Why did you get into property?

I actually never wanted to be in property. I wanted to be an investment banker. Eleven years ago, I met Mike Smithing [Colliers MD] at the International Management Center, which is now the Central European University MBA program, and we started to talk and he invited me to join Colliers.

I started as an assistant to the loan valuer. When he left, I took on two jobs, one in retail leasing and the other in valuation. And then it slowly evolved into valuation.

You studied in the United States, in South Carolina. Why there?

I first was in Hickory, North Carolina, which is famous for furniture and smoked ham. I wanted to get the small-town experience, because I’m from Budapest.

Hickory was an interesting experience, though only for a couple months. I was in an exchange program and the host family originally wanted a girl, because they felt it was more fitting with their lifestyle. I was kindly asked to leave, but I successfully switched to a family in South Carolina, in Lake City.

It was actually quite a small town. I think it had two or three stoplights. That was a major change from Budapest – the landmark properties were a Piggly Wiggly, a Buy Low and a Kmart.

There must have been a lot to do on the weekend.

Oh, yeah. Sitting around. And sitting around some more. But Florence was not far way – about 35, 40 minutes by car – and we used to go to the mall and to the movie theater.

Then I started at Francis Marion University, in Florence, which had just become a university when I arrived there. In my freshman year, we had the distinction of being number one on Playboy’s college dropout list, something like 70 percent. By the time I graduated, it had changed considerably, but when I arrived it was a big, big party school.

I spent more than five years there. My first degree was in history and political science, and the second was in marketing. That was a fantastic time, something I really cherish.

Why did you decide to come back to Hungary?

Actually, it’s kind of a low point in my life. My dad passed away and my mom, a retailer, was attacked and seriously injured in her store. I could have stayed and done an MBA program and probably had a pretty cushy job and a cushy life, but I decided not to leave my mother alone. That was a very difficult decision, one that I don’t regret yet one that keeps coming back to tweak my interest. What could have been? I’ll never know.

Have you been back since?

I’ve been back to the States. I was in Hawaii two years ago, and visited San Francisco. And we visited Napa Valley. I was kind of fortunate, because we had a guided tour of the wine country. They took us to a couple of places, but the most memorable was Moët & Chandon. It was unbelievable. Just for us to taste, they popped the cork on at least $200 worth of champagne.

How do you occupy your free time closer to home?

I like to buy and remodel flats. It gives me a chance to live out my creativity. I also collect graphic novels, and I’m not speaking of Batman.

Any particular titles?

I like Vicente Segrelles’ The Mercenary, which is quite famous. Also graphic novels like The War Machine, Cobalt 60, stuff like that. It’s really the science fiction, fantasy and horror genres that I collect.

Segrelles’ claim to fame in The Mercenary is that every single one of the frames in the graphic novel actually started as a large oil painting, so the quality is unbelievable. The detail, the texture, the colors, everything – it’s just unbelievable. And the stories are good as well.

It sounds like the story is an afterthought for you.

It all depends on what I’m reading. For example, I could never really enjoy a Frank Miller novel, because it’s too coarse for me. Though I do have 300 at home, which I believe to be one of the best I’ve ever read.

What do you think of the recent film adaptations?

300 was pretty good. Watchmen was horrible, just plain, simple garbage. The problem is it’s very difficult to recreate the visual atmosphere of the graphic novel on the big screen because it costs such a large amount of money.

Any big trips planned for the summer?

Taking it easy, basically. I’ll be traveling with my fiancée to Italy, probably, but it’s going to be very low-key, very laid-back. And probably in December or January we’ll go back to Thailand.

What is it about Thailand that keeps you going back?

The nature of the people. And the beauty. You can relax and you don’t have to show off or anything, because that’s not the sort of place it is.

Last time, a very good friend of mine taught us how to snorkel. And ever since, we’ve had the snorkeling gear we purchased here in Hungary waiting to be tested in Thailand.