For this week’s show I had the chance to catch up with Craig Berger, Founder and CEO of Avid Realty Partners (ARP), a commercial realty firm focused on Hotel and MFU Apartment assets nationwide.

Like Sondra Wenger on last week’s show, I met Craig at the Bisnow Escape retreat when I had a chance to really get to know him in a relaxed environment. I really appreciated his approach to the business that he started from scratch. After fixing and flipping a dozen homes he tackled a 95 unit apartment building in St. Louis, which was truly baptism by fire. Although he said he wouldn’t recommend it, it certainly paved the way for him. That investment to this day remains one of his best.  He then went on to improve a 109 unit hotel in Colorado. What amazed me about Craig’s story was how he was willing to jump into something entirely new provided he saw an opportunity. Today he has gone on to build a portfolio over a dozen properties with 2,100 units.

Before scaling this Commercial Realty business, Craig spent more than a decade as a top sell-side semiconductor equity research analyst at places such as Smith Barney Citigroup where he won several awards from Forbes and Thomson Reuters, and had numerous media and press interactions including more than 70 appearances on CNBC. He has applied that same research and diligence to real estate which has made him the successful investor that he is today.

Craig talked about his intense focus on value identification and his hands on approach throughout the process.  He talked about always doing right by his investors, even prioritizing them above his interests.

I know you will enjoy this episode. You can find out more about Craig and his company at: https://avidrealtypartners.com/management-team/craig-berger/ or find him on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/craig-berger1/.