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hildhood pals Connor Swofford and Pieter Louw began buying rental homes together in October 2024. In a year they’ve grown a portfolio of 24 units spread across nine buildings in Buffalo, using creative financing and their complementary talents. Louw, a local real‑estate agent with a construction and engineering background, handles on‑site inspections and renovations, while Swofford, a startup consultant, keeps the big picture organized and the workflow smooth.
The duo meets virtually twice a week for about half an hour to review current holdings and hunt new deals. Swofford limits his time to roughly two hours a week on portfolio matters, whereas Louw averages ten hours, visiting sites and showing apartments. “It started as a fun side project,” Louw says, “but it’s become something bigger than we expected.” Both 31, they plan to keep the venture part‑time, using the cash flow to fund vacations, boost retirement savings, and support their children’s education.
Their rapid scaling is powered by a lean tech stack that costs just $20 a month. The core tool is Baselane, an all‑in‑one banking, bookkeeping, and rent‑collection platform. “All rent is collected there; it alerts me when a payment is missed; I track expenses and categorize everything,” Swofford explains. Baselane also pays contractors and offers a good annual yield on business funds. The financial reports revealed that duplexes were less profitable than larger multi‑family units, so the pair now focuses on properties with three to ten units.
They also use the free version of Asana to assign tasks to contractors, especially for their BRRRR strategy—buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat. Asana handles maintenance requests from tenants and keeps renovation work on schedule.
ChatGPT is their go‑to for drafting emails, troubleshooting issues, and navigating first‑time evictions. “It’s literally all we have,” Swofford says, noting that aside from Baselane’s $20 fee, everything else is free.
Their goal is to leverage AI to become better landlords: faster responses, clearer communication, and efficient operations. Louw has learned that treating tenants with respect encourages them to care for the property in return.
