Peter Von Der Ahe runs New York Multifamily, a brokerage selling mid-market apartment buildings in NYC. He focuses on buying at a good basis, or price per pound, to create a margin for error. His three principles for business success: specialize in a niche, find the least-crowded trades, and build reputation through consistent expertise.
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Alright everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Business Blast podcast. I'm your host Tyler Wagner. Today I have Peter Vonderheide with us. He leads a company called New York Multi-Family. So welcome to the show, Peter.
Hey, thanks Tyler. Happy to be here.
Of course, man. Happy to have you here. We'll dive into the first one. The first question I have for you, Peter, is what is the best story from your life that has an underlying valuable message?
Okay, that's such a wide open question. And just, you know, so, but look, in thinking of that, if I had to kind of sum it up into one thing is that I've generally found in terms of a valuable message that most things are essentially working together for the good in the future. And how that's come what's invaluable is many of the things that have— it just seems like a recurring story that a lot of negative experiences or that experiences that you may have that are initially negative, whether it's a week or a couple of months, or sometimes it takes longer and maybe it's a year or two later, end up becoming, you know, from a historical perspective, positive experiences in your life. And so, that's just something that I try to keep in mind. In the good times and the bad.
And what's the most valuable piece of information we should know that's within your expertise or industry?
So, in my industry, so you said, I lead a team called New York Multifamily, which is a brokerage group that sells mid-market apartment buildings in New York City. And so, I'm in the commercial real estate investing business and in the multifamily sector of that in New York. And I would say that If there was one piece of advice for people who are looking to make investments, it's all about the basis. And a simple way to think of basis is your price per pound. And people will say you make money when you buy, not when you sell. And if you're in your investments at a good basis, and I think this transfers to all industries or other investments, if you're in at a good basis, that gives you some room to make some mistakes until— and still have the investment be a profitable and successful one.
And what is your best piece of overall business advice? So not necessarily industry-specific.
Um, let's see, when I get asked a question like this, there are kind of 3 things that I've, uh, I've come to. One is you've got to own a specialty, so you've got to specialize in something Two, I always look for what is the least crowded trade. So, try to go to find an area where the opposite of where all the noise is happening, and there are some opportunities there. And then the other one that I find that's happening more and more, I could call it butt in chair or reputation, but especially with technology, the internet, and the opportunities that are exploding everywhere in the world, people pivot a lot and they move around a lot and they change ideas or they change approaches or directions a lot and they do it frequently. And I'm finding more and more that for those who stick with something and really develop it, develop a reputation, expertise, you really kind of, you get deep knowledge in an area. There are layers of competitive advantages that exist there that are unavailable to people who have not contributed the time. And, we're in a world where people have a deficiency of attention span, right? So, I would say that those 3 in conjunction are pieces of business advice that I try to keep in the back of my head.
And, if you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would that be?
Don't worry about it. I like it.
And, in your opinion, I might tie in, in your opinion, what's the key to happiness?
I would say I'm happiest when I'm growing in something, learning, just for me personally, when you just feel like you're growing, you're in motion. That generally gives me the most energy.
And what is the best book that you've read and what was the number one thing you learned from that?
So I read books all the time. So this also is like one of these wide open questions where we could probably have an hour long conversation of it. But I'll tell you the one, I'll tell you the one that I've read in the past month or two that's been really good. It's definitely in the past year, 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership. Has been really an expansive— I'm in a semi-leadership role in my company and also just how to think about business and growth from a practical standpoint and also a holistic sense. This book has really been phenomenal. And it's not one of— I didn't see it on bestseller lists and stuff like that. But I really found it very practical and applicable to both parts of your personal— my personal life, like personal stuff that I related to there and also business stuff. So, that's a great one.
And, what is your favorite quote and why?
Favorite quote, let's see, related also I guess to a previous answer. I think this one is a Tony Robbins quote, but he's probably a guy you could attribute any quote to, right, man? But, I have heard him say, something along the lines of, "The more you grow, the more you give." And, uh, yeah, you know, so, um, you know, that— I think that ties— that ties into the growing stuff there. So, um, you know, I think that's— that's— that's probably one that I think of all the time.
Thank you, uh, so much for coming on, man. The last question I have for you before we let you go is, where is the best place for people to find and/or connect with you online?
Okay, well, uh, two ways. One, I— I host a podcast podcast myself, which is a little more long form about the New York City and multifamily investing business in general. So you can find that on iTunes or at a website called Behind the Bricks. The name of the podcast itself is called Behind the Bricks. So you can type that in. And then for those, for people who are looking to invest directly in New York City, um, uh, New York Multifamily, all spelled out, uh, New York Multifamily. That's, uh, The company website that deals with multifamily investments in New York City.
Perfect, man. Thanks again for hopping on. We appreciate it.
All right, Tyler Wagner, good talking to you.
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