Welcome to Ten, CORE founder and CEO Shaun Osher’s rapid-fire interview series with prominent CORE figures. Read on to find out how this week’s subject deals with being on the hot seat.
After getting an early start in the real estate industry, Steve Pak‘s passion for the business has translated into a successful portfolio of transactions over the past several years. Now working alongside industry veteran Michael Rubin, he is now looking forward to leaving his mark as one of CORE’s newest additions. Here are Steve’s answers to Ten questions:
1. What did you do before you found this career?
Before I got into real estate, I was a sophomore in college. I got licensed first in New Jersey and worked for about two years while finishing up school.
2. What has been the highlight of your career?
The highlight of my career has definitely been shifting my focus from the New Jersey housing market to New York’s real estate scene and joining CORE. I was given the opportunity to work with Michael Rubin and it has been a great learning experience ever since I came onboard.
3. What is your greatest daily challenge?
The greatest daily challenge I face is probably commuting for about 1-2hours every day. The commute is stressful at times, but it’s worth living in a home with expansive outdoor space.
4. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
I see myself still involved in the real estate business in some type of way, whether it’s through brokering deals, coordinating new development efforts or managing my own investments.
5. Where do you find inspiration?
I usually find inspiration from people I meet. Everyone has a story to tell and there’s always something to learn from others.
6. Name one thing we might not know about you.
I’m a big time foodie. While living in South Korea for two years, I traveled to far cities just to try out their most famous dishes.
7. What’s your favorite movie or book?
Some of my favorite movies are The Shawshank Redemption and Inception. There are two things I can’t live without: popcorn and movies!
8. What do you do in your free time?
I try to spend as much time as possible with my family and my dog. I also love traveling to countries I haven’t been to.
9. What’s your favorite restaurant?
It’s very hard to pick a favorite restaurant, but one of my all-time favorites is Artichoke Basille’s Pizza
10. Tell me something about your home.
After planting some nice flowers around my home one weekend, we woke up the next day to see that not a single petal was left to be found. I have a good feeling the deer in the neighborhood are to blame!