My real estate career began in 1991 when a few partners and I purchased our first investment property. During this time, as a result of a Martin Luther King, Jr. Scholarship I had received in 1989, I began college internships with the first African-American Supreme Court justice in Queens County and the first Asian-American female judge in New York state history. These internships profoundly influenced me and made me believe a law degree could help my real estate career and enable me to be a “social architect” for the betterment of society.
I attended law school in 1993 and continued my internships. I also formed a foreclosure opportunity company, made the Real Property Law Society and was published in the New York Real Property Law Journal. After graduation, I continued to work in real estate, along with being actively involved in community organizations and even serving as president of my law school’s Justinian Law Society Alumni Association in 1998.
Soon thereafter, I formed my own real estate investment company and met my future wife, Rosanna, who was working for a prominent real estate company. We married, she became a commercial real estate agent and earned her MBA, and we worked together as a real estate team.
The Lemons
Once my wife and I decided to have children, we moved to Seattle as we always considered it the ideal city for family and career. However, a strange thing happened on our journey west: I decided I was finally going to give a legal career a chance by starting my own law firm, instead of working in real estate.
In contrast, Rosanna planned to continue her career, despite the fact that she was a recent transplant and commercial real estate sales agents are predominantly men, rather than aspiring mothers-to-be. Unfortunately, without getting into too much detail, local commercial firms did not share her enthusiasm.
The Lemonade
As a husband, it was difficult, yet inspiring, to watch my wife’s determination and how her experiences with local firms motivated her to succeed. After exploring her options, we decided that Rosanna should simply join a residential real estate company, but only practice commercial real estate, despite the disadvantages. Even though she became pregnant a few months later, she still managed to earn a six-figure income within her first eight months with the company.
Although Rosanna was able to overcome these initial obstacles, we decided that, based on her initial experiences in the industry, we should form a commercial real estate brokerage that placed a heavy emphasis on professionalism and fostering diversity. Given our experiences with commercial firms, our real estate experiences in Washington, New York, Florida and California, and our commitment to public service, we believed we could develop programs that allowed more qualified people access to the commercial real estate industry.
Initially, the plan was for me to continue practicing law, but I would assist Rosanna in the initial phases of forming and operating the company. A few months after the birth of our son, we formed a limited liability company, Prestia Group. I took the licensing exam and became the designated broker, and essentially assumed all duties as the head of the company until she was ready to resume working on a full-time basis.
The Twist
Everything went according to plan, except with me. Once I started working as a broker, I wanted to continue. Along with the fact that it provided Rosanna and me the opportunity to work together, there are too many aspects of real estate and being a broker that I enjoy. For example, philosophically, real estate transactions are “win-win.” Unlike the majority of law, which is based on making someone do something he/she does not want to do, my role as real estate agent is fundamentally to bring together someone who wants to sell and someone who wants to buy. At the same time, there generally are conflicts and negotiations regarding the specifics of price and terms prior to an agreement, satisfaction of contingency clauses and transfer, and the like.
There is a greater amount of freedom being a real estate agent, but freedom can be like a double-edged sword, sort of like pressure. Some people flourish and others fold. Unlike law, I am not expected to be in my office and I never have to be in court or hearings. Although I do return most calls the same day, I can do it while being at a property location or spending time with my family at the park. Even so, we still cancelled holiday plans to work last Memorial Day weekend and Father’s Day, but at least it was our decision.
I also believe there is greater freedom to select clients and compensation. I select who I like to work with and compensation is based on risk and reward. The more expensive and difficult a property is to sell, the higher your potential commission, but generally it takes two to four months before you are compensated. Of course, without a sale I am not entitled to compensation at all, even if I spend two months reviewing information or drafting agreements, or even when I am assisting a client to rescind a transaction. In many ways, this is similar to contingency agreements in personal injury law. Some people can accept this risk and budget their funds accordingly, while others become anxious and stressed and incur debt.
The aspect of law I find most enjoyable is advising clients and negotiation, which transfers to my real estate role. Ultimately, from a business perspective, my law degree has always given me a professional and competitive advantage. We receive referrals because my years in real estate and legal training manifest themselves in so many ways when examining properties, dealing with clients, negotiating terms, reviewing and drafting contracts and so on. For most people, it is important that when you are referring a friend, family member or client, that you can refer with confidence.
Between managing our business and family, it has taken us some time to actualize our programs to foster and promote diversity and equal opportunity. Fortunately, we have been able to retain our first senior associate, Lisa Chiang, a member of the Washington and King County bar associations. Ultimately, in accomplishing these goals, I can remain “true” to my passion for real estate and my original motivation for attending law school, which is the betterment of society.
Frank D. Prestia is the co-founder and designated broker of Prestia Group, a commercial and investment real estate company. He can be reached at 206-624-9366 or Frank@prestiagroup.com or you can visit his Web site at www.prestiagroup.com.
