Owning the Game of Wealth and Lifestyle Through Real Estate with Lynne Mazin
Key Takeaways
- Wealth is built faster when real estate is treated as a long-term asset within a diversified portfolio.
- Scarcity-driven markets reward patience, negotiation, and disciplined buy-and-hold thinking.
- Lifestyle alignment matters just as much as financial returns when building lasting wealth.
United States Real Estate Investor®
The REI Agent with Lynne Mazin
https://youtu.be/n4FKk74qgfs
United States Real Estate Investor®
Value-rich, The REI Agent podcast takes a holistic approach to life through real estate.
Hosted by Mattias Clymer, an agent and investor, alongside his wife Erica Clymer, a licensed therapist, the show features guests who strive to live bold and fulfilled lives through business and real estate investing.
You are personally invited to witness inspiring conversations with agents and investors who share their journeys, strategies, and wisdom.
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A Bold Beginning Rooted in Curiosity
Lynne Mazin’s journey began far from open houses and showings.
Her foundation was built on Wall Street, working with bonds, global portfolios, and sophisticated international investors.
Discipline, risk awareness, and asset performance shaped how she viewed money long before real estate entered the picture.
She did not walk away from finance.
She carried it with her.
Every lesson from capital markets became a lens through which she evaluated property, value, and long-term opportunity.
Real estate was never emotional for her. It was intentional, strategic, and deeply connected to how people live.
“I sell sophisticated assets to sophisticated investors.”
That belief became the bridge between global finance and Manhattan property ownership.
Seeing Real Estate as a Real Asset
Manhattan as a Global Investment Destination
Throughout the episode, Manhattan real estate is framed as a serious asset class, not a lifestyle indulgence. Investors in this market think globally.
Property is treated as one component of a diversified portfolio alongside stocks, bonds, commodities, and emerging assets.
Scarcity defines everything. Limited inventory combined with constant demand reshapes the rules.
Even when cash flow is modest, long-term appreciation, stability, and global desirability elevate the value of ownership itself.
The Power of Tangibility in Wealth Building
Real estate stands apart because it exists in the physical world. It can be used, improved, and lived in regardless of market cycles. That reality changes how investors perceive risk and permanence.
“You can always live in it. You are never going to live in your stock portfolio.”
That single truth reframes real estate as both protection and opportunity.
Starting Smart and Learning the Craft
Building Confidence Through Manageable Steps
A powerful takeaway from the conversation is accessibility. Success does not require penthouses or trophy properties. It starts with understanding ownership at a manageable level.
Learning the true cost of ownership, repairs, and upgrades builds confidence over time.
Kitchens, bathrooms, and flooring become classrooms.
Mastering these fundamentals creates a repeatable framework that can be applied anywhere.
The Advantage of Local Expertise
Hyperlocal knowledge becomes a strategic edge. Buildings have histories. Neighborhoods have rhythms.
Lenders have preferences. Lynne emphasizes the importance of working with local banks and professionals who understand the market at street level.
Real estate rewards those who respect context and relationships.
Opportunity Lives Where Fear Grows
Why Uncertain Markets Favor Prepared Investors
When markets feel loud and uncertain, many people hesitate. Lynne sees leverage. Negotiations open up.
Sellers become flexible. Prepared investors gain ground while others wait for certainty that never arrives.
She explains how strong equity markets create confidence and excess capital that seeks stability. Real estate often becomes that destination.
“You miss every shot you do not take.”
Action creates momentum. Waiting rarely does.
Designing a Life Alongside Wealth
Finding Energy Beyond the Deal
New York City demands intensity, but it also offers endless inspiration. Lynne shares how culture, art, spontaneity, and exploration help maintain balance.
From Central Park walks to last-minute world-class performances, these experiences recharge the drive that fuels success.
Wealth without life feels empty. Real estate, when approached intentionally, supports both.
Lessons from Imperfect Success Stories
Progress Is Rarely Linear
Studying successful people reveals a consistent truth. Growth is uneven. Detours are common. Pivots are necessary.
Understanding this removes fear from missteps and replaces it with confidence.
Lynne views every experience as data.
“If something does not work, there is still opportunity to reposition and learn.”
That mindset builds resilience over time.
Choosing Action Over Hesitation
A Closing Reflection on Ownership and Courage
This episode delivers permission.
Permission to begin before feeling ready. Permission to think like an investor rather than an observer.
Permission to trust that clarity follows movement.
Lynne Mazin’s story shows that wealth is built through understanding assets, respecting risk, and acting with intention.
Ownership changes perspective.
Action changes outcomes.
The first step is always choosing to take the shot.
Stay tuned for more inspiring stories on The REI Agent podcast, your go-to source for insights, inspiration, and strategies from top agents and investors who are living their best lives through real estate.
For more content and episodes, visit reiagent.com.
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United States Real Estate Investor®
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Contact Lynne Mazin
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Mentioned References
- Bitcoin Billionaires by Ben Mezrich
- Million Dollar Listing
- Selling Sunset
- Wayne Gretzky
- Metropolitan Opera
United States Real Estate Investor®
Transcript
Welcome back to the REI Agent. We are here with Lynne Mazin. Lynne, thanks so much for joining us.
Thanks for having me, Mattias. I'm thrilled to be here today.
Yeah, so start us off with kind of giving us a bird's eye view of who you are, what you do in real estate, and where you're at.
All right, super. I'm actually a true bond girl. I come from Wall Street, where I was selling bonds for about 15 years, and I used to cover major international investors.
And frankly, my passion particularly living here in Manhattan was really real estate. It's always been real estate. I think it's fun, it's sexy, it's exciting.
And I was probably like many, many other people sitting on my couch watching Million Dollar Listing, and I was like, wow, I can do that. And that's really how I landed here.
Okay, that's awesome. So you got, yeah, I mean, this may be similar, some similarities. You're helping people invest in a way, right?
But yeah, so this is going to be more hyper-local now, right? I mean, so like as a bond salesman, you're going to be working with anybody, right?
I used to work with a lot of international clients, but New York will always be New York, and particularly in the real estate space. And because this is where I live, this is obviously my expertise is the Manhattan market. It was very easy to transition where I sold bonds to people.
I sell sophisticated assets to sophisticated investors. And that's really how I looked at it when I transitioned. And it was pretty seamless to jump into real estate.
Like everything else, there's a learning curve. And I think really the secret of my success was engaging with people that were already experts in the space and absorbing as much as I could as quickly as I could.
Sure. So did you find, was your initial clientele investors then in the real estate space? Or were you selling people houses to live in, apartments to live in, condos, whatever?
In New York City, a lot of people approach the Manhattan market as an investment, like as an asset class. So they own stocks, they own bonds, they own real estate, they own Bitcoin. This is part of a global portfolio.
And it really was a simple transition for me to work with people that approach real estate as an asset class where they would hope they would achieve appreciation and help them really optimize that investment opportunity.
Sure. Yeah. There's not much space left in Manhattan to own a piece of it as I can see why that would be appealing.
What does it look like to invest in Manhattan? What are we looking at as a purchase price? And then what are the rents?
I would imagine it doesn't start off great cashflow wise. What does it look like?
It really depends. I think it's equitable to say there's something here for everybody. And maybe it's not in Manhattan proper, but between Brooklyn and the other boroughs and New York City itself, Manhattan, there's something for everyone.
And some people start off in a studio in one bedroom and some people are in the spheres of trophy properties and unicorns and penthouses, but there's something for everyone. And from my experience, it doesn't matter if you're investing $500,000, $5 million or $50 million. Everybody wants to feel like they got a good deal.
Sure. Absolutely. Yeah.
I mean, I think that us, we're in a small market south of DC and we have higher appreciation than maybe the Midwest. I don't think we're New York City by any means. But it is often harder to realize a good cashflow.
If you have an investor, if you listen to an investment podcast, you might hear things like the 1% rule where if you buy a property for $100,000, it rents for a thousand. That kind of ratio is impossible where I'm at. So I'm imagining it's very impossible in Manhattan.
But on the inverse, you get to reap the benefits of that appreciation. There was a person on from the Tacoma market a couple of weeks ago and they were talking about how even if somebody is not really interested in being a real estate investor full-time, but they maybe have a good job. She's like, I think everybody should just try to get five properties.
If you can get five properties, get them managed if you don't want to do it yourself, that's a life-changing decision in 30 years. I'm sure that's true in New York City.
And that's what it is. It's about putting together a portfolio and like I said, it's all about diversification. Yeah, there's some really sexy stocks right now out there, but you're not going to only own those three high-flying sexy names.
You're going to have a very diversified equity portfolio. So things that go up and down, hopefully hedge each other out. Same thing for bonds.
They sometimes trade the inverse of the equity space. So it makes sense to own bonds. It makes sense to own gold.
Bitcoin has its thrills and that's very interesting for people to jump into. And then real estate is a hard asset. And one of the things that I think is so compelling about real estate, you see it, you own it.
It's something that the simple act of living there is value in and of itself. No matter what, you can always live in it. You're never going to live in your Apple equity portfolio.
Not live in your Bitcoin.
No, you're not living in your Bitcoin.
At least not yet.
Who knows what happens to it?
It is beautiful in the tangible aspect of it. And I think if you're an agent and you're looking to invest as well, investing in your backyard is just so much... That really brings a tangible aspect to life.
And I know, again, back to the whole appreciation thing, it can be a lot harder to do so if you are in a market like San Diego and New York City to do it. But buying that house to live in first that everybody needs a place to live, if you could rent out part of it to somebody else to help offset the cost, but then saving up to buy the next property is probably a great way. I would imagine there's a lot of opportunity for that in the New York market.
Exactly. You want to start, at least my guidance would be, start in something that you can manage, that you don't feel like you're over your skis, that you're comfortable in. And there's a learning curve.
You want to understand what really are the costs that you entail, because the purchase price alone, and this is an apartment or a house, the purchase price in and of itself is not the only expenditure. So you want to get comfortable so you understand the cost of repairs, where you really get value upgrading the floors, the kitchens, and the bathroom is really where you get value. Once you've mastered that, I think you really create a template for yourself that's easily to replicate really in any market, because now you've learned how to manage a home.
Yeah. Speaking of markets, I'm curious how things are looking for you all now in New York, as have things slowed down? I think I've heard, it's been fun to talk to people across the country because I talked to people in Florida, I talked to people in Arizona, Austin, and they all had doom and gloom on their mind earlier in this year.
And I'm just curious how the market is for you all.
Like I said, I really work with investors, and it's at every price point. You can be an investor at 500,000, you can be an investor at 20 million. I think it is a really, really advantageous moment right now in time, particularly here in New York City to jump in.
You're starting to see interest rates start to trickle down. It looks like in 2026, they're going to be going the right direction. So your carry cost will start to come down a bit.
You still have sellers that were keen to get a deal done. There's a lot of noise in the market, and whenever there's noise in the market, people are eager to negotiate. And the reality is the equity market is trading at the all-time high.
Literally every day it breaks a new record. So people really have a wealth effect. They feel secure.
They have money to spend. That's a little bit extraneous that they do have some extra free cash flow. And real estate is a really nice space to jump in.
So for me, for the last, I want to say four or five weeks, it's really frankly been some of the biggest weeks of my career. And that's because I really stay engaged with the investor base, and I help them optimize the investment. We have been able to negotiate some exceptionally compelling deals on a percent basis of where the seller is versus where we're actually executing these deals.
Okay. Yeah. Awesome.
So the median days in the market, the inventory would all be kind of creeping up in general, but that is almost a good thing.
You should take advantage of that. Jump in. That's your opportunity.
Yeah, totally. I mean, it's kind of like the basic concepts of investing or wise investing is when people are greedy, be fearful, and when people are fearful, be greedy, right? Yeah.
Yeah. No, I'd be curious to see how things progress. And I think you're right.
I think interest rates hopefully will keep coming down. And yeah, it's not, I think when the deal pencils out, the deal pencils out. And buying something, it's laughable the fear and the anxiety people might have.
If they're going to hold a property for 30 years, they're going to laugh at that fear and anxiety and the squabbling over what they thought was a bad deal or how much more they were spending than they felt like they should. Because I feel like everybody thinks that they overpay, like almost always.
Everybody wants to feel good about a transaction. And especially in Manhattan, we have very limited inventory. And because of that, it's keeping rents exceptionally high.
Got it. So you really are getting a nice return.
That's awesome. Yeah. My brother-in-law was at NYU and had a little closet apartment.
I'm sure it was an expensive closet apartment.
It was very expensive. But yeah, no, it's a great spot. I mean, it's a really cool area.
Yeah. What other strategies do you have with working with investors to kind of help them realize their goals?
We really do a bit of a financial snapshot in terms of what free cash flow they have that they want to invest in the real estate space here in New York City to get a really good sense of what their, let's say, monthly comfort level is. And then the most important thing is to connect with their banker. Once I have a good sense of what they would feel comfortable investing, then we partner with a good banker in the neighborhood that really understands the New York City market, that they're comfortable from a credit and risk perspective.
And I think this is applicable to any market that you're investing in. Use local banks that understand the neighborhoods because they are really helpful and valuable as partnerships to help you get capital to then deploy. And if you're coming to New York and you're using a California bank, it's trickier for you because you have more hurdles to jump through.
So we partner with the bank. That's the most important thing I could do for you as your advisor is understand what will the bank finance and really help you partner with somebody that can get you as much liquidity as possible and help you deploy it in a way that hopefully you maximize your valuation on the purchase price and over time have the appreciation plus the income.
Yeah. And speaking of appreciation, it's often spoken about in real estate investing that that's just bonus. You're not counting on that.
But I think it is something that, I mean, a big reason to buy real estate. Do you forecast appreciation, obviously, with the caveat of you don't have a crystal ball, but do you forecast that from previous 30 years or anything like that to give people an idea of what could happen?
We have a lot of data in New York City. It's a very, very data-rich city because you're not just buying a house on a block. You're moving into a building with 150 other units.
So we really can be really surgical in terms of where have the apartments been in the last five years, 10 years and beyond. We really can get a lot of transparency into the life cycle of a specific building.
Yeah. That's really helpful. That's really nice.
Comps can be really difficult when you are in a rural area, if it's a kind of a unique property, not a townhouse or something like that. So yeah, that's really great. I've always wondered, how do you get around for showings and stuff?
Are you doing subways? What does it look like to be in Manhattan?
Planes, trains and automobiles, however you can get there through the traffic, you make it happen. So the subway is your friend. It's not sexy.
You're not going to see everyone on a million dollar listing and selling sunset. You don't see people riding the subway. It's not the sexiest place to be, but it's by far the most practical place to be to do what we do because time is money.
You want to get there as quick as you can. So subway works. Cabs and Ubers obviously are great.
But if you're going through Manhattan and you hit traffic, you hit traffic. This afternoon I was in a cab and the cops closed the road down and it is what it is. So you have to think outside the box.
Downtown is really easy to jump on. Citibank or something like that. And if you have the luxury to do showings just in a specific neighborhood, we could just do Soho or Tribeca and you can walk.
But you just unfortunately don't always get that lucky.
Yeah, I would imagine, especially if you do then cover some of the other boroughs. And I've heard things are very different when you get to New Jersey. So is that a pretty common line that agents draw either in New Jersey or New York so that they don't really cross over very often?
Is that common?
It's a different experience. You're selling a lifestyle. As much as people think we're selling real estate quote unquote, what people want is a lifestyle.
And to work with an agent I think that really does add value. They need to understand the lifestyle in a specific neighborhood and it's very hyperlocal. And that's why I think there's brokers in Manhattan that focus uptown.
There's one that focus downtown. There's one that focus in Brooklyn. There's definitely experts in New Jersey.
So I think the best thing you can do for your clients in terms of what we do on a daily basis is to make referrals. If somebody wants to go to Connecticut or New Jersey or somewhere that you're, yeah, of course you'll have some familiarity with the neighborhood, but to refer it to somebody who lives there and really appreciates what it's like to live in a community.
Yeah, yeah. So like the operating out of your area of expertise, maybe not quite to that extent, but when there's so much density, like a mile radius is a lot different there than there is here. So it makes sense that there would be natural kind of boundaries or I mean, yeah, that you would want to focus and niche down on certain areas.
Yeah. And I really do my due diligence to make sure I have a good connection in a lot of the major communities where I think my clients have overlap to make sure I understand who the good, really high performing brokers are in the space so I can add value by giving them a really nice referral.
Yeah. Awesome. So you have experience in the stock world, the bonds world, and you've obviously been talking about real estate investing as part of a portfolio.
How much do you, I'm not saying act like a wealth advisor, but how much do you kind of help your clients in kind of like a asset? Like how much do they want in real estate? How much do they want in that?
Do you help them with that kind of a portfolio planning or is that a conversation you have at all with your clients?
It's definitely, I think, a valuable dialogue to have with a client. Like you're saying, it's a holistic approach to life through real estate. What we do is a compliment to other things that they do.
Real estate is a compliment to the rest of their life and their lifestyle. So yeah, of course, like we delve into where else do you own properties? Are you in Dubai?
Are you in London? Are you in Miami? Are you in Los Angeles?
Because once I can see what else they own, it actually gives me a lot of insight, like immediately, what's their style? What resonates with them? Do they like character?
Do they like ultra modern? All of a sudden, it gives you a lot of direction if you can see what else somebody else owns. And more importantly, what is their price point?
Do they own mansions? Are they in penthouses? Are they on yachts?
Are they on helicopters? Are they buying for their kids? I really like to have an appreciation of what their goal is because again, I'm complimenting their other assets, whether it's in real estate or other liquid or illiquid assets they have.
I want to make recommendations that I think is a nice fit for their overall financial fitness.
Yeah, that makes sense. I'm trying to say this the right way here. When I went to visit my brother-in-law again in Manhattan, he kind of made a comment about in New York or in Manhattan, you don't just walk, you walk to survive.
You don't just eat, you eat to survive. It's like hustle and bustle kind of thing.
We're kind of like hunters, right? We're like hunters. We know what we're doing.
We know why we're there.
Yeah, so I guess that leads me into the question of how do you balance? Not that we can all achieve perfect balance by any means, but where do you get your respite? Where do you take a step back from and slow down?
What does that look like for you and how do you keep your mind right?
The luxury of New York City is no two days in your life are the same ever. You could eat out every single night of your life and never go to the same restaurant twice. That's something that I love about New York.
It's thrilling to me. The other night I was, I don't know, my plans had canceled. I called the Met Opera and I was like, hey, do you guys have an extra ticket?
They're like, yeah, we do. I went over to the Met and I saw one of the best operas in the world, literally on a whim. It was like I had an hour's notice.
They had a ticket. I jumped in a cab and I went. I think that there's so much to explore in New York City.
We're so fortunate in the arts, on Broadway, theater, music, health, wellness. There's something for everyone simply walking through Central Park. People come from all over the world to go walk through Central Park and it's 10 minutes away from us.
I really do try to take advantage of the things that I love about New York City that are new to me and fascinating to me because every day I think you learn something new, you meet somebody new, you are exposed to a different culture, a different perspective. That's something in my downtime I really do try to take advantage of because that to me is the gift of New York City.
Sure. That makes a lot of sense. It is exciting.
If you're a foodie, I'm sure there's always blogs and all sorts of resources where you can find the newest thing that's trending. Might have to wait in line for that thing.
There's always something. Every day you learn something new about the city that yesterday you didn't know. That to me is just a fascinating part of being here.
That's cool. I'm curious if you have a golden nugget for our listeners that something you want to pass on, a tip, mindset, trick, whatever.
It's sports oriented and it's very Wayne Gretzky. He says, you miss every shot you don't take. I really subscribe to that philosophy.
Go for it because I think there's a very good chance you're going to make it happen. If you're committed to something and you're dedicated and you're focused and you do it every day, you'll be successful.
Don't let yourself hold you back because you're scared. I love it. So true.
Then I wanted to leave a little bit of time to talk about this too if you want. You mentioned what your book was before we hit record. What's your book that you're currently reading or one that you recommend people to read?
I'm very fascinated about how other people achieve success. Obviously the definition of success, it's a very diverse distinction for everybody, but I delve in a lot to what makes people successful in business. I just launched my own team here at Compass called Operate Global.
I really study what makes the magic happen. Right now I'm reading Bitcoin Billionaires that's focused on the Winklevosses and their success in the Bitcoin space. Success is never a straight line.
As you really start to study people's trajectories, you really see people don't go from zero to 100. Seeing people take one step forward, a step back, a step forward, repositioning, reevaluating, pivoting, it gives you confidence to take some chances and understand if something works, that's phenomenal. If something doesn't work, there's still opportunity to reposition and learn from it.
I love it. Yeah, the Bitcoin thing is pretty fascinating. I had a client once who's, they were sitting at the closing table, receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars for their sale.
And they're like, yeah, our son, he had a gaming computer back in high school and he mined Bitcoin for a while. And instead of buying pizza like other people did, he just kept it. And he's got way more money than we do now.
And he did all right.
That was the last cycle. So if he held it, he's doing ever better now.
Okay. All right. Sweet.
That's nice.
Yeah. But yeah. So if anybody is curious about following you to see more about what the life is like as a realtor in New York City or wants to reach out to you about investing in New York, where can they find you?
Absolutely. I'm very easy to find. Websites, Instagram is the easiest to connect.
It's at @LynneSimoneMazin. You'll see me on Insta.
Perfect. Awesome. Well, Lynne, thank you so much for being on the show.
It was a lot of fun talking to you.
Thanks for having me, Mattias. It was great to be here.
Thanks for listening to the REI Agent.
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All content in this show is not investment advice or mental health therapy. It is intended for entertainment purposes only.
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