51: Dads in Real Estate

Parents At Work

Lori Mihalich-Levin and Jason Levin are excited to begin a new segment talking to moms and dads working in real estate!

Today, Lori and Jason are delighted to introduce two wonderful dads in real estate, Paul Benshoof and Corey Lee!

Corey Lee is the Principal of Residential Growth Properties LLC, a real estate investment brokerage in Washington DC. He has been actively involved in the real estate industry for nearly 25 years, and his company focuses on helping property owners unlock the value of their properties through zoning, entitlement, and redevelopment. He works closely with his wife, Bhavna, who runs her own successful real estate general contracting development and owners representation firm, and they live in the Forest Hills neighborhood of DC with their two youngest children, Sara and Ian, who are in middle and elementary school. While Corey and Bhavna met in grad school at UNC Chapel Hill, they still find a way to remain proud of their oldest daughter, Ida, who recently graduated from Duke, as a member of the Class of 2023. Corey earned his Political Science and Systems Engineering degree at the United States Military Academy at West Point and completed his JD and MBA in Real Estate Concentration at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Paul Benshoof is a Real Estate Agent at Keller Williams Metropolitan in Northern New Jersey and has been with Keller Williams for eight years. Paul is a proud Scarlet Knight and studied economics at Rutgers University. He lives in Mount Olive, New Jersey, with his wife, Lindsay, and their three sons, aged 12, 10, and 3.

Tune in to hear what Paul and Corey have to share about their lives as working dads in the real estate world!

Show highlights:

• Corey discusses his introduction to working parenthood. (5:18)
• Paul shares what he enjoys most about being a parent working in the real estate industry. (9:58)
• Corey shares his experience of being a parent in real estate. (11:12)
• How Paul managed to remain consistent with his work when his children came into his life. (17:43)
• The experiences and supports that were helpful for Corey when he became a working parent. (20:09)
• Paul talks about the job he did while in high school and his first job after college and shares what he learned from doing them. (24:56)
• Corey shares what he learned when his dad turned down an economically viable business opportunity to spend more time with his family. (30:32)
• The skills Paul and Corey gained from being parents that are helpful in their current roles in real estate. (33:44) (35:25)
• Corey explains how he would have benefited from having had a business coach. (36:02)
• Corey’s tips for people in a business partnership with a partner or spouse. (38:50)
• Changes in the real estate industry that could affect working parents. (40:33)

Links and resources:

Residential Growth Properties LLC

Corey Lee on LinkedIn

Keller Williams Metropolitan Northern New Jersey

Paul Benshoof on LinkedIn

If you’d like to participate in the conversation at the Mindful Return Working Parents Group Network Learning Collaborative, go to www.mindfulreturn.com/wpgn

Recommended books:

The Power of Ambition by Jim Rohn

The Awakened Family by Shefali Tsabary

Relationships to Infinity by Jason Levin

The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell