Three Lessons I Learned from My Grandfather

I often say I learned everything I know about real estate from my grandfather, an immigrant who made the most of the opportunities this country had to offer. Growing up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, I watched him and my father build the family real estate business from humble beginnings. Here are three of the most valuable lessons I learned.

1. Get Your Hands Dirty

My career began “at the bottom and in the weeds,” gathering knowledge from my father and grandfather’s experiences on their road to success. Very early on, they taught me that honesty, fair-dealing and integrity are the foundations to longevity. I also learned not to avoid risk but to understand it, and to never be afraid to get your hands dirty.

Their achievements fueled my passion for the business and served as a catalyst to launch my own firm in 2009. I love hard assets that I can touch and feel, and the challenge of realizing a vision to execute a value-add strategy that provides a quality living experience for our apartment residents and achieves attractive risk-adjusted returns for our investment partners.

Following my grandfather’s lead, I grew my business brick by brick and deal by deal, through hard work, long hours, asking for advice from seasoned mentors and, of course, learning from my mistakes. As the newest link in the chain, I take to heart my responsibility for carrying forward the high standards and ethics that define the family business – and imparting them to the next generation.

2. Value Relationships

To achieve long term success in the real estate investment space, it is important to stay ahead of the curve in terms of best practices and technology. However, I feel that the industry as a whole has lost some of its “personal touch” as a result of its reliance on technology.

In my grandfather’s time, relationships were built on handshakes and face to face interaction, not text messages and emojis. In today’s world, where communications are typically handled via a computer or mobile device, I still prefer to pick up the phone or meet someone in person. In fact, my firm is very traditional in this sense. And it’s an approach that carries over to how we source investment opportunities, manage our properties and strengthen relationships with our investment partners.

The value we place on relationships is the driving force behind our reputation for integrity and fair dealing. I am proud to say that our firm is on good terms with everyone we have ever transacted with, both on the buy and sell side, and we have developed many relationships that provide steady and growing deal flow.

3. Give Back

My grandfather understood the importance of giving back to others and to the community, a value that he instilled in me at a young age. At CLP, we actively encourage and implement community outreach programs throughout our residential portfolio, and in 2016 we launched a scholarship program that recognizes students with strong academic performance who demonstrate leadership and participate in both school and community activities. As a company that firmly believes in the value of higher education, we feel there is no better way to improve people’s lives than to support and encourage their scholarly and career goals.

While generating superior ROI for our investors is critical, I believe that CLP’s success is directly tied to elevating the lives of others and strengthening the connection we have with our residents. For me personally, nothing is more fulfilling than improving and repositioning properties to help create communities that become strong sources of pride.