About Us • Chris Gelven

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Chris Gelven is the owner of Gelven Properties LLC. He is 44 years old and grew up in Bel-Ridge, MO. He went to St. Thomas Moore Grade School and then to CBC High School in Clayton. He then went on to get his B.S. degree in Psychology at St. Louis University. Chris continued his education by going to paramedic school at St. John Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur. After he obtained his paramedic license, he moved to Oklahoma City where he became an Oklahoma City Firefighter/Paramedic. He worked there for 6 years before deciding to come back home. At that time, he joined the Monarch Fire Protection District (formerly known as the Chesterfield Fire Protection District), where he is still employed as a Captain/Paramedic at House 1 on the ladder truck.

Chris has 2 boys (ages 11 & 12). He is absolutely in love with his kids and spends most of his time with them when he is not working. Chris lives with his girlfriend, Nicole, who is a Nurse Practitioner. Together, they have 5 kids, which keeps them very busy. Chris coaches his kids baseball, basketball and golf teams. He also loves to hunt and fish and play golf in his free time. Chris and Nicole love to travel and go on as many vacations as they possibly can.

Aside from being a dedicated firefighter, Chris has a real passion for real estate. Since high school, Chris has been involved in construction and maintenance in one form or another. He worked for his uncle, who was the lead maintenance man for several apartment complexes. It is here where Chris learned flooring, general electric, general plumbing, construction, painting, and landscaping. Through his adult life, he continued to learn how to repair most basic household problems. He bought his first home when he was 24 years old and completely rehabbed it himself. The appraised value of his home increased dramatically because of his improvements. This is where he realized the value of home improvement and got the initial idea to become involved in real estate.

Approximately 7 years ago, Chris and his cousin, Greg, started their first real estate company, Tuition Investments LLC, which was formed with the idea that all proceeds from sales of properties would go toward their children's college education funds. They bought and sold properties in the St Louis/St. Charles area for the next two years. Then, they transferred their business to Florida, where they became investors in a real estate company that their mutual friend owned, because the market was more lucrative in Florida than in Missouri at that time. They are still investing today in that market.

During this time, Chris found that he missed being involved with real estate transactions and the rehabbing process. About two years ago, he started Gelven Properties LLC with the intention of flipping houses. From the beginning, Chris was 100% dedicated to building this business and helping people at the same time. Through research, he found that out of all the people renting in the St Louis area, only approximately 8% of these people could actually qualify for a home loan. He realized that this was mostly due to either low household income or because of poor credit. Chris understands how nice the feeling is to own your own home and decided that this was the market that he would target to help.

Chris teamed up with a mortgage broker (Dustin Lillidahl), who he had done business with in the past. Together, they came up with the idea to help people with less than perfect credit by fixing their credit to the point of qualifying for a home loan. They teamed up with a credit repair specialist group (Freedom Credit Solutions), whom Dustin shares an office with. While working together over the past two years, they have helped many families purchase homes that never thought it possible.

Chris has built a dedicated team of contractors, most of which are full time firefighters, with many years of construction experience. Together, they buy homes in disrepair and then repair them to like-new condition, with more appeal and more features than comparable homes in the area. We then "Lease to Own" these properties to people who need help with their credit. As soon as they become qualified, they purchase the property, which normally takes between 90-120 days. Chris truly enjoys helping others and this is his way of giving back to the community he grew up in. For more information on the "Lease to Own" program, click here.