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Show Summary
In this episode of the Real Estate Pros podcast, host Erika interviews Greg Straus, founder of 716 Realty Group. Greg shares his journey into real estate, starting from his college days in Buffalo to building a successful brokerage that encompasses property management and vacation rentals. He discusses the unique challenges and opportunities in the New York real estate market, the importance of networking, and lessons learned from partnerships. Greg also offers valuable advice for new investors and shares his vision for future growth in the industry.
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Investor Fuel Show Transcript:
Gregory Straus (00:00)
If I was starting over, I would buy more real estate sooner. It took me a little while to have the confidence from the way back in college and looking at all those opportunities to even to today. Like I wish I would have bought more and I would have done it sooner. And I think if you can do that, find a way to acquire it and get ready for a appreciation rise.Erika (01:56)
Hey everyone, welcome to the Real Estate Pros podcast. I’m your host Erika. And today I’m joined by someone that I’ve been looking for the chat with, Greg Straus. He’s been making serious moves in the real estate space with 716 Realty Group. Greg, I’m so glad to have you on the show.Gregory Straus (02:16)
Thanks for having me.Erika (02:18)
I think our listeners are really going to learn some things with your story and your experience. So let’s jump on in. Can you tell us more about your story and how you got started in real estate?Gregory Straus (02:34)
Yeah, sure. So I originally got started even looking at real estate when I was in college. I went to college in the city of Buffalo. And I was going for my accounting degree actually, but I just started looking at like in the city of Buffalo, houses around that area, thinking, hey, we’re college students, we’re paying how much for rent on off-campus living. And you know, I actually did a little project onbuying a bunch of real estate. Actually, a friend of mine and I actually started an LLC. Wasn’t the right time. I graduated in 2008, the financial crisis.
If I look backwards, man, I wish we bought every block we could and every house for $5,000 in Buffalo, New York. Even the cheapest ones are a hundred grand now. So we really appreciate a lot, but that got me into the real estate space. I studied it. I looked at it. I graduated. The timing wasn’t right. I went to New York city. I worked on wall street and I continued to study real estate. And, um, you know, really after being burned out from New York city, I kind of said, hold on, I’m coming back home, come back to Buffalo and started, uh,
the
first business in the real estate endeavor of an actual sales brokerage. So we started a sales brokerage over a dozen years ago and over the time have added on property management, vacation rental management. So we cover ⁓ that not only for our clients, but for my own portfolio.
Erika (03:59)
That’s really cool. Was there a moment in that journey, Greg, that you knew that this was going to be your lane and that you were sticking with it?Gregory Straus (04:12)
So what I’d like to say, you so even on the sales side and advising people and communicating with them early in my career, was…I’ve been very successful and very blessed with a great network, people that trust me, Buffalo’s a small town. And, you know, I really started helping people look at investment real estate and make those right decisions and realize how quickly they’re appreciating a value, but also just being good at that and having an opportunity to talk to people and guide them. I kind of knew I’m like, I’m going to stick with this. And just on the sales side alone, I rose to be one of the top agents in our marketplace.
from a realtor perspective and I was like okay this is right and they’re all doing it so I’m gonna do a tool on the side of them and build a build a way for our way to win.
Erika (05:49)
And with 716 Realty Group, what would you say sets your group apart from other Realty Groups?Gregory Straus (05:57)
Yeah, I think there’s a lot of great companies out there, so I’m not going to put any of them down. But I think our dynamic and unique difference is that we actually call it like the 716 family of companies. So we have the Realty Group, we have Property Management, and we have Vacation Rentals. All each branded under our umbrella, each with their own teams and staff. But we bounce between them and ideas often flow, whether you need leasing or maintenance or you just want to get away for a weekend.As a client we have those, you know ski chalets and lake houses to send people to it kind of encompasses everything At least in many senses of everything that that somebody may want to do as an investor or is somebody just looking to Have a little fun
Erika (06:45)
Yeah, yeah, that’s great. And you’re operating in New York and with your experience over the years, how have you seen the market evolve and what kind of opportunities or challenges do you see in there?Gregory Straus (07:02)
I think the opportunity and challenges are somewhat ⁓ of the same. New York’s a very hard state to operate in, landlord-tenant laws. ⁓COVID environment, evictions. So, you know, if you’re getting into the space or you’re in the space, you gotta be really tight. ⁓ That being said, I think there’s an opportunity for, at least in our market, there’s a limited number of companies trying to seize that business, help mom and pop investors, I call them, you know, we have clients that have 50 units that just are kind of getting tired of it and we have a resource for them.
So that’s, I think it’s an opportunity growing forward, but also it’s a lot of work. It’s a challenge, but there’s a business here.
Erika (07:51)
Yeah, and you know, and that opportunity and challenge, seems like your group has really, you ⁓ you’ve raised up to that challenge because you’ve grown to so many agents and deals and that’s not easy. What’s been the key to keeping that machine running smoothly?Gregory Straus (08:13)
You know, on the real estate side, it’s obviously having good marketing. think that’s a big thing we did just from the beginning. We started, you know, I had a .edu Facebook account and really the real estate business in my marketplace is very different than like New York City or any other big city. So we’ve built a really good online reputation, lot of online presence, and you know, really try to just kind of put ourselves out there, be transparent and people trust.us with that and it’s really kind of brought a lot of people in. We have our phones ringing every day for one need or another, you on the business side and off of that comes investment opportunities so I think that keeps people that are here excited and interested. There’s definitely opportunities for everyone that ⁓ may not be available for the masses.
Erika (09:12)
You you deal with a lot of single family and small multifamily. What are some of the biggest opportunities that you’ve seen right there, especially for investors?Gregory Straus (09:25)
So in our marketplace, think it is the… So in our marketplace, it is smaller multifamily, but ⁓ there are a lot of older buildings in Buffalo that are 40, 50, 100 units. And recently I’ve seen more people being willing to part ways with those because of all the reasons I mentioned before with challenges in our marketplace.there’s a really good opportunity to come into Buffalo and buy a significant asset or assets that have a lot of doors. And that’s, think, the key. We’re really kind of like unique in the marketplace. Yeah, we still have the Great Lakes, we have great seasons, we have the Buffalo Bills. So the tenant pool is strong and it’s a great marketplace for every size asset class.
Erika (10:23)
with your experience. I’m sure you know that every real estate pro has a moment where things got real. Maybe a deal went completely off the rails or you had to pivot what you were doing. Can you share one of those moments along your journey?Gregory Straus (11:14)
⁓ That’s a great question. So what I will say is that I think in business, in investing, ⁓Sometimes people have business partners in investing or even just in day-to-day operations. I’ve had a couple different facets of that where I’ve had partners in the business or in investment properties. I’ve had some go very well and I’ve made great successful exits. I’ve had some go little more muddy. But I’m happy to say that that experience has helped bring me to where I am today.
We’re just putting together a deal for a 24 unit mixed use new build development that we’re helping broker and invest in as well. there’s really cool opportunities that come out of those experiences, but yeah, there’s definitely challenges. So be careful.
Erika (12:06)
Yeah, and for you has that kind of shaped your approach when it comes to risk management with deals?Gregory Straus (12:14)
For me, I think it’s helped me have a better lens. For partnerships that maybe didn’t go perfectly, it’s helped me protect myself in the future and make them stronger, make them better. I’ve talked to some mentors and friends who are like, I don’t know why, how you can keep having business partners or investment partners. It doesn’t turn me away from it. I think it just makes me smarter and stronger in the sense that honestly, even now more than ever, I’m open to those partnerships and conversations.know, leaning on my real estate knowledge, but also my accounting knowledge and kind of trying to bridge those two together, say, you know, we can do this, we just gotta do it right. And that’s the, you know, in the past maybe I didn’t, maybe it fast, it was quick, and now it’s more strategic and thought out.
Erika (12:59)
is when you do things right, you draw more people in. And for a lot of the people listening here, they’re either earlier in their journey or they’re looking to level up. And I think they’d benefit from hearing this. When it comes to building relationships or growing your network, what would you say is the biggest game changer?Gregory Straus (13:24)
⁓ Well, I’m always trying to level up too and I think having a continuous improvement mindset, surrounding yourself with good people and networking is like the best thing you can do. That’s really how I started and how I continue to go. Just put yourself out there. Talk to people, be willing to engage with people that are willing to talk to you and I think that’s how opportunity comes.Erika (13:52)
there been any groups that you’ve been a part of in particular that that have helped you with that growth?Gregory Straus (13:59)
So I do have some like real estate masterminds. I have a real estate coach. So, you know, we analyze both the day-to-day operation of the real estate business, but even on the investing side and in those groups with I have a national coach.There’s pockets of people throughout the country and we break off into even smaller groups of like, let’s talk about property management or investments. You what is the market like in Orlando? I on a call yesterday and it’s like, hey, it’s a buyer’s market. Bring your people down. It’s kind of good to know that as I look to grow, you know, our real estate holdings and portfolio of midterm, short term and longterm rentals, you know, really around the United States.
Erika (14:40)
Yeah. And Gregory, for our listeners here too, are new, what kind of advice would you give if someone was starting in real estate today, starting completely from scratch? What would you do if you were them?Gregory Straus (15:00)
If I was starting over, I would buy more real estate sooner. It took me a little while to have the confidence from the way back in college and looking at all those opportunities to even to today. Like I wish I would have bought more and I would have done it sooner. And I think if you can do that, find a way to acquire it and get ready for a appreciation rise.think we’re seeing, we’re going to see coming down the pipeline. A lot of people are predicting a pretty good rise.
asset classes of housing and if interest rates come back down at all that’ll continue to pump it. So buy more, buy smart but buy more.
Erika (15:43)
That’s great. Greg, for you, what are you most focused on solving or scaling next in the real estate world?Gregory Straus (15:54)
Good I think the, let’s see. So solving next is really a combination of trying to grow the company and our investors that we work with, as well as standing alongside of them really. It’s not a I need to grow my portfolio or they shouldn’t be growing theirs or they should be growing theirs and I shouldn’t be growing mine.It’s kind of saying how do we look at this together so that we’re scaling together, having the right group of owners and learning from each other inside of our organization is really what I’m looking to do in the future.
Erika (16:31)
and do you foresee any challenges with that growth and scaling?Gregory Straus (16:37)
I think growth and scaling always has its challenges. I think how we respond to those challenges makes the difference between a successful entrepreneur and not so much one. So, you you gotta be willing to fail, but you also have to be smart about what risk you are taking. I’m very risk-on right now. Let’s do it. And I think there’s a lot of smart ways to do it out there. So, you know, rock and roll.Erika (17:08)
One final note, if someone wanted to reach out, connect with you, collaborate, or learn more about what you’re doing at 716, what’s the best way for them to get in touch?Gregory Straus (17:19)
Yeah, I’m always available. Love you. Reach out to me, whether it’s on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, all of the main platforms. You’ll find me, Greg Straus, 716. Feel free to even just go to my main website, 716realtorygroup.com. You can find me there. And love to shoot you back a time and connect.Erika (17:43)
Well, thanks again, Gregory, for being on the show. ⁓ we need more people in this space who are doing things the right way, building a top-tier brokerage like you have.Gregory Straus (17:53)
Well, I appreciate that. We’ll keep trying every day. ⁓Erika (17:57)
Awesome. And for our listeners, if you got value from this episode, make sure that you’re subscribed to the Real Estate Pros podcast. We’ve got more conversations coming up with pros like Greg, who are out there building fantastic real estate businesses. We’ll see you on the next
