The Accidental Developer

How I went from private lender to developer after 26 foreclosures—and what it taught me about the real business of real estate.

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I’m going to be brutally honest—and a little vulnerable.

I didn’t get into real estate development because I read a book, took a course on passive income, or interned at a fancy firm.

I got in because the music stopped and I was still holding the promissory notes.

Not metaphorically. Literally.

I had lent money on deals that suddenly couldn’t pay me back in a market that froze overnight.

What started as a high-margin lending business turned into a crash course in survival.

Here’s the story in five acts.

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Act I: The Lending Machine

Before I ever owned a property, I was in commercial banking.

Every day, I saw deals with real upside, experienced investors, solid business plans, properties that just needed the right timing.

But if they weren’t cash-flowing on day one, the answer was no. The rules were rigid.

And I remember thinking:

“We’re saying no to deals I’d personally back with confidence.”

So I started digging.

I spent nights studying asset-based lending, hard money models, and how construction loans worked outside the banking system.
I learned how private lenders operated with speed, structure, and risk-adjusted returns focusing more on the asset’s future value than today’s cash flow.

And then I did something about it.

I raised capital.
Launched a private lending company.
And started funding the kinds of deals that banks wouldn’t touch but that I believed in.

We built for speed:

• Approved borrowers based on experience

• Issued proof of funds to help them lock down deals

• Underwrote in under two weeks: desktop review, inspector visit, renovation budget

• Managed draw schedules for construction

• Helped clients refinance once stabilized

We charged 14% interest and 3–5 points.
Yes, you read that right.
Yes, it was legal.
No, it wasn’t boring.

Between 2004 and 2008, we funded over 160 deals.

The machine ran beautifully.

Until it didn’t.

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Act II: When the Music Stops

Then came 2008.
The Great Financial Crisis.

The phone stopped ringing.
Deals froze mid-renovation.
The exits we were counting on? Gone overnight.

Real estate values collapsed. Banks went from:

“How big can we go?”
To:
“How fast can you go away?”

Refinancing dried up.
Borrowers defaulted.
And I was left holding 26 foreclosures.

No buyers. No capital. Just debt, vacancies, and pressure from every direction.

For eight months, I scrambled—negotiating with banks, investors, former clients.
There was no playbook. Just duct tape and willpower.

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Act III: The Scramble Years

By the end of 2009, I wasn’t a lender anymore.
I was a landlord.

My loan underwriter became my admin assistant.
And me?

I was the maintenance guy.
The bookkeeper.
The collections department.
The eviction officer.
And on a good day the tenant therapist.

We did it all:

• Leasing units

• Fixing toilets at midnight with YouTube tutorials

• Filing Section 8 paperwork while on hold for 47 minutes

• Explaining again that “no, the heat does not work better if you scream at it”

• Negotiating with tenants about why yes, rent is still due, even if their cousin “usually pays it”

• Replacing smoke detectors that tenants swore were “just for decoration”

There were no systems. No team. Just two guys, 26 properties, and a growing sense that real estate was a little less passive than advertised.

Some properties were okay.

Most?
Let’s just say: I had been fine lending on them. I would’ve never bought them.

Lesson learned.

So we did what we could: sold what we could, refinanced when possible, bought better ones when lucky, repositioned everything else with spit, grit, and duct tape.

It wasn’t pretty. But it kept us alive.

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Act IV: The Strategic Shift

By 2012, the fog started to lift.

We hit 97 units. For the first time, we had enough revenue to build a real team.

I hired:

• A property manager

• A leasing agent

• Two full-time maintenance techs

It was like going from a tricycle to a real bike with brakes.

And everything changed.

I stepped out of the weeds.
And into a more strategic role.

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Act V: What Actually Changed

That’s when I started seeing things clearly:

• Which properties actually made money

• Which neighborhoods had pricing power

• Why good tenants stayed (and which ones should never have moved in)

• And how systems, not heroics, create sustainability

But most of all, I figured out where I created value.

• Spotting opportunity, seeing past the mess to the upside

• Building trust with lenders, tenants, investors, and partners

• Transformational vision and leadership on properties, teams, systems

The day-to-day chaos? The repair calls? The vendor chasing?

I hated it.

So I made the best hire of my career: someone who loved the weeds.

That’s when the business became scalable.
That’s when the vision became real.

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Curtain Call

That was my real estate education.
No webinars. No TikToks. No “mastermind weekends.”

Just 26 foreclosures, dozens of sleepless nights, and a very expensive reminder that optimism is not a strategy.

But it also taught me how to pivot: From lender to landlord.
From operator to developer.
From doing it all… to doing what I’m best at and building a team around the rest.

If you're serious about this path, here’s what I know:

You won’t always time the market right.
You won’t always make the smartest call.

But if you:

• Lead with clarity

• Protect your downside

• And treat every stakeholder with respect

…you’ll have the right people in your corner when it matters most.

Because in this business, like in life, you’re not just compounding capital.

You’re compounding trust, resilience, and reputation.

And if you’re chasing passive income or get-rich-quick dreams?

Let me save you a few years:
There’s nothing passive about a Sunday sewer backup.
Or about chasing a contractor who “ran out for coffee” and never came back.

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What It Actually Takes

• Wearing every hat in the early days and realizing each one matters

• Understanding that development is a team sport, you’re only as strong as your crew

• Earning trust early, because this is a long game built on reputation

• Knowing which details to obsess over and which to delegate without guilt

• Getting clear on your investment thesis so every move serves the bigger picture

• Building not just for scale but for staying power

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If this story resonated, I invite you to go deeper.

Here are three real projects I led each one a different challenge, a different strategy, and a different kind of transformation.

In each, I break down:

• The opportunity

• The mess we walked into

• The strategy that got us through

• And what we learned along the way

[Ashmun Flats: Turning Blight into Community-Driven Housing]
How we stitched together five parcels, three building types, and one mission to bring a neighborhood back to life.

[The Palladium: From Historic Office Building to Micro-Apartments]
The story of a neglected landmark, a collapsing lease, and how we turned it into a thriving downtown living option.

[The Hotel Flip: A Tactical Repositioning Play with Long-Term Impact]
What happens when you buy a struggling extended-stay hotel and decide to bet on its potential instead of its past.

Each one is real.
Each one tested me.
And each one shaped how I build today.

Hope to see you there.

Build smarter. Build with purpose. Build to Thrive.

Juan M Salas-Romer

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Why I started Build to Thrive: After years of growing businesses and navigating tough turnarounds, often without a map, I wanted to create the kind of resource I wish I had back then: real stories, practical playbooks, and tools that actually help. Share the real stories, the real lessons, and the real tools that help builders and business founders keep going even when the fog rolls in.

If that’s you, you’re in the right place.

Join Build to Thrive and let’s keep building something that lasts.

And if you ever decide to become a paid subscriber, thank you. I’d be happy to share a virtual coffee, hear what you’re building or navigating right now, and see where the conversation takes us.

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About the Author
Juan Salas-Romer is the Founder and Editor of Build to Thrive and the President & CEO of NHR Group, a real estate investment and development firm focused on transformative real estate and business turnaround projects. An award-winning investor and business development leader, Juan brings over 20 years of experience driving companies from inception to 7-figure revenues across the finance, real estate, hospitality, and education sectors. His work sits at the intersection of economic growth, innovation, and community impact. Linkedin bio: Juan Salas-Romer

My Coaching Program: juansalasromer.com

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