In a field that’s heavily dominated by white males, two black millennials have created their own lane in the vacation rental investment property.
Calvin Butts Jr. and Carrington Carter turned their love for traveling into a $5 million real estate company through the luxurious vacation homes they offer through their company: Getaway Society.
The Hampton University graduates spoke with Travel Noire about what inspired their company.
Travel Noire: How did the light-bulb click to start a vacation rental home company?
Carter: I had just finished graduate school and was taking international trips. I went to the Dominican Republic, then to London and Paris a little bit later. It was the first time I rented a condo or apartment. I thought then that it would be a good idea to own real estate in different places while using it as well.
It wasn’t until about 5 years later when I took a trip to Pennsylvania and collected everyone’s money that I realized the financial viability of a vacation home.
Calvin and I went to school together but we didn’t meet until an alumni regional event. We realized we both had the same passions such as building wealth and getting into real estate and Calvin was one of the first people I talked to about getting into the vacation rental home space.
Photo Credit: Jack Manning III, JAXONPHOTOGROUP
TN: With places in the Poconos, Hilton Head, and another location in Martha’s Vineyard coming soon, how do you pick where you will go next?
Butts: Martha’s Vineyard is kind of interesting. I was at a fraternity conference in Boston and a bunch of guys said they were going there.
Being from the south, not having much experience with the vineyard or the Cape, I grew up in the south where everyone was going to Jacksonville or Hilton Head and everyone from the conference was jetting to Martha’s Vineyard.
It turns out it’s a very popular place for African Americans in August.
I started seeing people I knew, like the president of Morehouse, some pastors from local churches and I’m just like ‘wow, everyone is going here?’
The more people I saw, I recognized this was an opportunity. I kept seeing this beautiful environment of black families and I said, ’this could be something great.’
I met with a realtor, Facetimed Carrington and fell in love with a four-bed, four bath home in Oak Bluffs.
Photo Credit: Jack Manning III, JAXONPHOTOGROUP
Why do you think other people should consider investing in vacation rental property?
Carter: A couple of reasons, real estate has proven to be a great investment that builds wealth over time.
It’s something we learned with investing in single-family rental homes, multi-family homes and vacation rentals.
Then there’s also the hard return on investment and the cash flow year after year from strong rental demand.
Photo Credit: Jack Manning III, JAXONPHOTOGROUP
