I cold-called a bunch of real estate brokers with the same pitch. "I wanna learn affordable housing. I'll work for free a few days a week, but I need to bartend at night. Just teach me." The first guy who said yes was (still is) a piece of shit luxury condo sales broker.
But I didn't fucking know any better. No one gave me any guidance, so I showed up to a very fancy office full of women who did not like me and started cold-calling for affordable housing deals. Strong start. A kid with no experience in a shop with no commercial credibility.
One of the things you do when you're starting out is help the lead broker sell their listings. This dog pictured above was one of them. It's ~25 feet wide and 120 feet deep, full block. Perfect dimensions for industrial, or murdering strangers, but not great for much else.
To complicate matters, the neighbor to the left is the MBTA, and to the right is an Eversource substation that powers the entire financial district. These folks were not interested in allowing any development.
But fuck it. The choice (at that time) was keep bartending or try to make it. So I called everyone I could think of. I sat in a cheap, ill-fitting suit from Mens Warehouse (only one), Googled "developers" and called those mf'ers up!
I got laughed at, a lot. What's the FAR? Is development by right? Utility access? What's the story with the air rights? Union or open shop? Got a clean Phase 1? I had no fucking clue. Not that I didn't have the answers; I mean, I didn't understand the fucking questions.
I got a bigwig from Extell on the phone, he asked about FAR, I mumbled for a bit, and he said, "kid, you're not ready to make this call," and he was right But what the fuck was I gonna do? Ask the resi brokers? Those fucking idiots we're ordering champagne and finger sandwiches
So I'd make calls, write down the questions, get laughed at, and then get on Google to teach myself. Then I'd swallow my pride and call back. One guy said, "I could see 14m with air rights, how'd you model the rents?" I hadn't modeled shit because I didn't know how.
I told him "14m is the number the seller gave me" and he laughed at me, asked if I was "fucking joking" and hung up on me. Apparently, understanding financial modeling is important in real estate, so I started Googling "how to build a financial model."
Because the fucking choice was "learn real estate finance" or "keep making redbull vodkas for club kids and sleeping in the basement." If you're poor, persistent, and hungry enough to make it, you can learn some crazy shit through sheer force.
My grandfather used to say, "You won't learn anything unless it hurts your feelings or costs you money," and he was right. Those fuckers who laughed at me on the way up, call my company and ask for meetings now.
@mu2myoc Poor, persistent, and hungry should be a mantra to teach to any generation
@mu2myoc This story is amazing. My journey was similar except I loved bartending and learned about cocktails, then management then bar and restaurant ownership. Loved reading this.
@mu2myoc “If you're poor, persistent, and hungry enough to make it, you can learn some crazy shit through sheer force.” AMERICAN DREAM TALK
@mu2myoc 👏🏻👆🏻Love everything about this thread. If you’re new/struggling, take notes and act accordingly. This is [almost] my story as well, only I was a low-level IT geek and high school dropout.