Gil Dezer
Dezer Development
The Shark
HL As a college freshman, where did you think your career path would take you?
GD As most other freshman, I wasn’t really thinking about a full-time career in between partying! I was thinking short term, so it wasn’t long before I opened my first business in college, “Dorm Refrigeration.” I would buy the dorm fridges at the end of the school year for next to nothing, store them for the summer, and then resell them at a profit at the beginning of the new school year. “After “dorm refrigeration” I knew it didn’t matter what I did in my future, any way possible, I was absolutely going to make money.
HL What attracted you to real estate?
GD It’s my family bloodline. Growing up in a real estate household (father and son own and operate Dezer Development) engineered my mind to the real-estate world. As I grew up it became my natural course.
HL What does your position entail?
GD Everything from the design of the buildings through to buying out subs, as well as marketing and selling the units and, of course, everything in between.
HL What is it like working with your father?
GD My father and I split tasks and duties, so there is no stepping on each others’ toes. I’m very fortunate to have a father who trusts me to make major decisions and does not micromanage my actions. But, when I need advice, he is always there.
HL What is your most memorable deal?
GD A deal in Mississippi, after a bad conversation on the phone, I made $5.5 million dollars-say no more … we’ll leave it at that!
HL How has your father’s work ethic influenced your own?
GD My father always taught me work is an essential component of life. I grew up with that as a young man, and I have embraced it as an adult.
HL What could your father learn from you at this point in time?
GD I’ve probably surpassed his technical knowledge of construction, but he doesn’t even need to learn it at this stage, as he has me handling that for him.
HL What are you forecasting for Miami’s real-estate market over the next 24 months?
GD If the interest rates stay the way they are, A+ properties (like my own!) will continue to thrive and B and C properties will have to create a better value in order to continue selling.
HL Where do you see yourself and the company in 10 years?
GD We’ve already expanded into various markets such as Atlanta and Las Vegas, as well as continued our core business in New York, so there are many places to go and 10 years from now-we’ll see you there!
