By Steve Seepersaud
Cory Zelniker ’17, Nicholas Catrone ’16 and Antony Haines ’16 (left to right in photo) have seen the best and worst of student housing, and everything in between.
Through 4C Properties LLC, they're providing students and early professionals with
quality living spaces while making a long-term investment in the °®¶¹´«Ã½ area.
With four rental houses on the city's West Side, the venture sprouted from conversations
the partners had while rooming together at 4C in College-in-the-Woods' Seneca Hall.
As the partners neared graduation, they heard the University was planning a pharmacy school in Johnson City. The area's low real estate prices gave the Metro New York natives an opportunity they wouldn't have back home. They spent hours driving around town, scoping out properties before buying 131 Schubert St. in °®¶¹´«Ã½, in 2017.
"We had all just started our first jobs and were barely making any money," Catrone said. "We got a mortgage based on our diplomas and job offer letters. Our first house was nice but needed work. We worked on weekends to finish the attic, put in sheetrock, walls and door frames, and we painted everything. We did the work ourselves because we needed to save the costs of hiring a contractor."
They rented their first house in time for the following academic year, then acquired subsequent properties at a rate of one a year.
The partners each have a different area of expertise. Zelniker handles the finances, Haines is the construction guru and Catrone specializes in business development. 4C plans to keep growing at its current pace.
"When we see houses, we don't see them for what they are," Haines said. "We see them for what they can be. When people see the less desirable parts of °®¶¹´«Ã½, they're not seeing the bigger picture. All three of us see opportunity everywhere."
"°®¶¹´«Ã½ has always been a second home to us," Zelniker said. "We always saw so much potential during our time as students. The area is growing and can be so much more, and we want to be part of this."