OUR TEAM

Josh Cantwell

Chief Executive Officer

Josh manages over $40M in private money, which is deployed into multifamily real estate and apartments. He has been involved in 1,000+ wholesale, rehab, rental, foreclosure, and apartment transactions, and currently holds a portfolio of over 3,000+ cash-flowing apartments. He is the founder and CEO of a variety of successful businesses including Freeland Ventures and Strategic Real Estate Coach.

Josh is a true entrepreneur and prides himself on never having had a boss in his entire adult life.

A native of Northeast Ohio, Josh graduated from Baldwin Wallace College in 1998. After graduation, he obtained his Series 6, 63, 66 and life and health insurance licenses. He also worked as a Financial Advisor from 1997-2004.

In 2004, Josh took his knowledge of raising capital and the financial markets and started investing in real estate full-time. He was able to combine his knowledge of financial investing with real estate to create a very successful business, which quickly grew into closing over 100+ wholesale and short sale deals per year. In turn, he began training and teaching apprentice partners and students. He founded Strategic Real Estate Coach in 2007, and has taught thousands of investors how to replicate his success. Josh has vast knowledge and experience in helping to coach clients and mentor students and borrowers from across the US in finding, structuring, negotiating and closing various types of transactions for a profit.

Josh is also the host of the Accelerated Investor Podcast, which has hosted past guests like Kevin O’Leary, Barbara Corcoran, Donald Trump Jr, Jack Canfield, Rod Khleif, and JV Crum III.

Josh lives in Northeast Ohio outside of Cleveland with his wife Lisa Marie and three children, Giuliana, Alessandra and Dominic (aka the Nooch).

Roberdo Flanders

Chief Financial Officer

Roberdo has served as the Chief Financial Officer of Strategic Real Estate Coach for the past 12 years, and also will hold similar titles in Freeland Fund I, Freeland Accelerated Fund, Freeland Lending and Freeland Servicing. Roberdo also acts as assistant treasurer of the Accelerated Fund. He has an Associate’s degree in Accounting and over 20 years of accounting experience. His responsibilities include overseeing accounts payable & receivable, billing, preparing financial statements and special financial reports, and participating in human resources and payroll initiatives.

He is originally from New York City, and his heart will always remain with the Knicks and Yankees. He and his wife relocated to Cleveland in 2007 to advance their education and careers in the accounting and legal fields respectively, and to give their children a more traditional suburban upbringing.

Tyler Brummett

Chief Operating Officer/President of Asset Management

Tyler is responsible for scaling Freeland’s real estate portfolio and overseeing budgets, expenditures, and property management. He is also responsible for sourcing, reviewing and negotiating all of the real estate opportunities, and is the primary contact for acquisitions and possible joint venture opportunities. He brings 9 years of sales and lending experience in residential, commercial, and private equity, 6+ years running of his own real estate investment companies, and 7+ years being a director for the nation’s largest mortgage lender.

In 2019, Tyler was nominated by Crain’s Cleveland Business “Twenty in their 20’s” as a rising star of top professionals in Cleveland. At Freeland, Tyler is combining his leadership skills with knowledge gained as an entrepreneur renovating and investing in homes throughout the region. He has also refurbished homes for Habitat for Humanity, and currently resides in the Tremont neighborhood in a home he built and designed.

Tyler enjoys traveling and learning new cultures, boating, hiking, and is an avid car collector.

Chris Hofford

Vice President of Lending

Chris was born in Cleveland, Ohio but has lived all over the southern United States. Chris met his wife in Fort Lauderdale, FL and shortly after they got married they moved to Phoenix where they lived for 20 years before moving back to Cleveland to be near family. Chris is a big sports fans and loves all Cleveland sports teams, going to concerts, trying new restaurants and just getting out and discovering new places in our great state to visit.

Chris has over 15 years in the real estate and lending industries and he has performed virtually all of the functions necessary to buy or lend on a piece of real estate. In this business, we only interact with our clients for a short period of time, but we can really make a difference in their lives and that’s the part that keeps him going.

Jennifer Pennington

Director of Operations

Jennifer started with SREC in November 2014 as a Customer Service Representative/Accountant Assistant. In 2017, she accepted a promotion to work directly with Josh as his Executive Coordinator. This required her moving from the small town in western PA where she had lived her whole life to Cleveland. It was a big change, but one she hasn’t regretted for a second. In 2020, Jen accepted her second promotion utilizing her strong organizational and time management skills, and now serves as Director of Operations.

She has three children: Taylor and Michael, who happily welcomed home baby Sam in the summer of 2019. Her free time is spent enjoying her family.

Sheila Arthur

Director of Client Services

Sheila and her husband of 25 years have been Clevelanders their whole lives. She has a son, Patrick, and a dog named Oreo. Sheila started her career with Strategic Real Estate Coach as a negotiator, and worked her way up to Customer Service Director before her promotion to Director of Client Services for both Freeland Ventures and SREC. She has always been in customer-focused positions, and is committed to helping others reach their real estate goals.

Natalie Meyer

Director of Marketing

Natalie originally moved from Buffalo, NY to Cleveland, where she graduated from John Carroll University with a B.S.B.A. in Business Management. While at JCU, she also studied abroad at Bond University in Gold Coast, Australia. She has 14 years of experience ranging from marketing to advertising, project management and business operations. Natalie enjoys interior decorating, running (including completing two half-marathons), and spending time with her family.

Remy Gareau

Director of Content & Media

Remy is responsible for the production of digital media and A/V needs for company-wide marketing initiatives, live events, and the Accelerated Investor Podcast. He attended Full Sail University in Winter Park, Florida and has over 12 years of experience in film, television, and video production. Remy enjoys traveling with his wife, playing music in dive bars around Cleveland, and watching TV with his two dachshunds.

Brian Pfaffenberger

Servicing & Compliance Manager

Brian was born and raised in Cleveland, OH and graduated from Cleveland State University in 1999 with a B.B.A., Finance Major. Brian has over 15 years of diversified experience in sales and loan servicing within mortgage banking operations. Brian lives in Northeast, Ohio with his wife and daughter. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and friends.

Tim Roth

Project & Asset Manager

Tim is responsible for underwriting the rehab portion of loans and assessing possible future acquisitions for Freeland, while analyzing potential properties that can be dispositioned in variety of ways from wholesaling to fix/flip and holds. During Tim’s tenure as the Owner Operator of his solely owned company, he managed multiple remodel project simultaneously, including several Freeland Ventures properties. Prior to this role, Tim served as the Maintenance Supervisor over a 444-unit, 37 building, 22-acre apartment complex with three other technicians reporting to him.

Tim’s construction career began with his completion of the Construction Trades program from Polaris Career Center. He then earned his Associate’s Degree in Applied Science of Building Maintenance from Vatterott College. He was also certified from the Institute of Inspection Cleaning Restoration Certification as a Water Remediation Technician, Advanced Structure Drying Technician and Applied Microbial Remediation Technician.

Many of Tim’s strong leadership skills were developed from his four-year service in the US Army as an Infantryman. During his time in the service, he received the following commendations: Army Service Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism, Expert Marksmanship Badge, Army Commendation Medal (Fourth Award), Army Achievement Medal (Third Award), Overseas Service Ribbon, Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, Expert Infantryman Badge and Combat Infantryman Badge.

Marisa Pedraza

Digital Marketing Project Manager

Marisa comes to Freeland Ventures after earning her Associate’s degree in Business Management, and working for several years in Marketing, most recently as a project manager in the automotive industry. Marisa is a native of Cleveland, Ohio and she resides there with her two school-age boys. In her free time she enjoys running, biking, reading, and traveling with her family.

Vanessa Fasano

Property Manager

Vanessa is responsible for the efficient management of all residential properties, including marketing and filling vacancies, handling tenant relations, overseeing maintenance, and conducting routine inspections. She has been involved in the real estate business most of her life. She was born in sunny California and grew up in Cleveland, Ohio where she graduated from Baldwin Wallace College with a B.B.A., majoring in Marketing with a minor in Public Relations. When she isn’t working, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends and loves to travel.