Real Takk Podcast

Episode 89, David Lombino, Managing Director of Two Trees, Discussing Domino Park, The Refinery, Brooklyn, & Bjarke Ingels River Ring

NYC's top developer Two Trees Managing Director David Lombino joins the pod to discuss their work on Williamsburg Brooklyn's premier waterfront. 
 
Two Trees is a Brooklyn-based, family-owned real estate development firm founded in 1968.  Two Trees has owned, managed, and developed a portfolio worth more than $4B in real estate, owning and managing more than 4,000 apartments, 3 million square feet of commercial and industrial real estate, and most notably developing one of the most important waterfronts in New York City,  Domino Park, Domino Sugar Factory, and their new project known as the River Ring, Two Trees’ Other Eye-Catching Project on the Williamsburg Waterfront and a development site which was formally owned by ConEdison and used as an oil tank storage facility.  Two Trees purchased the 11-acre Domino site in 2012 for $185 million, and over the past decade has demolished 27+ buildings and cleared the site for rezoning, excavation & development. 
 
Most recently, Two Trees has been in the news for opening up The Refinery, a fifteen-story, 460,000 square-foot office space within an industrial brick structure originally completed in 1884 which then housed the factory & production of sugar for Domino.  The Refinery is set to redefine the standard for commercial buildings in New York City, offering world-class workspaces and amenities, while preserving the site’s rich history and embracing sustainability.
 
Fun Fact:  Michael has a friend group named "Red Sauce Gang".  The gang meets once a quarter and tries out various restaurants around the city.  
 
Here are David Lombino's and the Red Sauce Gang's go-to that YOU should try: 
Raos 
Michaels of Brooklyn 
Le Crocodile 
 
 

Episode 88, Jason Advocate, Partner At Advocate LLP, On Divorce Law In Real Estate

Jason Advocate is NYC's leading divorce attorney in NYC.  He has been involved in the split of the family members of Rockrose & TF Cornerstone, to Kent Swig of Swig Equities who was once married to another real estate titan's daughter.  Jason is the Partner of his law office  Advocate, LLP which specializes in divorce & family law in NYC.  Jason has 25 years of experience representing clients in all aspects of divorce, including child custody, alimony, and property division. 
While divorce is wildly complicated, we’ll center our conversation around real estate, and the complexities involved around it here in New York City.  Please follow Jason on his website advocatellp.com, his LinkedIn, 
As a long-time New Yorker who grew up in the Upper West Side, here are some of his favorite GO TOs in NYC: 
Recently Favorite Restaurant in NYC: HYUN  IG: HYUN_NYC
All Time Favorite Restaurants in NYC:  Bowery Meat Company IG: bowerymeatcompany 
Favorite Old Time NYC Bar: Max Fish IG: maxfishbar

Episode 87, Aaron Buchbinder, Founding Agent of Compass, On The Real Estate Market In Boca Raton

Joined by my guest co-host Levi Meyer from Compass Miami, I am pleased to have my other Florida friend & industry colleague Aaron Buchbinder from Boca Raton Florida to talk about his life, business, & the real estate market there.  We discuss happenings on house maintenance, roofs, insurance issues, what you can purchase at several price points, and his advice to homeowners, sellers, & those who are looking to move to Boca Raton.  
 
As one of the founding agents of Compass in the Boca Raton area & a top producer, Aaron brings a wealth of knowledge to this episode.  He understands the markets on the coastline and can guide you through all questions & concerns you have about Boca.  Please follow him on IG at @thebuchbindergroup
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-buchbinder-78ba847/ 
Website: https://thebuchbindergroupfl.com/ 

Episode 86, Jordan Sachs, Founder of BOLD NY, On Real Estate Investments & Ground Up Brokerage Strategy

Pleased to have Jordan Sachs on the Real Takk Podcast. Jordan was the co-founder & CEO of BOLD New York, a residential real estate brokerage in NYC that at its height, exclusively represented about 15K units across NYC ranging from pre-war walk-ups, to the largest rental building in NYC at almost 1M square feet on West 42nd street named Sky, to trophy rental buildings developed by JDS called The American Copper building.   The 10-year-old brokerage was acquired by Compass back in February of 2021, which brought Jordan & his team of 120 agents along with his portfolio of new development & existing rental buildings.  
 
Jordan has also launched a boutique lending venture firm in Santa Monica called Sunday Capital, which specializes in multi-family loans ranging from $1M to $20M.  
 
Please follow Jordan @jsachs3 on IG, and the following links to his work: 
 
Website: https://sundaycap.com/
 
linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordan-sachs-89a11a14a/
 
twitter:  @jsachs2

Episode 85, Joe fox, Operator & Manager of NYC Multi Family Residential, Commercial Mixed Use, Coops & Condos.

Joe Fox is one of the most experienced operator & manager of NYC multi family properties, coops, and condominiums in NYC .  So what does an operator & manager of NYC multi family & commercial mixed use properties actually mean?  Joe & I discuss the intricacies of the below areas on this episode: 
Dealings with the NYPD, NYFD, Dept of Buildings, Dept of Health, HPD (housing & preservation dept) & more. 
How management of a coop & condo board works, and his relationship with real estate brokers that transact in these buildings. 
How Rent Control & Rent Stabilization affects owners & the NYC housing market in general. 
Trend of the NYC retail commercial landscape in Midtown Manhattan between 2020 and present time. 
This is an extremely informative episode and I hope that my listeners will learn a few things from Joe! 
 

Episode 84: Elizabeth Ann Stribling-Kivlan, On Stribling, Representing The Plaza, Acquired by Compass, & the State of the Brokerage Industry

I am pleased to have NYC real estate legend Elizabeth Ann Stribling Kivlan AKA EA Stribling on the the pod.  EA is a born & raised, through & though 5th generation New Yorker.  She attended the Chapin school in the UES, then as most NY’ers do, left the city to attend school at Holy Cross, then to SF to pursue a career outside of real estate and not live in NYC.  Her first entry into real estate was with a top agent Pacific Union in SF where she cut her teeth learning the ins and outs of our business.  But as many New Yorkers do, she found that there is no better place than NYC so upon her return back intoNYC, EA joined her family business Stribling & Associates where she helped build the brokerage with her family over the course of 24 years.  About 4 years ago, compass acquired Stribling associates , then a firm that has closed $1.62B just in sell side deals with an agent count of around 270 agents and a robust new development division.  
 
We discuss all things NYC real estate, the state of the brokerage industry now, the past, and the future.  
 
Please Follow EA on:
IG
Linkedin
and make sure to visit our Compass website  
 

Episode 83: What is Eagle 9 Title Policy? What does Compass buying Title Companies Mean?

This episode dives into all things Eagle 9 Title Insurance, standard title insurance, and Compass buying up Title Companies mean for the industry with Title Vest Titans Courtney Ronan & Joshua Bolden. 
 
Courtney Ronan:  After college she worked at Goldman Sachs for 3.8 years in the investment management division, then joined Urban Compass on June 2013, 6 months before I joined the team as one of the first licensed agents.  While at Urban Compass & Compass, Courtney’s role at compass varied from working as an Onboarding Associate managing the lifecycle stages of newly hired salespeople and facilitated operational and business needs for brokers including training on proprietary product releases. Prior to that, she was a Listings Associate, and also worked as Neighborhood Specialist at Urban Compass from June 2013 to October 2013.  Courtney’s also bee instrumental in the formation of the takk team, helping me interview & get Danielle Stout on my team who’s been here for 8 years now!
 
Present time, Courtney Ronan is  the Senior Vice President of Business Development at TitleVest where  handles the sales and business development for residential and commercial deals in both hyper-local and nationwide markets. She excels at identifying gaps in current business operations and provides ongoing development support by leveraging her extensive network of real estate attorneys, lenders, agents, and professionals in the real estate sector.
 
Joshua Bolden, is a coop underwriter & department manager with Titlevest with over 11 years of experience handling Eagle 9 Title Insurance on coop transactions. Josh hails from Central Ohio a graduate of University of Dayton, and has lived in NYC for 18 years.  As the Emperor of coop policy, Josh & TitleVest is pleased to present Coop UCC/PlusTM— title insurance developed exclusively for coop transactions. For those who want the added protection of a title insurance policy, Coop UCC/PlusTM is a compelling option. It offers coverage beyond the traditional leasehold policy at a fraction of the cost of traditional policies. Josh overseas 2K closings a year, and runs a team of 6 assisting in those transactions. 
 
Please follow Courtney Ronan & Joshua Bolden: 
Courtney Ronan IG
Josh Bolden Linkedin
 

Episode 82: 15 Lessons in 15 Years. Smooth Seas Do Not Make A Good Sailor!

To mark my 15th year in the real estate business in NYC, I hop on my pod to discuss 15 lessons that fellow small business owners, real estate brokers, & industry insiders can learn from.
 
Full episode on all audio platforms here:
Full episode link Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/39sf5cb...
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Podbean: https://realtakk.podbean.com/
 

Episode 81: Bob Knakal, A Legend Amongst a League of Legends.$20B+ Sold in Aggregate Volume, A NYC Storyteller & Master of The Deal

(Recorded on April 2023). Had a great chat with NYC real estate broker & RE legend Bob Knakal on this episode.   We often abuse the word GOAT in the world of sports & business.  If one were to not use this world so casually, then Bob would be considered as The Goat of NYC real estate. He's closed almost $21B worth of real estate to date, over 40K residential units, and has sold $7B worth of development sites across NYC resulting in over 29B square feet.  The numbers.just.don't.lie. 
Fun Fact:  Bob is striving to sell 3000 properties in NYC, hall of fame figures that you could compare in baseball to the likes of Albert Pujols, Ichiro Suzuki, A Rod, Derek Jeter, & Cal Ripken Jr.
He's started a twitter account in January of 2023 and the account has since gone viral in our world.  Bob has a wealth of knowledge & I wish I could have spent a few more hours with him! 
Please follow bob on all social channels: 
Twitter: @Bobknakal 
Linkedin
Instagram: @bobknakalnyc 
 

Episode 80: Jackson Hole Wyoming Real Estate with Colby Murphy, Real Estate Agent & Professional BMX Rider

Welcome to Jackson Hole!  I welcome my guy Colby Murphy on the Real Takk Pod to discuss all things Jackson Hole & Teton Village Real Estate.  The land of The Grand Tetons, Jackson Hole is not just a beautiful, but a historical town set with local leadership that is intent on preserving its history, character, and most importantly, the land & natural beauty that surrounds this geographical region.  
Colby & I talk discuss the tax advantages of owning real estate in Jackson Hole, the events around town, & what more people should be attracted to Jackson Hole & own some real estate here. 
Colby is originally from the land of Delta Blues.  He grew up as a nationally ranked cyclist, & even earned a spot on Team USA for the 2013 UCI World Championships in Auckland, New Zealand.
 
Please follow Colby's journey on his IG at @colby_murphy & his website https://colbymurphy.com