Chris & Calvin Lamont: Buy it or Build it, Strategies for taking risks, and Building an Empire from HGTV Hosts + Real Estate Entrepreneurs
Today I have the Lamont brothers on the show. They are twins and business partners who built a business encompassing real estate, finance, construction, and design. They just recently premiered their first season on HGTV with their show Buy It or Build It. We talk about their journey to get where they are today, their new HGTV show, and what you need to think about when choosing to buy a house or build a house.
about chris and calvin
Twins, Chris and Calvin LaMont, moved to Dallas, Texas in 2010 with $4,000 – and not much more. They were young, bright, and open to the possibilities, but they also had no idea where to begin or what their ultimate future looked like. Coming from humble beginnings in a big, loving family with modest means, they knew they’d have to give their all if they wanted to achieve meteoric success in their field. They eventually decided they wanted something very specific: to become the biggest real estate development companies in Texas.
Bold as their aspirations were, they had the ethic, vision and drive to make it happen. This was the dream. This was the north star that would guide them. Starting small and working their way up, the LaMont Brothers started their own commercial janitorial and floor care company. Despite having a lack of funding or the ideal amount of resources, they had an unsinkable hope and a commitment to their own career fulfillment. That company quickly grew into a successful water and fire damage restoration company. This is where they started to learn the ins and outs of real estate finance, construction, and design, and began finding lucrative projects with real estate investors across DFW.
In 2015, 5 years after the brothers started their first company, Chris and Calvin formed their own real estate development firm, Volume Income Properties Inc., and began buying and flipping renovated and newly constructed homes. One short year into their new business venture, the LaMont Brothers were presented with an unexpected opportunity. They were approached by a talent manager who wanted to introduce them to several television production companies for a show centered around their relationship as brothers and real estate business partners. In the years that followed, they filmed several “mini pilots” before filming a test pilot with JV Productions for what would eventually become their debut hit show, Buy It or Build It.
In January of 2020, HGTV and Discovery networks green lit the new show and Chris and Calvin LaMont became America’s newest television hosts in the home and lifestyle market. Together, the LaMont Brothers exemplify what it means to never abandon your drive, to learn with a never ending hunger, and to trust in the power of talent and the strength of family.
