Born and raised in the City of Detroit, MI, Herbert J. Strather is the Chairman of Strather Associates— a real estate development and investment firm located in Detroit. Always industrious and exuberant, Herb Strather began working at the youthful age of twelve waxing cars and selling door-to-door products to help his family. In 1970, Strather started working with Detroit’s Bowers Realty Company, where within one year, he became the top sales agent both at Bowers and regionally.
After learning real estate appraisals and public adjusting on his own, Herb formed Strather & Associates, Inc. and began to make his mark in the real estate world by arranging complex, multi-dwelling unit transactions around the city. Together with former University of Michigan Regent, Nellie Varner, Herb formed Strather & Varner, which closed more than $250 million in real estate transactions and acquired more than 1,000 apartment units in the 1980s. After Varner’s departure for other pursuits, Strather continued as Strather & Associates, Inc. which has been responsible for more than $2 billion in real estate transactions and is a multi-level conglomerate consisting of real estate acquisitions, investment, development, education, and property management.
Strather is on a mission to create the next generation of Developers and to help redevelop Detroit’s great neighborhoods and communities. In doing so, he boldly moved his entire office and staff from the riverfront to the multi-purpose Tower Center building located at 15400 W Grand River, Detroit, MI 48227. Among his other commercial revival initiatives include the Mammoth Building, in which he plans a two-story indoor amusement park with go-karts, bumper cars, a bowling alley, rock climbing and rollercoaster rides, as well as a full sit-down restaurant for food and beverage enjoyment.
FMM: You are iconic in real estate and development. Tell us about Strather Associates.
Strather Academy was created in 1975 and to date, we have closed more than 2.2 billion in real estate transactions without investing any cash. The reason we’ve never invested cash is because we didn’t have any cash when we started off and once we accumulated the cash, we realized that we could buy without cash, so we kept the habit.
FMM: What do you enjoy the most about real estate investing?
Watching my students and colleagues grow and close deals. Also, I love teaching and being creative.
FMM: How have you created wealth through real estate and entrepreneurship?
It’s easy like Sunday morning. Go find a deal and structure a way to buy it without money such as joining the entity that owns it and refinance, using P.A.C.E., Bargain Gift-Sale transactions, and using structured purchase agreements, just to name a few. We buy without cash 10 different ways.
FMM: Tell us about the prestigious Strather Academy of Real Estate Investing School.
We have created more than 60 millionaires. Our top student just sold their portfolio for $135 million.
FMM: Your philosophy is to teach by doing. Tell us about your “hands on” approach with students.
“Hands on” is the best way to learn, especially in real estate where every deal is different. Our students are required to close the deal in order to graduate.
FMM: What does the Strather Academy offer?
Strather Academy offers someone with a burning desire with or without money – a path to success. It’s not how smart you are or how much money you have it is how committed you are knowledgeable about leveraging deals. We can certainly teach you how to finance without putting up a dime; but passion must come with the territory.
FMM: Tell us about the Black Wealth Builder Summit 2022.
Black people in Detroit are the most leveraged people in America with a white mayor, white congresswoman, white Senator, white School Board President and white governor. Currently, one man owns the majority of downtown, and his purchases were financed with money that should have gone to the community, black wealth.
We have a billion dollars’ worth of construction going on with about 3.5% of the ownership against 76% of the population. Now let’s get this straight, I am not blaming white people for not organizing black people. However, it is not in their best interest for black people to come together, because they live on us, live in mansions and drive Cadillac Trucks on us. It is in our best interest to come together and see how we can work together, support each other, develop businesses together and learn clever strategies together. After all, Detroit is still one of the most attractive places in the world to invest because its real estate values are still psychologically depressed with a gigantic upside. This is the reason we’re holding the 1st annual summit in Detroit.
FMM: You have notable speakers including Cheree Warrick, Gary Shelton, and Dr. Ken Harris to name a few. Tell us about your panel discussion, Raising the Next Gen of Entrepreneurs.
We have put together the top Black professionals in the industry in terms of real estate, business, syndication and Credit. We are serious!
FMM: What is the hardest part of real estate investment?
Learning to run proformas and coming up with great balance sheets. This is easy for us.
FMM: How is generational wealth obtained?
Through a Master LLC that your entire family owns. We will distribute the forms at the Summit.
