Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Fernandez.
Hi Michael, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born and raised in a Cuban and Guatemalan household right here in Miami, Florida. Ever since I started high school, I had a clear vision of what I wanted to do career-wise, I knew I wanted to be an architect. Throughout high school, I rarely wavered from that dream the only other career choice I took interest in was becoming a real estate agent and I also took interest in business and entrepreneurship. This led to a friend of mine and I trying our hand at a website development startup, while it didn’t end up being successful, it taught us the unique and challenging world that is business, the things that you won’t learn in school, college, or most regular jobs. That leads us to today which has resulted in me starting my own business “The F Group” I’ve always had a vision of being able to start my own architecture firm to really change and influence not only how we build and interact with our environment but also to make a change within the industry. Currently being a sophomore in college, I realized that I didn’t need to wait to make a difference in things I knew I could provide solutions to, while architecture is still far from becoming a reality “The F Group” specializes in what I chose to term as commercial and residential development services, since there is no general term that includes the many facets of planning, constructing, and selling developments for residential and commercial use. “The F Group” and the “F” naming convention such as “F Real Estate Services”, is also a double entendre on how our mission is to look for ways to solve and improve upon problems within the industry to truly put the people in these industries and the customers first, in a sense it stands for f*%^ whatever industry our service target, “F” the old and impractical ways of doing things.
Our first entry being Real Estate Photography, in Miami we’re in one of the hottest housing markets in the U.S, everywhere you go there are houses being put up for sale, and as quick as they go up, they get sold, this leads to intense competition with sellers and real estate agents trying to get their properties out there for investors and future homeowners to see. While all the million-dollar homes have as many pictures and videos as you could want available to potential buyers, the ordinary real estate agent or homeowner turned seller, unfortunately, doesn’t have high-end camera equipment and drones lying around nor do most possess photography and videography skills which encompass more than just snapping a photo on a phone. When people then go to turn to professionals they are slammed with prices ranging anywhere from 2-500 dollars depending on the type of packages you choose which to your average agent or seller often living paycheck to paycheck this type of expense is often out of range for most people, that’s where we come in offering these same services in simple and affordable packages all of which include both basic photography and videography fully edited along with staging the property for the best views possible and social media videos.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s definitely been a bumpy ride in fact maybe more like riding around in a car with just rims instead of tires. I’d say most of the difficulties come from having to work through exhaustion from either work or school, the will to put in an extra 5,6,7 hours after you’ve already put in 10-16 hours out of your day on other things makes it one of those things that if the goal you’re chasing isn’t something you really want, something you truly believe in you won’t keep pushing to make it happen. Another major challenge I’d say I encountered was just the availability of information, obviously mostly everything you’d need to know would be just a quick google search away. But there is no one size fits all guide to business there will always be a side of you that’s second-guessing your decisions on whether you did something correctly or incorrectly, but it’s all part of the process, that trial and error factor of setting up a business.
We’ve been impressed with The F Group, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
When I founded The F Group my main mission was to create something different, something that stood out from the corporations that we see buying up land in our city today. A business that not only actually cares for its employees and customers but a company that actually cares about innovating and making it easier for the everyday person to not only get into the field of real estate investment but to make it less of a headache to buy sell or rent a property. As an aspiring architect, I’ve always believed you shouldn’t need to be a millionaire to buy or create a house that is truly unique to you. I believe everyone should one day be able to proudly own something they’ve always dreamt of. With technological advances in the fields of construction and architecture, it’s only a matter of time before we’re able to make this vision a reality. But as a budding company, everyone has their roots, and ours lay in Real Estate Photography. As it stands, The F Group currently has one branch (F Real Estate Services) with not only many more services coming to the branch, but many more branches to be added in the future. Being in Miami competition in the real estate market is fierce with homeowners and real estate agents alike competing to get their listing to the top of search results across many different platforms, and while of course, the million-dollar homes have as many amenities as one can get in the buying process, such as virtual tours, priority showings, pictures, and videos of every space and angle imaginable in or outside of the house, oftentimes smaller listings are left out of the spotlight due to a lack of know-how from either the agent or homeowner themselves.
One overlooked aspect that can often work for or against a property is its pictures and videos. If it doesn’t capture the buyer in a couple of glances they’re on to the next listing, with many listings across some of the most popular online real estate marketplaces only having 2-6 poor quality pictures taken of them, usually not from a lack of trying by the owner or agent but by a lack of access to the proper tools and professionals. Often these services are too costly for the part-time real estate agent or the would-be seller of the property who often does not account for this expense and with some services ranging from $300 and up for just basic photography, The F Group staying true to our mission we look to bring affordability for the average person while at the same time delivering the highest quality service. These services include both photography and videography fully edited along with staging and cleaning areas of the property for the best views possible and social media promotion videos. In the future, The F Group would ideally be a people-first all-in-one development solution, covering everything from conceptualizing interior and exterior spaces with a tailor-made architecture and interior design experience to streamlined construction and selling and remodeling properties all the while still educating and helping those in our community.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
While I’ve always been a bit bad at recalling memories from my childhood, I can always call back to one in specific, that being going to my mom’s home country of Guatemala and visiting my family there. While I can’t recall many things from the trip because I was so young at the time, what stands out the most to me are my memories of both my grandparents on my mom’s side. One was how my grandma knowing I didn’t eat much of their traditional food made me something I was more used to eating which was mac and cheese. My grandpa on the other hand did the opposite encouraging me to step out of my comfort zone and try new foods, this in specific being something I still eat to this day that being green mango with chili or salt. More than anything, I remember the feeling of these memories, the comfort I felt in having something familiar in an unfamiliar place, and the pride of being able to step out of my comfort zone to try something new.
Pricing:
- Photography Basic = $175 (Photography + Videography, Editing, Social Media Promotional Material, Drone Footage)
- Photography + = $250 (Photography Basic + Cleaning Services)
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: thef.group
- Instagram: thef.group
Image Credits
The F Group
