Join us for a captivating conversation with entrepreneur and family business expert, Steven Pizarro. In this episode, we dive into the intricacies of managing two successful businesses alongside his wife, who leads the insurance side of their operations. Steven shares valuable insights on the importance of teamwork and the legacy they aim to build for their children. Discover how their partnership mirrors a harmonious marriage and gain practical strategies for passing on family businesses to future generations.
Uncover the truth about house flipping and contracting in this eye-opening chapter. Steven debunks common misconceptions and highlights the realities and unpredictabilities of these ventures. Learn why it's crucial to hire licensed and transparent professionals and the risks of dealing with unverified contractors. Discover the importance of obtaining detailed invoices and verifying contractor credentials to avoid potential pitfalls. This chapter emphasizes the significance of conducting thorough research and checking past work to ensure a secure and successful renovation process.
Tune in as we explore the impact of rising material costs and the importance of adequate insurance coverage. Steven offers valuable advice on navigating the complexities of the current real estate and insurance markets. Discover strategic renovation tips that enhance home appeal and protect your investment. We also provide essential tips for first-time homebuyers, focusing on inspecting key utilities and structural components to avoid costly repairs. With Steven's expertise as a contractor and insurance broker, this episode equips you with the knowledge to make informed decisions and protect your investments.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Hello everyone, welcome to Suit Up with Bias
Podcast, and I'm Alex Bias and Ihave a special guest today.
His name is Steven Pizarro.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
How you doing, guys.
Thank you so much for invitingme here today.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Yes, we're happy you're here so.
Steven Pizarro is actually oneof our.
He's actually family.
He's married to my cousin.
How long have you guys beenmarried for?
Speaker 1 (00:27):
13 years, 13 years Wow.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
That's a beautiful family they have.
That's a blessing.
So, steve Pizarro, he actuallyowns two companies.
Yes, right, yes, he also ownshis insurance company and also
contractor company.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
That is correct In New owns his insurance company
and also contractor company inNew York.
That is correct.
We have the insurance sideobviously policies, general
liability and then we have theconstruction side where we
renovate home, we build homes.
We've been doing that for awhile here, so you know it's not
easy, but we have two companiesrunning right now.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
So how do you run two companies at once?
I'm curious about that.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Well, it's called, you know, partnership.
It's definitely called teamwork.
So between me and my wife youknow my wife, she actually runs
the insurance side I go in andhelp her as well when she
actually needs some help.
And you know, this is what I'mhere for.
It's just definitely marketingthe insurance company out there,
and then I run the show when itcomes down to construction.
So that's how we actually do it.
(01:22):
We do it as a teamwork.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
I'll be honest with you, I think those, basically
those marriages that are runningbusinesses together, are the
best, one, most successful.
So I can put myself in the samesituation.
So, basically, your wife runsthe insurance and you are
running the construction.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
That's amazing.
So basically it's like the samething me and Heidi.
I'm the real estate broker andHeidi is the mortgage broker.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
You see, you see, so there you go.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
You know, we got basically the same feel,
basically.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Yeah, yeah, and I believe in that.
When you marry, it's alwaysabout working as a team, you
know, and the beginning is alittle rough, but once you learn
that working together is thebest way to go, it's like things
just be more smoothly.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
You see how everything grows.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
And the best partner, it's actually your wife.
Your number one partnershipshould always be your wife.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Yes, so be very wise who you choose to marry.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
That is true Because, like they always say, happy
wife, happy life.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
So yeah, so that's amazing.
I've been seeing a lot of basiccouples doing the same thing
Married couples doing the samething.
They're opening businesstogether.
And one is covering one fieldand the other one is covering
the other field and I think it'sit's more success like that.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Yeah, you just have more, more success you working
together, you work as a team andyou grow together.
That's the main thing that thatwhen you working together as a
couple, you actually go more far.
So that's one thing that I havebeen learning in the last few
years.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Wow, you just pointed out something so big Like
basically, you guys are growingtogether, growing your business
together, growing it from theground to the top.
Right, I mean it's the beststory to even share when your
kids are witnessing, because youhave two kids, right?
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Yeah, we have two kids, that's right.
So your kids are witnessingthat you're growing your
business with your wife.
Yeah, it's just workingtogether to achieve that one
goal.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Gotcha, what's the name of your company by the way.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
So we have GMJ Insurance Brokerage.
A lot of people are like what'sGMJ stand for?
Well, that's initial of myfamily.
So you have G for Gabby, whichis my older son, you have M for
Mary, which is my wife, and thenyou have J, which is my little
son, which is Jacob, so GMJ.
So that's GMJ InsuranceBrokerage.
(03:35):
And then you have MGJ Samething.
M for Mary, that's awesome,yeah, yeah.
So M for Mary, g for Gabriel,which is Gabby, and then you
have J for Jacob, so MGJ.
Home Capital Solutions is ourconstruction company.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
That's awesome.
So one thing I would say I loveto support family business I
think, once it's a familybusiness, it's more touching,
more personal.
So I love that you guys arerunning a family business.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah, and that's what it's all about.
When I started my businessbusiness, the first thing I said
is I want to have my familyinvolved.
All of us grow together, eveneven because, at the end of the
day, like there's companies thatwe're growing right now, this
company is going to be for thekids, you know.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
So that's why I left it like that it's funny because,
honestly, maybe that's thereason I like you a lot, because
I can relate on it.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
That's how I feel.
Everything you just said, yeahword by word.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
That's exactly how I feel about my company and how
we're doing this, but today'sabout you.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
So, I got some questions for you yeah, yeah, go
ahead, I'm ready.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
So what inspired you?
To become a contractor.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
And what were some of the challenges you faced when
getting licensed.
So what actually made me gointo construction and being a
contractor is basically seeingthe work.
I was like you know what?
Everything is step byby-step.
What do you need?
You need windows, you needframing, you need flooring.
So once I saw me doing my firstflip, I was like you know what?
Doing my first flip, I said Ican actually do this.
(04:59):
I was like you know what?
The biggest challenge iskeeping that budget.
That's the biggest challengewhen you're doing construction,
because if you pass your budgetand it's like there's certain
houses you get into and you'relike I want to make it into one
of the best luxury homes, butsometimes you just got to just
take it easy and just make surethat you don't pass that budget.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
You just mentioned something you said flips.
Let me ask you a question.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Do you think flips are just like the way the shows
are flipping, like they make itlook so easy and everyone thinks
it's like, oh, this is likewhen you're seeing hgtv, you go
in there and you and you seethat, oh, they're gonna break
that wall and then that thatfrom breaking that wall there
goes the new kitchen.
It's like how easy that is.
It's not.
It's not like that, becausewhen you break that one wall, if
you hit a beam that holds thehouse, there you go.
If you break that one wall,then you're like, wait a minute,
what's inside that wall?
It could be a lot of stuff.
(05:50):
It could be new plumbing.
It'd be a lot.
A lot of new things didn't comeoff from that wall.
And there goes now a newchallenge for you when you're
actually doing that these showsmake it look so easy.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
So I've noticed that everyone around me thinks like
flipping houses, so easy, easymoney.
No, it's not.
I don't think it's anythingeasy.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
If they go and record from the beginning and they go
just show you that one wall theytook out and then probably like
three days later, they show youlike there goes the kitchen.
It's like anybody can do that,I can do that.
But if they tell you from thebeginning, once they break that
wall, what's inside that wall,oh, now the electrical outlets
is all over the place.
Now you have to change somethings around, you know.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
So it's, it's just not as easy as people think it
is not easy now.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Sometimes it becomes easy when you get it, when you
actually find a home thatdoesn't need too much work and
you're like yes one can take oneweek to be done.
Another house can take probablyfour months.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
So it depends on the type of home you find I see, let
me ask you a question.
I think this is this isactually my favorite question.
Okay, what's the biggest mythabout contracts that you wish
would just disappear?
Speaker 1 (06:53):
I guess it's.
It's mainly that the, thecontractors are gonna come in,
you're gonna give them, you'regonna go give them the money
right there and then they'regonna basically finish your
whole entire job right away, andnot only that.
Another thing is that everybodyis a contract.
Everybody's a contract.
I'm a contractor, I'm acontractor, not everybody's a
(07:14):
contract.
The biggest thing that you cansee is if that contractor's not
walking around with any type ofinvoice on him, he's not a
contract, because that means ifthey're giving you an invoice or
a type of piece on him, he'snot a contract, because that
means if they're giving you aninvoice or a type of piece of
paper showing you the details onwhat they're going to do and
telling you this is going tocost.
Another thing is if a contractorgoes in there and doesn't want
(07:37):
to see the house for a secondtime to give you a pricing, you
also got to look into that andsay, why come?
You don't want to come againand see the house Because they
see it once and that's it.
But if you haven't checked thepipes, you haven't checked all
your tanks, you haven't checkedthe heating or the electrical,
how is that person a goodcontractor?
A good contractor will go andcheck everything, probably visit
(07:58):
the house twice or even threetimes just to make sure those
numbers are correct.
And also, a good contractorwill not take your money right
away and just leave.
That's another thing.
I've seen a lot of people doingthat.
Where they go, they take thejob and then just disappear, and
it's sad when you see that.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
I would say that the contractors be careful.
A lot of people just saythey're contractors just to get
the money and they disappear.
Happens a lot in New York City.
You go to Home Depot everyoneis a contractor their prices are
overpriced, right, and everyoneat Home Depot is a contractor
and in reality they're notcontractors.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Right.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Because a contractor is licensed, right, they have
coverage, you guys are protectedcoverage and the house is
protected as well while you'reinside the property, right,
right, so you know I I seen, Iwitnessed one of my um clients.
He came higher contract,supposedly he was a contractor,
found him at home depot.
This guy gave him a nicescenario also, they don't do no
voice, they don't do no invoice,they don't do any of that.
(08:53):
Right, gave him.
Told him listen, all this work,I could do it for 25 000.
A licensed contractor have,told him I.
I think it was $45,000, $48,000.
He felt more comfortable, like,oh my God, I'm getting a deal
here, $25,000.
The person came, did the workfor a week and no, kid you, not
the client's calling mehysterically, this guy just
disappeared with $25,000.
I don't know what to do.
(09:20):
And I told him listen, good,too good to be true.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Right, right, and it's always good to do your
research because, especiallythat person that that is going
to start to work for you, tellthem to show you pictures.
If they have Instagram, theyhave any type of work that they
can show you that what.
I have done before, because youdon't want to go in there and
like, wait a minute.
Like, for example, if somebodywant to hire me, I just go to my
social media.
They can see the type of workI've done.
I can go and build you a homefrom ground up.
(09:45):
I'll tell you, hey, I'm not theguy to do the foundation, but
I'll get you someone that can dothe foundation for you and
start the home from ground up.
And that's a good contractor.
Because a good contractor willtell you if bad contract that
goes and tells you, oh, I can goand build that from ground up,
it's like you know.
It's like can you really do thewhole house?
A good contract would be likeyou know what?
(10:06):
I cannot do it.
I'll get you the person thatcan do it.
I can do the rest of the house.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
It's more being an honest and transparent contract,
like yourself.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Right, right, and that's the best thing is just
being transparent.
Tell the customer I don't knowhow to get that done, but I'll
get back to you.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
That's hard to see because everyone knows it all.
Right, everyone knows it all.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
I'm not going to tell you, hey, I'm a licensed
electrician or I'm a licensedplumber, but I'll get you a
licensed plumber, I'll get you alicensed electrician and I'll
get the job done for you.
That'll give you that peace ofmind that you know what this guy
is a good contractor, becausenot only is he going to get my
house done, but he's going to doit with the right people.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Exactly and at the right price, Exactly.
So basically you just broughtsomething up really good.
So I think there's a lot ofconfusion out there about a
contractor, plumber, andelectrician, can you?
Give us a little brief aboutthat real quick.
Well right.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
So a lot of people that come into the real estate
world and they see a contractor,they think that the contractor
does it all.
The contractor does theplumbing, the electrical, that
does the mechanical work foryour heating and all that stuff.
Well, that's actually not right, contractor.
What they do is they can finishthe whole entire home, but when
it comes down to electrical inyour home and a plumber, there's
(11:18):
a specific person that'slicensed to do that.
Now will you probably find acontractor that does it all?
Yes, but I'll say that's like a50% chance for you to find a
contractor that does it all.
Most of the time, thatcontractor doesn't do electric
work and doesn't do plumbingwork.
So a good contractor will getyou the right person and you're
good.
Yeah, to be honest with youfinding the right contractor to
(11:39):
and and you, you're good.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Yeah, to be honest with you, finding the right
contract to get the job donemakes us be at peace.
Right, because I alsoexperienced certain things right
gotta be careful who you hire.
You really gotta do yourresearch and, of course,
maintain a great relationshipwith the contractor, but, more
than anything, explain to themwhat you're looking for and what
you want to do right.
One thing that I think I'vebeen seeing inflation is out of
hand right yeah, yeah materialprices are going crazy right now
(12:03):
.
How are contractors like youcopying and how does this impact
buyers looking to renovate?
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Right, so lucky that I do multiple construction out
there.
I get discounts, you know.
So I try my best to get thebest discount possible with my
account with Home Depot orLowe's or if I have a warehouse
that I can go get the roof oreven cheaper than home depot.
So you'll want to have a goodcontractor that gets you the
best pricing that fits with your, with your budget.
(12:30):
You know, because if acontractor just tells you, hey,
I'm gonna do it all, and doesn'tlook into your budget and also
look into the material, rightnow the material is expensive.
If you look at it, it's like,hey, let's, let's do one certain
work you can probably go aheadand spend like five thousand
dollars just on material and youhaven't even started the job
yet.
Yeah, you know so.
But the the reason that youknow and this is for the public
(12:51):
out there the reason thatmaterial is expensive out there
is because the prices of thehome so home depot and all these
other companies and likelowell's, they're're like wait a
minute, we got to eat too, youknow, and that's how it comes in
.
If you're going to build a homethat's worth $800,000, they're
like I want a piece of the pieas well.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
You know what's interesting?
The inflation is out of hand,but let's see how Trump handles
all of this right.
Let's see what he's going to dofor the country.
We're in the right time.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Yeah, because the last few years everybody's like
the home is going to crash, themarket's going to go crazy, it's
going to crash, but it'll nevercrash.
Now we have a newadministration here, which he's
really into real estate andright now I don't see the prices
going down.
It's going to keep going.
So if you have the opportunityto get your home, definitely do
your research.
You have the right guy here,alex Baez with his wife.
(13:39):
You have the right guy here,alex Baez with his wife.
You guys come here and they'lldefinitely help you out, because
you need guidance right now, inthis type of market.
You need guidance.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
You know you just said something big.
I think you know we all haveour feel right.
Always look for that professionthat does that feel right.
Yes, everybody that's, becauseeverything that's out there, you
know, you have the professionright next to you.
Just do your research and buthire a professional.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
That's the bottom line, not your family member.
Not your friends, or yourfriends or your cousin or your
uncle or your aunt, hire aprofessional that's going to
help you get you to your goals.
Because, at the end of the day,if you don't know how to build
a home, you're going to find theright person that's going to
help you build that home.
If you don't know about certainthings, you're going to do your
(14:20):
research into that differentscenario that you want to get
yourself into.
You're just going to have tofind an expert.
It's always good to find anexpert.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
I agree with you 100% .
Those professionals do it.
We do it every day.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
This is what we do for a living.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
We do it every single day.
So guess what?
Those experiences that we wentwith our other clients, we're
going to bring it to you, theclients we're going to bring it
to you.
We're going to come in reallyready, prepare for you so guess
what?
I'm going to get the job doneand get you at a better place,
correct?
Let me ask you a question.
Let's talk insurance now.
Okay, so what's the biggestmistake homeowners make when it
comes to insuring theirrenovation projects?
Speaker 1 (14:54):
The biggest mistake is that they do is let's get the
cheapest insurance and let'snot get the right um, correct um
, coverage coverage.
Cause what they do is they goin there and they they think
like all right, well, you know,this house is is is worth
200,000.
Now, by the time I finish, it'sgoing to be worth like 400,000,
(15:14):
and I don't need to get mylimits up there.
Well.
Well, if there's a fire afteryou built the whole entire home
or after you renovate the wholeentire home, if you don't have
the right limit, what's going tohappen is now your insurance is
only going to pay you for thelimits that you actually
purchased.
And I think that's the biggestmistake, because you always want
to protect your investments.
Oof yeah because it's true whatyou're saying, because they come
(15:40):
, they just go based on thebasic and then they don't see.
Basically and I see that allthe time People call me like,
hey, steve, I'm trying to lowermy home insurance, or I'm trying
to do this and I'm working on aproperty right now I need
insurance, and I give them thequote.
And when I give them the quote,some of them be like oh, I got
a better quote.
I'm like let me check thelimits.
When you check the limits, itnot the same.
I'm like this is not the limitsthat you need.
You need this limit, you know,and that's a very dangerous game
(16:02):
that you can play.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Let me ask you a question that I think a lot of
people don't know.
You know, for instance I'llgive you an example like, let's
say, geico.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Right, I don't like Geico Right Overly priced.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
First of all, I had Geico for so many years.
They're overly priced.
They make their own story andthey believe their own story.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
That's what I tell people.
That's the honest truth.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
But I would say what's the difference being an
insurance broker?
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Well, being an insurance broker, the best thing
about it is that you can shopthat person's home insurance
around.
You can shop the auto insurance.
So right now, for example, fora person will go and they get
home insurance with, say,allstate.
Allstate is just one company,but when you go to GMG Insurance
, like my brokerage, I can shopyour home into like 30 different
(16:45):
insurance companies.
Wow, that a lot of people don'teven know that there's other
insurance.
It's like probably likethousands and thousands of
insurance companies.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
And they have the same policy, same coverage, same
coverage same policy sameeverything.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
And guess what?
Sometimes the ones you go to Idon't want to say no names, but
sometimes when you go to thatcertain popular insurance, when
it's time to pay out, they don'teven pay out.
The other one that's been therefor, say, this insurance
company that I know that's beenthere for 1850, but a lot of
people don't know about it, sothat's why it's always good to
(17:18):
go to these insurance brokersthat can shop you around and
give you the best price.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
You said something big because everyone thinks
about, for instance like Chase.
Everyone thinks like let me goto Chase Reality.
Like Heidi's a lender, sheworks for over 95 banks.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Everyone goes to Chase because of the name, do
you?
Speaker 2 (17:30):
really think Chase need your business.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
And then not only that, but then customers get
discouraged because they go toChase, they get declined for
that mortgage application.
Meanwhile you have your wifehere that can get them approved
and go through probably like 20different companies and get them
approved on the spot and goshop With better rates, better
closing costs.
Yeah, better closing costs.
So that's why working with abrokerage is very, very
important.
And also, it's good to do yourresearch.
(17:54):
It's all about doing yourresearch and working with the
experts.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
So the broker will get them the better price,
better thing and better options.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Right, because the thing is they don't understand
that, like, if you buy a home,they have access to now with you
.
They have access to lawyers,they have access to title
agencies where they can run andsee exactly when that house was
purchased, if any title issues.
(18:20):
It's the same thing withinsurance over here we look if
there's any violations in thathome and then what company we're
actually going to put you in tomake sure we get you the best
coverage, because if thatinsurance company runs your
information, they'll decline youright away.
But don't worry, we haveanother company that will get
you approved.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
So you guys also will see if it's flooded, if you
need flood insurance.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Everything, we see everything.
How far do you?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
guys go back on, let's say, any claims that have
been against the property.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
I believe that last time when I spoke with my wife,
I think we do about five years,five years In between.
Once it passes like five years,you know they don't, but five
years they'll definitely get toit, yeah, so look at that.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
You go through an insurance broker.
You know if it needs floodinsurance, you'll see all the
policies that evolve.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
And even if you tell me, oh no, we don't need it,
well, the underwrite is seeing,it's seeing that you're close to
the coastal, close to water,and they'll tell you your
insurance won't be going up alittle bit more up, you know.
So it's to protect theinsurance, protect yourself you
know.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Let me ask you a question.
Tell me about a time whenhaving the right insurance saved
the renovation project or maybeeven a homeowner from a
nightmare scenario.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Oh, this is funny because I have so many stories
but this one Give me the bestone.
We were working on a project inChicago.
When we was working on theproject, it was one of those
tricky neighborhoods, nicepeople, but you know it's not
one of the best neighborhoods.
Okay, and he's probably goingto watch this podcast, zach, I
(19:47):
remember one of my partnersthere, but we put brand new
boilers in there and theseNavian boilers.
It was three families so we hadto get two not one, but two
Navians and installing those wasabout 8 000 just installing
those two, with the, with theinstallation and everything.
And um we got it installed andeverything like that.
(20:09):
And um, lucky that we hadinsurance but we didn't use it
because we was like, looking atit, do we really want to go and
put an insurance claim?
We didn't.
But we told them let's get analarm there.
We never got an alarm.
It was like we should have gotan alarm.
We left it there.
After we installed it, probablytwo weeks later we came back
everything's gone, everythinglike not only not only they took
(20:31):
the boilers and avian, but thisbrand new boilers, they even
took the pipes.
It was insane.
And um, it's one of thosescenarios like we had insurance
but we didn't use it becauseit's like you know, I already
know if we put an insuranceclaim, obviously everything goes
up.
We didn't want that.
We're like you know what, let'sput an alarm there.
So that's one thing out there.
You know.
To avoid insurance or to avoidany claims, just make sure you
(20:54):
secure your property.
Always want to have an alarmand that's one of my biggest
lessons that me and my otherpartner alarm cameras, camera,
everything doesn't matter if you, if you, if you, everybody's
nice in the neighborhood oranything like that.
But it was a little roughneighborhood but at the same
time it's just, you know wecould have avoided eight
thousand dollars that's a lot ofmoney, but that's a lot, you
(21:15):
know.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
It's sad to say that you always got to protect
yourself because everyone'swatching, right everybody's
watching.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
When you're putting everything new in that home,
it's like everybody's watching.
Now there's certain locationsthat you already know, like
there's certain I have donehouses that I have put a lot of
expensive stuff in there andeverything the next day is still
there, or a few months laterstill there.
It just depends on the location.
Wow.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
That's crazy.
Yeah For the next one.
For buyers who want to addvalue without breaking the bank.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
Right, what's the one renovation you swear by that
both affordable and a gamechanger, one renovation that you
think will make a bigdifference, the biggest game
changer, guys, the biggest gamechanger Get a brand new kitchen,
because the kitchen does it all.
I'm with you.
When you walk into that home,the first thing you see is what?
The kitchen.
Either the husband, theboyfriend, the girlfriend,
(22:08):
whoever is going to fall in lovewith the kitchen right away,
because that's where they'regoing to spend most of the time
in the living room, the kitchencooking, spending time with the
family.
And then the number two is thebathrooms.
You want to have those bathroombrand.
I always believe when you'rerenovating a home is I don't
like that touch up on.
Just well, let's touch up thisbathroom, I believe.
(22:29):
Just bring everything down, putit brand new.
If you know how to budgetyourself and know what type of
materials to buy, you put thosebathroom brand new in the
kitchen as well.
That gives the whole entirehouse a good thing, wow.
And also, you have to make surethat the gas or the water tank
is working, but other than that,those are the kitchen and the
(22:51):
bathroom.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
I'm with you 100%.
So when I go show my buyers,that's the first thing they look
at is the kitchen and thebathrooms.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
What are you going to do when you wake up?
That's the first thing theylook at is the kitchen and the
bathrooms.
What are you going to do whenyou wake up?
You're going to take a shower.
What are you going to do whenyou go to sleep?
You're going to take a shower.
That's the thing they're goingto see.
When you wake up.
You want to go.
What eat breakfast?
Speaker 2 (23:25):
When you go to sleep, I'll probably have a snack, or
when you haveitchens.
Exactly, I totally agree.
All right, every job site hasits drama.
What's the most unexpected?
Speaker 1 (23:28):
challenge you have to tackle on a project and how do
you pull it off?
I think it's mainly working asa team, like it's when you, when
you go, when you go into aproject and you have one person
over there, another person overthere yes, that that.
But as long as everybody'sworking together and everybody
on the same page.
If you're going to be workingon, for example, the kitchens,
let's just get the kitchen done.
(23:49):
If we're going to be working onthe bathrooms, get the
bathrooms done.
If we're going to be working onShe-Rock, we'll get that done.
Everything is step-by-step.
If we're going to do windowsfor the whole entire home, then
I just want the window teamthere.
That's always a lot of jobbecause if you have a team
working on all the windows andthen you have another person
working on the floor, eventuallythey're going to clash.
(24:09):
So I always believe in a system.
Have a system in place whenyou're renovating home.
What step are you going to take?
Which are you going to tacklefirst?
Are you going to tackle thekitchen?
Are you going to take what areyou going to tackle first?
Are you going to tackle thekitchen?
Are you going to tackle thebathrooms?
Are you going to tackle thewalls of the home.
So it's just making sure youhave a system in place so
there's no drama with yourworkers or even drama with your
(24:29):
buyer because they walk in therelike wait, what's going on?
Where's this mess?
One thing about me I likehaving everything clean.
I can't see a mess, so I puteverything in garbage.
All the garbage is put in oneside so that your working space
is clean.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Gotcha, I got this million dollar question for you,
my last question All right, Iwork with a lot of first time
buyers.
Okay, you're a contractor.
What is the first thing youwould say that a first time
buyer should be aware or have inmind when they go see these
properties?
There's one thing that you'llpoint out on the property that's
the most important thing to you.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
When you walk in there, forget about the kitchen
and forget about the bathrooms.
What you want to walk in thereis the utilities.
You want to check if thelighting is working.
You want to check where you'regoing to be getting the heating
from, because heating is veryimportant.
That's one thing that you wantto check.
You want to check all the pipesaround the home and the
(25:22):
foundation.
If you see any cracks in thefoundation because that's what
you're going to be living at youwant to make sure that the main
stuff that secures the home,which is the water, the heating,
the foundation, is intact.
And if you need a new watertank, if you need a new oil tank
, you want to check those things, because everything else is
just easy.
Anybody can come and do a newbathroom, a kitchen and all this
(25:45):
stuff, put windows and also thelast thing is your roofing,
because those roofs are supposedto be last 15 to 20 years.
So if you see any shinglesthat's falling or you see maybe
in your attic that you seeprobably water that goes through
there, obviously that has to bereplaced, but from roofing
utilities, which is your oiltank, your water tank and your
(26:08):
electrical and your pipes.
As long as you check thosethings, then after that you can
go ahead and proceed to buy thehouse.
Wow, so you guys know alreadying, yeah, basically your pipes,
your electric, you said yep, andthe foundation in the heat, and
the heating foundation is bigfoundation is very big and I
seen it all I seen, I seenfriends where there's like they
(26:29):
move in and then now when therainstorm comes, the whole, the
whole uh foundation, the wholebasement is flooded.
You know, you imagine likemoving to something like that
that's crazy.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
So so I actually had a client right.
He bought this property right.
The inspector had mentioned tohim that there's water coming
into the basement and that thefoundation should definitely
look like it should seal it more, but something's going on in
there, right.
So, apparently, one thing aboutthe buyers we disclose
everything to them, right right.
But then they make the decisionthey want to purchase the house
.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Of course, of course.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
But everything's disclosed to you.
Right and you know what you'regetting yourself into.
Right, and if you can handlethe expense with a contractor,
that's on you.
But we will explain everydetail to you, especially the
inspector.
I'm very strong about theinspector explaining every
detail to the buyer because thenI get the call and I'm like all
right, but you knew this washappening, right?
So one thing is that we'vealready received a call probably
(27:21):
received it like two times inall the homes that I have sold,
but we disclosed everything tothese buyers.
So sometimes they just they wantto move forward for it right.
Had this client bought theproperty.
Foundation water cut coming in,everything Couldn't handle it
anymore.
So what they had to do wasbasically buy this black room,
put it all around the house, putsome met walls around the
foundation outside.
The job came out to probably 2530 000, you know.
(27:44):
But you know he knew about it,about the foundation, he knew
all the water's coming in rightfrom underground he knew all
this stuff, uh, but he reallywanted the house and he fell in
love with his house.
He still did the work, though.
Right, right yeah it's on 25 to30 000 to to basically like
reinforce the foundation.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
And it's funny because if you know the right
person, the right contractor,you'll probably save even less
money than that.
You know.
That's why it's always good toalways, when you buy a home, be
friendly with a handyman outthere.
Be friendly with it if you knowa contractor out there, because
a job like that it's just a lotof cement that you need and a
foundation crew that actuallygoes in there will fix that
(28:23):
crack and put that thing brandnew.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
So, guys, thank you Before anything, Stephen for
coming to our podcast.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
Thank you for having me over here.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
All his information is going to be below.
You already know he's also aninsurance broker and also a
contractor right.
All his information is going tobe here.
This is who I've been workingwith.
I refer him clients he takescare of my client, which is very
important for me, and also he'sfamily right, him and his wife.
Thank you, guys for tuning inwith us.
Please like, subscribe, commentand guide to the next podcast.
(28:53):
Thank you so much, guys, thankyou Take care.
Take care.
Hello everyone, welcome to Suit Up with Bias
Podcast, and I'm Alex Bias and Ihave a special guest today.
His name is Steven Pizarro.
Speaker 1 (00:17):
How you doing, guys.
Thank you so much for invitingme here today.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Yes, we're happy you're here so.
Steven Pizarro is actually oneof our.
He's actually family.
He's married to my cousin.
How long have you guys beenmarried for?
Speaker 1 (00:27):
13 years, 13 years Wow.
Speaker 2 (00:30):
That's a beautiful family they have.
That's a blessing.
So, steve Pizarro, he actuallyowns two companies.
Yes, right, yes, he also ownshis insurance company and also
contractor company.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
That is correct In New owns his insurance company
and also contractor company inNew York.
That is correct.
We have the insurance sideobviously policies, general
liability and then we have theconstruction side where we
renovate home, we build homes.
We've been doing that for awhile here, so you know it's not
easy, but we have two companiesrunning right now.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
So how do you run two companies at once?
I'm curious about that.
Speaker 1 (01:01):
Well, it's called, you know, partnership.
It's definitely called teamwork.
So between me and my wife youknow my wife, she actually runs
the insurance side I go in andhelp her as well when she
actually needs some help.
And you know, this is what I'mhere for.
It's just definitely marketingthe insurance company out there,
and then I run the show when itcomes down to construction.
So that's how we actually do it.
(01:22):
We do it as a teamwork.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
I'll be honest with you, I think those, basically
those marriages that are runningbusinesses together, are the
best, one, most successful.
So I can put myself in the samesituation.
So, basically, your wife runsthe insurance and you are
running the construction.
Speaker 1 (01:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (01:34):
That's amazing.
So basically it's like the samething me and Heidi.
I'm the real estate broker andHeidi is the mortgage broker.
Speaker 1 (01:39):
You see, you see, so there you go.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
You know, we got basically the same feel,
basically.
Speaker 1 (01:43):
Yeah, yeah, and I believe in that.
When you marry, it's alwaysabout working as a team, you
know, and the beginning is alittle rough, but once you learn
that working together is thebest way to go, it's like things
just be more smoothly.
Speaker 2 (01:57):
You see how everything grows.
Speaker 1 (02:02):
And the best partner, it's actually your wife.
Your number one partnershipshould always be your wife.
Speaker 2 (02:06):
Yes, so be very wise who you choose to marry.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
That is true Because, like they always say, happy
wife, happy life.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
So yeah, so that's amazing.
I've been seeing a lot of basiccouples doing the same thing
Married couples doing the samething.
They're opening businesstogether.
And one is covering one fieldand the other one is covering
the other field and I think it'sit's more success like that.
Speaker 1 (02:27):
Yeah, you just have more, more success you working
together, you work as a team andyou grow together.
That's the main thing that thatwhen you working together as a
couple, you actually go more far.
So that's one thing that I havebeen learning in the last few
years.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Wow, you just pointed out something so big Like
basically, you guys are growingtogether, growing your business
together, growing it from theground to the top.
Right, I mean it's the beststory to even share when your
kids are witnessing, because youhave two kids, right?
Speaker 1 (02:52):
Yeah, we have two kids, that's right.
So your kids are witnessingthat you're growing your
business with your wife.
Yeah, it's just workingtogether to achieve that one
goal.
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Gotcha, what's the name of your company by the way.
Speaker 1 (03:14):
So we have GMJ Insurance Brokerage.
A lot of people are like what'sGMJ stand for?
Well, that's initial of myfamily.
So you have G for Gabby, whichis my older son, you have M for
Mary, which is my wife, and thenyou have J, which is my little
son, which is Jacob, so GMJ.
So that's GMJ InsuranceBrokerage.
(03:35):
And then you have MGJ Samething.
M for Mary, that's awesome,yeah, yeah.
So M for Mary, g for Gabriel,which is Gabby, and then you
have J for Jacob, so MGJ.
Home Capital Solutions is ourconstruction company.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
That's awesome.
So one thing I would say I loveto support family business I
think, once it's a familybusiness, it's more touching,
more personal.
So I love that you guys arerunning a family business.
Speaker 1 (04:00):
Yeah, and that's what it's all about.
When I started my businessbusiness, the first thing I said
is I want to have my familyinvolved.
All of us grow together, eveneven because, at the end of the
day, like there's companies thatwe're growing right now, this
company is going to be for thekids, you know.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
So that's why I left it like that it's funny because,
honestly, maybe that's thereason I like you a lot, because
I can relate on it.
Speaker 1 (04:17):
That's how I feel.
Everything you just said, yeahword by word.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
That's exactly how I feel about my company and how
we're doing this, but today'sabout you.
Speaker 1 (04:25):
So, I got some questions for you yeah, yeah, go
ahead, I'm ready.
Speaker 2 (04:29):
So what inspired you?
To become a contractor.
Speaker 1 (04:36):
And what were some of the challenges you faced when
getting licensed.
So what actually made me gointo construction and being a
contractor is basically seeingthe work.
I was like you know what?
Everything is step byby-step.
What do you need?
You need windows, you needframing, you need flooring.
So once I saw me doing my firstflip, I was like you know what?
Doing my first flip, I said Ican actually do this.
(04:59):
I was like you know what?
The biggest challenge iskeeping that budget.
That's the biggest challengewhen you're doing construction,
because if you pass your budgetand it's like there's certain
houses you get into and you'relike I want to make it into one
of the best luxury homes, butsometimes you just got to just
take it easy and just make surethat you don't pass that budget.
Speaker 2 (05:19):
You just mentioned something you said flips.
Let me ask you a question.
Speaker 1 (05:29):
Do you think flips are just like the way the shows
are flipping, like they make itlook so easy and everyone thinks
it's like, oh, this is likewhen you're seeing hgtv, you go
in there and you and you seethat, oh, they're gonna break
that wall and then that thatfrom breaking that wall there
goes the new kitchen.
It's like how easy that is.
It's not.
It's not like that, becausewhen you break that one wall, if
you hit a beam that holds thehouse, there you go.
If you break that one wall,then you're like, wait a minute,
what's inside that wall?
It could be a lot of stuff.
(05:50):
It could be new plumbing.
It'd be a lot.
A lot of new things didn't comeoff from that wall.
And there goes now a newchallenge for you when you're
actually doing that these showsmake it look so easy.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
So I've noticed that everyone around me thinks like
flipping houses, so easy, easymoney.
No, it's not.
I don't think it's anythingeasy.
Speaker 1 (06:06):
If they go and record from the beginning and they go
just show you that one wall theytook out and then probably like
three days later, they show youlike there goes the kitchen.
It's like anybody can do that,I can do that.
But if they tell you from thebeginning, once they break that
wall, what's inside that wall,oh, now the electrical outlets
is all over the place.
Now you have to change somethings around, you know.
Speaker 2 (06:26):
So it's, it's just not as easy as people think it
is not easy now.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Sometimes it becomes easy when you get it, when you
actually find a home thatdoesn't need too much work and
you're like yes one can take oneweek to be done.
Another house can take probablyfour months.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
So it depends on the type of home you find I see, let
me ask you a question.
I think this is this isactually my favorite question.
Okay, what's the biggest mythabout contracts that you wish
would just disappear?
Speaker 1 (06:53):
I guess it's.
It's mainly that the, thecontractors are gonna come in,
you're gonna give them, you'regonna go give them the money
right there and then they'regonna basically finish your
whole entire job right away, andnot only that.
Another thing is that everybodyis a contract.
Everybody's a contract.
I'm a contractor, I'm acontractor, not everybody's a
(07:14):
contract.
The biggest thing that you cansee is if that contractor's not
walking around with any type ofinvoice on him, he's not a
contract, because that means ifthey're giving you an invoice or
a type of piece on him, he'snot a contract, because that
means if they're giving you aninvoice or a type of piece of
paper showing you the details onwhat they're going to do and
telling you this is going tocost.
Another thing is if a contractorgoes in there and doesn't want
(07:37):
to see the house for a secondtime to give you a pricing, you
also got to look into that andsay, why come?
You don't want to come againand see the house Because they
see it once and that's it.
But if you haven't checked thepipes, you haven't checked all
your tanks, you haven't checkedthe heating or the electrical,
how is that person a goodcontractor?
A good contractor will go andcheck everything, probably visit
(07:58):
the house twice or even threetimes just to make sure those
numbers are correct.
And also, a good contractorwill not take your money right
away and just leave.
That's another thing.
I've seen a lot of people doingthat.
Where they go, they take thejob and then just disappear, and
it's sad when you see that.
Speaker 2 (08:17):
I would say that the contractors be careful.
A lot of people just saythey're contractors just to get
the money and they disappear.
Happens a lot in New York City.
You go to Home Depot everyoneis a contractor their prices are
overpriced, right, and everyoneat Home Depot is a contractor
and in reality they're notcontractors.
Speaker 1 (08:32):
Right.
Speaker 2 (08:32):
Because a contractor is licensed, right, they have
coverage, you guys are protectedcoverage and the house is
protected as well while you'reinside the property, right,
right, so you know I I seen, Iwitnessed one of my um clients.
He came higher contract,supposedly he was a contractor,
found him at home depot.
This guy gave him a nicescenario also, they don't do no
voice, they don't do no invoice,they don't do any of that.
(08:53):
Right, gave him.
Told him listen, all this work,I could do it for 25 000.
A licensed contractor have,told him I.
I think it was $45,000, $48,000.
He felt more comfortable, like,oh my God, I'm getting a deal
here, $25,000.
The person came, did the workfor a week and no, kid you, not
the client's calling mehysterically, this guy just
disappeared with $25,000.
I don't know what to do.
(09:20):
And I told him listen, good,too good to be true.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Right, right, and it's always good to do your
research because, especiallythat person that that is going
to start to work for you, tellthem to show you pictures.
If they have Instagram, theyhave any type of work that they
can show you that what.
I have done before, because youdon't want to go in there and
like, wait a minute.
Like, for example, if somebodywant to hire me, I just go to my
social media.
They can see the type of workI've done.
I can go and build you a homefrom ground up.
(09:45):
I'll tell you, hey, I'm not theguy to do the foundation, but
I'll get you someone that can dothe foundation for you and
start the home from ground up.
And that's a good contractor.
Because a good contractor willtell you if bad contract that
goes and tells you, oh, I can goand build that from ground up,
it's like you know.
It's like can you really do thewhole house?
A good contract would be likeyou know what?
(10:06):
I cannot do it.
I'll get you the person thatcan do it.
I can do the rest of the house.
Speaker 2 (10:10):
It's more being an honest and transparent contract,
like yourself.
Speaker 1 (10:13):
Right, right, and that's the best thing is just
being transparent.
Tell the customer I don't knowhow to get that done, but I'll
get back to you.
Speaker 2 (10:22):
That's hard to see because everyone knows it all.
Right, everyone knows it all.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
I'm not going to tell you, hey, I'm a licensed
electrician or I'm a licensedplumber, but I'll get you a
licensed plumber, I'll get you alicensed electrician and I'll
get the job done for you.
That'll give you that peace ofmind that you know what this guy
is a good contractor, becausenot only is he going to get my
house done, but he's going to doit with the right people.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
Exactly and at the right price, Exactly.
So basically you just broughtsomething up really good.
So I think there's a lot ofconfusion out there about a
contractor, plumber, andelectrician, can you?
Give us a little brief aboutthat real quick.
Well right.
Speaker 1 (10:56):
So a lot of people that come into the real estate
world and they see a contractor,they think that the contractor
does it all.
The contractor does theplumbing, the electrical, that
does the mechanical work foryour heating and all that stuff.
Well, that's actually not right, contractor.
What they do is they can finishthe whole entire home, but when
it comes down to electrical inyour home and a plumber, there's
(11:18):
a specific person that'slicensed to do that.
Now will you probably find acontractor that does it all?
Yes, but I'll say that's like a50% chance for you to find a
contractor that does it all.
Most of the time, thatcontractor doesn't do electric
work and doesn't do plumbingwork.
So a good contractor will getyou the right person and you're
good.
Yeah, to be honest with youfinding the right contractor to
(11:39):
and and you, you're good.
Speaker 2 (11:40):
Yeah, to be honest with you, finding the right
contract to get the job donemakes us be at peace.
Right, because I alsoexperienced certain things right
gotta be careful who you hire.
You really gotta do yourresearch and, of course,
maintain a great relationshipwith the contractor, but, more
than anything, explain to themwhat you're looking for and what
you want to do right.
One thing that I think I'vebeen seeing inflation is out of
hand right yeah, yeah materialprices are going crazy right now
(12:03):
.
How are contractors like youcopying and how does this impact
buyers looking to renovate?
Speaker 1 (12:08):
Right, so lucky that I do multiple construction out
there.
I get discounts, you know.
So I try my best to get thebest discount possible with my
account with Home Depot orLowe's or if I have a warehouse
that I can go get the roof oreven cheaper than home depot.
So you'll want to have a goodcontractor that gets you the
best pricing that fits with your, with your budget.
(12:30):
You know, because if acontractor just tells you, hey,
I'm gonna do it all, and doesn'tlook into your budget and also
look into the material, rightnow the material is expensive.
If you look at it, it's like,hey, let's, let's do one certain
work you can probably go aheadand spend like five thousand
dollars just on material and youhaven't even started the job
yet.
Yeah, you know so.
But the the reason that youknow and this is for the public
(12:51):
out there the reason thatmaterial is expensive out there
is because the prices of thehome so home depot and all these
other companies and likelowell's, they're're like wait a
minute, we got to eat too, youknow, and that's how it comes in
.
If you're going to build a homethat's worth $800,000, they're
like I want a piece of the pieas well.
Speaker 2 (13:10):
You know what's interesting?
The inflation is out of hand,but let's see how Trump handles
all of this right.
Let's see what he's going to dofor the country.
We're in the right time.
Speaker 1 (13:18):
Yeah, because the last few years everybody's like
the home is going to crash, themarket's going to go crazy, it's
going to crash, but it'll nevercrash.
Now we have a newadministration here, which he's
really into real estate andright now I don't see the prices
going down.
It's going to keep going.
So if you have the opportunityto get your home, definitely do
your research.
You have the right guy here,alex Baez with his wife.
(13:39):
You have the right guy here,alex Baez with his wife.
You guys come here and they'lldefinitely help you out, because
you need guidance right now, inthis type of market.
You need guidance.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
You know you just said something big.
I think you know we all haveour feel right.
Always look for that professionthat does that feel right.
Yes, everybody that's, becauseeverything that's out there, you
know, you have the professionright next to you.
Just do your research and buthire a professional.
Speaker 1 (13:58):
That's the bottom line, not your family member.
Not your friends, or yourfriends or your cousin or your
uncle or your aunt, hire aprofessional that's going to
help you get you to your goals.
Because, at the end of the day,if you don't know how to build
a home, you're going to find theright person that's going to
help you build that home.
If you don't know about certainthings, you're going to do your
(14:20):
research into that differentscenario that you want to get
yourself into.
You're just going to have tofind an expert.
It's always good to find anexpert.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
I agree with you 100% .
Those professionals do it.
We do it every day.
Speaker 1 (14:32):
This is what we do for a living.
Speaker 2 (14:33):
We do it every single day.
So guess what?
Those experiences that we wentwith our other clients, we're
going to bring it to you, theclients we're going to bring it
to you.
We're going to come in reallyready, prepare for you so guess
what?
I'm going to get the job doneand get you at a better place,
correct?
Let me ask you a question.
Let's talk insurance now.
Okay, so what's the biggestmistake homeowners make when it
comes to insuring theirrenovation projects?
Speaker 1 (14:54):
The biggest mistake is that they do is let's get the
cheapest insurance and let'snot get the right um, correct um
, coverage coverage.
Cause what they do is they goin there and they they think
like all right, well, you know,this house is is is worth
200,000.
Now, by the time I finish, it'sgoing to be worth like 400,000,
(15:14):
and I don't need to get mylimits up there.
Well.
Well, if there's a fire afteryou built the whole entire home
or after you renovate the wholeentire home, if you don't have
the right limit, what's going tohappen is now your insurance is
only going to pay you for thelimits that you actually
purchased.
And I think that's the biggestmistake, because you always want
to protect your investments.
Oof yeah because it's true whatyou're saying, because they come
(15:40):
, they just go based on thebasic and then they don't see.
Basically and I see that allthe time People call me like,
hey, steve, I'm trying to lowermy home insurance, or I'm trying
to do this and I'm working on aproperty right now I need
insurance, and I give them thequote.
And when I give them the quote,some of them be like oh, I got
a better quote.
I'm like let me check thelimits.
When you check the limits, itnot the same.
I'm like this is not the limitsthat you need.
You need this limit, you know,and that's a very dangerous game
(16:02):
that you can play.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
Let me ask you a question that I think a lot of
people don't know.
You know, for instance I'llgive you an example like, let's
say, geico.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Right, I don't like Geico Right Overly priced.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
First of all, I had Geico for so many years.
They're overly priced.
They make their own story andthey believe their own story.
Speaker 1 (16:18):
That's what I tell people.
That's the honest truth.
Speaker 2 (16:21):
But I would say what's the difference being an
insurance broker?
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Well, being an insurance broker, the best thing
about it is that you can shopthat person's home insurance
around.
You can shop the auto insurance.
So right now, for example, fora person will go and they get
home insurance with, say,allstate.
Allstate is just one company,but when you go to GMG Insurance
, like my brokerage, I can shopyour home into like 30 different
(16:45):
insurance companies.
Wow, that a lot of people don'teven know that there's other
insurance.
It's like probably likethousands and thousands of
insurance companies.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
And they have the same policy, same coverage, same
coverage same policy sameeverything.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
And guess what?
Sometimes the ones you go to Idon't want to say no names, but
sometimes when you go to thatcertain popular insurance, when
it's time to pay out, they don'teven pay out.
The other one that's been therefor, say, this insurance
company that I know that's beenthere for 1850, but a lot of
people don't know about it, sothat's why it's always good to
(17:18):
go to these insurance brokersthat can shop you around and
give you the best price.
Speaker 2 (17:19):
You said something big because everyone thinks
about, for instance like Chase.
Everyone thinks like let me goto Chase Reality.
Like Heidi's a lender, sheworks for over 95 banks.
Speaker 1 (17:27):
Everyone goes to Chase because of the name, do
you?
Speaker 2 (17:30):
really think Chase need your business.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
And then not only that, but then customers get
discouraged because they go toChase, they get declined for
that mortgage application.
Meanwhile you have your wifehere that can get them approved
and go through probably like 20different companies and get them
approved on the spot and goshop With better rates, better
closing costs.
Yeah, better closing costs.
So that's why working with abrokerage is very, very
important.
And also, it's good to do yourresearch.
(17:54):
It's all about doing yourresearch and working with the
experts.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
So the broker will get them the better price,
better thing and better options.
Speaker 1 (18:00):
Right, because the thing is they don't understand
that, like, if you buy a home,they have access to now with you
.
They have access to lawyers,they have access to title
agencies where they can run andsee exactly when that house was
purchased, if any title issues.
(18:20):
It's the same thing withinsurance over here we look if
there's any violations in thathome and then what company we're
actually going to put you in tomake sure we get you the best
coverage, because if thatinsurance company runs your
information, they'll decline youright away.
But don't worry, we haveanother company that will get
you approved.
Speaker 2 (18:34):
So you guys also will see if it's flooded, if you
need flood insurance.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Everything, we see everything.
How far do you?
Speaker 2 (18:38):
guys go back on, let's say, any claims that have
been against the property.
Speaker 1 (18:43):
I believe that last time when I spoke with my wife,
I think we do about five years,five years In between.
Once it passes like five years,you know they don't, but five
years they'll definitely get toit, yeah, so look at that.
Speaker 2 (18:55):
You go through an insurance broker.
You know if it needs floodinsurance, you'll see all the
policies that evolve.
Speaker 1 (19:00):
And even if you tell me, oh no, we don't need it,
well, the underwrite is seeing,it's seeing that you're close to
the coastal, close to water,and they'll tell you your
insurance won't be going up alittle bit more up, you know.
So it's to protect theinsurance, protect yourself you
know.
Speaker 2 (19:17):
Let me ask you a question.
Tell me about a time whenhaving the right insurance saved
the renovation project or maybeeven a homeowner from a
nightmare scenario.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Oh, this is funny because I have so many stories
but this one Give me the bestone.
We were working on a project inChicago.
When we was working on theproject, it was one of those
tricky neighborhoods, nicepeople, but you know it's not
one of the best neighborhoods.
Okay, and he's probably goingto watch this podcast, zach, I
(19:47):
remember one of my partnersthere, but we put brand new
boilers in there and theseNavian boilers.
It was three families so we hadto get two not one, but two
Navians and installing those wasabout 8 000 just installing
those two, with the, with theinstallation and everything.
And um we got it installed andeverything like that.
(20:09):
And um, lucky that we hadinsurance but we didn't use it
because we was like, looking atit, do we really want to go and
put an insurance claim?
We didn't.
But we told them let's get analarm there.
We never got an alarm.
It was like we should have gotan alarm.
We left it there.
After we installed it, probablytwo weeks later we came back
everything's gone, everythinglike not only not only they took
(20:31):
the boilers and avian, but thisbrand new boilers, they even
took the pipes.
It was insane.
And um, it's one of thosescenarios like we had insurance
but we didn't use it becauseit's like you know, I already
know if we put an insuranceclaim, obviously everything goes
up.
We didn't want that.
We're like you know what, let'sput an alarm there.
So that's one thing out there.
You know.
To avoid insurance or to avoidany claims, just make sure you
(20:54):
secure your property.
Always want to have an alarmand that's one of my biggest
lessons that me and my otherpartner alarm cameras, camera,
everything doesn't matter if you, if you, if you, everybody's
nice in the neighborhood oranything like that.
But it was a little roughneighborhood but at the same
time it's just, you know wecould have avoided eight
thousand dollars that's a lot ofmoney, but that's a lot, you
(21:15):
know.
Speaker 2 (21:16):
It's sad to say that you always got to protect
yourself because everyone'swatching, right everybody's
watching.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
When you're putting everything new in that home,
it's like everybody's watching.
Now there's certain locationsthat you already know, like
there's certain I have donehouses that I have put a lot of
expensive stuff in there andeverything the next day is still
there, or a few months laterstill there.
It just depends on the location.
Wow.
Speaker 2 (21:37):
That's crazy.
Yeah For the next one.
For buyers who want to addvalue without breaking the bank.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
Right, what's the one renovation you swear by that
both affordable and a gamechanger, one renovation that you
think will make a bigdifference, the biggest game
changer, guys, the biggest gamechanger Get a brand new kitchen,
because the kitchen does it all.
I'm with you.
When you walk into that home,the first thing you see is what?
The kitchen.
Either the husband, theboyfriend, the girlfriend,
(22:08):
whoever is going to fall in lovewith the kitchen right away,
because that's where they'regoing to spend most of the time
in the living room, the kitchencooking, spending time with the
family.
And then the number two is thebathrooms.
You want to have those bathroombrand.
I always believe when you'rerenovating a home is I don't
like that touch up on.
Just well, let's touch up thisbathroom, I believe.
(22:29):
Just bring everything down, putit brand new.
If you know how to budgetyourself and know what type of
materials to buy, you put thosebathroom brand new in the
kitchen as well.
That gives the whole entirehouse a good thing, wow.
And also, you have to make surethat the gas or the water tank
is working, but other than that,those are the kitchen and the
(22:51):
bathroom.
Speaker 2 (22:51):
I'm with you 100%.
So when I go show my buyers,that's the first thing they look
at is the kitchen and thebathrooms.
Speaker 1 (22:57):
What are you going to do when you wake up?
That's the first thing theylook at is the kitchen and the
bathrooms.
What are you going to do whenyou wake up?
You're going to take a shower.
What are you going to do whenyou go to sleep?
You're going to take a shower.
That's the thing they're goingto see.
When you wake up.
You want to go.
What eat breakfast?
Speaker 2 (23:25):
When you go to sleep, I'll probably have a snack, or
when you haveitchens.
Exactly, I totally agree.
All right, every job site hasits drama.
What's the most unexpected?
Speaker 1 (23:28):
challenge you have to tackle on a project and how do
you pull it off?
I think it's mainly working asa team, like it's when you, when
you go, when you go into aproject and you have one person
over there, another person overthere yes, that that.
But as long as everybody'sworking together and everybody
on the same page.
If you're going to be workingon, for example, the kitchens,
let's just get the kitchen done.
(23:49):
If we're going to be working onthe bathrooms, get the
bathrooms done.
If we're going to be working onShe-Rock, we'll get that done.
Everything is step-by-step.
If we're going to do windowsfor the whole entire home, then
I just want the window teamthere.
That's always a lot of jobbecause if you have a team
working on all the windows andthen you have another person
working on the floor, eventuallythey're going to clash.
(24:09):
So I always believe in a system.
Have a system in place whenyou're renovating home.
What step are you going to take?
Which are you going to tacklefirst?
Are you going to tackle thekitchen?
Are you going to take what areyou going to tackle first?
Are you going to tackle thekitchen?
Are you going to tackle thebathrooms?
Are you going to tackle thewalls of the home.
So it's just making sure youhave a system in place so
there's no drama with yourworkers or even drama with your
(24:29):
buyer because they walk in therelike wait, what's going on?
Where's this mess?
One thing about me I likehaving everything clean.
I can't see a mess, so I puteverything in garbage.
All the garbage is put in oneside so that your working space
is clean.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Gotcha, I got this million dollar question for you,
my last question All right, Iwork with a lot of first time
buyers.
Okay, you're a contractor.
What is the first thing youwould say that a first time
buyer should be aware or have inmind when they go see these
properties?
There's one thing that you'llpoint out on the property that's
the most important thing to you.
Speaker 1 (25:01):
When you walk in there, forget about the kitchen
and forget about the bathrooms.
What you want to walk in thereis the utilities.
You want to check if thelighting is working.
You want to check where you'regoing to be getting the heating
from, because heating is veryimportant.
That's one thing that you wantto check.
You want to check all the pipesaround the home and the
(25:22):
foundation.
If you see any cracks in thefoundation because that's what
you're going to be living at youwant to make sure that the main
stuff that secures the home,which is the water, the heating,
the foundation, is intact.
And if you need a new watertank, if you need a new oil tank
, you want to check those things, because everything else is
just easy.
Anybody can come and do a newbathroom, a kitchen and all this
(25:45):
stuff, put windows and also thelast thing is your roofing,
because those roofs are supposedto be last 15 to 20 years.
So if you see any shinglesthat's falling or you see maybe
in your attic that you seeprobably water that goes through
there, obviously that has to bereplaced, but from roofing
utilities, which is your oiltank, your water tank and your
(26:08):
electrical and your pipes.
As long as you check thosethings, then after that you can
go ahead and proceed to buy thehouse.
Wow, so you guys know alreadying, yeah, basically your pipes,
your electric, you said yep, andthe foundation in the heat, and
the heating foundation is bigfoundation is very big and I
seen it all I seen, I seenfriends where there's like they
(26:29):
move in and then now when therainstorm comes, the whole, the
whole uh foundation, the wholebasement is flooded.
You know, you imagine likemoving to something like that
that's crazy.
Speaker 2 (26:39):
So so I actually had a client right.
He bought this property right.
The inspector had mentioned tohim that there's water coming
into the basement and that thefoundation should definitely
look like it should seal it more, but something's going on in
there, right.
So, apparently, one thing aboutthe buyers we disclose
everything to them, right right.
But then they make the decisionthey want to purchase the house
.
Speaker 1 (26:58):
Of course, of course.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
But everything's disclosed to you.
Right and you know what you'regetting yourself into.
Right, and if you can handlethe expense with a contractor,
that's on you.
But we will explain everydetail to you, especially the
inspector.
I'm very strong about theinspector explaining every
detail to the buyer because thenI get the call and I'm like all
right, but you knew this washappening, right?
So one thing is that we'vealready received a call probably
(27:21):
received it like two times inall the homes that I have sold,
but we disclosed everything tothese buyers.
So sometimes they just they wantto move forward for it right.
Had this client bought theproperty.
Foundation water cut coming in,everything Couldn't handle it
anymore.
So what they had to do wasbasically buy this black room,
put it all around the house, putsome met walls around the
foundation outside.
The job came out to probably 2530 000, you know.
(27:44):
But you know he knew about it,about the foundation, he knew
all the water's coming in rightfrom underground he knew all
this stuff, uh, but he reallywanted the house and he fell in
love with his house.
He still did the work, though.
Right, right yeah it's on 25 to30 000 to to basically like
reinforce the foundation.
Speaker 1 (28:02):
And it's funny because if you know the right
person, the right contractor,you'll probably save even less
money than that.
You know.
That's why it's always good toalways, when you buy a home, be
friendly with a handyman outthere.
Be friendly with it if you knowa contractor out there, because
a job like that it's just a lotof cement that you need and a
foundation crew that actuallygoes in there will fix that
(28:23):
crack and put that thing brandnew.
Speaker 2 (28:26):
So, guys, thank you Before anything, Stephen for
coming to our podcast.
Speaker 1 (28:30):
Thank you for having me over here.
Speaker 2 (28:31):
All his information is going to be below.
You already know he's also aninsurance broker and also a
contractor right.
All his information is going tobe here.
This is who I've been workingwith.
I refer him clients he takescare of my client, which is very
important for me, and also he'sfamily right, him and his wife.
Thank you, guys for tuning inwith us.
Please like, subscribe, commentand guide to the next podcast.
(28:53):
Thank you so much, guys, thankyou Take care.
Take care.
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
True Crime Tonight
If you eat, sleep, and breathe true crime, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT is serving up your nightly fix. Five nights a week, KT STUDIOS & iHEART RADIO invite listeners to pull up a seat for an unfiltered look at the biggest cases making headlines, celebrity scandals, and the trials everyone is watching. With a mix of expert analysis, hot takes, and listener call-ins, TRUE CRIME TONIGHT goes beyond the headlines to uncover the twists, turns, and unanswered questions that keep us all obsessed—because, at TRUE CRIME TONIGHT, there’s a seat for everyone. Whether breaking down crime scene forensics, scrutinizing serial killers, or debating the most binge-worthy true crime docs, True Crime Tonight is the fresh, fast-paced, and slightly addictive home for true crime lovers.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com