-
-
Loading
Loading
Peter Michaels bought his first piece of property while he was a student at the University of Florida.
It was a one-bedroom condo in Tallahassee that he went into with his older brother Matt, a graduate student at Florida State University.
The two had long been entrepreneurial partners growing up in Gainesville, trying what Michaels describes as “various side endeavors.” That included yard work, odd jobs and “selling stuff” out of catalogues.
“We were just looking for ways to try to be successful or find something,” he says.
It wasn’t only about hustling, though. As a student at Buchholz High School in Gainesville, Michaels joined of the Academy of Entrepreneurship, a four-year program, to learn about business.
After high school, he stayed in town to attend UF, first living in an apartment then in an off-campus house. He was studying business administration, majoring in management.
The condo he and Matt bought, renovated and rented was the first foray in real estate, sparking an interest in owning rental properties.
“I figured I should start working for somebody so that I could learn more,” Michael says.
He started working for a real estate group in Gainesville run by a husband and wife. They were doing property management and selling real estate sales while also building out their own portfolio of rental properties.
Michaels wound up working for them for just under three years while doing his undergraduate work. He learned “a ton” about the business, sometimes answering calls from tenants while in class, he says.
He also learned, after so much running around, that he wanted to do something a little more institutional, using his finance and math skills. So, after earning his bachelor’s, he enrolled in UF's Masters of Science in Real Estate program.
That's where he met his mentor, and now friend, Cary Goldberg, president of Diversified Cos. One lesson he learned from Goldberg: keep your head up after a setback and be able to move on to the next task, the next project.
Today, Michaels is working at Halstatt Real Estate Partners in Naples. The company has launched and manages a series of real estate private equity funds. He started as an analyst after graduating and over time Michaels progressed through the company ranks and is now a principal.
He says over the years, “I tried to have my finger in as many different things as possible.”
“When I started," he adds, "I was the only junior person on the team and so nobody really said no when I asked to work on different things. That’s how I learned about business.”
In his current role, Michaels works on investments as well as operations, leading a team of four — a vice president, an associate and two analysts. The firm, in its 40 under 40 nomination, says he’s “a trusted leader, helping drive the acquisition and development of over $1.5 billion in assets.
As for the Tallahassee condo, he and Matt, who is a clinical psychologist now, sold it and made money. But, it “was in itself a saga.”
