Meet Jonathan Williamson and Phillip Carranza of Refuge Real Estate

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jonathan Williamson and Phillip Carranza.

Jonathan and Phillip, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Phillip had been flipping houses as sort of a part-time side hustle for years. I had been working part time jobs as an interior design assistant and selling vintage mid-century modern furniture. In 2012, Phillip was asked for my input on the design of one of his flips. It got me interested. Shortly thereafter, we began partnering up on deals. We began to form an idea for how we could make this our full-time career. Phillip’s vision was a vertically integrated model in which included both an in-house construction company and in-house real estate brokerage. Our now broker, Ana Salazar, had been representing us as our realtor at the time. We were able to convince her to get her Broker’s license and help us form the brokerage. We raised a small round of investor capital (about $115 thousand) and began remodeling houses in East End. Our mission was (and remains) to build a profitable business model in which our first option is always the restoration of homes. Failing that, we aim to build homes that fit within the character of the neighborhoods they are built. We started in 2013 with three projects. I believe we’re at currently at 31 projects right now.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of course it hasn’t! We started an inner loop real estate investment firm with 115 thousand dollars! So many of our struggles initially had to do with cash-flow and keeping the properties turning. We’ve also dealt with rogue sub-contractors, construction budgets gone awry and the occasional theft on a job site. We also have the constant struggle of continued growth. Building the right team of employees is a challenge; we’ve hired some very talented and good people who just didn’t end up being the right fit. That said, I’m very proud of the amazing team we’ve built and confident we’ll see continued growth with their contributions.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Refuge Real Estate – what should we know?
We are a mission driven vertically integrated real estate investment firm which includes a construction company and a full service real estate brokerage (with 17 agents now!). Our mission is first to restore existing homes and, failing that, to rebuild something that is in keeping with the character of the neighborhood. We aren’t opposed to town homes necessarily, but neither myself nor Phillip have ever liked seeing a historic bungalow torn down and three towering town homes get built in its place in the middle of one of our older and historically important inner loop neighborhoods. Obviously, we also have to strive to make a great return for our investors as well.

What I’m most proud of is taking homes that have been vacant and unsafe for years and restoring them. In the communities that we work there are many abandoned homes that are dangerous for a number of reasons; they are fire hazards, they attract vagrants and illicit activities, etc. Right now, we have a project on Dumble across from Austin High School in which there was an abandoned duplex that had been vacant for many years. The kids from Austin High walk past this site every day. I’m proud that those kids have a safer walk to and from school now because we’ve built a brand new and beautiful duplex. When we revealed the rental listing on our company Facebook one of the neighborhood residents offered this comment, “Thank you for being such a good community partner and building with the aesthetics of the neighborhood.”

I’m extremely proud to get feedback like that from the local community.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Our dedication to our mission statement and determination to always be better.

Contact Info:

• Address: 4730 & 4734 Bell St.,
  Houston, TX 77023
• Website: www.realestaterefuge.com
• Phone: 281-888-3212
• Email: info@realestaterefuge.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RefugeRealEstate

Image Credit:
Mitch Cantu
Max Burkholder

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