Nice to meet you!
I’m Michael Hsiao, founder of MH Real Estate Company.
Investing in real estate has profoundly changed my life. Buying, renovating and leasing commercial and residential properties has provided me with the freedom to leave the corporate grind, spend a year traveling the world, and establish a work schedule that has allowed me to be a ‘stay-at-home dad.’
Building my investment portfolio has also given me the knowledge and experience to run MH Real Estate Company, a brokerage that aims to provide the most successful real estate experiences to my clients. Constantly striving to work harder and smarter with the utmost integrity and transparency, I prioritize getting deals done with optimal results: big-money wins for my listing clients and never-thought-this-could-happen moments for my buyer clients.
I’m so grateful to have worked with amazing clients to close deals all over the Bay Area, including San Francisco, Livermore, San Mateo, Healdsburg, Oakland and Davis.
Thanks so much for dropping by. I hope you’ll reach out!
Michael’s Story
Early Years: Bay Area Born and Raised
Michael was born in Oakland, California. His parents immigrated to the Bay Area in the 70s from South Korea, where his grandparents landed upon fleeing the Communist Revolution that uprooted their lives in Shandong, China. Before getting married, Michael's dad acquired chef skills by working in Tokyo and around the Bay Area, while his mom acquired business skills by working at her family’s restaurant in Albany, as well as the local Bank of America and 7-Eleven. When she finally saved enough money from these jobs to buy a car, she didn’t pick just any car… She bought a brand new white Mustang convertible with red leather seats — “I paid All Cash!” From his mom, Michael has learned so much about finances, from the importance of saving to the more important lesson of spending in ways to live life to the fullest.
As immigrants with no English education, Michael’s parents pursued careers as restaurant owners. It was incredibly demanding hard work under tremendously stressful conditions. Yet on all accounts, from the rave reviews for their food to the love and support from their customers, Michael’s parents persevered and achieved everything they wanted to achieve with their restaurants. His firsthand experience seeing the immense sacrifices and struggles that his parents had to endure profoundly shapes Michael in every aspect of his life, from his personal values to how he runs his businesses. Michael is grateful to his parents beyond measure for the opportunities that they gave him, education in what hard work can accomplish, and inspiration to dream often and dream big.
“Michael is the epitome of everything you could want in a real estate agent; he is honest, knowledgeable and professional... I cannot say enough about our positive experience with Michael!”
By the Book: Study Hard, College, then a Corporate Job
Michael attended Vacaville Christian Academy, Christensen Middle School, Livermore High School and UC Berkeley. At Berkeley, Michael double-majored in Economics and Interdisciplinary Studies (International Relations).
In his Junior year, Michael was offered a part-time position with an SF-based risk management consulting firm that specializes in optimizing cost containment strategies for self-insured employers.
At the consulting firm, Michael embraced the opportunity to climb up the corporate ladder in the high-pressure, fast-paced environment of corporate consulting. In his eleven years, Michael climbed up the ranks from part-time intern to ultimately managing a team of analysts as a Partner, overseeing multi-million-dollar cost containment programs for several of the nation’s largest employers including Safeway, Chevron, PG&E, SFMTA, the City of Philadelphia, Wegman’s, and both UC and CSU systems.
“Michael is a trustworthy and reliable person who truly cares for and acts 100% in his client’s best interests. He goes the extra mile to ensure you’re fully satisfied...”
Outside the Box: Real Estate Investing, Global Travel and MH Real Estate Company
Michael first got hooked on real estate as a kid watching PBS marathons of renovation shows hosted by do-it-the-right-way contractors like Norm Abram and Bob Vila. After graduating college and reading the book Rich Dad Poor Dad, his fate was sealed… He set a goal to own investment property, hopefully many, and hopefully enough to achieve financial freedom and an early retirement. While full-time at the consulting firm, he attended real estate classes nights and weekends and saved everything he could to buy property.
Michael bought his first investment property in his hometown of Livermore in 2008 and acquired his Broker’s license in 2009. Over the next several years, he began building a portfolio of single-family homes in Livermore. When the real estate market bounced back in the Bay Area, he traded up to multi-unit properties in Portland via 1031 exchanges. Fast forward another several years, Michael ultimately built a portfolio that provided enough passive income to resign from his consulting firm in 2015. Today, Michael owns commercial and residential rental properties in the Bay Area, Portland and Astoria (OR).
Michael founded MH Real Estate Company to help his clients achieve their real estate goals by leveraging the knowledge and experience he gained from utilizing real estate to transform his own life and career. Moreover, the Company provides a platform for Michael to give back to his community and charitable organizations through MH Real Estate Company’s 5% Pledge.