Real Takk Pod. Lauren & I first met at the LA Compass national conference about 7 years ago. Since then, she's represented a few of my personal friends and hundreds of millions of dollars worth of transactions in Chicago.

Lauren is a powerhouse Chicago real estate broker and the founder of “Olive Well” at Compass. Olive Well, inspired by the phrase “all live well,” features her family members, husband, and team agents who assist in representing their clients in the Chicago metropolitan market.

As a third-generation Realtor, she’s built a stellar career working with everyone from first-time buyers to Chicago Bears stars and influential investors.

A Forbes '30 Under 30' honoree, Lauren was one of the folding agents of our Chicago market and has revitalized industry groups like the Women’s Council of Realtors and the Women of Compass group.

She recently renovated a 100-year-old North Shore home, which we’ll discuss later, but all in all, her passion for helping people find their dream homes shines through.

Please give her a follow on her socials!

@lmitrickwood

@Olive.well

www.Olivewell.com "Where All Live Well"

Pleased to bring on Cheryl Foote, our founding agent from our Steamboat, Colorado market, on the Real Takk Pod. Born & raised in Minnesota, Cheryl attended Regis College in Denver, which brought her to Colorado. Cheryl moved to Steamboat Springs in 1996, and fast forward almost 30 years, Cheryl & her family call Steamboat their home.

Cheryl has a wealth of knowledge in the steamboat market with hundreds of transactions completed from townhomes, single-family homes, land, condos, and high-end fractional ownership.

For those of you who are aware of Steamboat Springs, the town got its name in the early 1800s from French trappers who heard a chugging sound, like a steamboat’s engine, coming from a natural mineral spring. This “Steamboat Spring” stopped chugging after railroad construction in 1908, but the name stuck, and the town still boasts over 150 natural hot springs.

The term “Champagne Powder” was coined in Steamboat to describe its light, fluffy snow, which has just 6% water content due to cold temperatures and low humidity. This trademarked snow type, popularized in the 1950s, makes Steamboat a top destination for skiers seeking smooth, powdery runs.

Please follow Cheryl @Cheryl_foote on IG & I will plug her website below:

Compass

Instagram

Personal Website

Pleased to have back on, the absolute GOAT of our channel, Jessica Northrop of Compass Denver. This is her third time back on the channel since we've launched, so it's great to catch up with her in 2025! As the founding team of our Denver, Colorado office, Jessica has closed & represented over half a dozen personal friends of mine in the Denver Metro Market. She's been in the business since she was 17 years old, has raised her family there, eats & sleeps in what I consider one of the best cities in America. Jessica is ranked the #1 agent in various categories in the Denver market. She is the go-to pro for all things Denver market.

Please follow her on IG at @jessica_northropWebsiteLinkedinFacebook

Pleased to have Kenny Burgos, the Chief Executive Officer of the New York Apartment Association (NYAA), on this episode. NYAA owns & manages nearly 1M affordable housing units in the NYC metropolitan area, making Kenny the leader of the largest trade organization representing private multifamily building owners in the country.

Kenny was born and raised in the Bronx. He graduated from Bronx High School of Science and was an eco major at SUNY Albany.

Before heading up NYAA, Kenny was elected to represent the 85th Assembly District in the southeastern Bronx as a Democrat, the second youngest elected official in the state of NY.

Kenny is also a podcast host himself. His “Housing New York with Kenny Burgos podcast” is a weekly NYAA production that recaps housing policy news, provides insider analysis, and discusses issues like rent stabilization, zoning, and real estate trends. The podcast covers topics such as the City of Yes plan, composting fines, scaffolding regulations, and the housing court backlog. I shall plug the podcast link in our show notes.

Please follow Kenny at @kennyburgosny & NYAA @housingNY ON IG, and his presence on X may be followed at @kennyBurgosNY.

Pleased to have industry insider, colleague & friend Stacey Froelich on The Real Takk Pod. Stacey grew up in New York and moved back to Manhattan after graduating from the University of Florida in 1995. She started her career in Event Planning and soon realized that the ultimate event is finding and moving into a new home. On this episode, we discuss coop board politics, navigating the difficulties of a coop, the Upper East Side market where she dominates, raising a family in the city, public vs. private schools in the city, stories of interesting transactions, and her love of the business. Please give Stacey a follow on her IG @staceyfroelichteam

Pleased to have one of my favorite staff members at Compass, a long-time veteran with nearly a decade of experience dedicated to building the future of real estate and our tech stack at Compass. Naader, or as we like to call him "Noddy," is one of the most knowledgeable members of our Compass Technology Team, who has experienced growth across half a dozen roles on the data and product sides of our business. We go in-depth about our technology transformation, data quality, and what the future holds for Compass and its real estate agents. Noddy is a New York City native, a University of North Carolina alum, an actor, an artist, a rapper, and an enthusiast of life, which is built around his passions. Noddy is someone I admire both personally & professionally. Please follow him on his socials: LinkedInInstagram

I am pleased to have Sarah Patton on this episode of the Real Takk Podcast. Sarah co-heads our new development team with our previous guest, Dan Parker. Most recently, Sarah has been working closely with developers in NYC who have already acquired office buildings and are subsequently converting them to residential housing.

Sarah's current & previous clients she's represented include Metroloft Development, L+M Development Partners, JDS Development, Silverstein, The Moinian Group, The Vanbarton Group, Largo, and Taconic Partners, some of NYC's leading owner, operator, and developers. While Sarah is not big on social media, you may contact her at her website below. Thank you for listening! https://compassdevelopmentmg.com/agent/sarah-patton

Join us for an insightful episode with Nico Moinian, a true connoisseur of New York City real estate. Nico, a Partner at Fortuna Realty Group, brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the industry. Fortuna Realty Group is a private real estate investment firm in Manhattan that specializes in owning and operating a collection of independent boutique hotels, restaurants, and bars in some of the world's most sought-after locations.

In this episode, Nico shares captivating stories and historical insights about NYC's iconic buildings and lesser-known residential gems. With extensive expertise in securing development sites, building and operating hotels, and developing commercial and residential projects in Manhattan, Nico offers invaluable perspectives on the real estate landscape.

Nico resides on the Upper East Side with his wife, Alexa, and their three children. Don't miss the opportunity to learn from his experiences and insights. Follow him on Instagram at @nicomoinian for more updates.

Tune in and enjoy this engaging conversation!

I am pleased to have Tony on the wrap-up & prediction pod for 2024 and 2025. Tony & I met at Compass several years ago, and I’ve come to know him as a smart, thoughtful, and opinionated real estate professional in NYC who brings a wealth of knowledge to our community & most importantly, his clients. Tony was raised internationally and speaks five languages, attended Carnegie Mellon University, cold-called his way into his first job in NYC, and currently sits in the top ranks in NYC & in the nation in sales volume & transactions.

Tony is a wealth of knowledge & brings some humbling & exciting news to those interested in his thoughts on the NYC & American real estate market in 2024 and his predictions of what will come in 2025. I'm sure you will enjoy the dynamic conversations & thoughts from Tony so please give this a listen!

Please follow Tony on IG @tonysargentnyc

It's an annual end-of-the-year tradition by wrapping up the 2024 year in business & real estate with our guest Sean Mcpeak of the Empire Collective Team at Serhant. Sean had a productive year with his business partner being featured in the hit Netflix TV show Owning Manhattan, building up his team, and, of course, coming on my pod with his zingers, one-liners, trivia skills, and real estate knowledge to top it off.

Sean & I met at Compass in June of 2014 and worked together for 3 years before moving to Halstead, eventually moving to Serhant as one of the founding agents.

Please give Sean & his team a follow on IG @sean_mcpeak & @empirecollective_

As always, thank you to our listeners. Please rate us five stars, write us a review, and then let me know via screenshot to receive the 2025 Takk Team Hat coming in January! (first ten entries only!)

I welcome my friend Will Hardy to the Real Takk Podcast, where we discuss real estate, the state of the brokerage business, the hardships we face as real estate agents and brokers, the NAR Settlement, brokers going into politics, his story about biking across America through Georga to California, and what's working under the hood from business leadership. We also discuss the direction our industry is headed in 2025 and what markets we may open up in. Please give him a follow at @williamaugustus & his LinkedIn here.

I am pleased to have Dan Parker, the Co-Head of Compass New Development, on this episode. Dan is involved in every phase of the development process and leverages his relationships with top architects and designers, award-winning creative agencies, and public relations strategists to assemble and manage winning teams. Dan has worked with dozens of notable architects, developers, and general contractors, including & not limited to The Robert AM Stern-designed condominium 200 East 83rd Street, the Naftali & Robert AM Stern Designed condo The Bellemont @ 1165 Madison Avenue, The Benson here.

I'm jumping on to quickly discuss my thoughts on the FARE Act, AKA the Fairness in Apartment Rentals Act. Who does it help? How does the bill affect the overall market? How does this impact mom-and-pop shop landlords? Does this bill positively impact the tenant community overall? Or just a small segment of renters?

According to the bill's sponsor, the New York City Council is poised to pass a law that would allow most tenants to avoid paying thousands of dollars in broker fees when renting a home.

The proposed measure, which the Council could vote on as soon as Nov. 13, would shift broker fees to the party that hires the broker, which is nearly always the landlord. The Fairness in Apartment Rental Expenses, or FARE, Act now has 33 sponsors, seven more than the majority needed to pass in the 51-member Legislature.
Please listen to the full episode for a quick deep dive into this issue!

Recording from our HQ on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach, Florida, I welcome Elizabeth De Woody of Compass Palm Beach! Born in Miami and raised in Central Florida, Elizabeth has called West Palm Beach home for the past 25 years. She was hand-picked to represent our office in Palm Beach Island as the founding agent, with top producing figures of closing over half a billion dollars in sales volume in the last two years. Elizabeth ranks #127 in the USA, #22 in Florida, and #5 on the Island of Palm Beach, ranked by the Wall Street Journal, Real Trends 2024 individual sales volume.

Before real estate, Elizabeth spent 15 years in the corporate world with P&G & J&J in sales, marketing, and sales management. We discuss all things Palm Beach, the history, Elizabeth's transition from corporate to real estate, and more.

Please follow her on IG at @elizabeth_dewoody

I welcome my good friend & fishing partner Amy Byrne to The Real Takk Pod. Amy is our Founding agent of Compass in our Charleston South Carolina market, bringing over a decade of business experience to her clients in Charleston. We discuss all things Charleston, her family background of real estate agents, her love for the outdoors, fishing, travel, and even some real estate in Costa Rica. Please give her a follow on IG at @Holycityhomegirl Shoutout to her favorite trip as of recent Darien Lodge & Fish Colombia!

One of our founding agents at Compass Miami, Levi Meyer, is back on the pod to give us the latest on the Miami market, updates on developments in Brickell, and new HOA and Condominium Board regulations.

A few fun facts about Levi: He’s a fifth-generation Floridian and a longtime Coral Gables resident. He’s one of 9 siblings, an Israeli military vet, and he grew up attending Rabbinate school. Before he was selling Miami’s most prestigious homes, Levi was in the business of selling arms and ammunition (yes, you read that right).

Levi is also deeply involved in his community. He serves on the boards of several charities, including United Hatzalah and The Friendship Circle of Greater Miami, and he’s the President and Chairman of the Chabad of Coconut Grove. He lives in Coral Gables with his amazing wife Lauren and their two beautiful kids, Benjamin and Charlotte.

While Levi’s real estate achievements are impressive—he’s ranked in the top 1% in our industry—what’s even more special is our friendship. He’s one of my oldest friends at Compass, he officiated my wedding, and I’m lucky to have a guy like Levi in my life.

Be sure to follow him on Instagram @TheMeyerGroupRE and his personal account @levimeyerre

I'm thrilled to have my friend and industry colleague Maggie Wu on the Real Takk Pod! Maggie, the youngest of three, was raised in Hong Kong before moving to the US to attend the prestigious Peddie School in Hightstown, NJ. She then majored in Economics and Business at NYU.

Upon graduation, Maggie made a brief foray into VC before joining the real estate business. She quickly rose to the top of our industry, with successful tenures at Corcoran, Compass, Serhant, and then back to Compass. (Welcome back!)

Maggie founded her own team, The W Team, almost a year ago and has since been featured in esteemed publications such as Business Insider’s 30 Under 35 (2022), The Hollywood Reporter’s New York Power Brokers (2022), The Real Deal, Inman, HousingWire, The Wall Street Journal, and RealTrends. Maggie has been honored as one of the top 0.5% of agents nationally in The Wall Street Journal's The Thousand 2024, ranked among Compass's Top Ten Small Teams, and achieved #17 in NYC and #27 in NY State small teams by volume in The Wall Street Journal/Real Trends 2024. While her professional accomplishments are astonishing, she is just as accomplished and impressive as a person!

I'm proud to have her as a friend and colleague. Danielle Stout (co-host) and I had such a fun time recording this episode. Please give it a listen!

Follow Maggie on IG:

@mag_wu

@thewteamny

Pleased to have my friend & industry colleague Jon Capobianco, one of the newest additions to Ellimans Dinero Team on the Real Takk Pod. Did you know? Jon used to bike over the Queens Bridge everyday on his single-speed steel bike to his Corcoran office in the Upper East Side from Brooklyn? Did you know? Jon's an avid surfer, snowboarder, fisherman, and Phish-er men?

With a career rooted in real estate since his time at the Corcoran Group, Jon’s passion and expertise have grown exponentially. He brings a wealth of experience in creative, targeted marketing, catering to diverse clientele, including foreign governments, Wall Street executives, and entertainment luminaries seeking luxury homes, townhouses, and lofts.

A University of Rhode Island graduate, Jon made the move to Manhattan in 1991, you know that Jon is packed full of amazing stories of NYC, his clients, & life in general.

This was a really fun episode to record. Please give Jon a follow on IG at @joncapobianco where he actively posts his life as a real estate broker, New Yorker, a sufer, fisherman, & a dad!

Ryan Garson of Compass joins the pod to discuss all things social media, our business, his early beginnings, successes, failures, what it's like having Rob Reffkins' mother on his team, and more.

Ryan is an influential real estate agent covering Manhattan and Brooklyn, he’s contracted over $400 million in sales and brokered more than 1,000 client success stories in the past 8 years. Ryan is known in the industry for his creative, out-of-the-box approach to marketing, including his online influencer personality @theverysocialbroker on instagram. Ryan’s videos are funny as he pairs up with comedians & other known influencers in the social media landscape to market his team, listings, & other players in the real estate world. He’s a great story teller, salesman, and his passion for the business translates through the screen.

Please give him a follow @theverysocial broker on IG!

https://www.instagram.com/verysocialbroker/

Some Topics Covered Include: One Word Answers

NYC Residential Real Estate
Rent Stabilization & Rent Control
Brooklyn Residential Real Estate
Real Estate Reality Television
Coop Boards
Tiktok & Instagram
Compass
Good Cause Eviction Program
485X tax abatement program
Mayor Eric Adams
Work from home policy
Election Year
Affordable Housing
Rent Stabilization & Rent Control programs in NYC
Crypto currency
Sandwell subs

General & NYC Real Estate & NYC Trivia

General Trivia:

Question: Who was the youngest U.S. President?

NYC Trivia:

Question: What was the initial name for New York City?

NYC Real Estate Trivia:

Question: What is the largest private landowner in NYC?

LIght Questions:

If you could leave in any city outside of NYC and sell, where & why?
If you could own a second home in any city / state outside of NYC, where & why?
Go to restaurant in the city for breakfast : Flame Diner 58th / 10th
go to for dinner
Go to for drinks
How’d your meet your wife? First date advice for the young folk?

Hot Takes (answer them fast & short!)

Best Social Media in the biz (outside of you)
Best Mentor in Real Estate
Worst Trend in Real Estate
The GOAT of NYC Real Estate
tiktok or instagram?
Dream Sponsor
Best Unkonwn talent
Best Friend in Real Estate
Biggest Regret
Your job if it wasn’t in real estate?
Best Style in Real Estate
Best low key real estate broker

NYC Real Estate Powerhouse Kael Goodman Returns!

We're thrilled to welcome back Kael Goodman, Founder & CEO of Marketproof, the industry-leading real estate data platform. Used by top brokers, banks, PE firms, and developers, Marketproof is the go-to resource for anyone serious about NYC real estate.

Considering a new development? Marketproof analyzes all Manhattan & Brooklyn residential properties, providing in-depth insights on trends, pricing, ownership, and even floor plans.

Listen to this episode if you're interested in:

New Developments across Manhattan & Brooklyn
Real Estate Market Trends
Real Estate Tech
Data-Driven Insights on the NYC real estate market

Follow Marketproof on social media (IG, X) and visit their website for more details.

IG: @marketproofnyc

X: marketproofnyc

Website: marketproof.com

Onie Bolduc, is a true mountain native from a family of real estate professionals. Born & raised in arguably one of the BEST areas in the United States, Vail Colorado, Onie attended the University of Colorado, then jumped into the construction business in the Vail Valley. He then went into the development side of real estate & eventually created Bold RE solutions where he represented his clients in the Vail Valley region.

Onie moved his family to Park City in 2017 to represent several impressive & massive new development projects around the base of Canyons Village in Park City, which include the Pendry Condominiums, Apex Park City, & 2 new development townhome communities called Junpier Landing & Viridian Townhomes.

Since then, Onie is working on his next & current big project, the Wohali, a mountain community located between Park City & Snow Basin right off Interstate-80. The resort is 25 - 30 minutes from Main Street in Park City, and about 45 minutes from SLC Airport.

Please follow Onie on IG @OBFactor, the Wohali Development project at @wohaliparkcity

As well as his website here: https://bolducmountainluxury.com/

Pleased to have Compass Chief Real Estate Strategist Mark McLaughlin on the Real Takk Pod to discuss all things real estate at the operational end, his beginnings, the growth & sale of his previous brokerage firm Pacific Union, and of course, one of our favorite states & destination Jackson Hole Wyoming where Mark currently resides.

Mark's resume is phenomenal, from initially buying condos in SF, to buying developing Pacific Union, the financial struggles through his divorce, his incredible growth of Pacific Union to become one of California's largest residential brokerages, to ultimately selling the company to Compass for an 8 figure price, to what he is doing now as one of our leaders at Compass.

Our topics include:

What were the keys in going from 450 agents and 17 offices with 2B in sales volume, to 50 offices & 14B in sales volume with Pacific Union?
Was an exit from Pacific Union always the goal? How did you take the initial approach from Compass? Why sell when things were going to sell for you out west?
What are some of the biggest pitfalls you see an agent making in the post covid world of real estate? And for sellers & buyers?
Lots of negative news about our stock price in the last year. What are your thoughts on Compass from an investor/stakeholder POV?
What are your thoughts on the progression of our technology at Compass?

Please follow Mark's journey here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mamclaughlin/

I'm very pleased to have Nick Bowers on the Real Takk Podcast. Nick is one of the best lawyers focused on real estate & estate matters. We talk about the importance of creating an estate for your family, the costs, in which scenario estate law supersedes coop & condo boards, and the house rules that govern their operation. Does the coop stock & lease supersede the legal will? What happens when a death takes place and the real estate is left to their 'next of kin'? Nick is here to answer the TOUGH questions.

I connected around 7 years ago at a real estate closing & had a few opportunities to work with my clients on various estate matters. Nick is a lifelong New Yorker, born & raised in Manhattan & grew up in the Flatiron area where we are recording today. This is an important episode that everybody should listen to not just for financial reasons, but to ensure that your family is protected in the long term.

We’ll get to know more about Nick shortly, but to give you his general background, he did his undergrad in BU, law school at Pace, and currently runs an office of lawyers with his new partner Andrew Jorges whom I work closely with on a day to day basis on our deals.

Nick has glowing reviews online which I’ll share a few excerpts from:

Kevin G writes: “I rarely have an experience with a positive lawyer. I always get stuck with a bill that is unexpectedly high or getting shuffled between junior less experienced lawyers. That said, working with Nick has been awesome. He is thoughtful and thorough. He takes ownership for his work and follows the steps and details of the transaction closely.”

Dan P writes: Nick made me feel like I was his only client (although I know I wasn't) with remarkably quick and accurate responses. I've done 19 real estate transactions, and Nick is head and shoulders above the rest in managing closes. I would recommend Nick to anyone. Many thanks Nick.“

Please follow Nick on LinkedIn here

Please reach out to Nick at his website Jorges & Bowers LLP

Adam is a Partner at Fentin Goldman Turk & Davidoff LLP where he & his team represent a list of banks, buyers, sellers, sponsors, developers, and those involved in the real estate space in the state of New York. Adam & I have met at the closing table fairly recently in person, in the post covid era where face to face meetings have become a rare thing in the world of real estate.

Adam Turk is a lifelong New Yorker, born in Brooklyn, while doing a stint in Long Island, and now resides in New Jersey with his wife & kids. He’s a die hard knicks & rangers fan, while supporting many of the lowly teams that currently operate in our state. Please follow Adam on his socials:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamsethturkesq/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamsethturk

Adams Must Visits IN NYC:

Top Deli: Gottlieb's (get the chicken cutlet, don't ask questions!) South Williamsburg

Top BBQ: Izzy's Smokehouse https://izzyssmokehouse.com/

(Upper West Side )

Thanking our listeners for the 100th episode. A huge shoutout to the friends of the pod!

Shay Artzi is the Senior Vice President and head of Engineering at Compass. He comes on the show to discuss all things Compass AI, the past, present & potential future of what this technology may hold for real estate professionals. Shay’s background is nothing short of impressive. He obtained both his BA & Master in Computer Science at the Israel Institute of Technology, then later obtained his Ph.D. at MIT in Computer Science. Before joining Compass, Shay was the principal software development manager for Amazon Web Services, and an engineering manager at Amazon, and before that, he built his career working in cloud infrastructure at IBM.

In this era of technological change, I believe it’s important that we have Shay on our pod. I recognize that both consumers & and agents must be able to digest these massive changes, and not let the public or news outlets run with their own version of the story, or rush to their judgments on what AI’s role will be in our world of real estate.   Please follow Shay’s LinkedIn profile.

Please follow me on: IGTwitterSPOTIFY
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My good buddy & industry leader Justin Rubinstein comes onto the Real Takk Pod to catch up on the real estate world of 2023, and what he looks forward to in 2024.

Justin's favorite social media platform is Linkedin, so give him a follow here!

Topics Covered:

Favorite social media platform of the year?

Favorite podcast of the year?

Favorite new development project of the year?

Favorite re-sale project of the year?

Favorite Deal of the Year?

A personal highlight of the year?

Trip of the year?

NYC Restaurant of the year? Cochina Alba in West Chelsea

The Biggest Winners in Real Estate 2023 (I.e. Related projects in NYC, NYC landlords achieving high rents, Jerome Powell, Sheldon Solow's Son, etc.)
The Biggest loser in Real Estate 2023 (i.e. Manhattan office market, due to high vacancy, first time home buyers with the high interest rates, the government, rent stabilized landlrods,)
The Biggest Winner in Business, not real estate related 2023 (Black Friday shoppers, auto dealers, home builders, breweries, wedding venues, etc.)
The Biggest loser in Business 2023 (Elliman, Compass stock, SBF, Harvard, etc.) high end liberal arts colleges (re-edit)
The Biggest real estate surprise in 2023 (I.e. rapid raise in interest rates, how inflation impacted the feds strong response, etc.) in elasticity of the market
The Best new trend in real estate (i.e. influencers in real estate, tiktokers being real estate agents, increase of home ownership, more millennials in the market for purchase, etc. )
The Worst Trend in Real Estate 2023 (i.e. rise of mortgage interest rates, trillions of wealth wiped off the NASDAQ & stock market, etc.)

9.Predict the biggest winner in real estate in 2024: (i.e. Stephen Ross b/c he may win the superbowl, the city of Aspen who seems to be recession proof, Texas, etc.)

Predict the biggest loser in real estate in 2024: (i.e. Compass Stock, Multi family market, old condos, pre-war coops, DC real estate, etc.)

Mark is a friend & colleague, as well as one of the top agents in the nation. As the founder of the Hustis/Jovanovic Team, Mark brings a wealth of knowledge & experience to the real estate market. We sit down to discuss all things real estate & business in 2023, and what he predicts for our market in 2024.

Mark's favorite social media is his Linkedin, so please give him a follow here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/markjovanovic/

Marks NYC Restaurant of 2023: Rezdora NYC

Other Topics Covered With Mark

The Biggest Winners in Real Estate 2023
The Biggest loser in Real Estate 2023
The Biggest Winner in Business, not real estate related 2023
The Biggest loser in Business 2023
The Biggest real estate surprise in 2023
The Best new trend in real estate
The Worst Trend in Real Estate 2023

9.Predict the biggest winner in real estate in 2024

Predict the biggest loser in real estate in 2024

Enjoy!

We're wrapping up the year with our traditional segment, where I invite my favorite real estate experts to discuss the winners, losers, and predictions of 2024. This episode features my friend Sean Mcpeak, the Founder of the Mcpeak Team at Serhant and most recently “The Empire Collective” with his partners Jordan March & Alex Heydt.

Sean & I met at Compass back in June of 2014 and worked together for just four short years at our Union Square West & 5th Avenue offices. After a taste of Halstead for 2.5 years, he joined Serhant as one of their founding agents, and it’s been a little over 3 years since their inception into the brokerage world. Sean offers a wealth of knowledge and experience in our field, and he’s here to offer his distinct viewpoints of our real estate market & world.

Please follow Sean’s Instagram at @sean_mcpeak

His Team: @empirecollective_

Jordan Wright is a third-generation real estate agent based out of Malibu California. With degrees in Film, International Relations, and French, and a diverse background in marketing and customer relations, sellers seeking high-level marketing of their homes will find a skilled and knowledgeable realtor in Jordan Wright.

Like many of the agents I love at Compass, Jordan is not just a big real estate nerd. He’s a dedicated big wave surfer, with his passion taking him to all over to world to chase his surf spots. He’s also a big time snowboarder, spear fisherman, yogi, and an outdoor enthusiast.

Jordan & I met at the Tom Ferry conference back in 2019, where he was a superstar agent & coaching client bringing his knowledge of door-knocking to the audience. He has a pretty incredible story that we will get into a little later on this episode.

Please follow Jordan at @thewrightwayteam on IG

Deep Dive Questions:

You’re a third-generation real estate agent in your family. Did you ever want to do something different? Or was this always in your blood?
Tell me your door-knocking claim to fame story.
100 people at an open, how does that even happen?
What are some of the biggest hurdles buyers & sellers must overcome when they start learning about your market?
Is it possible to be a first-time home buyer in Malibu?
What advice do you have for agents that can help them prepare for 2024?
What advice do you have for buyers so that they can be properly prepared to purchase in 2024?
What is one win, and one loss, you had in 2024? (Personal or business)

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Have you been to Tahoe? Well, let me introduce you to my friend & colleague Brandon Walsh. Brandon moved to North Lake Tahoe in 2009 to join the Squaw Valley Ski Patrol. He took his talents to real estate in 2014 and joined the family-owned Tahoe Real Estate Group, then in 2018 became part of the founding team of Compass. Brandon has sold more than $80 million of real estate to date and continues to excel in his career as a real estate broker, servicing clients locally and from across the world.

DID YOU KNOW?

Lake Tahoe is over 2-3 million years old. Tahoe is considered an ancient lake and is counted among the 20 oldest lakes in the world.
Most of Nevada's side of Tahoe is a National Forest, thus housing supply on that side is limited.
The stored heat in the Lake's massive amount of water compared to its relative surface area prevents the Lake from reaching freezing temperature under the prevailing climatic conditions.
Tahoe’s clarity has impressed visitors since the time of Mark Twain in the 1880s. Historical accounts indicate the water may have been as clear as 120 feet during that time.

Please follow Brandon's life journey at @brandon.walsh_tahoe

Locals Corner!

Favorite current Tahoe restaurant or establishment? Old Range Steak House IG: @oldrangesteakhouse
The All Time go to Tahoe restaurant or establishment? Moodys Bistro IG: @Moodysbistrobarbeats

Guest Questions Corner

Guest Question from Tim Rothman of Compass NYC: Being that you work and sell in vacation areas, when would you say is your busy season and when you are not busy, what do you do to keep yourself busy aside from drinking, smoking and doing other fun stuff?

Guest question from none other than Lane Johnson from Aspen Colorado: How does it feel to live and work at a place that, in comparison to Aspen, Colorado, is considered subpar? I’ll rephrase… where Tahoe ranks among ski resorts in the continental United States???

Guest Question from Levi Meyer of Compass Miami: Brandon, I referred you a buyer for Lake Tahoe and you sold him a house in Nevada! I wasn’t expecting that. Can you elaborate for us on the crossover from Tahoe to Nevada and how that works for you as an agent?

Deep Dive Questions:

I’d like to think the 20s are a struggling time for young professionals. (lots of videos on social media posted from Gen Z who are complaining about housing costs, income, buying groceries, etc.). How did you get into the business? What hurdles did you have to overcome? When did things start to ‘click’ for you?
Is there an affordable housing crisis in Tahoe? Meaning, are typical middle-class workers having a hard time getting into first-time home ownership? If so, what are your ideas of solutions that must be implemented to satisfy both consumers & and builders? Can you get into home ownership if you’re working full time on the mountain?
Construction Costs: Describe the typical costs and processes, that buyers have to think through when purchasing non-new development. What about costs as a developer? (and this is a general question, but if you know specifics, please go deep!)
interest rates are at an all-time high in our modern lives. What are your buyers saying? sellers? And please forecast what your market will look like at the end of 2024.
What advice can you give to the following
1. First-time home buyers
2. first-time sellers
3. Brand new real estate agents
4. veteran real estate agents

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Pleased to have Todd Wiley on the Real Takk Pod. Todd is the Founding agent of Compass San Francisco. Upon graduating from San Francisco University, Todd started his career at ATT Wireless back on October 1994, then worked his way through several tech companies & ultimately switched careers getting his real estate license in 2004. For the next 11 years, Todd ran a successful real estate business before ultimately being selected to represent our first Compass flagship office in the Bay Area. Todd is a specialist in trust and probate cases, Todd focuses a portion of his business on the development of his professional relationships with attorneys, fiduciaries, accountants, and financial planners. As a result, Todd has been a consistent top-producing agent for the last decade, performing in the top 1% out of real estate agents in San Francisco. What I love about Tom is that he is not just a big real estate nerd. Todd is a skilled outdoorsman, putting his mark in the surfing community in California judging competitions & traveling the world chasing the perfect wave. He is also a skilled fisherman where he frequently shows off his stock of salmon that he calls “mowing the lawn’ trolling along the coastline of California on his boat.

Todd has one of my favorite Instagram accounts in the real estate industry. He’s authentic, positive, and informative with his content. Please follow him @thewileyteamsf along with his websites

Compass

Google

Fun Facts!

Favorite current SF restaurant or establishment? Burma Superstar @Burmasuperstarsf
All-time go to SF restaurants or establishments? Kokkari in FiDi
If you could live in any other block or neighborhood in SF, where & why? Sea cliff in El Camino Del Mar

Deep Dive Questions:

As the founder of our SF flagship office, tell me why you decided to make the change. How did it start? Your business was obviously good before the change, why rock the boat?
Every agent will go through phases of struggle in the lifespan of their career. What were some of your largest obstacles? And how did you overcome them?
SF is a unique market compared to the rest of the world. What have you learned in business since the COVID shutdown of 2020?
How have real estate market dynamics changed since the early 2000s, to where we are today? Speak on the city’s relationship with real estate, the type of buyers, & changes in neighborhoods.
What are your thoughts on the recent movement to ban real estate broker commissions? Are you concerned with the NAR lawsuit?
Your wife is also your business partner. How do you balance your work life & private

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We're on to Compass Seattle, where I have my Seattle Luxury Condo & Land expert Jeff Reyolds on the pod. Jeff comes with a passion for urban living and a deep understanding of the real estate landscape. He is the editor and founder of www.UrbanCondoSpaces.com, a blog dedicated to the Seattle and Bellevue markets. Leveraging over 18 years of experience, Jeff has established himself as a trusted real estate advisor, land acquisition consultant, and broker.Follow Jeff on:

Twitter @Seattle_Condos

Instagram @urbancondospaces

Local Expert Jeff Reynolds:

My current favorite Seattle Establishment: Canlis

All-Time Favorite Seattle Establishment: Cafe Lago

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Pleased to have Compass San Diego real estate pro Bree Arellano join the Real Takk podcast. Bree is a San Diego native who started two businesses of her own before diving into our world of real estate. I like Bree’s style of content that she produces, blending in a mix of educational videos, personal life, and life around San Diego. She leads an active lifestyle of surfing, practicing yoga, & and running.

FUN FACT:

Top 2 San Diego recently favorite restaurant or establishment? The Friendly IG: @thefriendlysd2. Top 2 all-time go-to San Diego restaurants or establishments? (Wrench & Rodent) & (Born & Raised) Please follow Bree on:

Instagram

@breearellano (https://www.instagram.com/breearellano/#)
and follow our journey.

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Jay Martin is the Executive Director of CHIP, also known as the Community Housing Improvement Program. He is a lobbyist and an advocate of more housing in NYC including affordable and better housing all around.

CHIP was founded in 1966 as a trade association for owners of over 400,000 rent-stabilized rental properties across New York City’s five boroughs. CHIP provides educational programming, compliance assistance, and legislative advocacy to its more than 4,000 members.

CHIP advocates for the rights of property owners, empowering them to make major investments in their properties and achieve financial sustainability while maintaining affordable properties.

As a representative for the owners of one-third of the City’s rent-stabilized homes, CHIP plays an invaluable role in establishing trust, good relations, and community between New York City property owners and residents.

Jay has been featured in countless articles, and a few podcasts hosted by brokers in the commercial world. I am proud to say that this is the first time Jay is on a podcast episode hosted by a residential real estate broker.

FUN FACT: Jay's go-to restaurants:

2nd Ave Deli
Atera

Please follow Jay Martin & his insightful tidbits of his work on

Twitter @jaymart222

Linkedin @ linkedin.com/in/jay-martin-a7474027

NYC's top developer Two Trees Managing Director David Lombino joins the pod to discuss their work on Williamsburg Brooklyn's premier waterfront.

Two Trees is a Brooklyn-based, family-owned real estate development firm founded in 1968. Two Trees has owned, managed, and developed a portfolio worth more than $4B in real estate, owning and managing more than 4,000 apartments, 3 million square feet of commercial and industrial real estate, and most notably developing one of the most important waterfronts in New York City, Domino Park, Domino Sugar Factory, and their new project known as the River Ring, Two Trees’ Other Eye-Catching Project on the Williamsburg Waterfront and a development site which was formally owned by ConEdison and used as an oil tank storage facility. Two Trees purchased the 11-acre Domino site in 2012 for $185 million, and over the past decade has demolished 27+ buildings and cleared the site for rezoning, excavation & development.

Most recently, Two Trees has been in the news for opening up The Refinery, a fifteen-story, 460,000 square-foot office space within an industrial brick structure originally completed in 1884 which then housed the factory & production of sugar for Domino. The Refinery is set to redefine the standard for commercial buildings in New York City, offering world-class workspaces and amenities, while preserving the site’s rich history and embracing sustainability.

Fun Fact: Michael has a friend group named "Red Sauce Gang". The gang meets once a quarter and tries out various restaurants around the city.

Here are David Lombino's and the Red Sauce Gang's go-to that YOU should try:

Raos

Michaels of Brooklyn

Le Crocodile

Jason Advocate is NYC's leading divorce attorney in NYC. He has been involved in the split of the family members of Rockrose & TF Cornerstone, to Kent Swig of Swig Equities who was once married to another real estate titan's daughter. Jason is the Partner of his law office Advocate, LLP which specializes in divorce & family law in NYC. Jason has 25 years of experience representing clients in all aspects of divorce, including child custody, alimony, and property division.

While divorce is wildly complicated, we’ll center our conversation around real estate, and the complexities involved around it here in New York City. Please follow Jason on his website advocatellp.com, his LinkedIn,

As a long-time New Yorker who grew up in the Upper West Side, here are some of his favorite GO TOs in NYC:

Recently Favorite Restaurant in NYC: HYUN IG: HYUN_NYC

All Time Favorite Restaurants in NYC: Bowery Meat Company IG: bowerymeatcompany

Favorite Old Time NYC Bar: Max Fish IG: maxfishbar

Joined by my guest co-host Levi Meyer from Compass Miami, I am pleased to have my other Florida friend & industry colleague Aaron Buchbinder from Boca Raton Florida to talk about his life, business, & the real estate market there. We discuss happenings on house maintenance, roofs, insurance issues, what you can purchase at several price points, and his advice to homeowners, sellers, & those who are looking to move to Boca Raton. As one of the founding agents of Compass in the Boca Raton area & a top producer, Aaron brings a wealth of knowledge to this episode. He understands the markets on the coastline and can guide you through all questions & concerns you have about Boca.

Please follow him on IG at https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-buchbinder-78ba847/ Website: https://thebuchbindergroupfl.com/

Pleased to have Jordan Sachs on the Real Takk Podcast. Jordan was the co-founder & CEO of BOLD New York, a residential real estate brokerage in NYC that at its height, exclusively represented about 15K units across NYC ranging from pre-war walk-ups, to the largest rental building in NYC at almost 1M square feet on West 42nd street named Sky, to trophy rental buildings developed by JDS called The American Copper building. The 10-year-old brokerage was acquired by Compass back in February of 2021, which brought Jordan & his team of 120 agents along with his portfolio of new development & existing rental buildings.

Jordan has also launched a boutique lending venture firm in Santa Monica called Sunday Capital, which specializes in multi-family loans ranging from $1M to $20M.

Please follow Jordan @jsachs3 on IG, and the following links to his work:

Website: https://sundaycap.com/

linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-sachs-89a11a14a/

twitter: @jsachs2

Joe Fox is one of the most experienced operator & manager of NYC multi family properties, coops, and condominiums in NYC . So what does an operator & manager of NYC multi family & commercial mixed use properties actually mean? Joe & I discuss the intricacies of the below areas on this episode:

Dealings with the NYPD, NYFD, Dept of Buildings, Dept of Health, HPD (housing & preservation dept) & more.
How management of a coop & condo board works, and his relationship with real estate brokers that transact in these buildings.
How Rent Control & Rent Stabilization affects owners & the NYC housing market in general.
Trend of the NYC retail commercial landscape in Midtown Manhattan between 2020 and present time.

This is an extremely informative episode and I hope that my listeners will learn a few things from Joe!

I am pleased to have NYC real estate legend Elizabeth Ann Stribling Kivlan AKA EA Stribling on the the pod. EA is a born & raised, through & though 5th generation New Yorker. She attended the Chapin school in the UES, then as most NY’ers do, left the city to attend school at Holy Cross, then to SF to pursue a career outside of real estate and not live in NYC. Her first entry into real estate was with a top agent Pacific Union in SF where she cut her teeth learning the ins and outs of our business. But as many New Yorkers do, she found that there is no better place than NYC so upon her return back intoNYC, EA joined her family business Stribling & Associates where she helped build the brokerage with her family over the course of 24 years. About 4 years ago, compass acquired Stribling associates , then a firm that has closed $1.62B just in sell side deals with an agent count of around 270 agents and a robust new development division.

We discuss all things NYC real estate, the state of the brokerage industry now, the past, and the future.

Please Follow EA on:

IG

Linkedin

and make sure to visit our Compass website

This episode dives into all things Eagle 9 Title Insurance, standard title insurance, and Compass buying up Title Companies mean for the industry with Title Vest Titans Courtney Ronan & Joshua Bolden.

Courtney Ronan: After college she worked at Goldman Sachs for 3.8 years in the investment management division, then joined Urban Compass on June 2013, 6 months before I joined the team as one of the first licensed agents. While at Urban Compass & Compass, Courtney’s role at compass varied from working as an Onboarding Associate managing the lifecycle stages of newly hired salespeople and facilitated operational and business needs for brokers including training on proprietary product releases. Prior to that, she was a Listings Associate, and also worked as Neighborhood Specialist at Urban Compass from June 2013 to October 2013. Courtney’s also bee instrumental in the formation of the takk team, helping me interview & get Danielle Stout on my team who’s been here for 8 years now!

Present time, Courtney Ronan is the Senior Vice President of Business Development at TitleVest where handles the sales and business development for residential and commercial deals in both hyper-local and nationwide markets. She excels at identifying gaps in current business operations and provides ongoing development support by leveraging her extensive network of real estate attorneys, lenders, agents, and professionals in the real estate sector.

Joshua Bolden, is a coop underwriter & department manager with Titlevest with over 11 years of experience handling Eagle 9 Title Insurance on coop transactions. Josh hails from Central Ohio a graduate of University of Dayton, and has lived in NYC for 18 years. As the Emperor of coop policy, Josh & TitleVest is pleased to present Coop UCC/PlusTM— title insurance developed exclusively for coop transactions. For those who want the added protection of a title insurance policy, Coop UCC/PlusTM is a compelling option. It offers coverage beyond the traditional leasehold policy at a fraction of the cost of traditional policies. Josh overseas 2K closings a year, and runs a team of 6 assisting in those transactions.

To mark my 15th year in the real estate business in NYC, I hop on my pod to discuss 15 lessons that fellow small business owners, real estate brokers, & industry insiders can learn from.

Full episode on all audio platforms here:

Full episode link Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/39sf5cb...

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Podbean: https://realtakk.podbean.com/

(Recorded on April 2023). Had a great chat with NYC real estate broker & RE legend Bob Knakal on this episode. We often abuse the word GOAT in the world of sports & business. If one were to not use this world so casually, then Bob would be considered as The Goat of NYC real estate. He's closed almost $21B worth of real estate to date, over 40K residential units, and has sold $7B worth of development sites across NYC resulting in over 29B square feet. The numbers.just.don't.lie.

Fun Fact: Bob is striving to sell 3000 properties in NYC, hall of fame figures that you could compare in baseball to the likes of Albert Pujols, Ichiro Suzuki, A Rod, Derek Jeter, & Cal Ripken Jr.

He's started a twitter account in January of 2023 and the account has since gone viral in our world. Bob has a wealth of knowledge & I wish I could have spent a few more hours with him!

Please follow bob on all social channels:

Twitter: @Bobknakal

Linkedin

Instagram: @bobknakalnyc

Welcome to Jackson Hole! I welcome my guy Colby Murphy on the Real Takk Pod to discuss all things Jackson Hole & Teton Village Real Estate. The land of The Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole is not just a beautiful, but a historical town set with local leadership that is intent on preserving its history, character, and most importantly, the land & natural beauty that surrounds this geographical region.

Colby & I talk discuss the tax advantages of owning real estate in Jackson Hole, the events around town, & what more people should be attracted to Jackson Hole & own some real estate here.

Colby is originally from the land of Delta Blues. He grew up as a nationally ranked cyclist, & even earned a spot on Team USA for the 2013 UCI World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand.

Please follow Colby's journey on his IG at @colby_murphy & his website https://colbymurphy.com

I truly believe what Jason is doing is one of the most important aspects of successfully selling real estate. Most sellers leave the staging out of the sales equation due to their brokers inexperience, gross cost, time, logistics, & stress. While some sellers who own gold coast land may be able to skip the process, the majority of those who strive to achieve top-end pricing will need to go through the staging process to appeal to the masses. This episode describes the failures of the open market as is, to the eventual successes once Jason took over the listing.

My industry colleague of 14+ years, Mr. Jason Saft joins the Real Takk Pod to discuss his career transformation from brokerage to one of the top interior designers in the United States.

Jason is one of the founding members & agents of Compass, where he was first asked to work on the management team overseeing the older business model of Compass, aka Urban Compass. Fast forward to the present time, Jason is the creator & founder of Staged To Sell Home, a leading home boutique staging firm in NYC & Brooklyn. In 2020 Jason Saft & Staged To Sell Home was awarded Best Luxury Home Stager & Best Occupied Home Stager in The United States by R.E.S.A (Real Estate Staging Association).

Please follow Jason at the links below:

URL: https://www.stagedtosellhome.com/

Wall Street Journal Article

New York Times

IG: @StagedToSellHome & @JasonSaft

Pleased to have my friend & industry partner Dylan on the pod. Dylan is the CEO & Founder of XL Property Management in NYC with over $10B worth of real estate assets managed across the NYC region. XL is a leading NYC property management firm that specializes in managing the assets of condos & coops owned by individual & institutional investors throughout the world.

I have personally let Dylan manage a few of our client's investments in the city, and we are excited to partner with him & our clients to ensure that they are taken care of on a day-to-day basis.

Please follow Dylan on IG @dylanpichulik & his company website https://www.xl-rpm.com/

Topics we cover:

Where is Dylan from?

West village or greenwich village?

Chelsea or Flatiron?

Midtown East or Midtown West?

Instagram or tick-tock?

Facebook or twitter?

Favorite city / town outside of NYC?

Deep Dive Questions:

-Your thoughts & procedures at XL on the new(ish) security deposit laws & how you deal with security issues with past tenants. I'm personally curious about this dealing with lots of individual owners who ask me to handle security deposits!

-What new investors should know about day-to-day property management before buying their first/second investment? Please share your advice.

-If your budget was $1M to purchase a 1 condo investment, which building/neighborhood would you choose and why? (follow-up questions are if you had $3M, and then $5M)

-Any new compliance issues being brought up in NYC in the future, such as the 'banning of gas stoves', to 'upgrading heating initiatives to cleaner tech' that owners should be aware of that you are currently discussing with your clients?

-cost structure & how Dylan earns income? What % does he charge to investors who hire him?

Industry leader, colleague & friend joins the pod to wrap up his thoughts on 2022, and the prediction of the real estate world in 2023.

Scott is a long time real estate broker in NYC, ranked consistently in the top 1% of NYC agents with a few hundred million in sales just in the last few years. We’ll get to know Scott shortly and as a supplement make sure to give Scott & his team. Follow at @scottandmark & his personal @scott.hustis.

Topics Include:

-One Manhattan Square or One Brooklyn Point?

-Lantern House or The Cortland

-15 Hudson or 35 Hudson

-Central Park Tower or Steinway Tower?

-Favorite Project of yours in 2022 & why?

-Thoughts on Zillow / street easy

The Biggest Winners in Real Estate 2022
The Biggest loser in Real Estate 2022
The Biggest Winner in Business, not real estate related
The Biggest loser in Business 2022
The Biggest real estate surprise in 2022
The Biggest business surprise in 2022
The Best new trend in real estate
The Worst Trend in Real Estate 2022
Predict the biggest winner in real estate in 2023
Predict the biggest loser in real estate in 2023

All start NYC real estate veteran, Compass founding Executive, and my manager Gordon Golub joins the Real Takk Pod to discuss & reflect on 2022 happenings in our world, and goes on to predict what's in the forecast for us in 2023!

Takk Team Top Attorney Andrew Jorges & Takk Team Title Courtney Ronan come on the podcast to discuss the wrap up of 2022 & prediction of 2023 in the world of real estate. Topic we cover include:

Topics of Discussion

1. The Biggest Winners in Real Estate 2022

The Biggest loser in Real Estate 2022

3. The Biggest Winner in Business, not real estate related

4. The Biggest loser in Business 2022

5. The Biggest real estate surprise in 2022

The Biggest business surprise in 2022

7. The Best new trend in real estate

8. The Worst Trend in Real Estate 2022

Predict the biggest winner in real estate in 2023
Predict the biggest loser in real estate in 2023

I bring on one of my best friends in the industry Frank Suriano on the show to discuss the wrap-up of the year & outlook for 2023. Follow Frank on IG at @Fsuriano

Franks's topics of discussion include:

1. The Biggest Winners in Real Estate 2022

The Biggest loser in Real Estate 2022

3. The Biggest Winner in Business, not real estate related

4. The Biggest loser in Business 2022

5. The Biggest real estate surprise in 2022

The Biggest business surprise in 2022

7. The Best new trend in real estate

8. The Worst Trend in Real Estate 2022

Predict the biggest winner in real estate in 2023
Predict the biggest loser in real estate in 2023

Part one of a three part series of the Takk Team Insiders coming on to discuss their expert opinion on 2022 winners, losers, and the prediction of all things real estate & business in 2023. This episode features my friend Sean Mcpeak of Serhant, and Justin Rubenstein of Compass.

Follow my guys on IG:

Sean McPeak: https://www.instagram.com/sean_mcpeak/

Justin Rubinstein: https://www.instagram.com/justinrubinstein/

Topics of Discussion

1. The Biggest Winners in Real Estate 2022

The Biggest loser in Real Estate 2022

3. The Biggest Winner in Business, not real estate related

4. The Biggest loser in Business 2022

5. The Biggest real estate surprise in 2022

The Biggest business surprise in 2022

7. The Best new trend in real estate

8. The Worst Trend in Real Estate 2022

Predict the biggest winner in real estate in 2023
Predict the biggest loser in real estate in 2023

Jason Wieloch is the founder & CEO of the Wieloch Group, and also a founding agent of the Compass Atlanta Market where we opened our first office about four years ago. Jason & his team feature a combined 60 years of experience and over $380M in sales of homes in Atlanta Georgia. Prior to Compass, Jason was an agent with a few other brokerage firms with over 14 years of experience in the business.

Jason’s fun facts:

-Studied managerial finance from the University of Mississippi (go ole miss),

Climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa (19K feet of vertical!)

Traveled to 30 countries around the world,

-Fan of the Atlanta Braves

-Runs the “The WG Podcast”.

Please follow Jason on Instagram @Jason.wieloch

his pod channel on Spotify & apple pod “The WG podcasts”

Please follow us on

IG @takkyamaguchi

FB: https://www.facebook.com/takk.yamaguchi

The Takk Team Compass: http://bit.ly/TakkTeamCompass

The Takk Team Page: http://bit.ly/TakkTeamPage

The Takk Team Facebook: http://bit.ly/TakkTeamFacebook

Instagram: http://bit.ly/TakkInstagram

Linkedin: http://bit.ly/TakkLinkedin

Follow The Real Takk Podcast where we discuss industry topics relating to all things real estate: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/39sf5cb...

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Podbean: https://realtakk.podbean.com/

Pleased to have John Zimmerman, aka JZ, on the real takk pod. JZ & I met several years ago when he was appointed to lead the Compass' flagship office in Dallas Ft. Worth and the Greater Tarrant County area. JZ is a top-producing Ft. Worth agent for the last 30 years. A strategic growth manager once told me, “JZ is a big deal, he sells blocks upon blocks of the Dallas Fort Worth area”

He’s deeply involved in the development of the Montserrat and La Cantera neighborhoods, has been ranked the No. 1 agent in Dallas Ft. Worth for several years, ranked No. 2 in the state of Texas, and he's among the top one-half percent of agents nationwide.

Originally from Fayetteville, John studied finance and real estate at the University of Arkansas. He's lived in Ft. Worth for nearly 30 years and currently resides in the Shady Oaks Country Club neighborhood. In his free time, he enjoys golf and spending time with his children.

On the pod, we discuss all things DFW, being one of the founding agents of DFW, his thoughts on real estate aggregators like Zillow & Redfin, how he got into the business, his memorable deals, the types of clients he works with, advice for newer agents coming into the business, and his favorite DFW bars & restaurants!

Please follow JZ

IG @jzfortworth,

FB at John Zimmerman,

Website www.jzforthworth.com

Please follow us on

IG @takkyamaguchi

FB: https://www.facebook.com/takk.yamaguchi

The Takk Team Compass: http://bit.ly/TakkTeamCompass

The Takk Team Page: http://bit.ly/TakkTeamPage

The Takk Team Facebook: http://bit.ly/TakkTeamFacebook

Instagram: http://bit.ly/TakkInstagram

Linkedin: http://bit.ly/TakkLinkedin

Follow The Real Takk Podcast where we discuss industry topics relating to all things real estate: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/39sf5cb...

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Podbean: https://realtakk.podbean.com/

Pleased to bring on top agent Daisuke “Kai” Ioh, one of the founding agents of Compass Hawaii. Kai is ranked among the top 16 Real Estate agents in the State of Hawaii in 2021, and the top 1.5% of 1.4M real estate agents in the US in 2021 and 2022 by Wall Street Journal Real Trends. Since 2015, Hawaii MLS has ranked Kai in the top 25 of all Hawaii Big Island real estate agents. Kai recorded the highest residential transaction in Big Island history at $37 million in 2020, the highest residential transaction sale in the State of Hawaii for that year. He was also involved in a $133 million residential transaction in California.

We go over several topics including:

-The differences in each of the Island in Hawaii

-Some of the big names that own & resides on each island

-Biggest wins & losses in 2022?

-Why you got into real estate

-What are some tips or advice that you can share with up & coming professionals in our field?

Please follow Kai on

IG @kai.ioh

FB: https://www.facebook.com/kai.ioh.1

Compass: https://www.compass.com/agents/kai-ioh/

Please follow us on

IG @takkyamaguchi

FB: https://www.facebook.com/takk.yamaguchi

The Takk Team Compass: http://bit.ly/TakkTeamCompass

The Takk Team Page: http://bit.ly/TakkTeamPage

The Takk Team Facebook: http://bit.ly/TakkTeamFacebook

Instagram: http://bit.ly/TakkInstagram

Linkedin: http://bit.ly/TakkLinkedin

Follow The Real Takk Podcast where we discuss industry topics relating to all things real estate: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/39sf5cb...

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Podbean: https://realtakk.podbean.com/

An honor to have one of the Founding members of Compass NC & Raleigh Johnny Chappell on The Real Takk Pod. Johnny is the Founder & CEO of Chapel, a real estate firm at compass Led by top Triangle real estate broker & developer Johnny Chappell. He is ranked amongst the top 1% of brokers in the Triangle and boasts 15+ years of real estate industry experience.

A few more facts of John: He’s a graduate of of UNC Chapel Hill, was a news anchor for time Warner cable for 6 years for a 24 hour news channel, was a sports anchor, & a photo journalist. He has a face for radio & video, is a dog person, and his favorite binge show is The Office. Please follow Johnny Chapel @chappellres, YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/chappellres, & www.chappellres.com/

If you are looking for real estate opportunities in the Raleigh NC area, there is a wealth of information you can be sure to gain from working with Johnny & his team.

Show Notes:

Chappel Chats: Interview with Mayor Mary-Ann Balwin

Raleigh places to eat:

Beasley's Chicken & Waffles @Beasleys_Raleigh

Death & Taxes @deathandtaxesnc

Sushi Mon @sushimon_raleigh

Top of the Hill @topofthehill

Topics of Discussion:

Where are you from and how long have you lived in NC? How is public transit in the triangle? Can you hop on transit in the area?

What do you think about the tough inflation market we are in today?

FB or Instagram?

Do you have a role model in RE? Who & Why?

Describe your morning routine?

Do you have another agent you admire at Compass outside of Atlanta? If so, who & why?

Please plug a few go to bars & restaurants in the Raleigh Region that I can link & share in our episode notes, and that I should visit. (please see show notes!)

Deep dive

You had the special privilege to be the founding agent for Raleigh NC & The Triangle. Top agents are set up fairly well at their previous brokerages (whether it’s marketing dollars, house splits, nice office space, street credit, etc. I’m always fascinated by our team of recruiters who show the ability to convince the top 1% of the leaders to join. What was your story of joining Compass when it was still a relatively small name back then?
What did the RE industry look like when you started, and how has it evolved since you became the founding agent at Compass?
Tell me about a memorable deal you did since covid 2020. Why was it memorable?
Our clients in NYC city are dominated by tech founders, PE & hedge fund CEO’s, & small business owners. Who are the buyers & sellers in Atlanta Georgia?
Share us some of your knowledge. Any advice for those who are new in the business? And those that are 10-15 years in the business? 27:34 talk to the most people. You’re on the timer.
You have a fairly robust team. What do you look for in a hire? How do you hire for your team?

How the tables have turned! My brilliant partner in crime Nick Svensson, hailing from Santa Barbara California interviews yours truly. A few questions & topics that we gloss over on this quick episode:

Where were you born? Where did you grow up? Tell us about your beginnings
What leads to your entry into a career as a real estate broker?
What do you look for in a hire? How did you find Danielle Stout? What does she do? Do you like her? Did you have anyone else on your team before Danielle?
Every agent operates their business in their own, unique way. I gain clients from my current & past personal relationships and trust, while some agents try to lure clients in via tiktok. What is your strategy?
Do you have a favorite real estate market outside of NYC real estate?
Why is Takk the best?

Thanks for your excellent interview skills Nick! Give Nick a follow on IG: @nick_svensson & his team @svenssonbirchgroup

Former Chief Marketing Officer of Compass Matt Spangler joins the Real Takk Pod in discussing his recent departure from Compass, the reasons why, and what he looks forward to in the future. Matt & I go met back in the fall of 2014, at what was then a company known as Urban Compass, a small real estate firm that only had a few dozen agents, engineers, and fewer designers, marketing leads, and staff on the creative side. Matt joined as the head of creative marketing, building out a team of over a hundred members including a creative studio, account management, strategy, events, advertising, & media buying team. He also oversaw the creative direction of all brand communications and marketing by building a world-class in-house design studio that provides seamless design thinking across brand, agent, marketing, product advertising & expansion. As we expanded across the nation, Matt oversaw a marketing & creative team across more than 200 offices coast to coast.

Prior to Compass, Matt was the Executive Vice President of Content & Marketing for Tribeca Enterprises, (the owner of the film festival), along with another half a dozen creative companies, projects, and teams, he’s helped shape. Please give Matt Spangler a follow on Instagram at @Mattspangler & his linkedin here

Show Notes & Honorable mentions:

Kanoyama Restaurant @nyc_kanoyama & Chef Nobu & the Omakase Menu Info

Rob Reffkin, CEO of Compass @robertreffkin

Rob Lehman, Chief Business Officer of Compass @Robertslehman

Gordon Gollub, Chief Real Estate Officer at Compass @golubgordon

A great pleasure to have one of Compass Senior Managing Directors Dan Marrello on the Real Takk Pod. I first met Dan at Town Residential, at the time one of the fastest growing brokerages in the NYC real estate world. I was recruited around 2010 and met Dan around 2012. Prior to Town, Dan was a manager at Citi Habitats for almost 10 years. At present day, Dan helps & oversees several dozen agents & teams that up the Compass NYC offices.

Dan comes onto the pod discussing the state of the NYC rental market, the history of the rental market, why the market is broken & how it could be fixed, as well as past stories of his time at Town, and prior to that, Citi Habitats. (both firms have closed or have been acquired)

Fun fact: Dan is also an owner of four F45 training gyms in NYC which we also discuss on the pod episode.

You may follow Dan at @marrellonyc & his linkedin bio here!

Please Answer in 1- to 2 words (3 - 4 minutes total)

Ticktok & Instagram
2022 NYC Rental Market
Real Estate Reality television
TOWN Residential
Andrew Heiberger
Rent Control & Rent Stabilization
Citi Habitats
Limited Listings / Limited Exclusives
Open listings
Streeteasy
Streeteasy Building Pro / Neighborhood Expert Program
Inflation
Crypto Currency
(Bonus questions?!)

Show Notes:

Warm-Up Questions for Dan Marrello:

Where are you from? What neighborhoods have you lived in NYC?
Go to restaurant in Brooklyn & Manhattan? Campagnola NYC
Favorite NYC neighborhood & why?
What makes NYC the best city in your opinion?
Favorite city / state outside of NYC & why?
Do you have a role model in the real estate industry? Who & why?
What’s an insult that you’ve received that you’re proud of?
What’s an ideal day in NYC look like to you?
Do you have a morning routine?

Topics of Discussion

Tell me about your early days at Citi Habitats. How did you start? Where did it end?
Let’s talk about TOWN. What did you learn? How did you grow? What were some of your takeaways there throughout the years? What were the last few days like for you?
Rents are extremely high in the city this year. Could you give me 1 or 2 factors that is causing this?
Let’s go back to rent control & rent stabilization in NYC. How is this impacting owner operators, & renters in NYC?
What are some tips for New Yorkers who are moving into the city this year?
Americans, politicians, New Yorkers, in the upper, middle, & lower class all have a typical view of landlords in NYC. Perhaps greedy, maybe somewhat inhumane, an unforgiving man or women (shaking fist) etc. What is your view of landlords, and in NYC specifically, what types of groups / institutions / individuals are they?
What is a limited exclusive? How does that, if it does, the tenant community? The Brokerage community?
In what ways do you think the NYC rental systems are broken, or in need of significant improvement?

Julia is the Leasing Director of Compass NYC. She joins our pod to discuss all things related to the rental market of Manhattan. As a founder of a team that leases around 150 individual units a year, Julia & I get to discuss the complexities of the residential rental market, why the system is broken, how to better your chances of navigating this market, why brokers get all the heat & blame, and we review policies set in place that impacts consumers both positively, & negatively.

Prior to Compass, Julia was the leasing manager at BOLD, a rental brokerage that primarily focused on the representation of new development rentals across Brooklyn & Manhattan. Prior to starting her career in real estate, Julia worked in the hospitality industry in New York City. Originally from New Jersey, Julia graduated from Purchase College, State University of New York with a B.A. in Journalism.

I have my general contractor whom I've done dozens of renovations with on the pod to catch up on the world of renovations in NYC. Follow Phil on IG at @phil_the_ceo & his company @OLExpertContracting

Topics of Discussion with Phil:

Covid Real Estate 2020
Covid real estate 2021
“Nobody wants to work”
Supply Chain
DOB (Department of buildings)
Plumbers
Coop Boards
Coop Managing Agents
Electricians
Gas Prices
NYC

Warm-Up Questions

Go to Activity in NYC
NYC go-to restaurant
Favorite NYC neighborhood & why
What makes NYC so good to live & work in?
Favorite city/state outside of NYC area & why?
Do you have a role model in the real estate industry? Who & why?
What’s an insult that you’ve received that you’re proud of?
Do you have a morning routine?

Deep Dive into Phil Garcia's company, O & L Expert Contracting:

Give me your 20-second elevator pitch
How did you get into the general contracting business?
How do you get clients that want to renovate a home?
What is the biggest misconception when people hire contractors?
What are coop boards tough with owners that want to renovate?
Advice for future sellers in this market?
What determines the cost of a renovation?
What renovation jobs are you most proud of? How much did it cost in total?

It is YOUR PERSONAL Financial Responsibility to learn how to utilize credit cards to your own benefit. Whether you are a business owner or an employed individual, you should understand which credit cards to open & close to ensure that you're maximizing the return on your monthly expenditures. I explain the basics of credit cards & their partnerships, the benefits of having a business EIN, and the proper thought process when you are opening & closing cards under your name.

Follow Takk on IG: @takkyamaguchi

Twitter: @takkyamaguchi

Real Takk Podcast Youtube Channel

Pleased to chat wtih Adam Piore, an industry colleague & frequent contributor to The Real Deal, as well as the author of the new book “The New Kings of New York,” an insider account of the stories & mayhem that defined real estate’s modern gilded age. The book features extensive interviews with the titans of NYC including Related’s Steve Ross, Extell’s Gary Barnett, JDS's Michael Stern, operators of Fortress Investment Group, and more. The book reveals new details of some of the most audacious plays in the history of the city, from Kent Swig’s Downtown buying spree to Related’s bids for Hudson Yards and the Time Warner Center. On this episode, we discuss his stories he's learned while dealing with the developers of NYC, his thoughts on Manhattan's mega projets, Russian Oligarch's, The Dolphins, and more!

You may pre-order the book at any of the following:

The Real Deal website

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Follow Adam on Twitter at @adampiore

Huge honor to chat with Kael Goodman, President & CEO of MarketProof New Development, a cutting edge, game-changing data platform focused on giving access to complete condo inventory, analytics, market reports, sales history, to residential & commercial real estate brokers, developers, lenders, title professionals, legal, mortgage & banking specialists, & PE firms.

Users have access to all inventory including shadow, listed, in contract & sold across new development & re-sale by borough, neighborhood, size, & price. Marketproof organizes the inventory so you can quickly zero in on the buildings that best fit you & your client's search. Marketproof also breaks down the numbers so you get the insights, understand unit mix, & analyze the stacking plans for new development, see discount trends, & analysis of buildings that architects, developers, brokers, buyers/sellers, can research. The site also offers permit & filings, direct access to building offering plans, & even API access to their database.

Prior to MarketProof New Development, Kael was the President & CEO of Blank Slate Factory Inc, a media & marketing company based in DUMBO which previously owned & operated Brownstoner, Brooklyn’s leading real estate & lifestyle brand. Please follow Marketproof & their journey below.

IG: @marketproofnyc

twitter: @marketproofnyc

Website: marketproof.com

A pleasure to bring on the Founders of Courted, the next & coming real estate tech company that focused on building out the tools that are designed to help agents/brokers grow their business. Inspired by their time working at McKinsey & Company, a Global Management consulting firm along with my team over at Compass, the power duo set out to build a suite of digital tools to help agents generate leads, build teams, and work with more buyers and sellers. Please follow their journey & updates here:

IG: @courted.io

Website: www.courted.io

Get to know our guests with some of my hardest hitting questions where we discuss:

One to a Few Word Answers:

Covid Real Estate 2020
Covid real estate 2021
Real Estate Reality TV
Rob Reffkin
Miami Real Estate
Real Estate Tech Space in 2022
CryptoCurrency
Inflation
Zillow
Sellers in 2021
Compass

Warm-Up Questions asked to both:

Go to Activity in NYC
NYC go-to restaurant
Favorite NYC neighborhood & why
What makes NYC so good to live & work in?
Favorite city/state outside of NYC area & why?
Do you have a role model in the real estate industry? Who & why?
What’s an insult that you’ve received that you’re proud of?
Do you have a morning routine?

Dive into your company, Courted.IO

Courted elevator pitch
How does your tech help brokers?
What was your inspiration to found this start-up?
How do you all earn a profit?
What is Courted.IO? How does it differ from other real estate tech firms?
What is your end goal?

Please follow us on Social!

The Takk Team Compass: http://bit.ly/TakkTeamCompass

The Takk Team Page: http://bit.ly/TakkTeamPage

The Takk Team Facebook: http://bit.ly/TakkTeamFacebook

Instagram: http://bit.ly/TakkInstagram

Linkedin: http://bit.ly/TakkLinkedin

Follow The Real Takk Podcast where we discuss industry topics relating to all things real estate:

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/39sf5cb...

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...

Podbean: https://realtakk.podbean.com/

Tune-In: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Technolog...

I have some of the top personalities & professionals in our industry joining me on the 2021 Real Estate Awards episode where we discuss:

1. The Biggest Winners in Real Estate

The Biggest loser in Real Estate

3. The Biggest Winner in Business

4. The Biggest loser in Business

5. The Biggest real estate surprise

The Biggest business surprise

7. The Best new trend in real estate

8. The Best new tech in real estate

9. The Worst Trend in Real Estate

Please listen & follow my guests on this episode featuring:

Courtney Ronan, TitleVest IG: @ronanthebarbearian

Justin Rubinstein, Compass Broker IG: @justinrubinstein

Natalie Hedden, Compass Broker, IG: @nataliehedden

Andrew Jorges, The Jorges Lawfirm, @jorgeslawfirm

Great pleasure to have back on my guy Nick from Montecito SB. Svensson aka "Sven’s Son" talks about his Swedish roots, strategies of business, relationships & life, the covid era real estate market, reality TV, his local go to hot spots (linked below), best practices to grow one's business, and life advice in general.

Nick lives the quintessential west coast life, working buyers from GreenDay, diving for lobster, surfing with his kids at sundown, and representing the overall beautiful lifestyle of living in Santa Barbara. Follow Nick & his real estate team on IG at @svenssonbirchgroup & @nick_svensson

Quick factoid of SB: Where are the screens in SB? "They are in the attic, you don't need them!" (don't worry about flying bugs!)

Music by: Riley Svensson @riley_svensson3

Nick's go to restaurant: Joe's Cafe

Go to Bar: seven

The Austin area has seen more proportionate growth from net migration than any other major U.S. even BEFORE COVID. According to an analysis by the Austin Chamber of Commerce Director who analyzed the U.S. Census Bureau's Annual Population Estimates data, Austin Texas population has grown by about 150 per day in the last 10 years! So what's going on with the real estate market here as a result? I sit down with the Austin Texas Compass Founding agent Guy Oberg to discuss the state of this city, the real estate market in Austin & around the Lake Travis area, & what his thoughts are in this business from the past to the future. We also touch upon his go-to restaurants, bars, & venues around Austin, his younger college days at The University of Texas at Austin, his family, & his wife/business partner Morgan Oberg. Follow Guy & his journey of life in Austin at @guyoberg3 & @theoberggroup on IG.

Frank Suriano, AKA Franklin Crab (derived from Brooklyn Crab), aka Baby Frank (the skinny fit Frank), hails from the Palm Beach Florida area. Frank is a friend, colleague, and industry vet with NYC Compass. We first met when Urban Compass was pivoting business models to resemble what we are today, working as an understudy / Jr Broker of another top team in NYC. He comes on the show to describe his come up, how he quickly became a successful broker upon leaving his old team, and what is he currently working on at present time. We also discuss the inner workings of his enormous 8 figure sales deal on a 1031 exchange, how I scared him by interjecting my thoughts into the deal (only by accident), and where his future is headed as we wrap up 2021. Follow Frank's journey on IG at @fsuriano & website www.franksuriano.com

I welcome back Daisy Dolan, now promoted as The Director of Strategic Growth at Compass. We catch up since we last spoke before Covid, discussing all things real estate at Compass, including her recent promotion. We also banter on what she did during Covid, her recent life lessons, & also Robert Reffkins new book, "Nobody Succeeds Alone."

If you haven’t yet, please go check out my past episode #9 which we recorded back in October 2019 to listen to Daisy's first appearance on The Real Takk Podcast. A fun fact: Across of my 55 recorded episodes to date, Daisy is the most downloaded / streamed episode of all time, so she’s proven to be a fan favorite & an all-star person in general. I am proud to be working alongside her, and am excited to catch up with you on this recording. You may follow Daisy's life on IG @daisednconfuzed and subscribe to her podcast discussing the pursuit of healing and self-discovery at the IG @wildwildwellnesspod APPLE & she has a tiktok too! @Daisycantdance

No One Succeeds Alone: Learn Everything You Can from Everyone You Can

David is one of the most successful individuals I have encountered in my life, and probably one of the top serial entrepreneurs in NYC in the last 10 years. Success can be defined in various ways, both subjectively and objectively. But to rattle off a few facts, David's completed his undergrad at Duke, attended HBS, & worked in the corporate field at Bain for a few years, published a book "Money Makers", (available on Amazon), all before turning 30.

We met around 8 years ago at Urban Compass, at a small loft office in Soho with just a few brokers and a dozen engineers. He started there as the COO, then eventually became the CFO & handled the financial operations of Compass until it became a $2B company.

Fast forward to today, David is the founder & CEO of Harness Wealth, an early-stage consumer wealth tech company dedicated to helping clients unlock financial opportunities to achieve their best financial future through their customized approach. Find out how:

-To pick the right team after a liquidity event

-Securing your financial future by picking you the right financial advisory team

-Tax structures that small business owners may not be aware of that is to the benefit of a business owner

Follow David on IG at @harnesswealth or his website www.harnesswealth.com.

Levi Meyer, the Founding Agent in Miami is a natural connector. Born into 1 or 9 siblings in a very conservative Jewish family, Levi grew up dealing, negotiating, loving, fighting, & relating with his diverse & large family. Fast forward to modern times, Levi has taken in & produced more than $500K in GCI just from referrals from getting to know, & befriending Compass agents throughout the nation. Listen to his tips, tricks, and what he does on the side to ensure that agents across the country recognize that Levi is the 'go-to Miami real estate specialist' for our team's clients across the nation. Follow Levi at @levimeyerre on IG, or email him at Levi@Compass.com

I had the pleasure of getting James Nelson on the show. James is a top commercial broker in NYC with over $6B transacted in sales to date. (rough internet math!). James currently serves as Principal and Head of Avison Young’s Tri-State Investment Sales group where he leads a group of three dozen professionals in the sale of multi-family, office, development, and retail properties throughout the country. His client list includes the Archdiocese of New York, Breaking Ground, Brookfield, The Carlyle Group, JP Morgan Chase, Related, Salvation Army, 60 Guilders JUST to name a few.

Throughout his over 20-year career, James has been involved in the sale of approximately 500 property and loan sales for an aggregate value of over $5 billion dollars. Prior to joining Avison Young, James served as Vice Chairman of Cushman & Wakefield & prior to that, he was the youngest partner and top producer for legendary firm Massey Knakal for six of their last eight years.

For those of you looking for opportunities in NY or outside of NY (Avison Young has 120 offices around the world), you can visit his profile on Instagram at @jamesnelsonnyc and look for the link in his bio, or find him on his website at jamesnelson.com

You may also find out how you can get on the Investors List through his website, along with future educational materials on how to get into real estate investing. (more on that in this episode)

We catch up with my guy David Graff who heads our Compass Commercial division in NYC. David has seen the ups and down of our NYC market during COVID, with staggering rents, a ballooning inventory of sublease spaces, and a pin-drop quiet commercial market last year. We chat about the recovery we are seeing in NYC, his future outlook, the state of his current team, what he looks for in a hire, and the risks & rewards of being in this challenging business. David is a friend, mentor, and a professional I look up to from close & afar. Please follow him at @compasscommercial_thegraffteam on IG, and his website:

https://www.compass.com/agents/david-graff/

Thanks always for listening!

Andrew Jorges is back on the Real Takk Pod discussing the most recent events of 2021:

Being a business owner: Andrew is now on his own. After many years at Adam Leitman Bailey RE, Andrew has decided to start his own business, with the name "The Jorges Law Firm"
New Bill on NYC Co-Op Boards Having to Explain Why They Deny Buyers
Rental Laws: What options do you have as a LL in NYC given the current dynamics surrounding landlord & tenant law?

Follow Andrew at @JorgesLawfirm on IG, as well as his website www.thejorgeslawfirm.com.

Follow me on IG @Takkyamaguchi

Twitter: @takkyamaguchi

The Takk Team Compass: http://bit.ly/TakkTeamCompass

The Takk Team Page: http://bit.ly/TakkTeamPage

The Takk Team Facebook: http://bit.ly/TakkTeamFacebook

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Linkedin: http://bit.ly/TakkLinkedin

Today I have the pleasure of bringing on my friend & colleague James Petrie. James & I first met at a downtown club in NYC around 6 years ago. (Wow great memories!). A club owned Ori Allon back in the day. In any event, fast track to today I wanted to share with you all, James’s path to success & where he is now, where he was in the past, and where he’s going in to the future.

We discuss the insanity of what is the rental market in the Hamptons, the sales market, invaluable data for any investors out there looking to acquire or build in the Hamptons, and the legacy that he intends to make & the footprint he wants to mark in the high stakes real estate market of the Hamptons.

James & his family are the founding agents of Compass in the Hamptons, and they’ve played an integral role in building our presence out in Long Island. Through James & his family, we’ve become a top brokerage in the Hamptons market within five years. James has experience transacting at all price points from Southampton to Montauk and has built his own business while playing a key role in some of the biggest deals along the ocean and coveted estate sections.

James earned a degree in Environmental Studies with a focus on sustainable design from the University of Colorado before returning to the Hamptons to build his real estate career and resume his life in East Hampton. James is an avid sportsman, former East Hampton lifeguard, and surfing enthusiast. When James is not guiding clients through the home buying and selling process, he can be found enjoying the world-class breaks of the East End, snowboarding in Colorado, & raising his chickens. You may follow James’s personal IG at @grindedpeach and his real estate IG at @petrieteam along with his website www.petrieteam.com

As many may know, we (Compass) have set up shop in Vail CO! This week I got Tom Dunn of the Stockton Group, the founders of our Vail flagship office on the Real Takk Pod. We catch up about the Vail CO real estate market, how he got into the business of real estate, the missteps second home buyers make, and a few secrets that locals may reluctantly share with visitors :). Give this one a listen if you love the mountain life! Tom Dunn is a genuine person and he’ll be your resource for all things Colorado! A few of his stats:

-$500M+ in sales

-Repped the most expensive home sale in Vail CO

-Specializes in Lionshead, Vail Village, & Beaver Creek

-Vail experienced almost $1B in gross sales in the third quarter of 2020

Follow them at:

@tdinvail

@thestocktongroup_vail

@compasscolorado

Welcome to another episode of The Real Takk Pod! Today I jump on a qucik recording by myself to tell my story & discuss the following: 1. Compass IPO Day: Behind the scene, the story leading up to IPO day. The financial twists & turns which affected the markets, and almost our IPO!

Rental problems in NYC: As a consumer, why it can be so frustrating to secure housing in NYC. The constant battle of data, brokers, owners, and the consumer that gets mixed in between.

3. Coop Board Rejection: NYC Co-Op Boards Would Have to Explain Why They Deny Buyers, Under New Bill

Our next episode will feature Tom Dunn from Vail Colorado, our newest market & another top leader in the real estate industry! Stay tuned & enjoy!

Follow me on IG @Takkyamaguchi Twitter: @takkyamaguchi

Pleased to have my friend & Ex-industry colleague Jared Kleinstein on the pod. Jared is the Founder & CEO of Denver-based agency Fresh Tape Media, a Denver Based creative agency that makes videos, photos, & experiences for brands, sports properties, and media companies. His team runs a network of over 150+ of the top creators: shooters, editors, designers, writers, & social media influencers to help create media for his clients, some of them includes the Washington Capitals, Denver Broncos, NASCAR, Formula 1, the Arizona Cardinals, the CO Rockies, NFL, NBA, NCAA Basketball, MLB, Facebook & Twitter, just to name a few. Fresh Tape has done videos on Zion Williamson when he entered the NBA draft, took on the NCAA College football playoffs content during Media Day and Game Day, providing their social media platform with unique content to post during the finals to drive social conversation, produced the MLB 1 on 1 series with the Mariners Dee Gordon & Nelson Cruz where they vlog behind the scenes in the locker room and produced content for the CAPS as Ovechkin became the 8th player in NHL history to record 700 career goals.

So WHY on earth would Jared come on my real estate podcast? I’d say the answer is two folds: 1st, Jared was one of the original members of Streeteaasy, where he spent more than 7 years with the founding team to help build out the aggregator BEFORE Zillow purchased them for $50M back in 2013. 2nd: His knowledge of video content creation & social media is more important than ever for all small & large businesses, including real estate. We’ll delve more into that later.

A few more fun facts about Jared:

Worked as the head of sports & International content strategy at Twitter
Was the Founder & CEO of Tebowing.com which was the worlds largest database for tebowing photos
He was a Vail ski instructor for 7 years

You can follow Jared on IG & twitter at @jarzod & @frestapemedia

Greg Hart joins The Real Takk Podcast. Greg is the Chief Product Officer of Compass. Prior to joining our team, Greg led a 23 year career at Amazon, and most recently headed the e-commerce giant’s video streaming service. Greg has been at the forefront of Amazon's transformation since 1997. During his tenure, he led the development and launch of their cutting edge tech of the past 20 years. He began his Amazon career in books, then moved on to product management roles including the VP of amazon video, VP of amazon echo & speech, VP & technical advisor to Jeff Bezos, & Director of videos games & software. Now at Compass, Greg will be responsible for driving all aspects of our integrated product offering, overseeing the company's growing team of Product Managers, User Researchers and Product Marketers. LETS GO ENJOY THIS EPISODE!

I welcome Brittanie Rockhill to The Real Takk Podcast. Brittanie is a consummate professional who quickly rose to the ranks of being the #1 agent in GCI (Gross Commission Income) for Douglas Elliman in the State of Colorado for two years in a row. Born into one of 5 children in Colorado Springs, she learned the value of hard work through her father who still runs his own business to date. Brittanie graduated college with a double major through qualifying for two scholarships while juggling multiple jobs at night & on weekends. Upon entering the real estate world, she honed her skills through a mentor, then quickly became one of the most recognizable figures in the real estate brokerage industry. (But this is no overnight success story!). Please follow her journey here. Enjoy this episode! You may follow Brittanie on Instagram at @brittanie.rockhill.aspen or find her on FB at Brittanie Rockhill.

Mike is the Chief Sales & Strategy Officer at Compass. Growing up in Long Island, Mike started his sales career as a Cut Co knives salesman, going door to door selling knives & eventually rising to the division manager position, responsible for the entire NYC metro & surrounding areas. After working as the VP of sales & marketing for Structured Web, mike moved to SF to join Square, a company founded by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, where he advanced to become the Global Head of Sales, responsible for growing the sales and business development organization from 40 to 200+ people across 5 major countries, accounting for $1 billion in annual revenue. At present day, Mike works with us at Compass, with his primary goal is the growth of brokers' revenue throughout the nation.

Levi Meyer is back on The Real Takk Pod to catch up on all things Florida real estate. Why are so many New Yorkers buying real estate there? What's selling? What's not? Where's the demand? Who are the buyers? How does he find $85K/month rental in a market where no rental inventory? Levi reveals his secrets & shares his thoughts on where things are headed.

We also delve into his recent trip to Aspen Colorado where he stayed at the iconic 2 Mile Ranch, a 244 acre property at consists of 7 custom homes, 22 bedrooms, 3 developable home sites, and 2 miles of Woody Creek frontage. (+ some furry animals that roam through every now & then!)

Levi is a native Floridian that understands & appreciates the diverse & ever-changing landscape of South Florida. Throughout his dynamic real estate career, Levi has received numerous accolades including annual ‘Top Producer’, and ‘‘Most Innovative Marketing’ as well as media recognition for several record-breaking sales. He’s 1 of 10 siblings, (he has 4 sisters & 5 brothers) grew up in his younger years in Virginia, and prior to real estate had stint as a Defense Contracting Manager working alongside the Department of Defense, sourcing $50M in goods to the US DOD in Iraq & Afghanistan.

Check out Levi on his personal IG at @levimeyerre and his business IG at: @themeyergroupRE

Please follow us on Social! The Takk Team Compass: http://bit.ly/TakkTeamCompass The Takk Team Page: http://bit.ly/TakkTeamPage The Takk Team Facebook: http://bit.ly/TakkTeamFacebook Instagram: http://bit.ly/TakkInstagram Linkedin: http://bit.ly/TakkLinkedin

Gordon is the Senior Managing Director of Compass. He comes on the Real Takk Podcast to discuss his early days at Citi Habitats, old NYC, early days of Urban Compass, lessons he's learned in life, & what the future may hold for Compass. He is my manager, mentor, colleague, friend, & truly a salt of the earth type person. As a veteran broker myself, I can say with confidence that I am happy to have him in my corner during the ups & downs of operating our real estate business in NYC. Follow Gordon on IG @golubgordon & on Linkedin.

Pleased to have my good friend Will Geeslin, CPA of the Geeslin Group on the 40th Episode of The Real Takk Podcast. Will was our first corporate accountant at Compass, formally known as Urban Compass. Will & I connected in the summer of 2014 back at our Union Square West office when there were only 25/30 brokers, and just a few dozen staff members. Prior to joining forces, Will worked at E&Y for 2 years honing his skills as a number cruncher. Hailing form Atlanta Georgia Will was an ex-resident of the warren house condo in Murray Hill, has ran the NYC Marathon, & is a proud alumnus of Auburn & the Auburn Tigers Football program. (Go Jason Campbell)

FWIW: This is not a Pro-Trump or Pro Biden pod. We’re here to discuss the birds-eye view of accounting practices that are common for real estate developers, owners, & operators as well as common misconceptions that people who earn a salary may NOT be aware of when media blasts companies like Amazon for “not paying federal taxes” (subjective look vs objective look)

The Topics We Cover: Trump's Taxes

-“As a RE Developer, Trump paying $750 shown on his income tax? There is a reasonable explanation of how he got there”

-Why does Trump have one of the more complicated tax returns of any President?

-The beautify of real estate is that you get a huge non-cash deduction for what is called “depreciation”

What is the media not talking about when it comes to Trump paying just $750 in taxes?

-If a business owner doesn’t want to sell a business, the goal is to show as little income as possible.

-Bulk of developers & landlords earns schedule E, real estate related income, but taxable income for developers does not correlate to wealth.

Tax evasion is bad, Tax avoidance is good: Amazon & Other Successful Tech Giants

Amazon pays no federal income tax. Many politicians blast the fact that it’s not fair that a multi-billion dollar company pays “NO TAXES”. It’s easy for media outlets to blast any company in tech that they ‘pay no taxes” in 280 characters via Twitter or on social, but if you think about it, does amazon really pay no taxes? AOC & other politicians blasted them for planning hq2 in NYC b/c they don’t pay any taxes, but do these politicians really understand corporate accounting laws? So what’s really happening here?

(Talking points)

-Amazon never made money. If you spend more money than you make, you won’t have taxable income.

-In short summary: “People get hung up on MNC's / Conglomerates. These organizations do not live & die by our rules. “

Real Estate Brokers & How They Should Pay / Manage Taxes

1 thing, no matter what stage you are in your career, the challenge is recording keeping. You get to the EOY and you run your biz, you get that big fat 1099 at the EOY, you spent all this money in marketing, transport, meals, etc. IC people get in trouble at EOY trying to find their expenses. You are going to make really aggressive and take deductions that you didn’t take deductions, or you don’t have enough records and you PAY MORE TAXES than you need to.

It’s that first year you owe taxes, everybody has that one year you get punched in the face.

Good CPA is part of your team. They need to be there to help brokers with tax planning. Taxes are like healthcare, you can be reactive, or be proactive.

Part 5: Startup Equity:

Startup equity: We talk briefly about equity that is given out by tech firms. (public or private) Qualified VS Non-qualified stock options, their tax implications, exercising your equity, and what you should know as far as your tax obligations may be based on your strike price, etc.

You may follow will on IG at @Wgeeslin & his company website at https://www.geeslingroup.com/

The Real Takk Pod welcomes Rory Golod, Compass GM of the Tri-State Region! Rory was born in Long Island NY. As a kid he excelled in speaking at the young age of 3, conversing with adults & having 'adult' conversations with his peers. As a youth, he also excelled in music, playing the guitar, saxophone, & clarinet up to HS.

Rory obtained his bachelor's degree in business at the University of Richmond in my great state of Virginia, then moved to the city to work at Yext, a tech company operating in the area of online brand management. After that Rory worked at Bloomberg as a Global Analyst, then transferred to VP of Biz Dev at fancy.com an e-commerce marketplace & social shopping platform. Rory joined Compass on Dec. 2014 as a business development manager, then worked his way up to become chief of staff to the CEO & our guy Rob Reffkin. On October 2018, Rory became the GM & President of Compass NY, and now runs our day to day operations of our offices in Manhattan, Brooklyn Westchester & Long Island.

Some topics covered on this episode:

-Rory's go-to restaurant in NYC & Why

-How would you recruit a top accent in the biz right now?

-Biggest misconception about the real estate industry amongst your friends that aren’t in real estate

-If you could give yourself advice in your 20’s, both personally & professionally, what would you tell the young Rory Golod?

-Looking into the future of Compass, going public, raising money, & the market during times of COVID.

You may follow Rory at:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rory-golod-29b47413

IG: @mightyror

I welcome on my good friend Sean Hughes on episode 38. Sean & I started our careers around the same time in the late 2000s. He was the very first agent to join TOWN Real Estate, a firm that unfortunately closed its doors back in 2018. Before Compass was even an idea, Town at the time, was home to nearly 600 agents & WAS the quintessential Manhattan brokerage: bold, loud, growth-obsessed, and provocative. Sean touches on the early days of TOWN, leading up to its final hours.

A New Jersey native, we got back to his roots growing up poor, his struggles in school, all the way up to the present day where he represents deals in Manhattan, & along with his development project in New Jersey.

Nancy Wu was kind enough to share some of her time to give her thoughts on the current state & the future of the NYC rental market. Nancy leads the research efforts at StreetEasy as the Economist, using data science and econometrics to publish original research on the New York City housing market. Born in China, Nancy moved to SoCal at the age of 6. Nancy’s been featured on CBS, MSN, Yahoo, Forbes, curbed, the NYT, Gothamist, market watch, & the commercial observer to name a few.

Nancy was recognized as one of Crain's New York Business Rising Stars in Real Estate, alongside some of New York’s most talented and influential industry pros.

Before joining StreetEasy, Nancy worked at NERA Economic Consulting’s finance practice, and prior to that, in economic policy at the White House and the Center for American Progress. Nancy has a Master’s Degree in Economics for Development from the University of Oxford, and casually obtain a triple major of Eco, gov, & gender studies.

Please follow Nancy Wu on twitter at @nancyFwu or Nancy Wu on LinkedIn.

Some questions covered on this episode:

Why the Brooklyn market, while still down, fared better off than Manhattan
Which part of Manhattan has been impacted the most, and why.
What trends is she seeing from a pricing perspective across the following neighborhoods: Upper East vs Upper West, Midtown East & West vs. Downtown & Fidi
Where should bargain hunters go?
What is her outlook for this fall & winter? Will we break 25K vacancies in Manhattan, and 11K vacancies in Brooklyn?

I go solo dolo in discussing the Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden's planned changes, programs & policies he would implement in the real estate industry. During his nomination acceptance speech in August, he took aim at 5 topics & policies that I will discuss here. We also touch on the rental & sales market in August, and where the DEALS can be found right now in Manhattan real estate.

After a little hiatus (sorry!) Dylan & I discuss the state of today's NYC rental landscape amidst the COVID19 Pandemic. In short, Manhattan is getting destroyed. And to be candid, nobody has a playbook for what seems to be an impossible task to manage these vacancies. (and dealing with the human aspect of the business has been nothing but a challenge)

NYU Alum Dylan Pichulik is the Founder & CEO of XL Real Property Management, a leading NYC property management firm that specializes in managing the assets of condos & coops owned by individual & institutional investors throughout the world. His real estate background started at the ripe age of 18, working as an agent at Citi Habitats. After a stint in being a broker & joining in on the Citi Habitats Marketing Group representing their larger developer clients at the time, Dylan then dove further into property management, joining Ziel Feldmans HFZ capital group. There he managed their several million square feet of condominium & new developments throughout NYC. (their projects include the Belnord, one madison, devon condo, seat, 45 Wooster, seat, herald towers, tempo, the Bryant to name a few. Dylan lives in with his wife, kid, and a 60-pound golden doodle. You may follow Dylan at @dylanpichulik & his website https://www.xl-rpm.com/

The Founder of The Real Deal Amir Korangy joins me on The Real Takk Podcast. The Real Deal is a media, publication & events company with a focus on covering residential & commercial real estate news, politics, & history of the NYC, South Florida, Chicago, LA, & the tri-state markets. (also important to note that Since the pandemic, The Real Deal's traffic has gone up 40% to over 4.2M visitors a month (2.8M uniques!)

We discuss his thoughts on COVID19 impacting NYC, The Black Lives Matters movement, where we stand in this historical period, and knocks out some tough questions thrown at him as head of the largest real estate publication firm.

Amir was born in Tehran, Iran. where his family left after the Islamic Revolution as political refugees and spent time in Paris and Madrid before settling in the Washington DC area. Amir started The Real Deal out of his Brooklyn apartment nearly 20 years ago, shortly before he was joined by his Editor in Chief Stuart Elliot. The Real Deal’s first hit the map when Donald Trump responded to an article from a previous issue by ripping out the page and hand wrote: “why all the anger, Stuart, love the Donald” to your Brooklyn office. (this was in response to an article about developers saying Donald wasn’t a “real developer” before the launch of his reality TV show) Amir has a lengthy list of accolades and to mention a few, he was listed in The New York Observer's Power 100 list of the most powerful people in New York Real Estate, in 2013, Inman News named Amir as one of the 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders in the Media category, & in 2012, he was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the YJP Young Jewish Professionals.

You may listen to this episode on all major podcast platforms including Spotify, Apple Podcast, & Podbean.

Gabe Stulman is my guest on this episode of Real Takk. Gabe owns & operates 10 restaurants in NYC, the majority of them located in the West Village. We discuss the implications of SBA's PPP system to restaurants, the future of his restaurants, his actions to Congress, and what his relationships are currently like with multiple landlords.

Hailing from my hometown in Fairfax VA, Gabe moved to NYC post-college working as a bartender, and eventually became an opening partner at Little Owl & market table. in the west village. Today he’s the CEO of Happy Cooking NYC where is operates the restaurants he founded including the names of Joseph Leonard, Fairfax (formally known as Perla), Fedora, Jeffrey’s Grocery, Bar Sardine, Studio, the GW Bar, Simon & the Whale, & most recently The Jones, located on Great Jones Street. I encourage you all to follow Gabe and his recent initiatives during covid19 at @gabestulman & information on these restaurants.

Chris joins me on The Real Takk Podcast to discuss the 3 most pressing issues facing New Yorkers, in life & work today, the state of the commercial market in NYC, what he thinks the recovery holds for New Yorkers, & shares his come up in the cut-throat world of commercial real estate. Chris founded Okada & Co in 2005 by himself. He rose to distinction during the financial crisis of 2009 and its recovery by using the market's lowered state to transact in nearly $1B commercial real estate sales and leasing transactions in Midtown and Downtown Manhattan. 2011 Christopher founded The Okada Acquisition Company to begin acquiring prime office, retail, and multi-family properties in the Midtown and Midtown South submarkets of Manhattan. His Acquisitions include a prime office building in the Herald Square section of Midtown, a brand new luxury condominium development known as 432 West 52nd Street, and few other office and retail properties like 894 Avenue of the Americas, 148 West 24th Street, and the retail at 135 West 52nd Street.

You may follow Chris at ChrisOkada in the following social channels:

LinkedIn: ChristopherOkada

Facebook: @ChrisOkada

Instagram: @ChrisOkada

Twitter: @ChrisOkada

Jessica Northrop from Denver Colorado jumps on the Real Takk Podcast to discuss the state of the Denver Colorado's real estate market amid the Covid19 Crises. How strong or weak is the Denver market? Which areas are hot? Which areas are negotiable? How has business changed since the Nationwide shut down? She's here to reveal it all! Jessica is the founder of the Compass Denver office. Learn more about her back on episode 3. You may follow her on IG @jessica_northrop

I’m pleased to have Margaux Pelegrin of Philadelphia PA join us on The Real Takk Podcast to discuss the state of today's real estate market as we enter the 2nd full month of lockdown. Margaux entered the industry in 2005. Born & raised in Ritten House Square, she attended the University of Maryland, was our founding member of Compass Philadelphia back in 2018. Her team transacts about $67M worth of properties annually, & in 2018 closed around $72M! You may follow her team on IG @onthesquarerealestate and Margaux at @margauxpelegrin Thank you for coming on Margaux!

Pleased to join me in this episode are the leaders of our Newport Beach California market Dylan Mason & Mark Taylor of the Mason Taylor Associates. They come on to discuss their adjusted lifestyle amid the COVID 19 crises, how the market is faring, how they are getting deals done, as well as what they are doing proactively to help their community.

Dylan has been involved in the luxury real estate market since the age of thirteen where his mother was a real estate broker, & Mark was born in Northern California and moved to his current neighborhood of Costa Mesa 12 years ago.

These guys are a wealth of knowledge and were gracious enough to spare a few minutes to come on my podcast. Please give these guys a listen & follow them on IG @MasonTaylorAssociates as well as their website: https://www.masontaylorassociates.com/about

Learn from reality! The Wydler brothers were gracious enough to join me again on another episode of Real Takk to discuss how the real estate market in the DMV is faring amid the COVID19 crises. These guys are a WEALTH of knowledge and we cover topics from open house foot traffic, inventory in the area, pricing, as well as some funny brotherly banter. These guys have been featured in The Washington Post, WSJ, Washington Business Journal, Inman News, to name a few. I love their core principles that their team abides by which are as follows:

Do the right thing.
Create positive, lasting memories in all our relationships.
Make tomorrow better than today.
Succeeding as a team while excelling as individuals.
Own it and act passionately on it.
Support and give back to our team and community.

Please follow them on Instagram at @wydlerbrothers & their website www.wydlerbrothers.com Thank you always for listening!

Ari Afshar joins the Real Takk Podcast to discuss his current life amid the COVID19 Crises, the state of the luxury LA Real Estate Market, where prices have fluctuated before & after, how he's spending his time, how he recruits, manages, and his psychology behind operating a 20+ top producing team in LA.

Ari the Founding agent in LA. A native of Beverly Hills he co-founded his own agency in 2008 focusing on the distressed property market. After negotiating thousands of notes with lenders, Ari was selected as one of 8 real estate agents nationwide on Bank of America’s Realtor® Roundtable. He’s also succeeded as the Founder and CEO of multiple social media marketing, real estate web development and mobile app building companies. Since 2014, Ari has been involved in hundreds of millions of dollars worth of real estate deals. Ari’s been featured in Forbes, LA Times, yahoo entertainment, Curbed LA, Architectural Digest, & the real deal.

Please follow on IG at @ariafsharandassociates as well as his website: https://www.ariafshar.com/AriAfshar

Jillian joins The Real Takk Podcast to discuss how she's been closing deals amid the COVID19 crises! She's been working in Massachusetts Real Estate since 2009, and brings to extensive experience in Boston’s real estate and development markets with over $175M in sales volume since 2012, as part of the Kopman Adler team.

Even in the state of the pandemic we’re in, Jillian’s sold 5 homes between South end, Brookline, & Jamaica Plain, while also collaborating with @americanprovisions & brought 80 lunches to the medical staff at Boston Children’s hospital.

Some fun facts of Jillian: Received B.A. from the University of Massachusetts of Amherst & also ran the Boston Marathon in 2019 to support of the YMCA. She provides a wealth of knowledge to listeners on how to be successful during the mandated 'stay at home warning'.

Follow her on @jillianleigh21 on Instagram, & her properties on https://www.compass.com/agents/jillian-adler/

Learn, adapt & adjust. The Restaurant Industry is in a state of emergency right now. I’m joined by the CEO of Emerging, Matthew Focht & the VP of Marketing for Buyers Edge Platform Andy Rosenbloom. They’re here to discuss how the COVID19 Crises is affecting our beloved restaurant industry on a national level.

About Emerging: EMERGING optimizes restaurant and entertainment concepts for sustainable growth and profitability. emerging.com

About Buyers Edge Platform: The Buyers Edge Platform, launched by Foodservice GPO entrepreneur and CEO John Davie, offers contracts, technology, data services and expertise to Manufacturers, Consultants, Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs), and Operators of all sizes.

The Buyers Edge Platform: Launched by Foodservice GPO entrepreneur and CEO John Davie, offers contracts, technology, data services and expertise to Manufacturers, Consultants, Group Purchasing Organizations (GPOs), and Operators of all sizes.

You may follow Andy on Instagram at: @BoweryBleeckerhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/andy-rosenbloom/

& Matthew on Linkedin at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mathew-d-focht-89bb88b/

Lauren jumps on the Real Takk Podcast to discuss what's been happening in the Chicago real estate market amid the COVID19 crises. Lauren is the Founder of Compass Chicago with almost 20 years of experience working with buyers, sellers, investors, & landlords in her market. She delves into how she's navigating today's climate, the ups & downs of working during Chicago's "stay at home" order, and how closings are still taking place amid office closures.

A Chicago native, Lauren is a third-generation Realtor® who grew up in a real estate family. Forbes Magazine and NAR selected her as one of their "30 Under 30s" from young professionals across the country. She was also named by Chicago Agent Magazine as one of their "Who's Who in Chicago Real Estate" in 2008, 2010, and 2018.

Lauren is a bright mind & a skilled broker. She generously shares her knowledge & insight in how to navigate & survive today's market. Follow her on IG at @LMitrickwood & her team @olive.well. Find her on FB @ Lauren Mitrick Wood. Thank you for listening!

Excited to announce Compass CBO (Chief Business Officer) Rob Lehman jumping on the Real Takk Podcast to discuss all things real estate, the current environment of the brokerage business, how COVID19 is affecting our outlook for 2020, how we're shifting & gearing up in the future, & advice he has for small business, brokers, & brokerages.

Rob Lehman joined Compass as one of its first 30 employees and has been promoted several times to now hold the title of Chief Business Officer. Today, Lehman runs all expansion, sales, M&A and strategy for Compass. Under Lehman's leadership, he's helped raised our newest round of $370 million in a Series G round that takes our valuation to $6.4 billion

Rob has been named one of Forbes 30 Under 30, was ranked #27 on the T360 list of the 200 most influential people in residential real estate, and graduated summa cum laude from Duke University.

Outside of work, Rob is an accomplished golfer, soccer player, table tennis athlete, & generally a jack of all trades. Give this one a listen!

I'm pleased to have Surgeon Dr, Julien Dagenais MD join us on The Real Takk Podcast. Julien chips in on his thoughts on the virus, the effects on his business, and what it's like being a first time home buyer in this market. You may follow Julien on IG at @d0n.julio & Facebook Julien Dagenais.

In this episode, we have our Chief Evangelist of Compass join in on my show to discuss the State Legislature's proposed new law of banning tenants from paying the broker fee for rental properties in NYC. He is a proponent of the brokerage community and an influential voice in our field. Here are his takeaways about his day written from his daily contemplations:

You have to show up. Whining and complaining about politics is useless. Sometimes you must roll up your sleeves and get involved and make an effort. Take the time needed to get involved and have an impact.
The squeaky wheel gets the grease: without fail, every politician said they listen and hear the loudest, most consistent voices most.
You have to be looking out for the greater good. Yes, some special-interest lobbyists succeed to cater to their own hyper-localized issues, but politicians care most about pleasing the majority of voters.
Rehearse your message and be CLEAR about what you want, and ASK how the politicians plan to address your concerns.
Make your concerns public. A letter is easily filed or thrown away. As is an e-mail. A TWEET or social media post tagging specific politicians is PUBLIC. You cannot ignore that as easily.
Numbers count. A handful of people's voices matter. Several hundred or thousand voices will get REAL attention. And action.
Politicians are BRILLIANT at making you feel like you've been heard, that they REALLY CARE. Don't rely on words and promises.
Don't rely on 'others' to speak on your behalf. Most times they have other interests at heart.
Politicians listen closest to their constituents. They want to succeed and be re-elected.
We hired a lobbyist. I abhorred lobbyists until yesterday: without this lobbyist, we would never have been able to as effectively identify whom to meet with and how. This lobbyist acted like a great agent and we all know how important a good agent is! As a result, the New York State Justice Mackey temporarily blocked the state’s week-old ruling that had effectively barred tenants from having to pay a broker fee, issuing at least a short-term reprieve to an industry scrambling to respond The decision was expected to stay in place until at least March 13, when Justice Mackey has asked the Department of State to respond in court. However, this restraining order does not necessarily foreshadow that the broker fee ruling will be blocked for good.

If you're interested in real estate news & politics, this is certainly an episode for you! Thank you for subscribing & listening!

Pleased to have Lindsay Rothman (@lindsay_rothman) join us today on The Real Takkk Podcast. Lindsay hails from Mt Kisko Westchester (NY). She joins me to discuss her childhood, the early struggles in life, and how she became one of the top agents in Westchester, closing over $29 Million in transactions in 2019 & how she’s grown her business to date. Lindsay obtained her Bachelors at Sony Onianta, and obtained her Masters Degree from Mercy College. Lindsay is wife to Tim Rothman and her 2 kids Dillon & Cecilia. She is a resident of Dobs Ferry Westchester.

This episode & all other episodes are available by searching “Real Takk” on Spotify, Apple Podcast, & Podbean. Thank you for listening!

We delve into this last minute, an unexpected addendum to the rental law regulation issued by the Department of State this week, where they reversed the tenant-pays-broker-fee system that’s been the norm in rental transactions in New York City.

The guidance is based on the DOS’ interpretation of the rent law passed last June, and notes that agents working for landlords will be penalized if tenants pay their broker fees.

One of the lawmakers who sponsored the rent law, State Sen. Julia Salazar, said in a statement that “our intent is to eliminate barriers that currently prevent low-income and vulnerable people from obtaining housing.”

My cohost Danielle Stout & I discuss the impacts of this in today's market, and we are also joined by our guest speaker Justin Rubinstein of Compass.

One of my favorite quotes from Kobe Bryant: "How can your story impact others? The definition of greatness is to inspire people next to you. How can you inspire one person then turn to inspire another person. Our challenge is for people, to figure out how our story can impact others, to motivate them to create greatness in others. - Kobe Bryant. Adam Leitman Bailey may have a brash facade, he's been written up in the NY Post, NY Times, & Huffington Post, perhaps not always as a hero, but to play on the team he's hired to protect. Adam's story may inspire a few of you, as we dive into his younger years of his rough childhood, being a passenger of a terrible car accident, the growing pains he's faced as a young adult. We then go into present date, where he shares his tremendous success story of suing Donald & Ivanka Trump, & representing Linda Mackelowe in the most expensive divorce case in US history. Our listeners will a sense of how he's built a firm that has experienced systemic success over the course of the last two decades. This is a great one and definitely worth a listen! (read about his bio below)

Bio:

Adam is one of the most distinguished real estate attorneys in America. Born in Bayside Queens, he moved to California at the age of five, and later moved back to NJ where he graduated with honors from Rutgers, then obtained his law degree from Syracuse University College of Law. Adam is an author of NYT’s best seller Finding The Uncommon Deal.”, he was selected by the Chambers & Partners publication as NY’s leading RE lawyers, and was named Super Lawyer by Law & Politics magazine. Adam has a long list of notable cases, but to mention a few he’s represented Developer Sharif El Gamal, who proposed an Islamic mosque & cultural center near the ground zero site, where his opponents were the families affected by 9/11, politicians, and conservative media pundits. (long story short it turned into 45 park place. Adam was responsible for obtaining the largest residential condo settlement in the history of NY, as well as successfully relieved purchasers from new developments like 20 pine, The Brompton, Trump Soho & Sky View Park.

If you don’t ask, you’ll never know. not to sound cliche, but nothing is ever handed out. In most of any business, some things aren’t even in the open for you to grab in the first place. You have to seek it out and put yourself out there. In an industry where every listing, buyer, client, and business opportunity is extremely coveted, a high level of hustle is always required at any stage in your career. Who knows where Marty would have been right now if he didn’t make an effort to gather courage to get in front of a camera and create “Condos & Cars with Martin Newman”. The moral of the story is, whatever you don’t do, won’t come to life. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. What other metaphors do you need? It’s so universal because it’s so true. So be bold, spark that conversation, and show that enthusiasm that you have.

Martin & I met about 9 years ago in 2011 at Town residential. We were in our mid 20’s, both hustling our exclusive rental listings, running up walk ups, and figuring out ways on growing our business. Williamsburg wasn’t much of a neighborhood then, and the Hudson Yards was still a vacant parking lot for the MTA trains.

Martin hails from CT, and moved to NYC after graduating Southern CT state university. His love for real estate began in his late teens after operating his own property management business. He joined Compass in 2018, and recently founded his own social media channel condos and cars. He lives in the west village with his girlfriend, but has also lived in North Williamsburg, South Williamsburg, & Union Square. You may follow him on IG at @martinnewman & his Youtube Channel “Condos & cars with Martin Newman.”

We’re kicking off 2020 in the best way possible on my platform. Last week, I had the opportunity to get my good friend Lane Johnson from Aspen, and today, we have our South Beach / Miami extraordinaire Levi Meyer joining me on what will be an awesome episode of Real Takk.

Like I said before, behind every business individual, there is a subconscious library of influences that shapes who we are. It’s easy to forget that our ideas are actually the manifestations of our life experiences. Our business work ethic & style is an outward expression of our past & current habits. Whether you’re running a real estate business engrossed in the fabric & culture of Aspen Colorado & its people, hiking up the Highland Bowl, hanging out at The Nell, taking clients out to Cloud 9, and skiing / fishing the back country while navigating the thousands of acres of White River National Forest like your back yard, or you’re a surfer broker that frequents Montauk & sips cocktails with clients at Gurneys , Real estate & any business in general is a summary of exactly that. And speaking of subconscious library of influences that shapes who you are as a business person, Levi is part of the cultural fabric of just that, but in Miami Florida. While he is a super broker in his own way, listing trophy properties like the Porsche Design Tower #2901, & closing waterfront lots & beachside homes off south beach, he can be seen hanging out at 1-800 lucky at The Wynwood, & taking his family on his boat through the ocean channels of Miami.

Levi & I met in Aspen in the summer of 2014 when we opened up our first Compass office in Colorado. He’s not a winter guy what so ever, so I’m happy to have met him in a city where the primary activities are known for winter sports.

He’s a Miami native that understands & appreciates the diverse & ever-changing landscape of South Florida. Throughout his dynamic real estate career, Levi has received numerous accolades including annual ‘Top Producer’, and ‘‘Most Innovative Marketing’ as well as media recognition for several record breaking sales. He’s 1 of 10 siblings, (he has 4 sisters & 5 brothers) grew up in his younger years in Virginia, and prior to real estate had stint as a Defense Contracting Manager working alongside the Department of Defense, sourcing $50M in goods to the US DOD in Iraq & Afghanistan.

Levi is father of two & wife to Lauren. You may follow his personal IG at @levimeyerre and his business IG at: @themeyergroupRE

We closed out 19 right with the last interview with my guy Lane Johnson. Every businessperson is comprised of a subconscious library of influences that shapes who you are as a business person. Lane is part of the cultural fabric of Aspen Colorado. While he is a super broker in his own way, listing a $24M compound that brings 8 homes on the property this year (2020), to $15M homes on red mountain, he’s also a dedicated skier, camper, raft guide, & a sponsored Lulu Lemon Athlete Ambassador. He teaches a skinning class in the morning, where he’ll lead a group up Buttermilk mountain in 7 degree weather, taking visitors on hidden shrine tours hidden tree runs of Ajax mountain, all while showing the most prime mansions & condos in the Aspen Core market.

Lane & I met here in Aspen in the summer of 2014 when we opened up our first Compass office in Colorado. If you're interested in the real estate market in the Aspen area, or simply want to explore what life is like in Aspen, Lane comes with a wealth of incredible knowledge & definitely someone you should speak to. You may follow him on IG at @lanerjohnson, or simply email him at Lane@compass.com

Welcome to the latest edition of the Real Takk Podcast. Today we bring on The Wydler Brothers, which consist of brothers Hans and Steve Wydler, along with 18 agents & 6 support staff. These guys have a brotherly banter that is infectious, a wealth of real estate & leadership knowledge, and an overall sense of integrity that they both bring to their business practice. Give this one a listen.

They’ve been selling residential real estate for almost 20 years in the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) area. They’ve built the highest producing team in the DMV, & has become the top 25 teams in the U.S. according to The Wall St. Journal.

Hans has an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Yale University. He lives in Bethesda with his wife and their two children. He started his career is a Director of Online Classified for the WaPo in 1994, & after a few years working in other tech related firms he joined Long & Forster in 2001. (& for those that don’t know they’re an affiliate of Christie's based near where we are in Chantilly VA & founded in Fairfax county.)

Steve is a reformed transactional lawyer turned real estate broker. He lives in McLean with his two daughters & an Aussie Doodle. Steve graduated from Dartmouth, was top of his class at New York City's International Bartenders School, and received a J.D. from Vanderbilt Law School. Upon graduation he worked as an Associate at Pillsbury Winthrop, then become assistant general counsel for AOL in 1998 for almost 10 years. He joined real estate in 2012 after founding FiveStreet, a real estate lead conversion tool that helps optimize real estate brokers consumer interactions online.

Please follow them on IG at @wydlerbrothers

It's my pleasure to have Megan Probst on my show today! Megan is a Broker Associate at Compass representing our South Florida office! She joined our Compass team over two years ago after working as VP of sales & marketing for Florida developer "Invesca Development Group", where she spearheaded the launch of their sales & marketing platform, as well as experienced representing their new development as part of their in house sales team, representing over $500M worth of residential & commercial mixed use projects along Pompano Beach & Plantation FL.

Megan was born in Jamaica, but grew up in South Florida where she gained intimate knowledge of cities spanning across West Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami Dade. In this episode we cover topics from how she got into our business, where she is going next, what you should invest in if you had an investment budget of $1M-$5M, and the up & coming areas of South Florida. You want to be in the know, so give this a listen!

You may follow her at @meganrobst_compass on instagram, as well as Megan Probst on FB & youtube channel.

This is a special episode. If you want to meet a real life Viking, Nick is your guy. Nick Svensson has been a licensed Agent & real estate professional since 1996, when they used to show homes in carriages led by horses :) Upon graduation from UCSB in 95, Nick drew early success with his first agency Fred Sands Realtors, then later joining Sotheby's International Realty in Montecito as one of the top 3% brokers out of 43K brokers nation wide.

Born in Linköping, Sweden; Nick arrived in Santa Barbara at a mere 5 months old. While he has been excited to call Santa Barbara home since 1972; he still keeps his Swedish roots intact and is fluent in the language.

Nick & I first met in Aspen Colorado during the summer of 2016 when we opened our first Colorado flagship office there. I'm proud to call Nick a friend, mentor, colleague, and as Reffkin our CEO would say, someone I am extremely proud to be on the same team with.

Happy to introduce my guy Andrew on this Real Takk pod episode. Andrew Jorges is The Takk Team attorney representing the our clients on both the buy & sell side, & even litigation of certain aspects of a real estate deal. As a Penn State grad majoring in Accounting, he was employed with KPMG for a year before jumping back into law school at the Cardozo School of Law in 2009. Upon graduation, he practiced law at a small midtown shop that specialized in residential & commercial transactions, and then transitioned to one of NYC’s premiere real estate law firms known as ALB, PC. Ranked as super lawyers rising star, andrew has transacted over a thousand buy side & sell side deals during his career. I can tell you from my personal experience, having dealt with a few dozen attorneys, most won’t compete with the level of skills Andrew can bring to the table. Just like brokers, NOT all attorneys were created equal. Some attorneys will disappear when the deal gets tough, or stop responding to emails once they get their retainer, or have their pride get in the way of closing a transaction. Andrews been a great resource for our clients and am happy to have you on today.

Excited to bring in my next guest Mr. Brian Renzenbrink! Brain is a software engineer by trade, an early engineer at Compass that now leads our Infrastructure Automation Team. At Compass, he’s responsible for technical infrastructure projects that build our internal flywheel to make our product and engineering better.

We discuss a range of topics including early days with Rob Reffkin and his vision, how you should look at equity in a startup, what rights you have as a shareholder, defining Compass's version of "Dev Ops", and his role as managing the Engineering Teams workflow.

Brain is a graduate from upstate NY, a transplant from Cincinnati Ohio, & desperately trying to retain his youth playing soccer every week & going to live shows. Brian is known known as a role model at Compass, and the young Ethan Hawke look alike. Brian is proud to say he is both a big & little at Big Brothers Big Sisters, a national mentorship charity program. Please follow him @BrenzenB on IG"

Takk Yamaguchi Licensed Real Estate Salesperson 110 5th Fifth Avenue, 3rd Floor New York NY 10011 m: 646.397.0749 efax: 646.485.7576 Web | Team

NEW YORK | BROOKLYN | EAST HAMPTON | BRIDGEHAMPTON | SOUTHAMPTON | SAG HARBOR | WASHINGTON DC | CHEVY CHASE | BOSTON | CAMBRIDGE | MIAMI | COCONUT GROVE | BEVERLY HILLS | MALIBU | PASADENA | MONTECITO | SANTA BARBARA | BASALT | ASPEN | SAN FRANCISCO

Daisy is one of the top Strategic Growth Managers at Compass. What exactly is Strategic Growth? She is directly responsible to be the face of the company, and the engine of our market expansion. We discuss her up bringing, (a true New Yorker), background before joining our team, her morning routine to stay in top shape mentally & physically, & shares with us what she's seen with top brokers and what they all have in common. This is an exciting episode & a must listen.

Excited to host my guest Naomi Klein from Compass LA! Hailing from farm town Bakersfield California, Naomi is the founder of our Beverly Hills office at Compass. She has closed over $350 million dollars worth of residential, multi family & investment properties, with an impressive portfolio of clients in both LA & NYC. Get the inside scope on her emphasis & importance of leveraging social media to build her brand & business, how she built her real estate network, & how she deals with professional athletes like Mercedes Lewis formally with with Jacksonville Jags, Rickie Nolasco formally with the Dodgers & Angels & currently an Arizona Diamondback, as well as Chad Gaudan with the Yankees & entertainers like Juicy J with 36 Mafia. This is a fun one so please give it a listen!

Jake is the longest-tenured Compass agent! He joined before Mayor Bloomberg helped launch Urban Compass back in 2012. He describes the earliest day of Compass, how he joined, what he did during the initial launch of this start up, and where he is going now. Fast forward to 2019 upon winning Commercial Observers top 30 under 30, Jake specializes in tenant rep and expansion at Compass. His passion is working with growing companies and advising them on their commercial real estate strategy while continuing to expand on the original culture that built Compass today!

I'm joined by Sophia & Carla of the New Ventures Team at Compass who head our new concierge program. In short, my team will invest in your home to ensure that we're maximizing value, while reducing time on market. No hidden fees, taxes, interest, etc. Just credit us back at the closing table.

Cosmetic improvements to a home can show a material increase in sale price, but clients often don’t want to or aren’t able to spend that money. The Compass Concierge program will assist you in preparing your coop, condo, or home for market by allowing us to COMPLETELY fund the cosmetic improvements that will increase the value of their home - staging, cleaning, painting, flooring, landscaping and more.

Gone are the days where you may have to liquidate your equities, causing you to pay capital gains tax, or take money out of your checking account. Let us take care of it for you!

Carla & Sophia explain how the back end of our program works, and what or our goals are to ensure that our clients experience with our team is maximized. Enjoy!

An in-depth conversation with with Tony Cappaert, the Co-founder of Contactually, one of the largest CRM's in North America. He is now serves as Compass's Strategic Growth Manager, where he leads programs that help grow each real estate professionals business by leveraging Compass Concierge & Compass Bridge Loans. Some topics we cover: "What lead to the partnership for Compass to acquire Contactually?", "What makes Compass like the New York Yankees?", "Why should our customers should think of us as The Four Seasons?", "Are people that start companies, not the people that should scale growing companies?" Tony is a Washingtonian Tech Titan, a Microsoft Alum, has spoken on numerous podcasts and conferences, and has been featured in Slate, Crain's, The Washingtonian, TechCrunch, and others. He is an MIT alum with a B.S. in Management Science.

I am beyond honored & excited to share with you my interview with Zvi Band, the founder one of the top CRM companies in the country Contactually. We discuss his early beginnings as a programmer, the concept of how Contactually started (was not originally created for real estate people in mind), the lead up to Compass's acquisition of Contatually, and how he's integrated his firm into the Compass frame work. He ends with his vision of the future, and his excitement towards building the future of real estate.

Who is Jessica Northop? Started her career at the age of 18 (before fax machines!) & built her real estate company from the ground up. Loved her quote 13 minutes in. "You gotta go through baptism by fire!". To become successful in this business, you must learn through your own mistakes. Own up to your errors & learn from it! So much fun listening to her & full of content for those interested in getting in the minds of someone who sells 75+ homes a year.

WELCOME TO EPISODE 2! The Takk Team is joined by our two CPA professionals who visits the newly opened "The Jones (soft opening on August 19 via Gabriel Stulman & Chef Jack Harris) to discuss a variety matters from the their hiring experience, projects they are currently working on, Compass IPO timeline & process, & managing the equity team at Compass.

Your host & the founder of the Takk Team at Compass dives into a quick introduction for the team, the work they do, and discuss the goals for the launch of our podcast. We reveal some future guests, fun facts about Danielle Stout, and the big picture of what this podcast will eventually be. Follow our journey on IG at @Takk-Yamaguchi