Our Story

Follow Co-Founders Keven Werner and Daniel Rosen through the story of how Renovo Financial was founded. 

Our Story

Follow Co-Founders Keven Werner and Daniel Rosen through the story of how Renovo Financial was founded.

Kevin (right) with one his first clients (left) at the beginning of his career in real estate lending.

CEO and Co-Founder Kevin Werner has been in the real estate finance industry since 1998. Prior to the housing crash of 2008, he worked in his family’s real estate lending company. Although the crash forced them to close the family business, Kevin was not dissuaded. He took what he learned to help him start a new company, Renovo Financial.

Meet Kevin Werner

“I grew up right out of high school working in a family finance business, where my dad financed home improvements that, with my brother, ended up taking over and running. I loved financing, loved numbers, loved meeting with customers. At a really young age, I figured out how to help people get the financing they needed.”

Our Process

Kevin (right) and Daniel (left) celebrating Renovo Financial’s success in its early days.

Our story begins in 2011, at the Starbucks on Sheffield and Armitage in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood. It’s here where Co-Founders Kevin Werner and Daniel Rosen met to discuss founding a new real estate investment company. But this company would be different. They wouldn’t simply throw money at clients and expect them to figure out the rest. No, they would take the time to assist their clients through the entire process, never sacrificing service to make a quick buck.

With the help of Granite Creek Capital Partners, the initial equity firm who back Kevin and Daniel, they were ready to start growing their new company, Renovo Financial.

In 2011, over numerous cups of coffee with Daniel Rosen at the Starbucks on Sheffield and Armitage, and after several meetings with Granite Creek Capital Partners, Renovo Financial was founded. It was now time for Daniel and Kevin to begin growing their business.

How Renovo Got Started

“I started doing more and more projects on my own, but then realized that if I needed that kind of financing to do these kinds of projects, that there was other people out there that needed that kind of financing, too.”

Loan Programs

Renovo’s first deal funded in 2011:

$124,307 | Purchase-Rehab

Single Family Home | Skokie, IL

With support from Granite Creek and caffeine in their system, Kevin and Daniel began slowly and carefully lending in Chicago and building their team of rockstar real estate lenders.

For the first five or six years, they focused solely on the city of Chicago. Today, however, Renovo is rapidly expanding across the country with local lenders in more than 10 markets stretching from San Diego to Boston.

The Renovo Team Today

“It’s great to go to work every day when you really like the people you work with and you have the same values, morals and beliefs. We care about the customer and we actually want to support people’s businesses.”

Our Team

Renovo is – and always has been – obsessed with providing an amazing customer experience. “In the beginning, we had no money to spend on marketing, so if you want to grow, you better do a good job for your customer, so maybe they’ll go tell one or two people about you.” To achieve this goal, Renovo has always serviced our loans in-house, never relying on a third party.

Based on 68 reviews
Bill Granberry
Bill Granberry
22/03/2022
Renovo Financial has received a survey response from WILLIAM GRANBERRY. On a scale of 0 -10, the likelihood that this client recommends Renovo Financial to a friend or colleague was a score of 10. Their entire team are awesome partners to work with and always seem to have the investors best interest in mind. Monthly project check-ins, to the site reviews and distribution process help make keeping the project moving forward with minimal effort or requirements! THANK YOU!!!
John Livaditis
John Livaditis
21/03/2022
Renovo is a great option for fix and flip loans, bridge loans, and stabilized loan products. I have had great experiences dealing with their entire team as have numerous clients that I have referred to Renovo. Highly recommended
Anthony Santiago
Anthony Santiago
18/12/2021
I'm going on my third deal with Renovo. Never has dealing with a financial institution been so easy. The Teams I've had the pleasure of dealing with #Youknowwhoyouare were so professional and polite they make me feel like family. Its like calling your cousin Vinny for a loan!
Legacy Media TV
Legacy Media TV
05/11/2021
One of the best Banks that I have ever worked with! EVER!
Vitalie
Vitalie
02/10/2021
I've been working with Renovo Financial for over 3 years now, and completed couple transactions with them, and I've always been there to help me close on time. At the beginning I had a few little hiccups along the way but I have always closed on time. I really appreciate the staff and a dedication to getting me to the closing table on time. Other than that, I would highly recommend Renovo Financial to anyone looking for hard money loans and quick closings.

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