The Pirate Entrepreneurship Fund, LLC (“PEF”) announced today that it is leading a Preferred Series Seed investment round in Turner Home Team, a Greenville, North Carolina–based residential real estate acquisition platform focused on purchasing and repositioning off-market properties across North and South Carolina. PEF has committed $300,000 as lead investor to help drive the business through accelerated growth.
Founded in May 2022 by Justin Turner, a Summa Cum Laude Finance graduate of East Carolina University (Class of 2021), Turner Home Team provides residential real estate owners with a professional, reliable alternative when traditional home sales are not practical. The company specializes in acquiring properties that require repairs, are inherited, or present financial or logistical challenges — and returning those homes to the market as quality, reliable housing.
Turner is both a licensed General Contractor and a licensed Real Estate Broker, combining construction, valuation, artificial intelligence, and transactional expertise within one vertically integrated platform — a key differentiator in a residential investor market that has historically been fragmented and inconsistent.
Since its founding, Turner Home Team has transacted over $8 million in residential real estate across North and South Carolina, with a strong concentration in Eastern North Carolina.
“This investment allows us to accelerate the platform we’ve been building — a professional, tech-driven company that gives homeowners a straightforward selling option and brings institutional discipline to a space that has long lacked consistency and trust.”
— Justin Turner, Founder & CEO, Turner Home Team
Turner added: “I’m grateful to be partnering with an ECU-affiliated fund that believes in our mission, and whose motto is ‘Pirates helping Pirates.'”
“Turner Home Team has demonstrated an ability to source, underwrite, and execute on residential acquisitions with a level of consistency we rarely see at this stage. Their vertically integrated model and growing use of technology position the company well for scalable growth.”
— Kelly Barnhill, Jr., Board Member, Pirate Entrepreneurship Fund (Henrix-Barnhill Co., Inc.)
Barnhill continued: “We believe their approach benefits both homeowners and neighborhoods, and we’re excited to partner with the company as it scales across the Carolinas.”
“It is exciting to see Justin use his business degree to carve out an entrepreneurial career path. His integration of AI into an innovative real estate platform is directly impacting the market throughout the Carolinas, and this investment will help Turner Home Team reach the next level.”
— Dr. Michael Harris, Dean, ECU College of Business & W. Howard Rooks Distinguished Professor
This commitment marks PEF’s eighth company investment and reflects the fund’s continued dedication to supporting ECU alumni and university entrepreneurs in building high-growth businesses.