The CRE Investor's Guide

Demetrios Salpoglou, Chief Executive Officer of Boston Pads, initially launched his career as a licensed real estate agent in 1994 after graduating American University in Washington D.C. As the potential of the Dot-Com era started to rapidly grow, he was offered an opportunity to join the high-tech industry. He went on to launch several software companies before the tech bubble burst. In 2001, Salpoglou returned to the real estate industry and acquired Boardwalk Properties in 2003. He worked tirelessly to revamp its operations, implement new technologies and trailblaze an unparalleled level of speed, transparency and integrity into various real estate processes. Fusing technology with real estate proved successful for Salpoglou; he owns more than 80 local real estate websites and has developed several proprietary software applications. His systems and software have transformed the apartment leasing and sales process for: landlords, property managers, consumers and real estate agents. Demetrios has been instrumental in the exponential growth of six leading real estate offices in the Greater Boston Area. His vision of making scalable and highly collaborative software has assisted multiple offices and agents to form the largest apartment leasing team in Massachusetts. Through his vision and framework he has been widely regarded as the innovation leader in the multi-family sector and helped procure more apartment rentals than any brokerage in New England. Salpoglou expanded the services of BostonPads.com in 2010, which today is its own standalone information technology company. As CEO for Boston Pads and the broader portfolio of real estate businesses, Salpoglou is responsible for: new product development, optimizing company business models, monitoring all web content and activity, creating innovative marketing campaigns, search engine optimization, organizing data, recruitment of talent, managing and developing all training programs. Demetrios is an avid real estate investor and developer and in 2019 was appointed to the Mayor Walsh's project review committee (PRC) for Plan Dudley Square. Most recently Demetrios joined the Forbes Real Estate Council. He also is a frequent guest lecturer and motivational speaker for numerous schools and colleges throughout Greater Boston, including but not limited to: Boston University, Tufts University, and Northeastern University. In addition to being a licensed broker, he is also a certified Massachusetts real estate instructor. During his spare time, Demetrios is a passionate sport fisherman and cherishes his time with family (his wife and two children) and friends.

Nik concentrates his practice on residential and commercial real estate transactions. He takes special pride in helping people buy and sell homes, real estate investors make a living, and lenders of all sizes ensure their loans are protected. Nik prides himself on his diverse clientele and his ability to address the unique concerns and needs that each client brings to the table. His transactions can range from a first-time buyer’s purchase of a $90,000 studio condominium to a $15,000,000 commercial transaction for one of the area’s largest multifamily operators. He has represented more than one hundred first-time homebuyers and he currently represents more than a dozen active real estate investors and developers on all of their transactional legal needs. Besides practicing law, Nik oversees business development for the firm; he helps all of the attorneys at Ligris grow and strengthen their business and professional networks. Nik works closely with the institutional clients that rely on Ligris for their legal, settlement and title needs. He brings passion, excitement and common sense to all aspects of his work every day.

Kent A. Fitzpatrick is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst® from the Center for Fiduciary Studies, a Global Financial Steward® and a Certified Behavioral Finance Analyst. He is the founder, Managing Director and an investment advisor representative of Asset Strategy Advisors, LLC (ASA) as well as Regional Director and an investment advisor representative of Asset Strategy Consultants, LLC. (ASC), both SEC registered investment advisory firms. He is a registered representative of Concord Investment Services, Inc., a registered broker-dealer. He is also the founder, of Asset Strategy Financial Group (ASFG), a licensed insurance brokerage, and founder of Asset Strategy Innovation Group (ASIG), which is a publishing and marketing company. He has over 30 years of experience in financial planning, estate planning, investment management and fiduciary consulting. Kent oversight a team that providing comprehensive, customized investment advisory services, as well as counseling clients on asset allocation, investment strategies, risk management, tax strategies, fiduciary consulting and participant outcomes. He is past president of Retirement Advisors and Designers of America (RADA) and a former board member of Envestnet Retirement Solutions, a division of Envestnet (NYSE – ENV). Kent is a graduate of St. Anselm College with a BA in Economics and holds a Certificate in Fiduciary Governance from the Thunderbird Walker Center for Global Entrepreneurship. Additionally, Mr. Fitzpatrick holds the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Series 6, 7, 24, and 63 licenses, as well as his insurance licenses. Asset Strategy has office’s in Boston and Pittsburgh.

Michele Fitzpatrick brings 16 years of banking knowledge and almost 18 years working as a real estate professional to her role as the Vice President of Northern 1031 Exchange. On the Northern Bank team since 2014, Michele has played an integral role in the growth and inception of this wholly-owned subsidiary. In 2001, Michele earned her Massachusetts Real Estate license and began working for Coldwell Banker, where she focused on buying and selling her own investment properties. With a portfolio of multi-family and vacation rentals, Michele was able to leverage her assets by utilizing 1031 exchange. As the Massachusetts real estate market climbed to record levels in 2003, she shifted her focus to banking and finance, working with Sovereign through the merger of Santander and onto Stoneham Bank, where she worked in both Retail and Cash Management. In 2014, Michele joined Northern Bank as the Cash Management Director. In 2016, when Northern 1031 Exchange was formed, she stepped up to the challenge of running this complex business, growing both the exchange transaction volume and exchange dollar amount. Michele is actively involved with the Federation of Exchange Accommodators, the only 1031 nationwide industry association. She has completed all course work and hours required to sit for the Certified Exchange Specialist Exam in September 2020. She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Franklin Pierce University and regularly volunteers for local organizations, including Heading Home and Habitat for Humanity. Raised in Stoneham, Michele has resided in Wakefield for the past 17 years with her husband, 15 year-old daughter and 13 year-old son. She is involved with the Wakefield Schools, Wakefield Basketball and Wakefield Softball. In her free time, she enjoys vacationing in Lake Winnipesaukee where she loves to spend time with her family, boating in the summer and skiing in the winter.

Patrick is the Founder and Managing Partner of Caste Capital, a Boston-based alternative investment management company established in 2021. With over 10 years of institutional commercial real estate experience, he has participated in more than $1.5 billion of real estate transactions. Caste Capital is currently involved in a joint venture to develop 132 housing units in Nubian Square, and in December 2023, the firm was awarded, in partnership with Preservation of Affordable Housing (POAH), the rights to redevelop the West End Branch of the Boston Public Library into a mixed-use project featuring a new two-story library and 119 income-restricted housing units. Before founding Caste Capital, Patrick served as Vice President at Davis, a Boston-based real estate private equity firm, where he was responsible for developing, implementing, and executing leasing strategies for key assets, and participating in the creation and oversight of asset-level business plans during the full investment life cycle. He began his career at Boston Properties (BXP), working on the in-house leasing team that managed the firm's Boston regional portfolio of approximately 15.5 million square feet of Class A office, retail, and life science space. Patrick is actively involved in the real estate industry, serving as a Board Director and Executive Committee member for the Greater Boston Real Estate Board - Commercial Brokers Association and as a member of the Real Estate Executive Council (REEC). In 2022, he was named a Builders of Color Coalition Affordable Housing Developer Fellow. Committed to philanthropy in Boston, Patrick serves as a board member and former board Chair of METCO Inc. and as a Board Advisor for Boston Harbor Now. He holds a B.S. in Economics & Information Design/Corporate Communication from Bentley University. In 2012, Patrick co-founded 1PERCENT GALLERY, demonstrating his entrepreneurial spirit early in his career.

Carolyn Pianin is currently a Senior Vice President of Arcturus Group. Carolyn’s expertise includes underwriting investments, deal structuring and asset/portfolio management which she applies to analyze and resolve client’s issues. Ms. Pianin collaborates with management teams to maximize asset value in a variety of ways which include transaction management, tracking performance against business plans, resolving operating and tenant-related issues, and ensuring compliance with key loan and operating agreements. Ms. Pianin has underwritten and closed over a $5 billion of investments and managed over 50 million square feet of commercial real estate assets, approximately 8,000 multi-family units and more than a dozen hotels. With over 25 years of experience in a variety of senior level positions, she possesses a broad-based knowledge of asset management, restructuring and underwriting of both equity and debt positions, with direct experience dealing with all levels of the capital stack, including equity, senior secured debt, subordinated notes and mezzanine financings. With the intelligence gathered from these experiences, she has been able to thoughtfully advise clients on complex situations and workouts. Carolyn is also qualified as a court appointed receiver in the State of New York Prior to joining Arcturus, Carolyn was a Senior Consultant to Ôtera Capital (a subsidiary of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec). Ms. Pianin worked for AIG Global Real Estate for over a decade, where she held a variety of senior positions. Ms. Pianin also held senior positions at Square Mile Capital, NewStar Financial, GE Capital and Starwood Capital. Ms. Pianin holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Wellesley College, an MBA from the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University, and an MS from New York University’s Schack Institute of Real Estate.