Good Neighbor Podcast: North Shore
Bringing together local businesses and neighbors of North Shore
Good Neighbor Podcast: North Shore
EP #75 - CDG Realty: Why the One-Stop Real Estate Shop Changes Everything
What happens when two passionate educators trade the classroom for real estate? Danielle and Chris Gianatassio, the duo behind CDG Realty Group, took that leap and never looked back. After years of part-time real estate experience, they launched their own full-service brokerage in 2022, leaving behind the security of teaching careers to raise their young family and pursue entrepreneurship. Their journey—marked by fear, courage, and ultimately fulfillment—is a testament to the power of following your passion, even when the path is uncertain.
CDG Realty Group stands out by offering more than just traditional buying and selling. With in-house general contracting, design, appraisal, and staging services, they provide a seamless, full-spectrum real estate experience. The Gianatassio also use their platform to educate clients, debunking myths about DIY real estate and highlighting the value of expert guidance. Whether running marathons or renovating homes, this husband-and-wife team brings grit, transparency, and a client-first approach to every project. Follow them online to see how they're transforming the real estate journey in North Reading and beyond.
This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Yvonne Godfrey.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast. Today, I have the distinct pleasure of introducing to our listeners Danielle and Chris Janitasio, and they are the local realtors of CDG Realty Group. Danielle, chris, how are you doing this morning?
Speaker 3:We're doing well, thank you. How are you? I am making it.
Speaker 2:Can you please tell our listeners about your company?
Speaker 3:Sure CDG Realty Group is a full service brokerage. We are located in North Reading and we have over 50 years of experience in-house with our agents. We are helping buyers and sellers. We also have a general contractor in-house that can help with any renovation needs that you may be looking for. We also have an appraiser, design and staging in-house, so any needs that you need in terms of real estate we can handle for you.
Speaker 2:Beautiful, beautiful, the whole package, the whole package, nice, nice, nice. Okay, so what is the backstory? How did you guys get into this business?
Speaker 4:Yeah, so I started part-time in 2016. I got my real estate license and that slowly grew over the years. 2020, when COVID hit, the business really expanded and took off. Along with taking clients, buying and selling. We also started a small LLC called CDG Home Consulting, which helped homeowners and buyers and sellers and clients work with their renovation projects, such as painting, tile, kitchens, bathrooms. So it started really small as a connection to other contractors, and then that slowly took off as well. 2022, to other contractors, and then that slowly took off as well.
Speaker 4:2022, we went on our own, started our own brokerage called CDG Realty Group, and at the same time we also I got my general contractor license and we created CDG Renovation. So it is two separate companies, but we market as one CDG Realty and Renovation. That has continued to grow. And then in 2023, we added three agents. So now there are five of us total working. And then we are, you know, as we enter this year, we're, you know, working with buyers, sellers, investors, homeowners for all their needs, you know, with real estate in their renovations.
Speaker 2:Beautiful, very thorough and pragmatic yeah.
Speaker 4:We try to be a one-stop shop, so one phone call for everything that has to do with your property.
Speaker 3:We're small but mighty.
Speaker 2:Love. That? That sounds great. No, the well-roundedness is very needed and very important as well. Brings peace of mind to the individuals that are doing business with you. So thank you for sharing that, Of course. So what are some myths or misconceptions that you've discovered in your industry, Chris Danielle?
Speaker 4:Yeah. So on the real estate end, a big misconception is that a lot of buyers and sellers now think they don't need a real estate agent with all the tools available, such as Zillow, redfin and all the online sources they in with. The NAR settlement that went on last year has been a lot of a lot of highlights on the real estate industry, so a lot of people are trying to save a buck for lack of a better term and do it themselves. That it tends to be very difficult. We have the professionals for a reason. So that's the biggest misconception.
Speaker 4:The second one is off-market opportunities. There definitely are some, but they are few and far between. We get a lot of calls about let us know what off-market opportunities you have, and you must have something in your pocket and it's so tight right now with the inventory is low. The demand is high, where anybody who is looking to sell their property and make some sort of profit. They'd be really foolish to not put their property on the open market. So it is a misconception that there are a lot of off-market opportunities. And then the last one is the direct to the listing agent. We believe that buyers and sellers should have their own representation. Sometimes it goes really smooth. A lot of times it can get messy. In between. There's a lot of decisions and conversations negotiating. That happens in between the process. So to have your own representation is strongly encouraged.
Speaker 3:Okay, any input, danielle. And it's a little bit more challenging to market that home without any connections to a real estate agent. That could help broaden the community input and getting people through the door. Just having it listed as for sale by owner I think could be a little bit tricky in some sense because maybe you're not getting as many people in as a real estate agent could bring for you and they also can market it for you a little bit better as opposed to just having it in one outlet. So I think we've talked a lot about that, that that's part of our full service at CDG Realty Group, that we really can handle all those needs for you and buying, selling and renovation handle all those needs for you and buying, selling and renovation.
Speaker 2:Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, very enlightening for those who are listening.
Speaker 3:So, outside of work, what do you do for fun, chris Danielle, we run marathons. Now that might not be fun to a lot of people, but it is fun for us. It was a goal that I had started out in 2022, something that I really wanted to accomplish after leaving my job, and I just felt like I needed a goal to set for myself. So I started training and I ran my first marathon in January of 2023. And Chris has gotten the marathon bug and has joined me on many, many marathons, so we get to travel to cities and run 26.2 miles, and that's what we like to do for fun.
Speaker 2:Okay, that sounds great.
Speaker 3:Yeah, for some.
Speaker 2:Yeah for some. No, that sounds great. It's very healthy, it's very toning for the body and it's wonderful. So you said Chris has got the bug now.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Yeah, I like to tag along my. Tag along, buddy.
Speaker 4:It's a lot of fun to do it together, to have a common goal and enjoy the process together. Yeah, it's a lot of fun to do it together, to have a common goal and enjoy the process together.
Speaker 3:yeah, a lot of fun absolutely. Yeah, nice to cross that finish line together absolutely plus, it's also um safe yeah, yeah it's good to run with somebody when you're running for that many hours, yeah because anything can happen.
Speaker 2:You can get lightheaded, you can be dehydrated, you know, anything can happen Totally.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's very true.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yes, we agree. So, changing gears. Can you both describe one hardship or one of life's challenge that you rose above and can now say because of it, you're better, you're stronger, what comes to your minds?
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 4:So one thing that stands out is that we were both in the education field for 14 and 15 years, so working in education and teaching and then transitioning to real estate part-time, but then taking the jump a couple of years ago to leaving a stable career.
Speaker 4:You know, we have a family, we have two little kids, so leaving a career that had the benefits and the insurance to go on your own to a full you know uncharted waters of being an entrepreneur and having your own business was a really scary move to make. We put a lot of thought into it at different times of our lives and we both have done it since and it was. Although it was very scary, it has been the best decision that we've made. Looking at, you know, three years for Danielle and almost two and a half years for myself, after leaving and being on our own, it is the best decision we've made and wouldn't change a thing. But a lot of the challenges along the way I won't get into details but just really, you know, because there were some times where it got a little scary, but it made us stronger and it made us work harder and know what to focus on and it's really propelled us to a different level that we didn't know existed before.
Speaker 2:Beautiful. How about you, Danielle? It might be something different. Any challenges that you've overcome?
Speaker 3:You know, it's the same, because I left my job in 2022, and it was terrifying really, for lack of a better way to describe it because I wasn't really sure where to go and what to do. I had my real estate license, but I wasn't sure if that was going to do it for me and, talking with Chris, we decided to just take a risk and go for it and create this company, and it has been wonderful. We really spend a lot of time making sure that our business is growing and that our agents are happy and successful, and that's something new. I didn't start off when I graduated college thinking that I would be owning a business. I thought I was going to be a teacher forever and life threw a curveball and changed our path, but it's been the best move, I think, that I've made, and I don't want to speak for Chris, but I think he would agree with me as well.
Speaker 2:The two shall become as one.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes, it's very true.
Speaker 4:Put that on our t-shirts. Yes, yes.
Speaker 2:So can you please tell our listeners one thing they should remember about Chris Danielle Realty Group.
Speaker 4:I think that we're family. It's a family owned business. We have a family and we work really hard as well so we can relate to our clients, and that we truly are a one stop shop. We really can do it all. A lot of times we're heavy in the real estate or heavy in the renovation and some people forget that we do both, that we do both. So we want to keep that message that we can help from start to finish for the entire process.
Speaker 2:Beautiful, and how can our listeners learn more about CDG Realty Group? Is that website?
Speaker 3:Yes, you can follow us on social media. On Instagram, we are CDG underscore Realty, underscore Renovation. We also do have a website, cdg Realty Group dot com. We are on Facebook and TikTok as well, so you can give us a follow there.
Speaker 2:Wonderful. So, chris Danielle, we really appreciate you being on the show with us today and we wish you and CDG, or Chris Danielle, jenna Tassio Realty Group, all the very best moving forward.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much. We appreciate you having us. It was great to talk to you, beautiful yeah, thanks for having us.
Speaker 2:Thank you for much. We appreciate you having us.
Speaker 1:It was great to talk to you. Beautiful yeah, thanks for having us. Thank you for listening to the good neighbor podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to GNP North shorecom. That's GNP North shorecom, or call 8, 5, 7, 7 0, 3, 9, 4 0, 6.