GRID Charleston
Claim This Podcastby Paul Kelton
Podcast Overview
<p>Where Charleston’s real estate dealmakers come to connect, learn, and grow. Each month, we pull live audio straight from our GRID Charleston events—featuring local investors, developers, and entrepreneurs who are shaping the Lowcountry’s future. You’ll hear real conversations about finding, funding, and fixing deals… plus raw stories from the people doing it every day.</p><p></p><p>Hosted by <b>Paul Kelton</b>, this show brings the room to your ears—complete with market updates, sponsor spotlights, and expert insights that turn local knowledge into real opportunities.</p><p></p><p>Whether you’re an active investor or just getting started, plug in to the network that’s redefining Charleston real estate.</p>
Language
🇺🇲
Publishing Since
10/29/2025
1 verified contact email on file for GRID Charleston
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Recent Episodes
June 22, 2026
Drew Turner on The Fundamentals of New Construction | LIVE Event
<p>Drew Turner spent 15 years building things at institutional scale — data centers, multifamily programs, higher-ed projects — before coming home to Charleston and asking a simple question: can that same discipline work on smaller infill deals? The answer, it turns out, is yes. But only if you're willing to accept that ground-up development in the Lowcountry is slower, harder, and more expensive than almost anyone expects going in.</p><p></p><p>Drew is the principal of Ashley Cooper Properties and has managed over $815 million in commercial projects across multiple markets. He joined GRID Charleston to walk through what it actually takes to develop here — from evaluating raw land to navigating entitlement and permitting, managing carry costs, building the right team, and knowing when to walk away from a deal that doesn't pencil.</p><p></p><p>This episode covers the full development lifecycle through the lens of Drew's first deal: a half-acre infill site that yielded eight townhomes, a $2.5M total project cost, and a full-cycle exit in under two years. He gets specific — land basis as a percentage of project cost, return on cost benchmarks, the team members you cannot skip, and the single biggest mistake first-time developers make that has nothing to do with the vertical construction.</p><p></p><p>KEY TAKEAWAYS</p><p>[04:00] — Drew's background: 10 years in national commercial construction, JLL owner's rep, multifamily developer in the Carolinas, then going independent in 2024</p><p>[09:00] — How Drew's first deal came together: half-acre infill, eight townhomes, $500K land basis, $2.5M all-in, full-cycle exit in under two years</p><p>[17:00] — How to evaluate a piece of land quickly: land basis as a percentage of project cost, jurisdiction, zoning, density, and road frontage</p><p>[22:00] — What infill actually means in Charleston — and what it doesn't</p><p>[26:00] — The biggest cost surprises in ground-up development: site conditions, underground unknowns, and how permitting delays turn into financing carry exposure</p><p>[33:00] — Return benchmarks: why 20–30% profit on cost is a solid deal, and why 12–15% return on cost beats institutional standards</p><p>[38:00] — The essential development Rolodex: surveyor, geotech, civil engineer, structural engineer, architect, attorney, builder, and agent</p><p>[43:00] — How to structure a land contract: why getting permits in hand before closing is best practice — and how Drew learned that the hard way</p><p>[50:00] — Realistic timelines: one year for entitlement and permitting, one year for construction, one year for sales — plan for all three</p><p>[01:01:00] — Deals Drew has said no to: soft spec home markets, wetland-heavy parcels, and deals with unfavorable infrastructure conditions</p><p>[01:08:00] — Advice for aspiring developers: get into ULI, meet engineers early, find a strong partner, and build your network before you need it</p><p></p><p>GUEST BIO</p><p></p><p>Drew Turner is a Charleston native and the principal of Ashley Cooper Properties. After a decade in national commercial construction and years in owner's rep and consulting roles at JLL, he returned to the Lowcountry to apply institutional-level development discipline to local infill projects. He has managed over $815 million in large-scale commercial projects and now focuses on ground-up residential development in the Charleston market, with a pipeline of townhomes, single-family infill, and mixed-use parcels in various stages of entitlement.</p><p></p><p>HOST BIO</p><p></p><p>Paul Kelton is a real estate investor and the founder of GRID Charleston, a monthly investor meetup that is part of a global network of 30,000 members across 30+ communities. He is also a broker at The Matt O'Neill Team, one of Charleston's top real estate brokerages, and the founder of Tide Property Management. </p>
June 16, 2026
Nick Pavia on The Wealth Blueprint: How Real Estate Fits Into an Investment Portfolio | LIVE Event
<p>Nick Pavia is a wealth advisor at Apollon Wealth — and unlike most people in his seat, he actually owns rental real estate. He's done fix-and-flips, buy-and-holds, and made expensive mistakes. So when he sat down with GRID Charleston, the conversation wasn't a surface-level "real estate is great" pitch. It was a frank breakdown of how real estate actually fits inside a serious financial picture, what investors need to have in place before they buy, and where the popular podcasts and books get it wrong.</p><p>This episode covers the financial infrastructure most investors overlook — reserves, LLC structure, credit, and liquidity — before ever talking about deal selection. Nick also breaks down when to use hard money, why owning real estate inside an IRA is much harder than it sounds, and how to think about leverage without blowing yourself up.</p><p>If you're in that "I want to buy my first or next rental" headspace, this one's worth your full attention. Nick doesn't sell real estate as a miracle path. He explains what it takes to do it right, what temperament it requires, and why the people who get wrecked usually had warning signs they ignored.</p><p></p><p>This episode of the GRID Charleston Podcast is brought to you by our sponsors: Tide Property Management Co., Coastal Equity Group, Matt O'Neill Real Estate, Sweetgrass Capital, Coastal Creative Media, Mitchum Law Firm, and Apollon Wealth. </p><hr /><p>Key Takeaways</p><p>[00:00] — Why a wealth advisor at Apollon Wealth actively encourages real estate investing — and how that's different from most advisors</p><p>[04:30] — Nick's first deal in 2005: a no-doc loan, a condo on Ben Sawyer, and the lesson about needing equity cushion before you buy</p><p>[09:00] — What a clean financial picture looks like before buying an investment property: credit score, down payment source, and reserves</p><p>[14:30] — The two-silo approach: separating your personal emergency fund from your rental business reserves</p><p>[18:00] — LLC structure: when one LLC is fine, when to stack individual LLCs under a master holding company, and why creditor protection matters as you scale</p><p>[22:30] — Why real estate is one of the safest ways to use leverage, and how that compares to leveraging a stock portfolio</p><p>[28:00] — Where real estate gets oversold: BRRRR strategies, renovation budgets, and what the BiggerPockets books don't tell you</p><p>[33:00] — Who should NOT own rental real estate: temperament, emotional attachment to assets, and sleepless nights</p><p>[38:00] — Hard money lending: when it makes sense and when you're not ready for it yet</p><p>[42:00] — Self-directed IRAs and real estate: why it's clunky, the IRS rules you probably don't know, and what Nick recommends instead</p><p>[52:00] — Audience Q&A and Nick's closing thoughts on real estate inside a modern wealth strategy</p><hr /><p>Guest Bio</p><p>Nick Pavia started his career in the insurance business right before the 2008 crash — and bought his first property in 2005 using a no-doc loan, a move that cost him dearly and shaped how he thinks about investing forever after. Today he's a wealth advisor at Apollon Wealth, where he works alongside partner Gavin Dooley and relationship manager Caroline Clark. Unlike most advisors who avoid the topic entirely, Nick actively integrates real estate into his clients' broader financial plans — because in Charleston, it's usually already a major piece of the pie whether they realize it or not.</p><hr /><p>Host Bio</p><p>Paul Kelton is a real estate investor and the founder of GRID Charleston, a monthly investor meetup that is part of a global network of 30,000 members across 30+ communities. He is also a partner at Matt O'Neill Real Estate, one of Charleston's top brokerages, and the founder of Tide Property Management. Paul focuses on multifamily acquisitions and has been investing in the Charleston market for over a decade.</p>
June 16, 2026
Dawson Luthman on How to Operate STRs in Charleston | LIVE Event
<p>Dawson Luthman built Luthman Luxury Estates from one unit in college to 20 properties across the Charleston area — no outside capital, no big staff, just ground-up organic growth alongside his wife Claire. He manages everything A to Z: deal analysis, furnishing, staging, guest experience, and ongoing operations. In this episode, he sits down with Paul Kelton at GRID Charleston to talk about what actually works in the Charleston STR market right now — submarket by submarket, not in theory.</p><p>Most of what gets published about short-term rental investing is either too general to be useful or too focused on national trends that don't apply to a market like Charleston. This conversation is the opposite. Dawson breaks down where permits are still available, where they're not, what makes a property perform at the top of its market, and what kills a listing slowly over time. He also gets into an STR tax loophole — around self-employment tax and the real estate professional designation — that generated the most discussion in the room.</p><p>Whether you're an investor evaluating your first STR deal or an operator looking to tighten up what you're already running, this episode is a grounded, practical look at what it takes to build a successful short-term rental operation in the Charleston market.</p><p>This episode is brought to you by the sponsors of GRID Charleston: Tide Property Management Co., Coastal Equity Group, Matt O'Neill Real Estate, Sweetgrass Capital, Coastal Creative Media, Mitchum Law Firm, and Apollon Wealth. Their support is what makes this community possible every month.</p><hr /><p>Key Takeaways</p><p>[00:03] — Why Dawson and his wife chose STR over long-term rentals, and how they scaled to 20 units organically</p><p>[06:45] — Submarket breakdown: where permits are available, where they're capped, and where investors should focus right now</p><p>[10:00] — Hanahan as an underrated opportunity: no owner-occupancy restriction and no permit cap as of now</p><p>[13:30] — Mount Pleasant's ~400-permit wait list, Downtown Charleston's STR overlay district, and what "commercially zoned" means for investors</p><p>[18:00] — What to look for in a property before you buy: layout, amenities, competitive comp analysis using Airbnb's map view</p><p>[26:30] — What drives five-star reviews — and why the answer after year two isn't what most operators expect</p><p>[32:00] — The case against DIY management: why doing it yourself "okay" costs you more than hiring someone who does it well</p><p>[38:00] — The STR self-employment tax loophole, the real estate professional designation, and how a cost-seg study stacks on top</p><p>[47:00] — How Dawson structures client accounts so owners retain their Airbnb history, reviews, and future bookings if they ever leave</p><p>[51:00] — Software stack: HostAway for PMS, PriceLabs for dynamic pricing, Blink cameras, and why Airbnb still drives 90–95% of volume</p><hr /><p>Guest Bio</p><p>Dawson Luthman is the founder of Luthman Luxury Estates, a boutique short-term rental management company based in Charleston, South Carolina. He started the business with his wife Claire while finishing college, scaling from one unit to 20 properties over four years through entirely organic growth. Luthman Luxury Estates offers full-service, turnkey STR management — deal analysis, furnishing, staging, listing setup, dynamic pricing, and ongoing guest operations — with a boutique approach that keeps ownership of every listing with the client.</p><hr /><p></p><p>Paul Kelton is a real estate investor and the founder of GRID Charleston, a monthly investor meetup that is part of a global network of 30,000 members across 30+ communities. He is also a partner at The Matt O'Neill Team, one of Charleston's top real estate brokerages, and the founder of Tide Property Management. Paul focuses on multifamily acquisitions and has been investing in the Charleston market for over a decade.</p>
13 total episodes available
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Frequently asked questions
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- What is GRID Charleston?
<p>Where Charleston’s real estate dealmakers come to connect, learn, and grow. Each month, we pull live audio straight from our GRID Charleston events—featuring local investors, developers, and entrepreneurs who are shaping the Lowcountry’s future. You’ll hear real conversations about finding, funding, and fixing deals… plus raw stories from the people doing it every day.</p><p></p><p>Hosted by <b>Paul Kelton</b>, this show brings the room to your ears—complete with market updates, sponsor spotlights, and expert insights that turn local knowledge into real opportunities.</p><p></p><p>Whether you’re an active investor or just getting started, plug in to the network that’s redefining Charleston real estate.</p> - How often does this podcast release new episodes?
This podcast updates daily.
- Where can I listen to this podcast?
This podcast is available on 4 platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and more. You can also use the RSS feed directly.
- Does this podcast accept guests?
Yes, this podcast regularly features guests.
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