Our History

The CR of Maryland team is proud to be Maryland born and raised! Craig Reich established CR of Maryland in 2013, bringing Alexander Cruz onboard shortly after. The company focused on buying, renovating, and reselling homes. Within a few years, CR of Maryland became one of the largest home renovation companies in the northeast. As the company continued to grow, it expanded into a full-service turnkey real estate investment company that buys, renovates, resells homes and buys, renovates, and leases rentals.

With the experience of over 2,000 transactions, we have an unparalleled network of resources and relationships that we use to purchase and renovate houses. We have the advantage of performing high quality, modern renovations within an accelerated timeline and a premium ROI.

We are one of the only turnkey investment companies that can truly ensure our properties’ quality and high potential ROI for investors because we don’t outsource renovations or property management. Unlike other turnkey real estate investment companies, CR of Maryland has a hardworking internal team dedicated to rental recruitment and management. We operate a rental portfolio of over 500 properties that are fully renovated and occupied.

Our Vision

CR of Maryland's vision is to be the leader in affordable housing and benchmark of the industry for quality, integrity, and professionalism.

Our Values

CR of Maryland’s core values are the foundation of everything we do. The culture of CR of Maryland is built around a set of core values instilled by our founder Craig Reich. We have been able to maintain and grow this culture because we hire to our core values. Each team member not only understands our values, they have embraced and lived them long before they became part of our team.

Passion | Community | Integrity | Accountability

Innovative Renovators

Unlike most “house flippers”, we don’t just give a home a “new coat of paint” only fixing the obvious cosmetic issues.

Quality is everything. We renovate 100% of the house: the roof, siding, electrical, HVAC, mechanicals, plumbing, foundation and more. We introduce modern designs, energy efficient appliances, materials and technologies. With more than 1,200 renovations and 10+ years experience, we have the expertise to operate an efficient construction process and with the highest quality control procedures. The result is a stunning and reliable CR of Maryland home.

CR Newly Renovated House Ashgrown Way CR Newly Renovated House Knoll Circle a brick house with blue door and windows a kitchen with wood floors and white walls a yellow and blue building with a tree in front of it a small building with a green door and window a bathroom with a toilet, sink and shower a house with a green door and white railings a kitchen with a stove, microwave and cabinets

Meet the Leadership Team

We are a full-service turnkey real estate investment company with a full-time property management team and support staff.

Yvonne Deardorff

Owner/Partner

Direct:
Office: 410-560-2763

Yvonne Deardorff is an attorney, Lakeside Title’s CEO and sole owner, and CEO of CR of Maryland. She graduated from Villa Julie College with an AA degree in Paralegal Studies before obtaining a BA in Jurisprudence from the University of Baltimore and then her law degree from University of Maryland School of Law in 1995. After spending several years in a law practice focused on real estate matters, she opened Avalon Title Corporation in 1998. She joined Lakeside in 2006 and established the second branch office of the company in Carroll County which she managed until 2009 when she was promoted to Director of Sales & Marketing in support of all of Lakeside’s business development. In 2011 she was promoted to Chief Operating Officer and in that role grew Lakeside’s footprint to 16 locations and over 90 employees until becoming the sole owner of Lakeside in March 2019. After building a strong professional relationship with CR of Maryland over many years, Yvonne became the CEO and President in 2022.

Yvonne’s mantra is to always work hard and be nice to people. Yvonne is a Carroll County native that now loves living on the Magothy River in Pasadena and relaxing at her home away from home on the bay in Ocean City, Maryland. She enjoys spending time on the water with her husband, Scott, and their three Labrador retrievers (one of each color), fishing, stand-up paddleboarding, and boating.

Alexander Cruz

Owner/Partner

Direct: (410) 322-3199
Office: (410) 560-2763

Alexander, a Baltimore native, began his real estate career in 2011 following his graduation from West Virginia University. Often referred to as Xander, he quickly developed a keen interest in real estate investing. He played a pivotal role in the foundational growth of CR of Maryland, positioning it as a leading Residential Investment Company in Baltimore. Presently, CR is a company of 35 employees. The company manages a portfolio exceeding 500 rental properties and is on pace to renovate over 140 properties in 2023. Throughout his journey, Xander undertook various roles, contributing significantly to the company’s growth. Currently, as a partner, he assumes responsibility for overseeing the company’s day-to-day operations. Outside of work, he proudly calls Baltimore his home, residing with his wife Lauren, their daughter Ava, and their two dogs. He also passionately supports Baltimore’s sports teams.

Eric Jones

Chief Operating Officer

Direct:
Office: 410-560-2763

Eric Jones is a results-driven business management professional with an impressive 20+ years of experience. Prior to joining CR of Maryland, he had been dedicated to the launch, growth, and successful sale of a successful junk and debris removal franchise from one truck to a whopping eight – all while remaining committed to being a great community partner. As part of his personal philosophy he enjoys mentoring other business leaders helping them improve their business along with achieving a balanced personal life. In addition to his passion for business, Eric has always had a keen eye for real estate development and construction, which was nurtured by countless weekends spent with his father remodeling homes in his childhood.

When not focused on work, Eric dedicates time to his outdoor hobbies such as golfing, boating, hunting, and travelling abroad with his family. He loves spending time with his wife Engel and two sons Hunter and Jude and silver lab, StanLee.

CR Maryland Turnkey Investing and Renovation Team Abby Lohr

Abby Lohr

Controller

Direct: (410) 842-1925
Office: (410) 560-2763

Abby is a Baltimore native who spent six years living in Texas and Arkansas after graduating from Towson University (Maryland) in 2010. Abby has been an essential team member at CR for five years, and has grown with the Company, serving in various roles including administrative, property management, accounting, and operations. She has additional experience outside of CR working in property management, social services, and non-profits. Abby’s knowledge of the internal workings of CR are unmatched. When not at work, Abby enjoys spending time with her son Cooper and their dog, reading, and visiting new restaurants with her friends.

Jeff Braaten

Director of Construction

Direct:
Office: (410) 560-2763

Jeff was born and raised in New England, brings is a 4th Generation Master Carpenter – coming from a family with incredible construction knowledge. Jeff relocated to Pennsylvania as a young professional to work with a custom home builder and has lived there since with his family. Jeff has a passion for Construction and creating beautiful homes. His vast scope of knowledge in all trades from carpentry to cabinetry, framing to drywall, & electrical to plumbing makes him well rounded in the building industry and translates into delivering homes renovated to the highest degree of quality. For the last 27 years, his passion has led to his stunning renovations of homes throughout New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. His integrity and service minded approach makes him a valuable team-player and essential to CR’s mission. In his spare time, he enjoys nothing more than hanging out and cooking for his four wonderful children- they hold his heart! If the kids are not around, you will most likely find Jeff enjoying the outdoors or working, as he truly has a passion for what he does.

Sheila Proano

Director of Property Management

Direct: 410-842-0537
Office: 410-560-2763

Sheila is a west coast native who now considers the Baltimore region her home. For the past 14 years, Sheila has served the Baltimore community by working at a day shelter for women, a prison rehabilitation center, the local housing authority, and more recently, the Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership. It is this passion and history that lead Sheila to CR of Maryland with the determination to oversee Property Management. Sheila quickly connected with the core values of community, empowerment, integrity, and passion. Her main focus is to ensure the Property Management team provides consistent, empathetic and accurate support for all CR of Maryland customers.