MSRE student, alumnus focuses on growing real estate business

New opportunity leads Chapela to seek Niners’ votes

Charlotte master’s student Alan Oliva Chapela ’17 first experienced the power of home ownership through strategic steps his mother and maternal grandfather took.

Decades ago, his grandfather had the vision to buy and subdivide a lot in Mexico to enable Chapela’s mother Yazmín and her siblings to build five houses on the property, and from there, grow generational wealth. His mother later sold her house and used part of the proceeds to help her son form a real estate company in the Charlotte region and flip his first house.

Building on that foundation, the Belk College of Business scholar is living in the third house he’s bought to renovate and sell. He’s on track to graduate this spring with a Master of Science in Real Estate, adding to a bachelor’s in economics and minor in political science from Charlotte.

Now, he is asking friends, colleagues and fellow Niners to vote for him in an online contest called “Entrepreneur of Impact,” which offers one winner a mentoring session with Daymond John of “Shark Tank” fame, $25,000 and an advertising feature in Forbes. The competition’s first round of voting closes Jan. 30, and contestants must make it into the top 20 to move to the next round. At that point, contest rules say the voting “clock” will reset, and Chapela hopes voting from fellow Niners and community members will continue.

“I saw a posting on social media about applying for the contest,” Chapela said. “I read the details, and I thought it looked interesting. I thought, ‘Why not?’ I self-registered, and I was chosen.”

Fueling growth, persistence

For Chapela, nabbing the win would fuel his business of flipping houses and help him persist even when times are lean. Perhaps as importantly, winning would allow him to talk one-on-one with John, whose career he has avidly followed.

“My inspiration is honoring the family legacy with Chapela Real Estate and Investments and also helping minority communities gain access to affordable housing,” he said. “I want to build equity for long-term wealth management for myself and others in the community. I’m a huge advocate of participation and community involvement, as well as giving back and showing up as a mentor and role-model.”

His mother also was an entrepreneur, selling clothing from the home and driving a taxi, as just some of her jobs. Chapela first moved to Charlotte from Mexico City with his mother when he was 10 years old. The following years included several required stays in Mexico, before he obtained his permanent resident card. His mother passed away in Mexico in 2019.

Navigating bumps in the road

Chapela has faced detours and roadblocks on his journey. Now 35 years old, he has pursued higher education off-and-on since he was 20. He buckled down to earn an associate degree from Central Piedmont Community College and the bachelor’s degree from the Belk College at Charlotte.

“I’d been working for quite a few years with multiple jobs after that,” he said. “But I honestly wasn’t getting what I wanted on salary and positions. That’s when I decided to come back to school and get my master’s.”

He started a graduate degree in economics but switched to the MSRE program after a few real estate classes, along with his grandfather’s example, inspired him. Some of his most enlightening experiences have included touring massive construction sites to see the intricacies of the projects first-hand and a study abroad trip to Ireland.

“That was really cool, just seeing how other governments deal with affordable housing subsidies, taxes and all kinds of things differently than what we do in the U.S.,” he said. “We were seeing it from a business aspect, because we had the construction tours and talked with the real estate developers to get their perspectives.”

Serving others

Chapela is committed to helping others in the community. In early days at Charlotte, an undergraduate internship at Camino Community Center sparked his interests. He has fed the flame by volunteering with the UNC Charlotte Latinx/a/o Alumni Network’s education committee and Habitat for Humanity and as a founding member of the International Minority Coalition.

“I want to lead by example,” he said. “As a Latino about to finish a master’s degree, I know I am part of a tiny percentage of Latinos in the United States with a master’s degree. I am so proud to call UNC Charlotte my school and to have seen how the University has grown the number of Latino graduates.”

If he wins the contest, Chapela is determined to donate a portion of the prize money to benefit organizations working to better others’ lives, particularly through education and home ownership. This, he figures, is one of the best ways to honor the legacy of his mother and his grandfather.

“I’m lucky because my mom helped me and gave me the seed capital,” he said. “I understand that I’m blessed to be where I am today. So, I just want to make sure that more kids have a similar chance.”