Roman Aquino

“[American Express® Business Line of Credit] opened doors and gave me options to be more creative.”

Roman Aquino

Real American Express® Business Line of Credit customer who was aware that his testimonial may be featured by American Express.

Supporting Long-Term Business Growth

Roman Aquino maintains a philosophy that has served him well in life as well as in his business of buying and renting residential properties.  “The fruits of your hard work won’t show up on the first day or even the first year or third year—every situation and industry is different—but the people who just keep going and going—those are ones who see results” he says. That long view is part of what got Roman, sole proprietor of Aquino’s Real Estate, interested in property initially, as he sees it not only as a source of income today, but a way of passing it on to his children.

Roman began buying and fixing up properties as investments in 2009 in Lawrence, Massachusetts, about 30 miles north of Boston. Today, he owns and manages multiple properties in the area, using a team of construction professionals, painters, landscapers, and others to repair and maintain them. “It takes a whole village to make things happen—they’re like family,” he says of his team.

Since 2016, American Express® has also been a supporting player in Roman’s business, as he has multiple American Express Business Cards. “Anything I’ve needed for my business; I’ve gotten through them. They always came through for me and I always came through for them by paying on time.”

The Freedom to Remodel More Properties

Yet when Roman received an email from an American Express representative telling him about American Express® Business Line of Credit, he was skeptical. “Honestly, it seemed too good to be true,” he recalls. But once Roman had investigated American Express® Business Line of Credit online and read the reviews, he was convinced that it was a solution that could benefit his business. He applied online and was quickly approved for a $150,000 line of credit.

“It immediately opened doors and gave me options to be more creative,” he recalls. At the time, he was refinancing other properties to buy an additional three-family building, as well as to fund some remodeling on his existing properties. “Now, I can use American Express® Business Line of Credit to do the remodels and with the refinancing funds, qualify to purchase not one, but two more buildings.”

Indeed, with his first funding of $25,000 Roman paved the driveways of two buildings and plans to do extensive electrical work as well. “And I’m very comfortable with the payment plan,” he adds. “With other loans I’ve had, you have to work harder to find out the details of the costs. American Express® Business Line of Credit lets me know what I’m in for on a monthly basis throughout the whole period of the loan. So I can plan things. I love it.”

Cash at the Ready Makes a Difference

Roman plans to continue to draw on his American Express Business Line of Credit to pay for remodeling and maintenance on his properties as needed. “My construction guys will tell me we need this many doors, this amount of sheet rock, this many square feet of flooring…so I can know what money I need and take funding as I go.”

With the flexibility of American Express® Business Line of Credit, Roman says he feels he has a safety net that allows him more creativity and freedom in his business. “It gives you the power to aspire to greater things because you have that money available,” he says. “It really has allowed changes in my life and that of my family, which I really appreciate.”