8 — June 2025 — Thriving Under 30 — M id A tlantic Real Estate Journal
www.marej.com
T hriving U nder 30
Spotlight on Chris Vondas of AdvisoRE LLC Court-Side to Closing Table: Balancing Youth Coaching, Terps Fandom, and CRE Success
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estate is truly a long run game. What outside activities do you enjoy during you free time? In my free time, I enjoy all things sports related and am an avid Washington, DC and Maryland Terps fan. I also enjoy traveling to beach desti - nations and volunteering as a youth basketball coach at my church, Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral. What inspiring word of advice would you give to a young executive graduat - ing from college? It can be pretty daunting at the time, but I would en - courage new graduates to try and see the big picture when applying and ultimately choos - ing a job. I would also say that your team and mentors are incredibly important for your growth, especially when start - ing out. MAREJ
goals that I have in mind, as well as the potential to build my own business in a sense. What challenges and or obstacles do you feel you needed to overcome to be - come as successful as you are today? When I was first getting started, I was too focused on results as opposed to control - lables such as how many calls I make in a day. Especially in a relatively tumultuous interest rate environment, you can easily set yourself up for failure by placing most of your emphasis on your income and how fast you’re going to obtain it. I believe I’ve found the most success when focus - ing on staying consistent with day to day boring tasks, which then compound over time into positive results. It can be ex - tremely frustrating especially early on, but commercial real
hat is your great- est professional accomplishment?
Chris Vondas Associate Years with company/firm: 1 Years in field: 2 Years in real estate industry: 2 Real estate organizations/affiliations: ICSC, Green Group
My greatest professional ac - complishment is closing a deal for one of my biggest mentors in the industry. What is your most no- table project, deal or transaction? My most notable deal is the sale of 7929 Norfolk Ave. in Downtown Bethesda. Bethes - da has a very low sales velocity and this particular deal had many obstacles to overcome and keep the deal on track prior to closing. What impact has social media / networking had on your career? Networking has had an im - mense impact on my career thus far. I try to position my - self in different circles that allow me to meet different people in the real estate in -
dustry as well as adjacent in - dustries. I’m pretty fortunate to be comfortable meeting new people and discussing what I do, which can be daunting at times. Social media outlets, mainly LinkedIn, have been helpful for me in initiating contact with people, as well as putting the pieces together as to who works with who and who’s closing which deals. Tell us how and when you began your career in the profession you are in, about your current posi -
tion and why you chose the field/profession you are in today? I got my first glimpse of the brokerage world when I interned with my current firm the summer after my sophomore year of college. I then became a full-time broker about two years ago. I was ultimately drawn to the commercial real estate brokerage industry based on the opportunity to work with clients and professionals who’ve accomplished similar
Interview with W Financial’s loan originator From first deal to $530M closed, why Drew Reiter bet on CRE finance and never looked back
college, and I had great connec - tions with those professors who also actively worked in commer - cial real estate. After connect - ing with various IU graduates in the industry, I landed with W Financial as an Analyst. As a Loan Originator, I focus on bringing in new potential loan opportunities by growing and maintaining my network of bro - kers and investors. I also work with underwriting prospective deals and engage in due diligence to get deals closed. What were some of your early goals and did anything happen to change them? My early goals consisted of trying to learn something new everyday and to start creat - ing my network. There have been new goals that I wish to achieve, but these goals haven’t changed. I am still dedicated to perfecting my craft both in terms of networking and ana - lytically and expanding on my network within the industry. There is no such thing as hav - ing too big of a network. What unique qualities and or personality do you feel makes you most suc - cessful in your profession? The top three qualities that
I believe makes me most suc - cessful are being resilient and persistent, being a strong communicator, and analyti - cal. With constant market shifts and constant challenges coming up, it is important to be a relentless problem-solver who will always stay deter - mined. As a communicator, you must be transparent and articulate to get deals done. Finally, being an analytical thinker is crucial because being a problem solver to the complexities of transitional real estate transactions allows for best results and better deals for investors. What challenges and or obstacles do you feel you needed to overcome to be - come as successful as you are today? Being so young and inexpe - rienced early on was a chal - lenge for my networking at first, especially at networking events. Everyone was older than me and knew more about the industry. I had to adapt to being in such situations and over time I taught myself how to create long lasting relation - ships as a younger professional continued on page 34
What is your greatest pro - fessional accomplishment? My greatest professional accomplishment is when I originated my first loan at W Financial. After working on the deal throughout the entire process from sourcing the deal to executing due diligence, it was very gratifying seeing the deal get closed. What is your most notable project, deal or transaction? My most notable project that I worked on was a cov - ered land play in the Design District of Miami, FL. The reason this deal sticks out to me is because how intricate the underwriting process was. Between conversing with local zoning attorneys to see what is feasible to build, to completing a complex DCF highlighting the construction and lease-up phases, it was a unique deal for our group, and I learned tremendously from it. How do you contribute to your company and / or the industry? I like to think of my contri - butions to W Financial as a Swiss army knife, someone that can do a bit of everything. From sourcing new potential
Drew Reiter Loan Originator Years with company/firm: 3 Years in field: 3 Years in real estate industry: 3 Real estate organizations/affiliations: YMBA
lending opportunities, creat - ing complex financial models for transitional properties, performing on due diligence tasks, and preparing monthly reports for the fund’s inves - tors. I have worked on ~$530M of closings since Q3 of 2022, helping our clients execute on their financing needs with speed and reliability. Who or what has been the strongest influence in your career? Although he wasn’t in the real estate field, Kobe Bryant has been a strong influence for me in my early years of my career. He preached that working hard everyday is pivotal to be suc - cessful in anything that you do. In order to become the person you strive to be, you must work diligently and focus on every aspect of your craft. His ideas taught me to show up to the of - fice everyday ready to make an
impact and improve every day. What impact has social media / networking had on your career? Social media and network - ing play a crucial role in my career. Connecting with bro - kers, developers, investors, and other lenders through net - working has been invaluable. It’s allowed me to build and maintain relationships that have become truly productive and meaningful to my career. Tell us how and when you began your career in the profession you are in, about your current position and why you chose the field/ profession you are in today? I started my career in com - mercial real estate immediately following my graduation from Indiana University. I chose to work in this industry because I was passionate about my real estate finance courses in
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