My Journey through Real Estate.
Unique.
My journey through real estate has been a unique one, well rounded to say the least. As a young child in San Francisco, I watched my father build a business through creative thinking — using borrowed capital to generate actual capital. I didn’t know it at the time — I knew he was always doing a million things as he carried me on his shoulders through old buildings in different phases of construction. The smell of sawdust and the commands of “don’t touch that” permeate my earliest memories. He was figuring it out as he went, with no formal training and no inherited roadmap. It’s because of this that I have the utmost respect for the DIY-er, the innovators, and the creative problem-solvers.
A view of my hometown, San Francisco.
Looking out over Mission Dolores.
I set out to do something different in my twenties with my own father’s encouragement: Don’t be like me – go to college, study something, get a nice job with a retirement plan and less stress.
But it turns out that buildings are in my blood. Probably literally unfortunately, growing up in the era I did without N95 masks and OSHA regulations.
And after sitting at a desk for a few years, I was restless. Doing the same thing every day wasn’t for me. So I went back into buildings to see what I could find.
And to jump ahead:
I’ve cleaned buildings, rehabbed interiors, and painted homes. I’ve permitted construction projects and done the accounting for 1031 exchanges. And I’ve spent over twenty years in property management – both under my own boutique management company and in an operational role within a larger firm – overseeing at my busiest 32 buildings at one time in the Portland Metro area, through the pandemic and civil unrest to boot! Some of those classic buildings were my favorites, and I miss them, with their histories, iron fire escapes, and massive boilers in the basements.
And today, I help others to buy and sell their own homes and consult around questions and predicaments in real estate. I have extensive knowledge of complex real estate needs and did I mention… a background in linguistics and negotiation?
Like I said: unique.
