It was a gorgeous spring Easter Sunday, April 20, 2014, when I received a call that my boss, client, and business partner for over 15 years had passed away unexpectedly. Over the course of our career together, we had purchased, renovated, restored, and in many cases created and put businesses in a number of the buildings. By 2016 I had spent nearly 20 years working on over 30 properties and starting more a dozen small businesses that employed roughly 150 people. Real estate was always part of everything we did. Everything I did. I purchased my first commercial building in 1994. And thus the choice to go into real estate. Instead of retiring at 54, I would, as a dear friend called it, “re-fire” in the real estate business. And where else but in the nations largest, most densely populated, and most competitive area, the greater New York City metropolitan area.
It seems like quite a jump having started my adult married life in a trailer. A common place to start when you live in a deeply rural seriously poor area of rural America. Then we moved into a little 26’x26′ coal mining house. That little place gave way to a new home we built on the same site. And when I say “we” I mean family, friends, and me. I have pictures of my 4-year-old son “helping me” tie cement forms together to pour our basement walls and of a dear friend of mine, who now owns the largest real estate brokerage in the area, helping me set roof trusses dangling off of my father-in-law’s tractor bucket. That was a big step for us. We still own that home and we’re thankful to have our niece and her family living there now.
Then we restored another turn of the century Arts and Crafts home called Porter Hall. In 2016 we made the jump to Union City, New Jersey and bought a condo standing on the cliff looking over Hoboken at the entire Manhattan skyline. We sold that condo and purchased another in Union City significantly increasing the size and further improving the view of Manhattan. Why Union City? Because we feel it and the surrounding towns will become the next Brooklyn. We think of it as the 6th borough.
One year ago, my daughter Morgan left a very lucrative career to join me in the real estate business. With her help, we are firmly part of the 21st-century digital era. I’m the old salty one. She’s the vivacious, bright and motivated one. The two of us have proven to be a solid team. And to make it better, we became part of the Lisa Poggi Team of Douglas Elliman. Our team is the #1 Elliman team in New Jersey and Lisa herself is responsible for setting a couple standing real estate records in the area. It doesn’t hurt that she’s represented a number of people that are household names in sports and TV.
But who is that other pretty girl in the picture? That’s Miriam, she’s effectively our work mom. Reminding us of what we need to do, keeping things straight, doing all the things my daughter and I are terrible at and doing it with the best attitude anyone could hope for. She’ll “high five” us for anything short of a complete brain fart. Regretfully we have plenty of those. Being human haunts us.
And here we are! That’s enough about personal stuff. Now let’s get to the heart of why we are all here, to get into the details of all things real estate. Whether you are a first time home buyer, a seasoned investor, a new real estate agent or a long time professional, I hope you’ll find great value here! Welcome to williamburch.com!