How a 20-Year-Old Real Estate Developer Broke Into Miami Development

Aaron Vays (00:00)
Yeah. You know, it was not easy. It was a it required a little bit of a push. I remember sending in the application and I wasn’t hearing anything back. And I mean I wasn’t surprised it’s a huge company and you know they have a lot on their pipeline right now, especially with with what they’re working on with Bentley and other deals. And I remember calling every other day for about two and a half to three weeks, every other day I’d call them.

And I get the same, you know, message. They’re busy. I mean, they have stuff to do. And I understood it, but I wasn’t gonna stop.

Meghan Escobar (02:03)
Hey everyone, welcome back to Real Estate Pros Podcast, hosted by Investor Fuel. I’m your host, Meghan Escobar, and today I am joined by somebody I am pretty excited to to have here on the show. His name is Aaron Vays, who’s been making some serious moves in the real estate development industry. What surprises me most about this this fellow here is his age and his work ethic and his determination to be successful in the real estate development world. So so happy to have you here, Aaron. Thanks for joining. I I truly believe our listeners are going to be able to take some value away from how you’re approaching this industry and what got you into it. So

Let’s take a dive in here and for the people listening in who might not be familiar with your world, give us a 30,000 foot view of what your focus is these days and what markets you’re operating in.

Aaron Vays (03:00)
Yeah, I mean our biggest focus at Bayit Development, it’s you know, the ground up development. You know, I guess you could say opportunities within more of the prime areas of Miami, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Silver Bluff, Shenandoah. That’s where we’re we’re trying to keep it. Our first project has taken off in the Shenandoah area. It’s it’s on a 7,000 square foot lot. Super, super nice location. I love it.

You know, we spoke about it earlier, but it’s, you know, catering to the, you know, Brickell executives who don’t necessarily want to live the city life. They want to be on the outside of the city life and like a suburb. And that area of Shenandoah is perfect for them.

Meghan Escobar (03:43)
Perfect. All right. And you know what caught my attention the most prior to getting onto this recording is your age. When I asked you what your strength is in in this industry, you mentioned that, you know, being 20 years old and getting started and working on these high end deals. Talk to us a little bit about and it’s not easy in this climate. As you mentioned, you know, sometimes when you mention your age, you get looks or

You know, people are encouraging you to keep going. At the end of the day, I’m curious to know what what got you into this industry and you know, how it’s been an advantage for you.

Aaron Vays (04:22)
Yeah, I I think I it’s it’s definitely a family thing. You know, coming from, you know, my grandfather on my on my father’s side. And you know, my father, and you know, I I have considered to be an uncle, Matt. And, you know, it’s just all of these figures in my life that I look up to, all of them are in real estate. So it was bound to happen event eventually, that I was gonna make this push for it. And it just so happens to be it was done

The age of like 17, 18, 19, which I’d say created the handoff for what I’m doing right now. So that that’s where that inspiration comes from. It wasn’t like a freak accident, where I just decided, hey, you know what? I really like doing this, I’m gonna try it out. You know? It was more so let me let me push myself into the craziest environment I could try to push myself into. Let’s let’s shoot the highest I could shoot and let’s see where it where I’m gonna land. So

Meghan Escobar (05:11)
Yeah, yeah, definitely. And you know, some inspiration for our listeners might be, you know, what where you were prior to this new project that you guys started and how you got into that.

Aaron Vays (06:11)
Yeah. So I worked at Dezer Development. I worked as an intern at first and then I was hired as part-time. You know, and you know, a a a that’s one of the experiences that I’ve had that I’m leveraging right now in our current project. So a lot of the design framework is coming from there.

You know, that’s why I’m trying to find, you know, actively, you know, it right now I’m trying to find a balance between the two because my product is not necessarily for the same people who’d be purchasing a Dezer Bentley condo. Because Dezer Development, I mean, they’re currently developing the Bentley Residences that’s in Sunny Isles Beach. They’ve developed the Porsche Design Tower. They’ve done a few of the the Trump buildings in Sunny Isles, Armani, they’ve done so again it’s

That’s another, you know, thing I’m trying to work out here is where is the in between? Because not everyone that I’m gonna going to be developing units for are the you are the people who are the the the Bentley type, the Porsche type, they might be more refined and and less loud per se. So

Meghan Escobar (07:13)
For sure. And for Bayit Development, which is your company, it’s a startup company. You have a partner. It’s is it just you and your partner?

Aaron Vays (07:21)
Yes, it’s it’s me and my partner John. Yeah.

Meghan Escobar (07:23)
Nice.

Perfect. And so it sounds like you’ve been pretty much a little entrepreneur since your late teens, early teens, potentially. And now that you’re, you know, in your twenties and actually have a project running and it seems to be going well. I know every operator, every entrepreneur, you know, has a moment where things got real for them. And you mentioned that, you know, you guys have

Broke ground about four months ago. So that’s when things got really real for you. Talk to us a little bit about that and how how that felt to, you know, get that deal underway.

Aaron Vays (07:59)
Yeah, it was kind of surreal. You know, again, our work ethic is it it it really shows when how quick we were when me and my partner this when my partner and I decided to, you know, create Bayit, found it, and that’s when we started pushing opportunities, opportunities, opportunities. We were looking everywhere. We we even landed in Fort Lauderdale for a b for a brief moment and then that didn’t work out. So

You know, it it it took a lot. And I feel like if we were a little bit laid back and we weren’t pushy, it would have taken a lot longer than that to source our first project. You know, we were pushy and we got it done. We found the a project to land on a job site in like a month and a half, our piece of land right now on Shenandoah. I don’t think we would have got that in time if we were laid back. I think the only reason that opportunity fell through to our hands is because we were pushy. We were able to source that.

Meghan Escobar (08:50)
Talk a little bit about what do you mean by pushy for some of our listeners that might be brand new into this world and you know f might feel like

And the reason I’m bringing this up is because I feel like a lot of people have this misconception of, you know, being a salesperson and being pushy and feeling like you’re gonna lose a deal. Talk to talk to us about how this is a quality or a benefit for you in this industry.

Aaron Vays (09:15)
No, yeah, you you have to be hungry. And you know, the first thing I realized in this industry is that people work on their own time a lot of the times. And you need to you need to push them. There’s no other way. You know, sometimes I’d be waiting for an answer from a broker, for example, for like a week. And I’d think to myself, Well, isn’t it in your best interest that we get this deal done? I mean, you’re getting a commission, aren’t you? Why why do I have to chase after you? It shouldn’t be the opposite. So

In just for people my age or people just starting in the real estate industry, I think that’s going to be something you first realize is that wow, if if I’m not gonna call this guy, it ain’t gonna happen. So you need to be pushy. That’s the only way you’re gonna get answers, and that’s the only way you’re gonna progress. And it’s it’s unfortunate that you know people who should have it in their best interest to kind of get, you know, get the get the ball rolling, don’t it’s your responsibility, you know, you’re gonna have to push forward. And we’ve done that plenty of times, and nothing ever came up.

Happening from it. You know, we never ended up, you know, closing on any of those pieces of land. But see, that’s that led us to where we are right now. Only by pushing forward we were able to get to the Shenandoah area. And I feel like if we were laid back and we waited for the opportunity to come to us as opposed to us chasing after it and seizing it, it would have taken us a lot longer. And who knows, I guess the it would have been a lot more expensive too if the market went up a little bit, you know.

Meghan Escobar (11:07)
Yeah, absolutely. And you know, th these are the things most people don’t talk about enough. We live in this social media world most of the time, you know, people are seeing highlights are are are seeing the progress, but they’re not seeing the work behind the progress of what it takes to, you know, get into these types of deals and create these types of relationships. And I truly believe this is what separates the folks who are here to just dabble. And Aaron, I know y you’re you’re really new in the game, but it speaks volume

For you to be that aggressive, determined, you know, hungry, as you mentioned, person versus, you know, somebody who is

Here to stay long term and that’s the kind of energy that you’re bringing to the table. So talk to us a little bit about where you guys are, where Bayit Development is focusing on scaling next. What’s the next real big goal for you guys?

Aaron Vays (11:57)
I really like the multifamily ground up game. I think that’s great because we’re seeing an influx of renters right now. With you know, I wouldn’t really call it an affordability crisis, but a lot of people are tending not to be purchasing a lot of like these newer construction condos. I mean, right behind me, there’s if you can see there’s plenty of them coming up with all the cranes. So there’s an influx of renters right now. I think that would be a, you know, a a great play. But even doing exactly what we’re doing right now.

I guess finding, you know, pieces of land and really nice areas and, you know, I guess building as much as the density allows us to. That’s I feel like the next opportunity. That’s what I’d like to do. You know.

Meghan Escobar (12:33)
Is your partner on game with that?

Aaron Vays (12:35)
Yeah, I mean we’re we’re still looking for opportunities right now. That’s why on our website we have a a tab where people can reach out for if they have any sort of opportunities for us or JVs and and and et cetera. So we’re we’re always looking out, you know, again, we’re we’re on the younger side, so we’re we’re we’re just looking to jump in. No matter where it is, we’re we’re willing to, you know, to look into it.

Meghan Escobar (12:56)
Love that. And a lot of our listeners are either early on in their journey, you know, looking to get their feet wet or just trying to understand where do they where where should they fall into place when it comes to real estate, whether they want to come in as a builder, a developer, an investor, an agent. Or we have, you know, individuals who have been in the game a long time and they’re just looking to level up. And I I really think that they might benefit from hearing this. So

You mentioned that you have some really incredible mentors in your life. And so when it comes to building relationships and growing your network, what do you feel has made the biggest difference for you?

Aaron Vays (13:34)
Again, it’s it’s leveraging it’s it’s it’s leveraging the connections that I had. And you know, a lot of people won’t be as lucky as I am to have been born into those connections. You know, my father’s friends, you know, his his very best friends, and my father, my grandfather. You you can very well make those connections. I I I made more connections than I had prior to working at Dezer Development. You know, I have everyone’s phone number. I I I’m in contact with with many of them proactively. So

It it’s not net it doesn’t necessarily have to be you’re in a position where you were, you know, given a lot of these connections or you just you’re just utilizing what you have. And I think that for for new developers or people who are coming into you know the multifamily game or small fix and flips, it’s the same thing. You know, the real estate community is humongous, you know. I it’s you you’re you’re able to leverage almost anything as long as you know how to utilize it correctly and you’re putting it towards the right things.

Even even if it’s something as simple as a broker. You know, I I keep in contact with most of my brokers. I’m very friendly with them because, you know, it’s good to have and eventually you’ll be able to utilize it when my product’s finished. I I’m in contact with with brokers that I met at Dezer Development selling five, six, seven million dollar oceanfront condos, not because, you know, I knew I was gonna be where I am today per se, but it’s still good to have. So that’s really a a a good I guess piece of advice is to

Bookmark, save people’s phone and you know numbers. It’s free. It doesn’t cost any money to have someone’s phone in the in the phone book on your phone. So I feel like that’s really important to save everyone’s contacts because you don’t know where they’re gonna go. You don’t know where they’re gonna go.

Meghan Escobar (15:15)
100%. And you know, one thing I don’t think you’re giving yourself enough credit for here is, you know, you mentioned being born into this and having these mentors pretty much easily accessible to you. But your position, you positioned yourself to get into Dezer Development. That wasn’t something that was referred to you. And you told me you worked pretty hard to get in there. So you know, I think that’s something that our listeners would.

Benefit from hearing on, you know, what it took you to get into that space and how you’re utilizing those relationships today.

Aaron Vays (16:30)
Yeah. You know, it was not easy. It was a it required a little bit of a push. I remember sending in the application and I wasn’t hearing anything back. And I mean I wasn’t surprised it’s a huge company and you know they have a lot on their pipeline right now, especially with with what they’re working on with Bentley and other deals. And I remember calling every other day for about two and a half to three weeks, every other day I’d call them.

And I get the same, you know, message. They’re busy. I mean, they have stuff to do. And I understood it, but I wasn’t gonna stop.

So every other day I’d I’d give their accounting their accounting and human resources office a call. And it’d be the same. It was the the the poor receptionist would hear the my voice every other day. So she kind of made it a habit that she was gonna hear back from me. And eventually it got to the head of the human resources department and she said, you know what? Okay, stop bothering us. Let’s you can come in and we’ll we’ll see what we could do with you, you know.

So I think that, you know, even in the interview, she that was a topic of conversation of the work ethic. And she’s like, You’re not even working here yet, and you’re already, you know, kind of, you know, hounding and and and hustling. So you we’ll we’ll we’ll find you something. And you know, I I’ve you know wiggled my way in to a spot in Dezer Development and it’s it was a great experience, you know, awesome people. And the experience I gathered from there is it’s one to none. It was great, it was really great.

Meghan Escobar (17:52)
And think that’s such an incredible way to talk about how your pushiness and your work ethic has gotten you to where you are today. And it’s not the being born into it, right? That’s not a luck thing. You you worked for that. So I think that’s something really important to express here. Because yeah, right, you know, a lot of our listeners who are young like you and might not have those connections still need to hear the determination behind your

You know, where you put yourself without having those built-in relationships.

Aaron Vays (18:24)
Hundred 100%. 100%. And again, I I do I do consider myself extremely lucky to have mentors like that. Like for example, Matt, you know, he’s he’s doing huge, huge things. You know, they’re they’re completing five hundred plus unit buildings in Hialeah. And you know, hopefully soon they’re gonna have their you know, Merrick Park Coral Gables play, where there’s gonna be over, I believe, eight hundred units or so. So having having

You know, family like that close, it really does help and it reduces stress because you know you have your questions answered, many of them for for the most part. You have your questions answered. And you know, that combined with the experience I gathered at Dezer and the experiences that I’m gonna learn from these first few projects, I’m gonna be able to leverage that and just keep rolling, just rolling and rolling.

Meghan Escobar (19:08)
Absolutely. It’s just getting started. And so that is something that you just can’t fake. You know, relationships are everything in this space. The real estate industry is heavy on relationship building. I mean, it doesn’t run without people, right? So thank you for sharing that. I think our listeners will be able to take some value from there. Before we wrap up, if someone wanted to reach out to you, Aaron, and collaborate with you or

Learn more about what it is that you’re doing. What would be the best best way for them to reach you? Is that a social or an email or

Aaron Vays (19:42)
Yeah, I mean we we have a website up that was done for us. We it’s bayitdevelopment.com. We also have an Instagram, it’s bayit I believe it’s an underscore development on Instagram. We have those two. I’m trying to get into that game because it’s it’s extremely important. You know social media could take off whenever. So you know, I I’m I’m posting daily on that construction updates.

So yeah, those those are the two areas and and my phone number and my email are also on both on the Instagram and on the website as well. Shout from there.

Meghan Escobar (20:10)
And that’s Bayit, B-A-Y-I-T development. Bayitdevelopment.com, folks. All right. And for those of you that are tuning in, if you did get any value here from Aaron’s takeaway, make sure you subscribe. We’ve got more conversations coming from owners and operators and entrepreneurs just like Aaron, who are out here building real businesses in real time with real people.

Aaron Vays (20:15)
Correct. Correct.

Meghan Escobar (20:37)
Thanks for joining, and we’ll see you on the next episode.