ABOUT US
Get to know the success, history, and team members of Ridgewood Capital Advisors
The original Ridgewood Apartments located in Denton, TX
Born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, Nathan relocated to Charlotte, NC in 2008 to be closer to family. After stints in the construction and insurance industries, he found his way to real estate in 2011.
"My father accumulated a 36 unit apartment portfolio in Denton, TX that I thought was going to be my inheritance. Given that I'm an only child, was at a turning point in my career, and my father was dealing with a cancer diagnosis, I decided it was time to learn the family business. I got my North Carolina real estate license in 5 weeks and started working for a Charlotte based residential firm as a closing coordinator. The mandate from my boss was to call when his check was ready or when I encountered a problem that I couldn't solve. Despite the $350/week salary, that job taught me the fine art of navigating and anticipating problems that can get in the way of closing deals. My path then led me to a firm that focused on a combination of residential and commercial transactions. The broker in charge had aligned himself with a Canadian syndication group that was looking to buy multifamily complexes in North Carolina. Though I had no knowledge of what P&L, NOI or DSCR stood for, I dove in and started helping this group buy apartments in the greater Charlotte area. A fortuitous call on a Loopnet listing led me to my third firm...a Charlotte based group that focused exclusively on multifamily sales in the Carolinas. Despite breaking my jaw in a snowmobile accident on a team building trip before my actual start date, they brought me on board anyway...and I'm glad they did. Though I was green, my boss expanded on my bootstrap education and taught me the intricacies of closing larger multifamily transactions. I rose to the #2 producer in the company behind the owner with a closing percentage above 95%. Once I had a large enough nest egg and realized that I could run my own shop less expensively than the brokerage split I was paying, I left and formed Ridgewood Capital Advisors in April of 2018 with a partner. Our first closing occurred in January of 2019. All told, since 2019, Ridgewood Capital Advisors has been involved in the closing of 7,000+ multifamily units totaling $444,351,097 in gross sales.
I feel strongly that my brokerage experience has equipped me well to step into the owner/operator space. At the end of the day, we've accumulated the brokerage track record that we have by being conservative underwriters and focusing on the story of each property we represent. Our plan is to apply the exact same mentality to the communities we buy."
NATHAN VAUGHAN
Founding Partner
Alex was first introduced to real estate at a very young age by his grandfather, who instilled in him that the best way to build wealth and achieve financial freedom was through owning real estate. Determined to achieve that success and learn the business, but unsure exactly where to start, Alex ventured into the world of commercial real estate. After spending some time doing tenant representation at a general commercial firm, while also completing 16 SF "fix and flip" projects on the side with his mom, he decided that the investment sales side of the business was where he wanted to be.
In 2018, Alex dove headfirst into multifamily brokerage, and for two years, bootstrapped his way to learning the language—getting, as Nathan likes to put it, about 85% of the way there. In January 2020, Alex joined Ridgewood Capital Advisors. After spending a few years as a "lone wolf," during which he sold 24 apartment communities totaling 1,232 units, he partnered with Nathan in 2023 to acquire 141 units, marking the formation of the current Ridgewood team.
Partner
ALEX ROSSITCH
Emma joined the Ridgewood Capital Advisors team in 2020 immediately upon graduating from the University of North Carolina Wilmington.
Inspired by her grandfather's influence in real estate, she works closely with her father, Nathan Vaughan, in the family business. Originally on the path to Law School, the pandemic led her to shift gears, choosing real estate for its freedom and skills. Emma, being brought on to focus on client outreach with the Ridgewood Team, has achieved 800+ units closed and generated north of $80M in sales to date. Her deep connection to real estate stems from fond memories at Ridgewood Apartments in Denton, TX, reflecting her commitment to both the industry and family values.
Head of Operations