Below the Grade Realty
Ripping the walls down at 1293 Clove Road got us immediately thrown out by CZ, Pitera and Prendamano both laugh hysterically about it. That’s when we opened ‘Below the grade realty’ – which took placement in the basement of James’ home.
Billy the Alligator
John Pitera talks about how James tried to domesticate an alligator. There was even a sign above him called “Accounts Payable,” laughs John Pitera. While James gave it love and fed it fresh chicken cutlets, the fact remained – you can’t successfully keep an alligator as a pet. “We had Billy until he bit me,” says James Prendamano. “He got me good,” Prendamano laughs. Billy the gator had to be returned to Pennsylvania, back to the preserve from where he came.
When the Hamsters Took Over the Office
”No, James, those were not two male hamsters you had there,” John Pitera laughs. You were lied to.. “And then they had multiple pregnancies,” laughs James Prendamano! That was the icing on the cake. Oh yes, there were Habitrails overhead throughout the whole suite. Pitera wasn’t happy at the time. We had upwards of 40 hamsters that ran overhead all day from desk to desk.
Never Judge a Book by its Cover
James recalls traversing horrific summer Friday traffic one evening, as he had to do a showing on the other side of Staten Island. He met an unassuming guy with ripped jeans and a t-shirt who had accompanied his girlfriend. James recalls how the gentleman said he was interested in land, and started talking $5 million dollar land projects. James, of course, laughed to himself at the time. And then the deal happened and closed within 30 days. The guy did everything he said he was going to do. He was brilliant. Never judge a book by its cover, says Prendamano. Also, “If you want to know if someone is for real, put a deal in front of them, says James Prendamano.”
Land Development on Staten Island
We did so many big residential land projects back then in the early 2000s. We sold 86 homes in under six months, says Pitera. Mosel, Sharrotts Road. We had a lot of success. We built a lot of great housing out here on Staten Island, the gentlemen agree. That was the birth of everything, says James Prendamano, selling land, preconstruction, construction, working with the builders and developers. James talks about a particular client whom they had lost. “You and I came back to the office, and we both said at the same time, it’s over.” We saw what was coming. We saw this client was going to be over his head. Ethically we couldn’t do it. You and I had the vision the foresight to know when things were going to bottom out. That’s a great gift we have, says John Pitera.
Thoughts on 2008
We testified before the senate. You gave them the perfect analogy, James says to John – ‘If your water heater breaks down and you can’t pay your mortgage, you shouldn’t have bought a home.” In other words, you shouldn’t have been given a mortgage. James Prendamano and his associates never got involved in shady sub-prime transactions. That’s something I’m most proud of, says John Pitera. Casandra Properties wouldn’t ethically do it to people. James Prendamano couldn’t agree more, nodding. John Pitera and James Prendamano recommend the movie the big short – agreeing that the film really gives an accurate depiction of what it was like for everyone.
Faith in Staten Island
We always saw Staten Island’s potential in a different light, says James Prendamano. John Pitera enthusiastically agrees. We did a ton of residential land development deals in the past. We had The Pointe, The Accolade, which was The Pearl at the time, and The View, just to name a few. That was when he had to go around explaining to everyone what C4-2 zoning was, adds John Pitera.
John owns Garage Living in New Jersey
John Pitera says “I’ll talk to anyone about real estate and cars.” He loves cars. His company, Garage Living, designs high-end, design-oriented garages. We come in and take your front door and we turn it into the garage, says Pitera. There is so much unused space the in garage, and the garage takes up a lot of space. Our team comes in and makes it livable space. It’s basically like doing a custom kitchen. Some people like finished garages. We 3D render it all out. It’s a full garage design studio. We are not a man-cave company, I assure you, says John Pitera. Sure we have our car-collector clients, but really 50% of the business is because of the demand for space transformation.
https://www.garageliving.com/newjersey/
https://www.casandraproperties/blog/
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