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Steve Metter is CEO and principal of MW Group, Ltd., and principal broker of MW Commercial Realty Inc., which is a real estate development company with over $325 million in assets including the Pioneer Plaza. Others include Nimitz Center, Hawaii Self Storage, Azeka I and II Shopping Center, Kihei Plaza, Kihei Kalama Village, Plaza at Punchbowl and Hawaii Self Storage.
Metter is an active community volunteer and through the B.R.I.D.G.E program, has extended his philanthropic proclivity to encompass those within his company.
Perseverance and eagerness to learn are instrumental to his success - these stemming evidently from his drive to get through college. And his ticket to university rested in the real estate business.
Introduction to Real Estate
Steve Metter's acquaintance to the real estate industry came quite candidly as an adolescent. Metter read a book about real estate where he realized the fundamentals and interrelationships of mortgage, interest rate and the market. At 18 years old, he had virtually bought his own home.
"I had read a book about real estate and I recognized that when interest rates were so high, the market would be very depressed and so I put an ad in the paper, if anyone has a mortgage they would like me to assume, I will assume it at the full value of the mortgage. So a guy called, a military guy living in San Diego and I in effect bought my first condo at age 18 ½, almost 19."
"I went to knock on the guy's door and he was expecting an adult, not an 18½-year-old little guy and so I knock on the door and he says, "Hey kid, whatever you're selling, I'm not into it. I've got to wait around for this guy because I'm trying to sell my condo." I said, "I'm that guy." And he said, "What is this, Candid Camera?" I said, "No, really. I'm that guy. Can I come in?" And he was really bummed out because he was trying to sell his condo and I sat there and said, "Listen, I can assume your mortgage and I can afford to pay for it." And he said, "Well, do you have a job?" I said, "Not exactly but I'm going to get a job. If I can get your property and contract, I'm going to go to Costco and bag groceries or do whatever I have to do and I'm going to find a partner to rent the other rooms or buy half the condo."
Metter stayed in the condominium for 18 ½ months. He got a real estate license and shared the unit with a doctor. Eventually, he was able to assume the mortgage and sold the property. He netted $4500 which, along with some student loans, was used to fund his education at Berkeley.
To Steve Metter education was of great value that he even tried to pursue tertiary studies without the financial support from his parents.
"I had to pay for school some way and I realized having not having taking some part-time jobs, that school was the solution and that working right out of school was not an option. So now I had to figure a way to pay for it because my parents weren't in that position and so this was a vehicle to do that and it happened to work."
After Berkeley
After graduation, Steve Metter moved to New York to work for Morgan-Stanley as an investment banker for several years. Subsequently, he moved to Hawaii and made the islands his home.
When asked what brought Steve Metter to the state, he said, "I loved it. I loved the people and New York was all about transactions, cutting edge, making money and as soon as you're done with a transaction, you're kind of done. Hawaii was all about relationships from what I understood because I had an older brother that lived here, and it was beautiful. I mean it was beyond my description, and so I wanted to live in a beautiful place and start a career."
MW Group Ltd.
Steve chose to be a realtor realizing the career opportunities in Hawaii being in the tourism, military, and real estate industries, and he had prior experience with the latter. He worked initially as a commercial broker before meeting Mike Wood who would become his partner in their real estate business.
"I met my partner and he had some experience in development and so he and I became friends. He went to Cal, he was President of the Cal Club, that's how I met him, and I trusted him and since he was kind of starting out and I was starting out, we shook hands and that handshake has been in place for 16 years."
Steve said that their relationship was mutually beneficial despite the age gap - Mike was 22 years his senior - and this rapport have helped them through the tough times.
"He was a mentor, a brother, I was teaching him things, and I was learning from him, we were completely experimenting with different things. I had a finance background that I earned in New York. He was a good communicator and he had some loyal investors, we brought different skills and it's really worked out very well and it was not easy. I mean we had our backs to the wall often in growing a business."
Steve and MW Group's Social Involvement
Steve went on a cruise trip along Southern Italy for a relationship building activity with GE Capital when he met Steve Sherwood. He said Sherwood, who was successful in the real estate business, wanted to offer something back to the community, consequently developing the BRIDGE program.
Metter adopted the concept in to MW Group's philanthropic culture. The program gives employees a chance to work as paid volunteers wherein every hour of work gets $20 dollars which is put in a pool. By the end of the year, the pool is given to charities chosen by the company and its employees.
"Young people in their 20's and 30's that are joining the company may or may not have had the privilege of just giving and this is a low cost high yield way where they can physical, get their hands dirty and see a change. We've cleaned up streets, painted up bus stops, washed cars for charities, repainted houses, and repainted shelters. The employees can physically see the change and the people impacting them get that positive experience, and at the same time, earn some money for either the same charity or some other pet charity that they have."
In 2005, MW Group sponsored a car wash charity titled "Make Your Boss Wash Your Car" where earnings were donated to a rehabilitation center.
Steve Metter is also involved with the Child and Family Services and the Humane Society.
Hardship Begets Success
Steve views all the tribulations he had gone through as key character-building factors that have eventually brought him to where he currently stands.
"If those things just came to me and I didn't earn them, I'd be directionless. I'd be without some core values and core confidence and confused and I don't think I'd be that useful as a leader. I think all the character and all the things that matter and that are now proving helpful to the community and my team members are because of how to manage difficult situations and being able to step up and address those issues head on."
For the full audio interview and transcript please visit greatergoodradio.com. Greater Good Radio airs every Saturday morning and Wednesday night on 1420 AM and online at www.greatergoodradio.com.
