I’m founder and CEO of The Dachshund’s Undercarriage, a real estate and construction consulting company based in Mountain View, CA.

I’m also a licensed Realtor® (DRE# 02233979) with Pinnacle Realty Advisors.

Prior to moving into construction and real estate, I had careers in journalism, research and consulting.

I STUMBLED INTO the construction industry eleven years ago when my wife and I moved from San Francisco to Mountain View, couldn’t find a home we liked within our budget, and figured it couldn't be too hard to build our own. ​

 

We were wrong.

 

At the time, my DIY skills were so poor I struggled to hang a picture on a wall, let alone build a wall to hang the picture on - so it was a steep learning curve. But after we completed our first home, we kept building. I got deeper and deeper into architectural and interior design, materials purchasing, project management and selecting contractors - and we kept making mistakes.

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Over time I realized this large catalog of cock-ups might be useful to other first-time builders. After all, it's always good to learn from your mistakes - but it’s much cheaper if you learn from someone else's.

 

Plus, thanks to the many years I’d spent in a previous career running my own consulting business for large multinationals, I knew how to help clients analyze goals, risks, costs and potential pitfalls; run meaningful vendor selection programs; and manage projects.

 

And that's how I, er, gave birth to my Construction Doula business.

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A better way to buy

To support my housebuilding projects, I’ve spent more than a decade analyzing local real estate markets in various cities from San Francisco to San Jose - and using my background in journalism to dig deep. That’s given me a lot of exposure to the real estate industry - good and bad. 

 

I've been lucky enough to work with some great Buyer's agents - but I know that too many agents focus on positives and gloss over negatives, selling to you rather than advising you. That's why I launched my Real Estate Reality Check, helping home buyers dig deep, analyze the cons as well as the pros, and make more informed decisions.

 

A better way to sell

I've long had issues with sell-side agents too - in fact, prior to getting my real estate license, I sold three of my own houses without using a conventional agent.

 

Too few listing agents understand the nuances of the hyperlocal markets they operate in - which is essential to pricing and marketing your property. And too many charge commission as a flat percentage of the sale price - so you pay twice as much to sell a $2 home as a $1m home, even if it doesn't take twice the effort or expertise. 

 

My Contextual Commission is a unique way to match my fees to the time, effort and expertise required to sell your specific property - often resulting in lower commission.

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If you'd like to find out more about my Construction Doula and Real Estate Services, please reach out.

 

If you need someone to hang a picture for you - you're probably at the wrong website.

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