Nathaniel "Than" Merrill Returns to Flip This House

As a student in Yale, Nathaniel “Than” Merrill was a star varsity football player and part of the school’s championship team. After graduating with a political science degree in 2001, Merrill played for two seasons in the National Football League with the Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers but came to a crucial crossroad when he broke his knee while playing football. In his time of resting, he had a lot of moments to think about what path he should take. He started reading a lot of investment books and decided to tackle the real estate business. As a naturally innovative leader, he saw that there could be a lot of money made in flipping houses in New Haven, Connecticut. Thus, he called on childhood friend Paul Esajian to be his business partner and together they created CT Homes, now a full-service real estate investment and management company.

From a modest beginning, CT Homes has grown quickly with a staff of seven plus 25 contractors and specializes in buying, rehabilitating, selling and leasing of investment properties in urban and suburban neighborhoods, particularly in New Haven. Running the acquisition side of the business, Merrill aims to improve the overall quality of living in urban neighborhoods and to increase the value of real estate in its target markets. 

With astonishing growth, the sales of CT Homes LLC's went above $3.5 million in just two years. In addition, Merrill is now a CEO of a fast-establishing company and a licensed real estate agent, a licensed appraiser and a full-time real estate investor who is solely responsible for financial evaluation of all potential rehabilitation projects and rental properties that the company could venture on. Merrill concentrates on expanding the company's operations by increasing the number of projects and opening into new markets.

Called the "King of Marketing" when it comes to finding under market value properties, Merrill quickly rose to fame with his ingenuity and aggressiveness, along with his company. CT Homes, LLC is currently buying 9-10 single family and multi-family properties every month and profiting with an average of $27,000 each. CT Homes, LLC also has an affiliate company, Central Valley Homes, LLC in Fresno, Calif, that was opened in July 2005. It also has a branch office in New London, and more are in the works.

Aside from CT Homes, Merrill’s construction experience includes the outfitting of the MexiCali Grille that he opened in 2001. In addition, he worked as operations manager at J. Bush & Co., a billion-dollar investment firm headed by the brother of the 41st President of the United States. Then, he created CT Homes with friend Paul Esajian, who is the construction expert and creative force behind all of their real estate renovations. Soon more people who brought to the table a different kind of expertise joined the team.

Merrill, Paul, and the other teammates currently star in Flip This House, a reality show and contest that showcases what goes on behind the house flipping industry and the exciting aspects of today’s high-stakes real estate market. The show fuses the business side and real life drama, resulting to a hot business reality show.

See Also:

Flip This House Season 4 Cast

Richard Davis vs. Armando Montelongo
 

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