Author: katrina

“No one wants to partner with small developers.” “Property owners only trust big names.” “You need millions in capital to get deals done.” That’s what everyone told me when we were rebuilding GIS Companies after our setback. How wrong they were. Here’s what I’ve learned instead: Many property owners are sitting on valuable land with…

These are the 9 major property development mistakes you MUST avoid. 1. The “I Can Do It All” Trap↳ Thinking you don’t need partners will cost you time, money, and sanity. 2. The Perfect Timing Illusion↳ Waiting for the “right” market conditions means missing opportunities today. 3. The Cheapest Bid Rule↳ Property owners almost always…

To go big in real estate, you have to go small. Everyone’s obsessed with building bigger. Bigger homes. (Average: 2,480 sq ft)Bigger apartments. (Median: 1,200 sq ft)Bigger square footage. (Up 47% since 1990) Meanwhile, construction costs hit $186/sq ft. Interest rates are 7.2%. The average person making $67K can’t afford what we’re building. So what’s…

I’m the last person to get paid on every deal. Here’s the order: • Consultants get paid first• Banks get paid next• Limited partners get their returns• Original property owners get their share• Then me You know what this means? I’m the most motivated person on the entire project. When your profit depends on everyone…

Two years ago, we lost everything… I rarely share this story. But transparency matters: Our construction company grew to 30 employees with three major projects. Then suddenly, everything went into foreclosure… Years of work vanished overnight. We had to fold the company. Was it devastating? Absolutely. Did I question everything? Every day. But here’s what…

“Would you live here for $2,847/month?” That’s my BIG-money investment question. Last week, I walked through a “modern” factory-built home in Idaho that made me laugh out loud. The selling points: • “Premium finishes”• “Innovative design”• “Decades of experience” The reality: • Water heater IN THE MASTER BEDROOM closet• Kitchen island that creates an obstacle…

Have you ever seen $10 million disappear overnight? I have. Not just as a witness, but firsthand when our family business faced this devastating reality. (We didn’t have LP’s in those deals, but the lesson was clear: protecting capital is sacred) This unfortunate financial pain happens when developers skip the feasibility study phase. They saw…

Ever tried hiding part of your identity at work? For years, I buried my Russian background. Even my Jewish ancestry. I felt caught between worlds, not fully belonging to either. I avoided mentioning where I came from or how I learned English starting in 2nd grade. When clients asked about my slight accent, I’d quickly…

If you lost 1% of your population in four years… how long would your economy survive? From 2020 to 2024, Florida and Idaho grew by 8.2% each — the fastest rates in the country. Texas wasn’t far behind at 7%. Meanwhile, New York, California, and West Virginia shrank. And they didn’t just lose people —…

Everyone’s freaking out about tariffs. But here’s the truth the headlines aren’t telling you: A 3–5% construction cost increase? In Seattle, that’s just called Friday. I asked ChatGPT, Grok, and Gemini the same question: “What impact will tariffs have on multifamily construction?” ChatGPT stayed chill: +2–4% cost, mostly from steel, aluminum, HVAC parts, and windows.…

Construction costs aren’t just rising; they’re compounding. Residential construction inflation: +4.7% in 2025 Nonresidential building inflation: +4.0% Every quarter you wait, that’s money lost to price hikes in materials, labor, and delays. I’m not talking about tariffs yet. More on that in another post. Projects are getting more expensive by the day. At GIS, we’re…

What if someone walked into a city planning meeting today and said, ““Hi yes, we’d like to build a giant flying saucer on stilts…” Would that fly? Probably not. (Unless the stilts came with a parking study, a SEPA checklist, and a 10-point community benefits proposal.) They say Rome wasn’t built in a day, and…

Eugene Gershman of GIS Companies, a real estate developer making waves out of the Greater Seattle area. If you caught his last appearance, you already know Eugene brings a unique and forward-thinking approach to real estate development—and in this episode, he dives into a deal that changed his life. But plot twist: it’s not just…

You Want to Make $1,000,000 a Year? Okay, let’s do some quick math. The average American salary is $66,622.To make a million, you’d need 16 jobs.(Or just one job… with 16 of you.) Even if you’re a high-earner making $200/hour, that’s 5,000 hours a year.Which is 96 hours a week.Which is basically two full-time jobs……

Arnold Schwarzenegger made his first million in real estate, even before Hollywood ever put a camera on him. Not from fame. Not from action movies. From buying apartment buildings. Here’s the part most people miss: When he was just starting, barely fluent in English and no big career yet, he took the money he earned…