Steven Schultz has been in real estate his whole life, but he says his real business is people.
“I love the challenge of building that relationship. I love the way you have to angle and show and serve,” he said. “Anybody and everybody can decide to do business with whoever they want.”
It’s not just client relationships that keep Schultz’s business running. When he joined Newmark Grubb Knight Frank as an executive managing director last year, he brought with him the six-person team he’d worked with as the founder and CEO of Helios Capital Advisors.
“I’ve surrounded myself with some great talent,” he said.
Every morning, Schultz emails an inspirational quote of his own composing to a contract list of colleagues, team members and clients. “Successful people are always asking for opportunities to help others,” says the start of one recent example. Another admonishes readers to tackle their to-do list, no matter now long.
“It’s all about inspiration and spiritually and motivation… everybody I touch through my new NGKF network goes on my quote list,” he said.
NGKF brought in Schultz and his group to bolster its investment sales business. They specialize in both loan sales — valuing and packaging distressed debt for sale by banks to the investment community — and in capital markets.
So far, according to Schultz, they’ve sold three portfolios of debt worth a total of close to $200 million, and they have a number of investment sales in contract or ready to close.
The decision to join NGKF was an opportunity to expand the reach of the team’s relationships, Schultz said.
“I wanted to challenge myself,” he said. “You need a platform to grow today in this sophisticated environment.”
Schultz started in real estate in 1991, when he joined his father and brother to form the Schultz Organization.
The Ocean Township High School graduate was born and raised on the Jersey Shore, where he still lives with his wife of 25 years. They have two children, and now that the kids are older the couple is looking forward to traveling and exploring new places.
In 2009, the broker was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis, a neurological disease with no known cure. Instead of letting the illness slow him down, Schultz made a new commitment to a healthy lifestyle for himself, and to supporting research into the illness. In 2010, he was honored as one of the top fundraisers in the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s New Jersey Metro Chapter.
At the time of the diagnosis, another one of Schultz’s charitable causes, the Count Basie Theater in Red Bank, N.J., was undergoing renovation. Now, he is organizing an MS fundraising concert at the theater, which he hopes will be an annual event starting next year. “It’s a dream of mine,” he said.
Schultz’s team, based in NGKF’s offices in Rutherford, N.J., and in New York City, includes Andrew Phillips, Josh Malka, Jared Zimmel and Tony Georgiev.
“Everyone has a role,” Schultz said. He’s always involved at the beginning and end of every deal, and while there are some relationships that require him to be involved in a transaction from beginning to end, usually his team handles the work themselves.
“Our team has been building to do plenty of volume,” he said.
Schultz enjoys playing golf, and with a six handicap describes himself as “very good.” He’s less confident in his karaoke ability, but, given the right atmosphere and mood, he says he’s ready to get up and perform his go-to song, “Sweet Home Alabama.”
