We are a family of 4 + 1 kitty living in a small historic cottage, in a small, classic New England city in the smallest state in the United States. Little Rhody!
Christian is a licensed mortgage loan originator in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Maine with Paramount Residential Mortgage Group (PRMG). He is motivated by educating people about the home buying process, solving financing problems and helping borrowers reach personal financial goals through home purchases and mortgage refinances.
Christian is also a trained professional commercial photographer and owns a commercial photography studio in East Providence, RI specializing in architectural, interior, engineering and product photography. He started Design Imaging Studios after graduating from the Rochester Institute of Technology and continues working for clients around the country.
Brittany has worked as an elderly services case worker for the past decade. She has witnessed and helped solve the many social, financial and health challenges that face seniors in this country. Her work has been with seniors and their families in maintaining or achieving an improved quality of life, and navigating the confusing world of applying for, qualifying for and coordinating critical social services. Immersed in this field after graduating from Assumption College with a degree in Psychology, Brittany has insight on conversations that we find most people don't think about or plan for until they are much older, or it is too late. She has so much valuable experience and insight to offer for every family, regardless of age.
Over our years together, we have also become real estate investors, Airbnb Superhosts, landlords and parents to two amazing kiddos!
Our Journey
Both of us came from humble blue collar backgrounds. After college we were loaded with student loan, credit card debt and auto loans with terrible credit, no savings or investments. When we met, Brittany was working seven days a week between her job as a social worker and serving at two restaurants on the weekends. We were both seriously lacking personal finance education, it wasn't even on our radar that life didn't have to be that way. It took a close personal friend and colleague to inspire and motivate Christian to learn about the path to financial freedom through real estate investment. That inspiration set us on our current journey.
Being in a seasonal niche business, Christian took the opportunity of the architectural photography off-season to learn and develop a passion for real estate investing, home renovation and short-term vacation rentals. After 18 months of books, podcasts, research, cleaning up our finances and solving credit issues, we jumped in and purchased our first multifamily house. Since then, we have bought, renovated, built and operated several short-term rentals in Rhode Island and have welcomed several hundred guests to our small state from all around the world as Airbnb Superhosts. The Covid-19 pandemic and local zoning laws caused us to shift to managing long-term tenants in our units (though we still think short term rentals can be a great investment in the right scenario and municipality!).
Together we've bought, gutted, renovated, remodeled, added units, landscaped, the whole nine yards. We've dealt with zoning, the historic commission, building officials, architects, contractors, DIY projects and many different lenders. We've made many mistakes large and small, lost money and made money and have learned from all of it. On our properties we have personally gone through many types of financing including the FHA 203k renovation loan process, RI Housing, a home-equity loan, conventional cash-out refinances, a variable rate HELOC, a Non-QM investor loan and personal bank loans.
After experiencing the mortgage loan process several times and struggling to find a lender that would problem-solve and provide clear and honest information, Christian saw the opportunity to learn about another industry and share a valuable service with our network.
Christian passed the national NMLS exam with flying colors and is licensed to help borrowers in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine. The opportunity to help borrowers navigate the path to home ownership - whether single family forever homes or multi-family house hacking - has been a fun and exciting way to share experiences and continue learning about the industry.
Being in a seasonal niche business, Christian took the opportunity of the architectural photography off-season to learn and develop a passion for real estate investing, home renovation and short-term vacation rentals. After 18 months of books, podcasts, research, cleaning up our finances and solving credit issues, we jumped in and purchased our first multifamily house. Since then, we have bought, renovated, built and operated several short-term rentals in Rhode Island and have welcomed several hundred guests to our small state from all around the world as Airbnb Superhosts. The Covid-19 pandemic and local zoning laws caused us to shift to managing long-term tenants in our units (though we still think short term rentals can be a great investment in the right scenario and municipality!).
Together we've bought, gutted, renovated, remodeled, added units, landscaped, the whole nine yards. We've dealt with zoning, the historic commission, building officials, architects, contractors, DIY projects and many different lenders. We've made many mistakes large and small, lost money and made money and have learned from all of it. On our properties we have personally gone through many types of financing including the FHA 203k renovation loan process, RI Housing, a home-equity loan, conventional cash-out refinances, a variable rate HELOC, a Non-QM investor loan and personal bank loans.
After experiencing the mortgage loan process several times and struggling to find a lender that would problem-solve and provide clear and honest information, Christian saw the opportunity to learn about another industry and share a valuable service with our network.
Christian passed the national NMLS exam with flying colors and is licensed to help borrowers in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine. The opportunity to help borrowers navigate the path to home ownership - whether single family forever homes or multi-family house hacking - has been a fun and exciting way to share experiences and continue learning about the industry.