Today we’d like to introduce you to Roberto Magno.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Roberto. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
On a certain level, I was destined to make a career in the real estate business. My parents are Italian immigrants and from as far back as I can recall it was ingrained in me that owning real estate was probably the single best thing I could do to build wealth in “America”. Though my father was a foreign language teacher by trade, he owned rental property, bought land and developed our family home, as well as our home on Cape Cod.
So, whether it was cutting lawns, stacking blocks, mixing cement or learning to lay tile, I was around bricks and mortar from a very young age. After college I was, serendipitously, recruited into the real estate practice group at Ernst & Young, eventually earning my CPA license. This experience and client exposure set me on my eventual career path in commercial real estate. Additionally, during that same time, heading my parent’s advice, I started buying and selling investment property with my brother, which we have continued to do over the past 15+ years. I ultimately went on to become a commercial real estate broker, focused on office leasing in the downtown market.
Though I had always felt over the years that I wanted “to do my own thing”, that frustratingly conservative and pragmatic voice inside me would always offer an excuse – “it’s too risky”, “you’re too old”, etc. Then at 41 years old and about to get married, those feelings started to rise again, as did that inner voice – “what about having kids”, “buying a house”, “now you’re in your 40’s”. It seemingly wasn’t much different this time around…. until it was!
With a little bit of soul searching, a nudge (or more of an aggressive shove) from my wife, and an unrelenting feeling of “just f**k it, it’s now or never”, I finally put things in motion. Though it took me almost a year from conception to reality, I came back from a two-week honeymoon in Italy, quit my job and started my own brokerage and investment services firm – CastleArch Property Advisors, which takes its name from the towns my parents both immigrated from in Italy.
It has been just about two years now and I haven’t looked back or had a single doubt that it was the right move and the right time.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Truthfully, it’s been a much smoother road than I anticipated. Although I have achieved more than I expected, I have had to work a lot harder, and also a lot smarter.
Though working in a similar capacity as a commercial real estate advisor, I must admit I took for granted the marketing, research and administrative functions that were freely at my disposal when I was working for a larger organization. That is all on me now to coordinate and administer, while also running client engagements, networking and working on business development efforts.
But in this gig economy, it’s been relatively easy to find the help I need, especially on the marketing front. And the upside is that I solely dictate my content and control the narrative and messaging that I am putting out in the marketplace.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the CastleArch Property Advisors story. Tell us more about the business.
CastleArch Property Advisors is a commercial real estate brokerage and advisory firm, with a particular focus on tenant representation and investment advisory services in the Boston and inner suburban markets. The majority of our practice involves advising small and mid-sized organizations with their office and facility requirements. We assist our clients in all facets of the lease process, from office relocations, lease renewals, expansions, and lease restructuring. On a selective basis, we also work with owners and investors in the marketing and disposition of investment properties throughout the region.
Though the nature of this business is very transactional, we are not transaction focused. In all my brokerage career I have never looked at myself as a broker or salesman, but rather an advisor. I believe anybody can unlock doors and shuffle paperwork around. We look to build long-term relationships based on trust and really seek assignments and opportunities where we feel confident we can add value.
I think what most of my clients have always appreciated about my style is my very candid and pragmatic approach to what I do. It is very clear when I meet with new prospective clients, that I am completely incapable of BS and blowing sunshine. I am very much a say-what-I-mean and do-what-I-say type person, and I think in a business filled with a lot of operators, with varying motives it’s quite refreshing for the clients that choose to work with me.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
I don’t like to think of being lucky, but rather really fortunate. I have had to work hard for all I have and anything I’ve accomplished. But again, none of it would be possible without the good fortune of being surrounded by great people.
I am fortunate to have been raised by immigrant parents that instilled in me real “old-school” values – work hard, be disciplined, be modest. and integrity above all else, I am fortunate to have a wife that believes in me, and encourages and supports me in all that I do; I am fortunate to the clients I have, that stuck with me through the transition.
And I am fortunate to work in an industry that I really love. So with all that good fortune, I guess I am little lucky…….
Contact Info:
- Address: 15 Main Street, #174 Watertown, MA 02472
- Website: www.castlearchpa.com
- Phone: 617.823.5303
- Email: roberto@castlearchpa.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/castlearchadvisors
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/castlearchpa
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