about

MY STORY

I grew up like a lot of you. Middle class, small town living, in my case, rural New Hampshire. At a young age I was forced to appreciate hard work and relying on myself. Both of my parents owned their own businesses and always expected their kids to carry on the same traditions. My mother owns and still runs a cleaning business and my father has had a very large painting outfit for over 40 years. Throughout high school and college I worked every day with my dad and eventually became his foreman, managing all the painting crews.

It’s funny because every kid either wants to be just like their parents or the complete opposite when they grow up.

It’s funny because every kid either wants to be just like their parents or the complete opposite when they grow up. The longer I worked for my dad, the more I realized I didn’t want anything to do with his business and started seeking out other passions and interests – real estate was not one of them.

AFTER COLLEGE

After college I quit the painting business and decided to go work for my uncle who was the president of a bank. I was always drawn to the allure of Wall Street and all the money associated with it. Mind you, it was 2008 and I had no idea that the financial system and the whole economy was about to melt. Three months after starting at the bank, I pulled up to work and everyone was standing outside. This is how I found out the branch was closing down; locked doors and crying coworkers. Now what?

It was back to painting, but this time to save money and move to Southern California. I had done a semester at Cal State and fell in love with the lifestyle and decided to make a go at it. Six months later I moved to CA with a little cash and a promise of an interview at another bank. This was 2009, still no luck getting a job in finance, so I had to work a bunch of odd jobs – Sherwin Williams, overnight shifts at Kohl’s, sold stuff on ebay, anything I could do to make a buck.

Then I caught a break. One of my mom’s cleaning clients got me an interview at a startup aerospace distributor. They offered me a job and I stayed with them for three years before deciding CA wasn’t for me. After a brief stint in Miami (another aerospace startup) I ended up in CT where I discovered real estate.

REAL ESTATE CAREER

It was now 2014 and after years of my parents telling me to buy a house, I caved and started looking. I reached out to my uncle (same uncle) and was able to secure a mortgage preapproval. Long story short, I found a large house that had a partially completed walkout basement that my dad and I converted into an accessory unit/ inlaw apt. With very little money down, I “house hacked” and moved into that basement for two years while I rented out the larger, upstairs portion of the property. With their rent, I was able to essentially live for free! Over the next two years I spent my time figuring out how to be a landlord as well as continuously looking for my next property.

In 2016 I found my next break, a 9 unit in New Hampshire, with seller financing. It was a win/win for me. I knew the area well and also had the ease of financing that particular way. It took time (three years to be exact) personal and paid, money and sweat to rehab the building to what it is today… a stabilized profitable asset that I can build off of.

Today

Most recently I purchased a 15 unit property, only a few blocks the from my 9 unit, which brings the portfolio to a total of 26 units, spread across four properties, in two states. I manage the business, Homeslee, with my girlfriend Holly from our super small apartment in downtown Boston with plans to start scaling up the business through syndication. Right now (early 2020) I’m also focusing on growing the podcast and launching a new men’s grooming product line, Honorbrand.co.

podcast

LATEST FROM THE PODCAST

Want to listen to more episodes? Head over to my Blog or check out the show over on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, SoundCloud, TuneIn or by saying “Hey, Alexa! Play Start FM Podcast!”

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CURRENT STATS

Businesses

Properties

Units

events

CITIES & EVENTS

Heading to these cities and would love to connect with other real estate investors. Coffee, beers, talking shop... All of it. Message me and lets try to meet up!

Nothing from April 19, 2024 to April 19, 2025.

youtube

LATEST FROM YOUTUBE

This week’s episode of Start FM with Matthew Drouin. A great discussion about the trials and tribulations of real estate. Everything from bad contractors, buying your first property, to even peanut butter toast and cottage cheese… Yes, that’s a thing! 🙂

Buying a property can put stress not only on yourself, but everyone around you. In this video I discuss an incentive that usually makes all the stress worth it!

Behind the scenes of this week’s episode of Start FM. On this episode we dive into Rick Jarman’s story and the lessons he learned over 40 years in the real estate business.

This week I dealt with a drug bust, literally weeks after buying this property. Check out this video to find out what I’ve learned so far.

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books

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

Here are my TOP FIVE book recommendations for anyone looking to get started in real estate!

HERE’s where you can find it.
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
HERE’s where you can find it.
The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller
HERE’s where you can find it.
The Pumpkin Plan by Mike Michalowicz
HERE’s where you can find it.
The ABCs of Real Estate Investing by Ken McElroy
HERE’S where you can find it.
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

HERE’s where you can find it.
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
HERE’s where you can find it.
The Millionaire Real Estate Investor by Gary Keller
HERE’s where you can find it.
The Pumpkin Plan by Mike Michalowicz
HERE’s where you can find it.
The ABCs of Real Estate Investing by Ken McElroy
HERE’S where you can find it.
Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki

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Chad Duval

MY STORY

LATEST FROM THE PODCAST