Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan Cuevas.
Hi Juan, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my career in 1998 in New York City as a residential real estate agent. It was a very quintessential New York City experience as I worked in the Empire State Building. I was an evil Manhattan apartment broker. Everyone hated us because the fees we charged were the reason that most people were moving to Brooklyn or Queens or heaven forbid, Staten Island. It was the dot com boom and everyone thought their stock was going to be worth a king’s ransom tomorrow so why not lease the loft in SoHo for $15k per month and pay 17%-19% of the annual rent to the broker? The city was full. You could not get an apartment without a broker. But the brightest lights burn out the quickest. The dot com bubble, Craigslist and then 9/11 reduced the industry to that of the run of the mill apartment locator of today.
So, in 2003, I moved to Houston and became a mortgage loan officer. I did this for 6 years until I was recruited to Marcus & Millichap, the nation’s largest commercial brokerage where I specialized in multifamily investment sales. I stayed at M&M for 11 years, gained the rank of First Vice President and completed ~$200m in sales with an average sales price of $4.6m along with some notable institutional sized deals one of which I was intricately involved with, curating the unit mix and seeing every step of the process.
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?
In 2020, I decided it was time to throw my hat in the ring with development and permitted a 48 unit building made from maritime shipping containers. At the time, it was the largest multifamily development in the country utilizing shipping containers. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong partner who ended up robbing me blind of my entire life savings. However, it is not how you get knocked down that matters. It is how you get up.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Uncontained Living?
In 2022, I started Uncontained Living specializing in container homes and modular homes. We have built some beautiful container homes despite the challenges that come from doing something new. They are difficult to permit and the only people who hate them more than banks are HOAs. So, although we still build beautiful container homes, we became the exclusive distributor for an amazing modular housing company called Vivabox. We are very excited about his product in that the homes are easily permitted, financed and are extremely affordable. We are excited to be working with some major developers to provide these homes so people can get back to home ownership. The first ones should be on the ground here in Houston Q1 2026.
I am often told that pioneers are the ones with arrows in their chests. I always respond the same way every time I hear this: “Yeah, you’re right. Or, monuments in parks. I choose the latter.”
What does success mean to you?
At the risk of sounding sanctimonious, I define success by being able to look at my wife, my daughters and my reflection and know that I am a good man. I have seen the degradation of morality and integrity since social media took hold. These days, most people measure success by materialism, not the integrity in the effort that made one successful. Capitalism is only the best system if those practicing business have a conscience. Too often, we just see the guy on social media with his exotic cars and fancy jewelry and it is celebrated even if orphans and widows were robbed for him to have those possessions, which is grotesque. Money isn’t everything. Especially if it costs one his soul.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://uncontainedliving.net/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncontainedlivingdotnet
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncontainedlivingco
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cuevanomics/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@uncontainedliving810
