BIO: Nick Karadza and his brother Tom quit their jobs in the software industry to start Rock Star Real Estate. The company has over 60 people and works with thousands of clients who have purchased billions of dollars in income property across Ontario.
STORY: Nick bought his first fixer-upper property when he was 21. What he thought would be a quick-fixing job turned out to be much more work than he had anticipated. After much hard work, he sold the property and made a negligible profit.
LEARNING: Understand the real estate market before you invest in it.
“Whoever handles the most crap wins.”
Nick Karadza
Guest profile
Nick Karadza was buying rental properties around the Greater Toronto Area. He couldn’t find anyone to help him find the data he needed to make educated decisions about local investment property. Together with his brother Tom, they quit their jobs in the software industry to start Rock Star Real Estate.
What began as two brothers working out of a closet with zero clients has turned into a team of over 60 people, working with thousands of clients, who have now purchased billions of dollars in income property all across Ontario.
They have authored three books, host a growing podcast, and run an educational membership program with over 1,000 clients, and 22 different instructors lead classes.
The entire purpose of Rock Star Real Estate is to help Canadians build and buy assets that will help them live life on their own terms.
Worst investment ever
Nick bought his first property when he was 21. He believed it would be a straightforward process where he’d buy the property, fix it, sell and make his money. Well, it was a lot more work than Nick had anticipated.
He was working full-time at the time, so he had to wake up early in the morning and work late at night fixing the property. Nick put in long hours fixing the property and then sold it and made a profit of $4,000. The overall return investment was negligible for the amount of work and time Nick put into that property.
Lessons learned
- Have a great understanding of the real estate market segments before you start investing.
- You’ll have bigger opportunities if you stop worrying about the little stuff and level yourself up to more significant problems.
- Hands-on investment experience allows you to grow as a person, and the skills you gain open new doors for you.
- People want to grow their network with people that can identify and solve problems.
Andrew’s takeaways
- You’ll find many opportunities when you learn to identify problems and solve them.
Actionable advice
Look for more information to get a little bit more of an understanding before you get into real estate.
Nick’s recommended resources
Grab Nick’s free books that cover Canadian real estate.
No.1 goal for the next 12 months
Nick’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to find bigger problems, turn them into opportunities and see where that takes his company.
Parting words
“Andrew, I think what you’re doing is great, and if anyone’s listening, opportunities are always out there. Just go grab them.”
Nick Karadza
[spp-transcript]
Connect with Nick Karadza
Andrew’s books
Andrew’s online programs
Connect with Andrew Stotz:
