Why I’m Still in This Business After 26 Years

My son asked me why I’ve stayed in real estate this long and why I’m still fired up about it. It gives me lessons I couldn’t learn anywhere else. I didn’t grow up around wealth or opportunity. I grew up in Newark. Where resilience wasn’t a choice, it was survival. So, when I started flipping houses in the same neighborhood I came from, it wasn’t just about making money. It was about rebuilding something that had been broken… including parts of myself.

When the Global Financial Crisis hit, everything collapsed. Deals died. Lending stopped. I lost almost everything financially, but I didn’t lose myself. I paid every investor. I rebuilt from scratch. That experience taught me that your business will only grow to the extent that you do. And I was forced to grow fast.

Later I discovered note investing, almost by accident. It was like someone opened a door to a whole new world, one where I could make money and help people at the same time. Working directly with homeowners, restructuring loans, keeping families in their homes… that’s when I learned the impact side of this business. That’s when it stopped being just a hustle and became a calling.

COVID brought a new set of challenges, but it also clarified my purpose. While other operators froze, we pushed through and delivered. That season forced us to reinvent again, pivoting out of smaller New Jersey rentals into luxury development and value-add multifamily in the Southeast. Two lanes that give us the ability to grow, stabilize, and create real long-term value.

But here’s the real reason I stay in the game: impact.

It’s not only profits. It’s what we create. Turning rundown buildings into communities where kids feel safe. Watching a tenant smile at a brand-new unit they never thought they’d be able to live in. Seeing a property go from chaos to stability because we cared enough to fix the system.

Real estate lets me do something meaningful. It gives me a vehicle to teach, to impact communities, to build something generational, and to stay aligned with my purpose.

That’s why I’m still here.
That’s why I’m passionate.
And that’s the legacy I want you to understand.

If you or anyone reading this wants to go deeper into how we invest, build, and create impact through our luxury development and value-add multifamily strategy, visit nngcapitalfund.com.