With the growing number of vacant and depressed properties in Dayton, cousins Yemoni Huguely and Armond Darby are becoming alarmed about the condition of their hometown.

Huguely, a recent graduate of Miami University who is preparing for his first tour of duty as an Air Force officer and Darby, a college student who most recently attended Wilberforce University and had his sights set on a career in professional basketball, felt compelled to get involved with improving Dayton neighborhoods after deciding to become licensed Realtors.

What the business does: Huguely and Darby created Property Warriors, LLC in September of last year and joined forces to help solve the growing problem of the blight of many Dayton neighborhoods.

“Basically we drive around the area and look for boarded up and vacant properties that have become neighborhood eyesores,” Huguely said. “And we offer creative and innovative solutions to the property owner.”

The pair works with other Realtors, potential buyers and brokers and developers to determine what properties need as far as repairs and refurbishment, arrange a purchase price and then they market properties to potential buyers.

“Many properties are ‘diamonds in the dirt,’” Darby said.

Property Warriors currently only deals with commercial properties

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How the business started: Darby and Huguely first teamed with Sibcy Cline Realtors while becoming licensed to sell real estate. “We started asking questions we couldn’t get answers to,” Darby said. “We felt we wanted to do more so we decided to read books and do research about investing.”

Huguely said he loves the idea of having their own business based on a vision for a better community. “We want to improve the look of the community and get rid of these eyesores,” he said.

Future plans: Since their company is so new, Darby and Huguely are obviously concerned about finances for future projects.

“We’ve been working with the city of Dayton Economic Development to determine the needs of the city,” Darby said. “There are a lot of individuals who believe in our city. We don’t want Dayton to die.”

Contact: Email Huguely or Darby at yhuguely@propertywarriorsllc.com or adarby@propertywarriorsllc.com; Website is propertywarriorsllc.com