Teams Spotlight: Kafin-Kessler Group

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Name: Sam Kafin and Isaac Kessler

Title: Co-founders of the Kafin-Kessler Group

Experience: Sam Kafin’s background is in hedge fund management, private equity and real estate investment. Isaac Kessler’s is in property management, infill development, real estate investment and construction management.

Location: Miami Beach, Bal Harbor, Surfside, Coconut Grove, Sunny Isles, Aventura

Brokerage name: ONE Sotheby’s International Realty

Transaction sides: 44

1. What would you tell a new agent before they start out in the business?

Selling real estate should be approached like any other business. It’s essential to first consult with an accountant and attorney to discuss tax and legal structure for your business. Another crucial component is to establish short-and long-term goals, create a comprehensive marketing plan and allocate a budget accordingly.

When starting out, prioritizing your knowledge is more important than making money. Surround yourself with good people and work with an established team, mentor, or those who will help you grow, and celebrate your successes. Be fully engaged and take this business you are building seriously.

Very few people will just hand you a listing in the beginning; they’ll want to see how you conduct business first. When speaking with prospective clients, ensure you possess in-depth knowledge on the subject matter and deliver it convincingly.

Initially, you should take whatever business you can, then try to define yourself, whether geographically, with the product you focus on, or both. When working on pricing for your listings (hopefully you’ll have many), it’s great to be optimistic, but also make sure you’re realistic by doing your homework on the comparable sales in the neighborhood and the current environment.

When working with other brokers, be professional and kind as these are your “partners” in getting future deals done. Most importantly, work hard and enjoy every moment of what you do in the ups and downs of your daily real estate business.

2. What do you suggest clients be aware of before they begin a real estate transaction?

Many of our clientele already have real estate portfolios or have made significant real estate transactions in the past, so it’s important for us to help educate out-of-state buyers on the local nuances relating to transacting in our markets. Specifically, we focus on transaction expenses, expenses after closing, contractual timelines, obligations and neighborhood-specific information.

We want our clients to know what to expect and when to expect it to happen and we want to avoid transaction-related surprises. In the current market, we’d suggest being prepared to move quickly, as many buyers are looking for similar homes with a very limited pool of quality inventory.

Before we engage with our clients, we like to have a conversation on specific market pricing and buyer demand for different types of properties (new construction, existing construction, and developable land) to set the tone for what to expect.

3. If you could do anything other than real estate what would it be and why?

Sam Kafin: We’ve both been fortunate to work at high levels in other industries and formed the Kafin-Kesler Group because this is what we genuinely love. We both enjoy analytics, which we use on a daily basis, and getting to meet amazing people, seeing spectacular properties, and working with a fun team are just added perks.

Isaac Kessler: Besides selling real estate, I’m really fascinated by all aspects of construction. Growing up with 10 siblings definitely had its challenges as the house constantly needed maintenance. This led me to learn more about home mechanics, reading Home Depot’s DIY books from a young age. When my parents couldn’t find me, they knew to check the local development or job sites where I would likely be watching the construction crews.

4. What is one thing everyone should be doing to make their life or business better?

Take time for yourself and your family, keep your head fresh and don’t dwell on the past. Instead, take time to reflect on the past and use it as a way to improve on the future.

We are big believers in giving back to the community, whether monetarily, or by volunteering our time. We also find that working with good people, in the office, on your team, other brokers, or clients, will make your business and your days more enjoyable and ultimately more profitable.

If you’re interacting with people who you just don’t get along well with it’s going to affect the rest of your day, so for us, it’s more productive to minimize those interactions (you can’t get rid of them all) and focus on good people. It’s been said many times, but staying positive is very important for you and the people around you.

5. What’s the best advice you ever got from a mentor or client?

Between the two of us, we’ve gotten quite a bit of sage advice over the years from some very smart people. Something that we both have learned from our clients is to make sure you have a good team in place.

In real estate, you need to work with attorneys, inspectors, contractors, etc., and having a good team can be the difference between getting a deal done or going home with nothing. It’s one thing to find a sunken treasure, but you’ll still need help to get it to the surface.

Isaac Kessler: My father passed away last year after battling cancer for seven years. Right before he passed, he got to see some of our success as a group and told me the following: It’s great to see that you are on the road to success but make sure you stay humble, keep ego out of transactions, and treat everyone fairly and with respect. This advice came years after he tried his hand in real estate sales, working with Weichert in New Jersey.

My oldest brothers who have been my business partners in various past ventures told me these two tips: No matter how established you are, keep learning and growing; never be satisfied with your education. You’ll have to spend money to make money but be very thoughtful about it; make each dollar work as hard as it can.

Sam Kafin: Some of my most successful clients have taught me it’s important to know when to cut your losses. If something is not working it’s OK to put it down and move on to something that will work. The most important thing you have is your time and if you spend too much time chasing bad decisions you can end up ruining your business.

Another tip I’ve learned from being in the risk management business is that every good decision is not going to translate into a win. If you’re making good, thoughtful choices, those with positive expected value, you’re going to walk away a winner in the long run.

You don’t need to win every time to be successful, you just need to be making winning decisions.