The Zen of Property Management - How a Surfer Quietly Amassed 1,100+ Units On His Own Terms
His website says simply “Meet Dave. Not your typical landlord.” And speaking to him, he delivers on that promise.
Meeting Dave Denis, you might not guess he’s built a real estate small empire – a portfolio of over 1,100 units across New York and New Jersey – but then again, that’s exactly how he likes it. An avid surfer who started in the surf and skate industry, Dave represents a departure from the buttoned-up world of traditional real estate developers.
“I am like the anti-suiter,” he says with characteristic directness. “I don’t wear suits. I never will. I don’t want to be judged like I have to be in this club of character where every headshot I need to be wearing a tie.”
His path to real estate success began in the late 1990s, when he parlayed profits from his successful streetwear clothing brand into his first property investments. Working alongside a mentor who saw potential in then-overlooked neighborhoods like Williamsburg and Bushwick, Dave learned the business from the ground up, starting with property management before expanding into development.
What sets Dave apart isn’t just his casual demeanor – it’s his hands-on, tenant-focused approach to property management. His entry into the field came through an unexpected opportunity in 2001, when fresh off licensing his clothing brand in Japan, he offered to help his landlord fill some vacant units. The landlord was skeptical at first, but Dave quickly proved his worth.
“Two days later, $500 increase. Someone brought in people I know, keys again. Another apartment and another apartment and another apartment,” Dave recalls of those early days. What started as a favor soon evolved into a deeper involvement in property operations, driven by his commitment to the tenants he brought in. “When those people would say to me, ‘Hey, my toilet’s not flushing, I’m having issues,’ I segued into property management almost because I had to, because I have to live up to my reputation of folks that I know that I brought into these buildings.”
Today, that operation has grown into a comprehensive management company with full-time maintenance teams and finance staff, overseeing more than 1,100 units. Dave and his team have earned a reputation as property management specialists, often being brought in to turn around struggling buildings. “We consider ourselves more like doctors. We bring these buildings back to wellness,” he explains. “We have taken buildings whose owners were losing their pants, and they handed us a property, and we ran it the same way that we both operate our businesses.”
His management philosophy centers on a simple principle: “Treat people the way you want to be treated.” This manifests in practical ways, from maintaining responsive 24-hour customer service to ensuring thorough building maintenance. “If a tenant wants to pay rent at 1AM in the morning and they have a question, believe it or not, about 10 minutes later, one of my customer service employees will get back to them,” he notes.
The results of this approach speak for themselves. “I bring one person into a building, they bring me five, and I have very little turnover,” Dave says. He sees this success as a natural outcome of doing things the right way: “If you’re honest and you build with integrity, and again, treating people the way you want to be treated… it’s not even about the money..”
He approaches property development with the same detailed focus he once applied to clothing design. “I look at what I do as an art,” he says. “Think of it as, like, a blank canvas, and you have an idea and you want to paint, and you constantly are changing the painting until you can’t really change it anymore, because it’s perfect and it’s ready for the public to see it.”
This creative mindset has served him well in identifying opportunities others might miss. Following the same playbook that worked in Brooklyn, Dave has expanded into Jersey City, acquiring properties at attractive valuations and adding value through careful management and development. His latest project, a 46-unit development with two commercial spaces, showcases his ability to execute larger-scale projects while maintaining his hands-on approach.
Looking ahead in 2025, Dave is exploring ways to scale his success through outside investment. “I’m at a point where I’m confident enough that I could take people’s money and really make them money, because I’m good at what I do,” he says. But he’s quick to add that he’s still learning: “I’ve made a lot of mistakes too… honestly, I learn something new every single week.”
Through it all, Dave maintains the perspective of a surfer watching the waves. “Sometimes you can surf, sometimes you can’t, there’ll always be ocean,” he reflects. “I think I take a pretty spiritual, holistic approach to real estate and whatever it is, it’s working for me… I’m not chasing money. I let money my whole life come to me, and if you do the right thing, the money will come, period.”
