Attorney & Real Estate Broker
Pinkston Property Investment Services (“PPIS”) bundles together my varied background and interests into one service to help my clients profit from the Colorado real estate market. I believe that my focus on common sense, competence, and patience can enable any investor to benefit from the lucrative Colorado real estate market.
My career has from the beginning focused on international business and how to navigate the cross-currents affecting the flow of capital across borders in a hyper-connected world. I studied international business and German as an undergraduate and then focused my legal studies on international private law. After starting my legal career in New York City, I moved to Vienna, Austria where my practice focused on international arbitration and transactions. I had the good fortune to work for five years directly under and to learn from Christian Dorda, whose solo practice grew into one of the most successful law firms in Central Europe. While living in Vienna, I was confronted with the problem facing many expats: how to invest my savings.
It was a fairly simple problem for me to solve based on my experience with real estate investing and love of Colorado. I grew up in a family of school teachers, but my family recognized early the wealth-generating power of real estate. My parents bought their first rental property in 1975 and never looked back. I have many memories of going with my father to collect rent before technology streamlined the process and to work on rental houses. My wife’s family, similarly, bought their first rental property in Boulder, CO in 1984 and are still benefiting from that property today. I took this mindset with me when I went to law school and bought a small apartment in Brooklyn, New York when I was 24. The value of the property appreciated so much that I graduated debt free and even made a profit while in law school. My eyes have been open to the benefits of real estate investing for as long as I can remember.
The primary question for me when working in Vienna was not should I invest in real estate, but where. When comparing various tax regimes and laws applicable to rental property, it became quite clear that the market for property in the United States is much more of a true, competitive market than can be found in many countries and that the profits were correspondingly better. The destination of my savings within the United States was also clear from the beginning for financial (see the summary of the Colorado real estate market) and personal reasons.
My first Colorado investment property.
My wife grew up in Colorado, and Colorado has been my adopted home ever since we met in 2001. We first lived together in Colorado and it was quite hard for us to leave for our graduate studies, but the desire to pursue an internationally focused career was too strong. We left knowing we would return someday. My subsequent career path took me to New York, Hamburg, Vienna, and West Palm Beach, but after the birth of our second child, it was time to return to Colorado.
Now that I have returned to Colorado, I believe my clients can greatly benefit from my business/legal experience and my unique experience of investing in Colorado while living in Europe. I look forward to speaking directly with anyone with an interest in investing in real estate in the United States wherever in world you might be. Alternatively, I returned to United States with an extensive international legal network. My friends and colleagues in your home country can help explain this investment service more fully.
Credentials
Education
- University of Vienna (Universität Wien), Vienna, Austria – LL.M. European and International Business Law (part-time program in German)
- Brooklyn Law School, Brooklyn, NY – J.D.
- Bucerius Law School, Hochschule für Rechtswissenschaft, Hamburg, Germany (semester study abroad)
- University of Missouri, Columbia, MO – B.S. Business Administration; B.A. International Studies; B.A. German
- Karl-Franzens University, Graz, Austria (yearlong study abroad)
Clerkship
- Clerked for Judge Daniel T. K. Hurley of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, West Palm Beach, FL
Bar Admissions and Real Estate license
- Admitted to practice law in Colorado, Florida, New York, New Jersey, England and Wales. Licensed real estate broker in Colorado.