Mic Check with Nikita
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Mic Check with Nikita
Episode 10: Victor Sookdeo | Mic Check with Nikita
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Join Nikita in the studio with Victor Sookdeo! Nikita and Victor talk about all things real estate, his presidency at the Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, fatherhood, and opening Palm Island on Long Island.
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Nikita:
Instagram | @indianprincessnikita @nikitagayaramproductions @miccheckwithnikita
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Victor:
Instagram | @vsook @parkassets @palmislandny
Welcome to Mike Tech with Nikita. I'm your host, Nikita Gairam, and today we have Victor Sigdeo. Let's talk about real estate. You founding, I guess, park assets. The reason why, and I think I've said this to you before, obviously, but the reason why I wanted to bring you on the podcast is because you are someone who has founded a brokerage. I guess that's the right term, right? Founded a brokerage that is mainly, if not all, maybe mostly, uh, Indo-Caribbean staffed, right? Um, but you also are not in Queens or the Bronx, you're in Long Island, right? In Baldwin. Um, in terms of that perspective, for me, you're expanding the region of where we are established in New York, right? Essentially, when you think of Indo-Caribbeans, you think of us as people who are in Richmond Hills, South O Zone, and somewhat in the Bronx. You don't really necessarily think of us as people who would live in Long Island, right? Baldwin is close enough to Queens, but it's also still further out in Long Island in the sense of we can uh say we're actually in the hub of Long Island, right? We're not really like Rosedale Elmont, but we're actually on that other end of Long Island. So what I wanted to know was in terms of real estate, how did you actually get into that? Um, was it conscious, was it not conscious decision? And then we can go into you staffing.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So um my company being mostly Indo-Caribbean, that happened by chance. It really goes with um who knows you, you know, they get involved, and um, it just so happened to form that way. Um why I didn't want to do real estate in South Ozwand Park, and I still do some, but I always make a joke that Guyanese people, you know, they came from Guyana, Trinidad, uh the Indo-Caribbeans, and they took the first exit and they said, All right, we reach so they set up ground there. Um breaking into Long Island market, I was looking for a home, and when I became the buyer, these were the areas that I liked for myself, me and my family.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01We set up in Baldwin and I found that it was a good enough hub, close enough to what we know, but yet a little bit distant where it kind of got rid of certain cultural and geographical problems. For example, one of the biggest problems in the neighborhood that I grew up in, South Ozone Park, was parking.
SPEAKER_03Right?
SPEAKER_01There's a lot of homes on the block, shared driveways, private driveways. Um, but parking was always an issue. When you come to Long Island, you're pulling into parking lots, uh, you have your designated spot, there's less density, population density. So it worked for me. And I also saw that when I got there, there was already um an influence of Caribbean community. And I saw a few Guyanese people there already, and I thought, hey, you know, this might be a great place to be, like 2.0.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So, like you just said, staffing mostly Indo-Caribbean people in your brokerage, that just happened by chance. But as someone who does know you personally, um a lot of those people that are staffed are, I guess, friends or family friends, right? So I guess this goes into that question of mine where we're obviously not just staffing friends. You're seeing people that have some skill set that can bring value to your company, right? So I guess tell me about that, because not everyone can be a real estate agent, right? So what are the different places within your company that they can hit, I guess? That's a great question.
SPEAKER_01So uh it's a common misconception that you know if you're my friend, you could just be in real estate. Um in real estate, you just don't happen to sell homes. There are other sectors involved. So we do short sales, foreclosures, REOs. We uh I'm a real estate investor. We buy and sell houses, we do ground up construction, um, we do long-term investment properties. So there's a sector for everyone. So a lot of my friends, you know, if I uncovered a secret, I would love to bring everybody on board with me. My motto has always been be an open book rather than a gatekeeper. Because if you have to learn this information, it's better, excuse me, you'll more appreciate the person that puts you on rather than the person that you that denied you and you have to go search for this information. Yeah. So I'd rather put you on because um, you know, if you're my friend, I want you to also be making good in life, do well financially. In our company, uh, if you're not selling homes, you're sourcing properties. Uh, we have administrative positions, um, we have people that are contractors that work with us, architects. It it's a it's a big conglomerate. A better word for conglomerate, it's like there's a role for everyone.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So I guess what I'm gonna go into more of like the general population for our Indo-Caribbeans. What would be the top three, I guess, min misconceptions when it comes to real estate? Or or what would be the top three points of advice that you would give specifically for our community?
SPEAKER_01Okay, so the number one thing that I would give as an advice to anyone that's getting involved uh with a realtor or a real estate broker is representation. So representation is so important because uh based on our relationships with other professionals that we work with, we're able to source the deal. For example, let's say I sold a house with person A five years ago. Well, they already know how I operate, they know if I'm efficient, if I get my documents in place, if I properly screen my clients, and they know that if they work with me, I'm gonna see it to the end. And many times you'll get a deal secured for your buyer based off of you rather than their credentials. I mean, of course, their credentials pay play a factor. They'll have to have their pre-approval and their down payment. But let's say there are two matching pre-approvals and two matching down payments, yet I'm on the deal, as opposed to somebody else who may, may or may not screw up, though that security will secure you the deal. And it's happened many times.
SPEAKER_00Do you have any advice for someone that is, I guess, leaving Richmond Hill Satho zone going into Long Island? Or and and advice when I mean the do's and the don'ts, right? Like in the sense of, and this may be something that you can correct me on, but in Long Island taxes are a lot greater. Yeah. Right? So what would be your advice to someone moving from a specific location in Richmond Hill Satho zone to Long Island?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, that's a great question. So I would I would say when looking at taxes, it all depends how you allocate it in your head. So when you're a city resident, you pay city taxes every year. For each working individual, that sums up to about $25,000 to $3,000 a year. Now your taxes in Queen South Ozwand Park, it varies. Most properties are five to six thousand dollars. My dad lives in Wakefield, his property is about twelve thousand dollars property tax. But let's say the baseline, the six thousand dollar one. If you award two working individuals the three thousand dollars towards the property tax, that's six thousand dollars, that equals your twelve thousand that you'd pay out on Long Island.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_01But what are you getting for it? You're getting um uh better school district, uh, police, fire, health facilities, uh local, you're getting, you know, a greater, I I would say a greater living environment.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. So as someone who's been ra born and raised on Long Island, yeah, not in on Long Island.
SPEAKER_01I still say that wrong sometimes.
SPEAKER_00Really?
SPEAKER_01I'm from Queens.
SPEAKER_00Um I agree with that point, right? Because I grew up in a town where community mattered. Yeah right. And now this will bring me back to my next point of your uh career, would be Baldwin Chamber of Commerce, right? Um it's a nonprofit, it's something that you are establishing, you're the president.
SPEAKER_01Yes, I'm the president.
SPEAKER_00Wow. Okay, president of the Baldwin Chamber of Commerce. Um that being said, not only are you a you know a real estate person who owns his own brokerage, but you are someone who's also investing in the community that you live in currently, right? That being said, um again, as someone who has been born and raised on Long Island, I understand the value of community, right? I understand that we are either villages or towns, and there's a lot of things that happen and people that are a part of that that make community events possible, right? So, what made you want to join the Baldwin Chamber of Commerce and why are you still a part of it?
SPEAKER_01Okay, great question. So um I originally joined the Chamber of Commerce because I opened the business in town. So that's one of the best ways to really promote your business locally. When I joined, I saw it was a great community. Um you know, everybody comes together and they they see what kind of business you're operating, they end up using a lot of their members or like co-members for for whatever's necessary. Like I actually, when I have to take my card to somebody, I'll use a chamber member. If I have to get printing, I'll use a chamber member. And and it works out in our favor. Now, when when I got into it, I said, wow, this is a really great way to build a community. I have a four-year-old son, he's growing up in Baldwin, and I quickly saw that this is a way that we can have representation and and affect the way that he is grown up.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. Being a part of something like that, do you feel like you've brought I mean Baldwin in general, which I think is a when people think of Long Island, they think of the misconception of it's not as diverse, right? But I do believe if you're a little bit closer to Queens on Long Island, you reach that diversity point, right? So I I at least for me in my opinion, Baldwin is pretty diverse still, right? But you are the first Indo-Caribbean, right? Yes. On the actual Chamber of Commerce.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_00Do you feel like you're bringing light to our commu our culture in that sense? And I and I and I don't mean in the sense of just being in being of from that culture and being a member. I mean in the sense of actively giving to our culture as well as bringing recognition to that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so um definitely like being part of the chamber. You know, we get this question even on a personal level.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01People say, You look Indian, but where are you really from? You know? And when you tell them Guyana, the next thing they say, Ghana.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Right? And then we have to explain where we are, where we're from. Um, that happens even on um, you know, in the chamber. So bringing light to to our community, then the next question the next thing a person says is, Oh yeah, I know a Guyanese person and whatnot. Holding community events in well, I have a lounge in in Baldwin, holding community events for the chamber there, people are getting exposed to the culture, the food. And um, when you said that Baldwin is a diverse area, it really is. I actually live in a cul-de-sac. And me and my neighbors, we like to refer to our block as the UN. Um, like I'm Indo-Caribbean, my neighbor next door is Jamaican, uh, ahead of the block, the guy is American white, there's American black, Bulgarian and Chinese on our block. Like, none of us are the same, but yet we we all are.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You know?
SPEAKER_00So, and we will get to the lounge in a second. Sure. But what I really wanted to talk about is now Baldwin Chamber of Commerce really goes into the conversation of community, right? And it goes into the conversation of, like you said, you are a father, you have a four-year-old child. In terms of coming from Queens, going into Long Island, now raising a family, being married, raising a family, what are some, I guess, stereotypes from our culture that you're trying to break with your son and raising your son?
SPEAKER_01Oh, well, let me tell you from the real estate portion first. This is one of the reasons that I actually wanted to escape working in South Dosem Park, Queens, and the general area there as a realtor. There was just like this like uh unknown, excuse me, what's the word? Um unsaid thing about realtors that they were there to get over you or charge you more or basically be like uh a con man. Yeah right? And I don't I I think the older generations kind of set that. I want it to be very different from that. Um Thankfully, the way I was raised, um, money didn't really fill my eye. Of course, I need money to to turn the wheel and provide for my family, but it doesn't compromise my decisions. Um I think all of my past clients can say proudly that I did what was in their best interest. So um getting back to your question, that's one of the barriers I wanted to break. I wanted to break away from that stereotype that we are con men in the industry. Um what was the other part of it?
SPEAKER_00The barriers in terms of uh breaking for raising your son.
SPEAKER_01Oh yeah, so some barriers. Um when when our parents came here from Guyana, I was also born in Guyana, but I came as a baby. When our parents came here, they were more concerned about provision, making sure a roof was over our head, make sure food was on the table. They didn't have the capacity to think about strategic parenting, which we take part of now. And that's what after school programs am I gonna send my child to that's gonna yield a certain result, and um what school district really means for his outcome. And I I guess that's a barrier that we're kind of trying to break through right now, where we are taking part of strategic parenting and you know it it involves many other things as a parent. Like I know that if I yell at my son, what the outcome of that will be, you know, how it'll affect him long term. Yeah. And that doesn't mean that I doesn't I don't yell at him, but at least I'm aware of it, and I can counteract it at a later point.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I think the one thing that you really just hit home with was coming from a family of, and you know, I will say this wholeheartedly, I also came from a family where I was very privileged and lucky enough where I don't struggle today, right? And I think that's one thing that you and I had both have in common is our parents did the work for us, right? They struggled for us to give us a better life. That was the whole reason why they moved to the US, right? To give us a better life. But I think now we also, and as someone who doesn't have a child, but you do, you have the luxury of saying, I can be a little bit more present and and be more not saying our parents weren't, because our parents are the reason why we're we are who we are today, but we can be a little bit more considerate of the things that they may not have been able to have the time for because they were working their butts off for us, basically at the end of the day, right? So when you talk about strategic parenting, our parents could have yelled at us and and even you know, we talk about the stereotypical of bringing the belt out or bringing the hanger out, you know, whatever. But they didn't have the luxury of saying, 10 years down the line, this may affect them, right? Right. But now we have the luxury of doing so because they've built the foundation for us, right, right? So I guess what I want to ask you is as well, you are a household that has both parents working, right? So you and your wife are both working, um, but you both are very present for your son. So that being said, what are the in terms of gender roles, right? What do you kind of show to your son in the sense of your wife working and then you working as well? What do you want him to get out of that?
SPEAKER_01If that makes sense. Yeah, that does make sense. Um so um my wife, she's a very hard worker. Lucky for us, she picked a career where she could actually be home, yet it's still very demanding on her. And him being four, he still sometimes throws a tantrum. And if she's on the phone uh with a client, she can't have him be yelling in the background. So um very early on, we we we showed him like, listen, if mom's on the phone, you have to be quiet. And what I'll do is I'll start whispering to him or bring him into another room, like, and I'll make it a thing. Even if it was a call that wasn't so important, like I would start to train him that hey, mom's job's just as important as mine. Um also too, you know, I I want to break into like breaking barriers uh with a working partner. Uh historically, Indo-Caribbeans, you know, the wife's weren't working. Uh for me it wasn't an option of if she wanted to work or didn't. That is something that was totally up to her. Yeah, so I just wanted to see that, you know, mom's job is just as important as mine. Um I want him to see that, and I as I said, when when we have when she has a call, I make sure that that he knows that, you know, we're a little quiet. And and the way I trained him to do so is that if she had a regular call, I'd whisper and it's like, hey, mom's on the phone, let's quiet down, let's go to another room. And he kind of learned that behavior.
SPEAKER_00Do you I guess because typically, right, when we were sort of brought up, you are one of two sons in your family, right? Am I wrong? Yes. Yes, one of two sons, you have a you have a sister as well. Um sometimes in the Indo-Caribbean community, and this also goes prevalent for the South Asian community as well, the men are particularly given a lot more, right? Or my son, my son, my son, right? That's kind of the idea, right? Um what are you and your son being an only child right now, right? Um, and we're not going into the plans of your family planning, but I'm just saying him being an only child right now, what are some of the things that you're teaching him so that he understands that it's not about being the gender that you are, but about the person that you are, I guess.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So, like if you were to ask me, like, Vic, what are your aspirations for Vitane when he becomes older? Most people would take that question as, what career do you want him to be in? Right. And my forefront answer had always been, I want my son to be kind. And and that's because kindness is taught from early and then it develops. I want my son to always know who he is, not really so much his job. Like, and that's why I'm working hard. So um money and stuff does not really play a factor into his uh career in the future. I want it to be more I I want him to be a creator. I want him to create the life that he wants. He wants to make music, but it's not for me. It's not what I want, what he wants. I want to just give him the opportunity to do so.
SPEAKER_00Um for me, what I wanted to ask you next was not so much more so as family life, because we can talk about family life all we want, right? But at the end of the day, we as there's a certain amount of or a certain section of the Indo-Caribbean community that are that come from a privileged background, and then everybody thinks we feel like we're more elite than everyone else, right? And I and I say that fully understanding my privilege, you also fully understanding your privilege. But I think I just want to really hit one point of saying our parents worked really, really hard to get us this life that we have. This was the idea of why they came to America, right? And why we they worked as hard as they did. We now have the opportunity of being a little bit more laxed. We do work hard. I think that's one thing that they've always instilled in us is working really hard. But it goes back to what you said of I'm working really hard right now so that my son doesn't have to worry about the means to the end going forward, right? He can choose whatever he wants. So this idea of generational wealth in our Indo-Caribbean community is for some reason in the masses frowned upon sometimes, right? They sometimes look at people that come from generational wealth or people that have family members or parents that have worked as much to give us a a more leisurely life. That we think of each other as elitist, or we think of, well, they only have what they have because they're Parents gave it to them.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I l I love this topic actually because me and my dad we have discussions about this. So um when my dad my dad's from Albais Tonga, and when when he was like 14 years old, he didn't really live with his family. He was he used to sleep on a pool table. And from his um from his words, he would eat like bread and water, you know. And uh to see what he's become, the sacrifice that he's made, um, you know, all accolades to him. Now, he built a great life, right? If I wanted to bum off my dad and not work a single day for the rest of my life, I would live in a great home. I would get food every day cooked by my mom, and he'll give me a car, I'll have expenditures, right? I can literally bum off him. But ask any of my workers. I work I work seven days a week. If he if you call my wife at any given time, fix that work. But for me, it feels like I'm living my life. Yeah. Because I love what I do. Yeah. Um, but I work seven days a week, and that's because I have a dirt uh a burning desire within to do the next best thing, as I hope my son will do. Uh so whatever my dad gave me, I'm gonna take it to this level, and it's my son's obligation to take it to the next level.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And I think that's where perception is key, right? I think a lot of our community is very much, and again, I've been saying this for the last few episodes, we're very much about tearing each other down when we should be seeing the half glass full instead of half empty, right? Um, at the end of the day, as much as we may come from privileged backgrounds, and again, we're not people that are denying that, right? We are very, very lucky from where we come from. Again, you've always told me this a million times. You're very grateful for your parents. I've always said this as well. Wouldn't have the life that I have or the opportunities without that. But that doesn't mean our parents didn't teach us how to work hard.
SPEAKER_01Of course, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00And we are very um aware of the privileges that we have. And I think that's what makes us different, right? There are some people out there that don't that are not aware of that and they take it for granted. Whereas, like you just said, you can live at home, you can have a very leisurely life if you wanted to, and same thing with me, but we're still choosing to be out there and still make money and still add to what our the legacy that our parents have already started and created, right? Now, one thing I do want to talk about before we start ending off this episode is Palm Island, right? Um for me, that is I don't want to say it's the the highlight, but it sort of is, and it's not not taking away from what you've already what we've already talked about and what you've done, but it's the idea that you are now the owner of a lounge in Baldwin that has Gainese Chinese food, that has great, you know, Indo-Caribbean music. It's the whole vibe. It's almost like a little home of Richmond Hill in Baldwin. What is that experience like? How did that start off really quickly? And just where do you see that going?
SPEAKER_01So when from the real estate point of view, I've sold so many homes in Baldwin, and many of the people were from my old community in Queens. I saw the flux of people coming to Baldwin even before I moved there, right? Um so I knew there was a presence. And you know, I like to hang out, I like to have a place, and also we spoke about representation. So to have a little lounge where you can, you know, after work, go hang out, i it it's enticing, you know?
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And the way that it got started actually was um my very good friend who owns the roji shop down the block, he had invited me to come take a look at this space. And I've done real estate with him in the past, he's done flips, I've serviced them for him. And he asked me, he said, just come look at it with me. I had no intention to be like a lounge owner because real estate is really my forte. But when I got in there, it's like something happened. Like I already knew, I already knew like I'm gonna spend quite some time in here.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So we went for it, and it turned out to be a great thing. Like we hold a lot of community events. Um, I I meet a lot of nice people in the area there. I've gotten real estate sales out of there. Um it's a great thing, you know, and it's just really nice to have it's one of the only places in Nassau County that we have like that.
SPEAKER_00No, it's true, and as someone who lives in Nassau County and has finally been there three times already, um, it's five minutes from my house. Like it's so easy to get there. And it's literally the vibe that we would get in Richmond Hill at like a a kaitro or a cabana, uh, even if we want to say like a toxic uh a zan or even a kiss, you get that in Long Island, right? So we don't really have to drive that far. We don't have to spend a million dollars on an Uber to go and have and see people and have a great time. And I think that's what I love about it, right? Like it is a little piece of home, I guess, right? It's like the one spot that has it's culture. It really is culture at the end of the day. Um do you feel like this is something that's gonna last a while in our Nassau County community? Or do you maybe feel like expanding to Suffolk?
SPEAKER_01Oh, so do we think my my cousin actually owns a Lion's Den, right? Line's Den, yeah. She owns a lounge out in Lindenhurst, um Restaurante Lounge. Uh she she did so well. I'm so happy for her. She actually bought the building and she has a beautiful backyard space where she can hold a lot of summer events. And you know what's funny? I wanted to bring up to you. We spoke about um breaking barriers earlier, right? Um, there's like this crab in the barrel mentality sometimes that is often referred to with the Caribbean people. And um, that's another barrier that I like to break break past because um if if we do things collectively and we if like let's say I'm like-minded to you, and we have came to the decision that we're gonna promote one another, we're gonna cheerlead for each other, we're gonna make sure each other's business does well, um, that's how we can break through that crab in the barrel mentality. And the reason I bring it up, sorry to cut you, it's that um when my cousin opened up her place in Suffolk County, which is a whole county away from mine, there was chatter within our family, never with the name or a face, but there was chatter that this one jealous this one. And I'm like, uh a random person a random person could have gone and opened up this lounge, and I'm gonna be jealous of my own flesh and blood, who's opening and doing well. It breaks my my um my business model. My I'm a real estate broker where I'm teaching 35, 40 people how to do the business. My model is open book. So those are some barriers that I like to break through.
SPEAKER_00No, and I and I'm happy you brought that up because I I was actually having this conversation with somebody today. Kindness and compassion, humility, they go a long way, right? If we are people that are in specific spaces and we're in a space where not that many people of our culture, be as especially being that we are a minority culture, are not in those spaces. What is the harm of just saying those names in that in that space? Or what is the harm of just saying, like, like you just said, like that's his cousin, yes, but Victor didn't have to mention lines down on this episode, right? This all could have been about Vic, his, his, you know, real estate, Palm Island, Ball and uh Chamber of Commerce, but there was no reason why you had to even mention that in the first place, right? That being said, that's what I'm talking about, right? There is no harm in just mentioning a name or mentioning a person, especially if it's something that we believe in, because that's the only way our community is gonna go further, right? I just mentioned at the beginning of this episode that you are someone who's breaking the barriers in terms of taking our culture and our inter-communic community and moving it not just from Richmond Hill, South Ozone and the Bronx, but now bringing it into Long Island. And then you mentioned your cousin, Suffolk County is like another hour away from us. But that's also a little portion of where some of us live, right? Some of our community lives. I, for one, my family lives out there. My sister lives in Copeague, my mom lives in East Isle. My mom's closer to the Hamptons than anything, which is for me, it's hard because I have to go all the way out there. But we're on the island at the end of the day, right? And this is what I'm talking about where the jealousy doesn't need to be there at the end of the day. And it doesn't have to be that we're gonna mention everyone and anyone to push further, but it's gotta be people that we believe in at the end of the day. And if it's family, it's always the better part. So that being said, I just wanted to say thank you for coming on.
SPEAKER_01Oh, it's a pleasure, and honestly, I want to thank you for giving us a platform to actually have these discussions. They're very important. And the reason why I say it's important is that the same way that I'm promoting my cousin's business, yeah, it'll show the next person that it's okay to to break through these barriers. It's okay to actually um promote other people and and and break away from the old ways and develop into your own new ways.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So thank you for bringing this platform forward.
SPEAKER_00Of course. Thank you. And I I just want to say, um, and I've said this for ev almost everyone that's come on the podcast, right? Like we had one conversation, you didn't even hesitate to say yes to this. And it really does make me feel grateful and happy and blessed, and it it puts things into perspective for me where the fact that there's so many people that actually believe in what I'm doing or what I'm trying to do, it really, it really is a blessing. And and I don't even know how else to say it, but I think that the vision is clear, which I'm happy about. The I'm hoping the person seems to be, you know, very um pure hearted at least, right? In some senses. But I'm again, I'm I'm really happy that you could have you could do this. I'm happy that you could be on, and I'm thankful for it. So thank you.