Denver Real Estate Investor Success Summit 2026

Assistant Professor of Real Estate, Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management, University of Denver

Ryan Chacon studies how real estate markets move through cycles and what that means for investors. He is the research partner and co-author of Glenn Mueller on the Real Estate Market Cycle Monitor, which tracks where each major property type, including apartments, sits in its cycle across U.S. metropolitan areas. His research on multifamily demand and supply drivers, real estate investment performance, and REITs has been published in the Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, the Journal of Portfolio Management, and other leading academic journals.

At the University of Denver, Ryan teaches real estate finance and investment at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Before joining DU, he was on the faculty at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. He also serves on the El Paso County investment committee and has worked as a consultant on market analysis, AI integration, financial products, and transportation projects. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Missouri and a B.S. from Florida State University.

Becca Strang has been a Senior Account Executive with First Integrity Title for over 11 years. In addition to title and closings, she provides resources and education to help agents and investors identify opportunities and grow their businesses. First Integrity Title is an investor-friendly title partner, with experienced teams ready to support both traditional and creative real estate transactions. Becca has built her career on relationships, responsiveness and a genuine commitment to helping her clients succeed. At the center of her work is a simple belief: teamwork makes the dream work, so let’s grow together in real estate!

Andrew is a self-described family man, as well as a sport and car junky! Often going by his last name, Howie, Andrew relishes any opportunity to try something new. In the early phases of his professional life, he became a PGA professional and was a highly sought after teacher. To this day, he enjoys teaching and getting out on the course! He fell into Real Estate quite naturally, and it blends his impeccable customer service with his curiosity and intelligence. Andrew has a passion for helping people and being in the lending space allows him to do that by analyzing deals and funding loans to assist his clients in accomplishing their real estate goals! When not working, Andrew can be found coaching his son’s hockey team, playing a round of golf, enjoying tennis, hiking, skiing and fishing (in the warmer months)!

Scott Craft was born and raised in Colorado and is a third-generation real estate investor. Scott’s father was a fix-and-flipper turned hard money lender and taught Scott the business while he was home from college during the summers of ’07, ’08, and ’09. After graduating with a degree in both Finance and Entrepreneurship & Emerging Enterprises from Syracuse University in 2010, Scott began his full-time career in Denver real estate investing. Since then, Scott has worked as a hard money lender, fix-and-flipper, real estate broker, developer and landlord. Outside of Pine Financial, Scott is focusing his investments on developing infill lots and acquiring more rental properties in the Denver Metro area.

Andrew Laverenz is the Founder of Contractors of Colorado (CoC), a Denver-based organization that helps contractors get licensed, get connected, and get projects done right. Through CoC’s exam prep programs, contractor directory, and community of more than 23,000 members, Andrew works at the intersection of licensing, construction, and project execution across the Front Range.

Andrew spends his days talking to contractors and the investors who hire them, which gives him a front-row seat to what separates a smooth renovation from a costly one. He’s built CoC’s education programs from the ground up, including hands-on GC and roofing exam prep courses, and regularly helps real estate investors understand what to look for when vetting, hiring, and managing contractors on their projects.

Outside of work, Andrew is a full-time entrepreneur and dad, raising two kids (a 5-year-old boy and a 1.5-year-old girl) alongside two dogs and two cats. He coaches youth flag football and spends as much time outdoors as he can.

Joe is a graduate of the Colorado School of Mines with a degree in Economics and Business. Joe has been a mortgage lender since 2002; was named as a “Million Dollar Loan Officer” in 2007 and recognized by 5280 Magazine as a Five Star Mortgage Professional since 2012. Joe has been recognized as a top 500 loan originator nationwide by National Mortgage News and Scotsman Guide, most recently being recognized as the #64 top nationwide loan originator. National Mortgage News has ranked him in the top 1% of all originators nationwide since 2015. Prior to working with residential mortgages, Joe was a commercial lender, underwriter and financial analyst which prepared him for his mortgage career and taught him the specifics of how to get loans approved and how to find the best terms for the customer.

Joe now works as a Branch Manager for Synergy One Lending, a Multi-Billion Dollar mortgage lender based in San Diego, California. In addition to his Loan Officer responsibilities, Joe manages teams in Denver, Colorado and San Antonio, Texas for Synergy One. In partnership with Your Castle Real Estate, First Alliance Title, Ironton Capital, Pine Financial and other real estate companies in Denver, Joe has closed hundreds of loans for both experienced and first-time homebuyers as well as numerous property investors. Joe continues to contribute to the real estate and mortgage community with his monthly presentations on financing options and continuing education.

Ross Hair is the managing broker at Ten Ridge Realty, an AI-native residential and commercial real estate brokerage serving Colorado’s Front Range. With over 20-years in the business, Ross has closed hundreds of real estate transaction with a focus on residential property investment and land development.

Ten Ridge Realty is a venture-backed AI tech and real estate company founded by four MIT graduates. Our founders have worked for global leaders in the real estate and tech industries, like Blackstone and Palantir, and are at the vanguard of how AI is impacting real estate investing.

We all know that AI is moving fast. Ten Ridge is leading the charge and partners with investors to keep you way ahead of your competition. It’s your chance to get four MIT graduates working on your deal pipeline and running your tech team – if you can think it, we can probably do it.

For investors, we’ll show you how AI compresses the gap between a lead and an offer, traces and identifies off-market owners, underwrites and values deals, and generates LOIs and contracts in a single frictionless press of a button. It automates the busy work and stacks data to identify off-market deals and give investors deep market intelligence.

Ross is based in Niwot, Colorado.

Jared is the COO/General Counsel at Pine Financial Group. Prior to joining Pine, Jared was in private practice focused on business matters, regulatory compliance, banking and finance, corporate law, real estate, complex negotiations, and litigation. His real estate clients included developers, investors, contractors, and builders who he assisted in entitlement, deal formation and structure, litigation, contract matters, and disputes.

Prior to that, Jared served as the General Counsel and President of a national financial services company with a portfolio in excess of $1 Billion where he handled all aspects of the company’s federal and state compliance, litigation, vendor agreements, leases, and operational concerns. In addition, Jared is a successful real estate investor and has been involved in numerous multi-family developments, land deals, and single-family fix and flips. Jared is a 2004 graduate of the University of Colorado School of Law, where he was a member of the winning team in the 2003-2004 Rothgerber Moot Court Competition, and was the President of his class. Jared graduated from the University of Colorado in 2000 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Eric Ross is a seasoned real estate professional with over 18 years of experience in property management, residential brokerage, and investment. He has successfully managed over 5,000 rental units in Denver, leading projects that span asset repositioning and value-add developments. After founding and selling a property management company in 2017, Eric rebranded Ecospace Property Management as CRT Management in 2024, growing the business from 60 doors to over 900 by focusing on consistency, reliability, and trust.

With a background that includes service in the United States Marine Corps and management roles in the hospitality industry, Eric brings a disciplined, results-driven approach to his work. When not managing properties, he enjoys spending time with his family, fishing, camping, and traveling.

Real estate law is more than contracts and closings—it’s about helping people build their businesses and pursue opportunities. For over two decades, Greg has enjoyed being a go-to legal resource for real estate brokers, landlords, real estate investors, and other entrepreneurs navigating the multitude of issues that we call a real estate transaction.

Greg’s unique experience operating multiple title companies has helped him blend legal knowledge with the practical understanding of what actually works in the real estate world. He takes pride in making complex topics accessible and solutions as streamlined as possible.

Greg frequently lectures on matters pertaining to residential and commercial real estate, including the structuring of creative and complex real estate transactions, landlord/tenant laws, seller finance, short sale and foreclosure transactions, estate and probate matters, and effective prospecting and business planning techniques for real estate brokers.

Chris Lopez is a Colorado-based real estate investor, host of the Denver Real Estate Investing Podcast and the PassivePockets Podcast, the BiggerPockets channel for passive investors. Starting with house hacking and creative financing, he built his own active portfolio before transitioning to passive investments as life got busier with three daughters and rental market numbers stopped adding up.

Rafik Moore is a commercial real estate investor, entrepreneur, and CEO of Brait Capital, where he leads a team focused on acquiring, financing, and repositioning undervalued commercial assets. With more than 20 years of experience, Rafik has worked across multiple asset classes including apartments, retail, industrial, office, and mixed-use properties, developing a strong track record of transforming distressed opportunities into high performing investments. He is also a licensed real estate broker in the State of Minnesota.

Originally from Uzbekistan, Rafik earned a Finance degree from the University of Minnesota and now lives in Edina with his family. In addition to his investment work, he is passionate about mentoring young leaders and building community through business. Rafik values hard work, equality, and giving back, and enjoys reading, running, chess, mountaineering, and staying active in his community. He is fluent in English, Spanish, Russian, and Uzbek.