Hello!

I’m Michael Hsiao.

Real Estate Broker, Investor and Developer.

With more than 10 years of experience building my own real estate portfolio and brokering more than 20 deals for clients, I strive to provide my clients with expert insights, advocacy, and consultation to help them achieve their real estate goals.

My Story

Early Years: Bay Area Born and Raised

Michael was born in Oakland, California, into a family of Chinese immigrants. His parents immigrated to the Bay Area in the 70s from South Korea, where they were both born after their families fled the Communist Revolution, leaving their communities in Shandong, China. Michael's dad acquired chef skills by working in kitchens in Tokyo and the Bay Area, while his mom learned how to run and operate restaurants by working at her family restaurant in Albany (now China Village, which Michael’s Uncle John still operates). She also gained business experience as a Bank of America teller and 7Eleven clerk. When she was ready to make her first major purchase in life, she had only one thing in mind worthy of her hard-earned savings: a new white Mustang convertible with red leather seats. “All Cash!"

Michael’s parents established two restaurants in their careers, one in Vacaville and one in Livermore. In his early childhood, Michael spent countless hours in the dining room folding wontons and egg rolls, snapping off green bean tips, peeling shrimp shells, and chatting with customers. These and many other restaurant experiences, along with a steady stream of business wisdom provided by his mom, taught Michael that operating a successful business was rooted in hard work, hustle and fostering good relationships with vendors and customers.

By the Book: Study Hard, College, then a Corporate Job

Michael attended Vacaville Christian Academy; Christensen Middle School in Livermore, where he met his best friend and business partner Jake Fahnhorst; 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 position with Donn & Company, an SF-based consulting firm that specializes in improving workers compensation programs for large self-insured private and public employers.

Donn & Company provided Michael with a unique opportunity to gain consulting skills and experience in an intensely high-pressure, fast-paced corporate setting. In his eleven years with the firm, Michael climbed the corporate ladder from part-time intern to Director then Partner, ultimately managing a team of analysts and overseeing multi-million-dollar workers compensation programs for several of the nation’s largest self-insured employers including Safeway, Wegman’s, Chevron, PG&E, SFMTA, the City of Philadelphia, and both University of California and California State University systems.

Outside the Box: Real Estate Pursuits, Travel then MH Real Estate Company

In 2015, Michael achieved his dream of leaving the corporate world to explore his life passions.

Since he can remember, Michael has been deeply passionate about real estate. Watching real estate TV shows since early middle school, (when hosts like Norm Abram and Bob Vila spent an entire season fixing up one property, compared to current fixer-upper shows that make flips look so very easy and profitable), Michael has always been interested in learning how to do things the right way and the profound impact that real estate living spaces and investments can have on people's lives.

With hopes and dreams of someday owning enough investment properties to become his own boss, Michael attended real estate classes nights and weekends while working full-time at Donn & Company. Meanwhile, he saved as much as he could for a down payment on his first investment property (which, admittedly, was not as cool as a Mustang!).

Michael invested in his first rental property in 2008 and acquired his brokers license in 2009. Over the next several years, he began building an investment portfolio. In the early stages, he focused on single-family properties in his hometown of Livermore. Then when the real estate market bounced back in the Bay Area, he traded up to multi-unit properties in Portland via 1031 exchanges (i.e. deferring taxes on the equity gains by applying the gains toward more valuable properties). With a lot of luck working with awesome people and navigating tumultuous real estate waters during the recession, Michael ultimately built an investment portfolio that provided the financial freedom for him to leave his full-time corporate position.

Recently married and not yet ready to settle down with kids, Michael and his wife Alexandra moved out of San Francisco to travel the world after he resigned from Donn & Company. Over the following nine months, they experienced breathtaking beauty and ate their way through Europe, South America and Asia. For both of them, it was much needed R&R, with Alexandra having recently completed her rigorous doctorate psychology studies and Michael finally getting a breather from spreadsheets.

While in Peru, Alexandra reached out to UCSF’s Student Health and Counseling Services about an open position. She began interviewing via Skype, and the rest is history... Now back in San Francisco, Michael lives with Alexandra and their daughter Elena May in Forest Knolls. He has also lived in Cole Valley (Frederick and Stanyan), Nob Hill (Gramercy Towers), Pacific Heights/Russian Hill (Broadway and Franklin), and Cathedral Hill/Tenderloin (Van Ness and Ellis).

Michael enjoys traveling, photography, golfing, hiking, running in Golden Gate Park and documenting family recipes.

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My Story

Michael Hsiao

CEO | Broker | Realtor®

CalDRE #01872575

Mobile: 415-952-7279

Email: michael@mhreco.com

Early Years: Bay Area Born and Raised

Michael was born in Oakland, California, into a family of Chinese immigrants. His parents immigrated to the Bay Area in the 70s from South Korea, where they were both born after their families fled the Communist Revolution, leaving their communities in Shandong, China. Michael's dad acquired chef skills by working in kitchens in Tokyo and the Bay Area, while his mom learned how to run and operate restaurants by working at her family restaurant in Albany (now China Village, which Michael’s Uncle John still operates). She also gained business experience as a Bank of America teller and 7Eleven clerk. When she was ready to make her first major purchase in life, she had only one thing in mind worthy of her hard-earned savings: a new white Mustang convertible with red leather seats. “All Cash!"

Michael’s parents established two restaurants in their careers, one in Vacaville and one in Livermore. In his early childhood, Michael spent countless hours in the dining room folding wontons and egg rolls, snapping off green bean tips, peeling shrimp shells, and chatting with customers. These and many other restaurant experiences, along with a steady stream of business wisdom provided by his mom, taught Michael that operating a successful business was rooted in hard work, hustle and fostering good relationships with vendors and customers.

By the Book: Study Hard, College, then a Corporate Job

Michael attended Vacaville Christian Academy; Christensen Middle School in Livermore, where he met his best friend and business partner Jake Fahnhorst; 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 position with Donn & Company, an SF-based consulting firm that specializes in improving workers compensation programs for large self-insured private and public employers.

Donn & Company provided Michael with a unique opportunity to gain consulting skills and experience in an intensely high-pressure, fast-paced corporate setting. In his eleven years with the firm, Michael climbed the corporate ladder from part-time intern to Director then Partner, ultimately managing a team of analysts and overseeing multi-million-dollar workers compensation programs for several of the nation’s largest self-insured employers including Safeway, Wegman’s, Chevron, PG&E, SFMTA, the City of Philadelphia, and both University of California and California State University systems.

Outside the Box: Real Estate Pursuits, Travel then MH Real Estate Company

In 2015, Michael achieved his dream of leaving the corporate world to explore his life passions.

Since he can remember, Michael has been deeply passionate about real estate. Watching real estate TV shows since early middle school, (when hosts like Norm Abram and Bob Vila spent an entire season fixing up one property, compared to current fixer-upper shows that make flips look so very easy and profitable), Michael has always been interested in learning how to do things the right way and the profound impact that real estate living spaces and investments can have on people's lives.

With hopes and dreams of someday owning enough investment properties to become his own boss, Michael attended real estate classes nights and weekends while working full-time at Donn & Company. Meanwhile, he saved as much as he could for a down payment on his first investment property (which, admittedly, was not as cool as a Mustang!).

Michael invested in his first rental property in 2008 and acquired his brokers license in 2009. Over the next several years, he began building an investment portfolio. In the early stages, he focused on single-family properties in his hometown of Livermore. Then when the real estate market bounced back in the Bay Area, he traded up to multi-unit properties in Portland via 1031 exchanges (i.e. deferring taxes on the equity gains by applying the gains toward more valuable properties). With a lot of luck working with awesome people and navigating tumultuous real estate waters during the recession, Michael ultimately built an investment portfolio that provided the financial freedom for him to leave his full-time corporate position.

Recently married and not yet ready to settle down with kids, Michael and his wife Alexandra moved out of San Francisco to travel the world after he resigned from Donn & Company. Over the following nine months, they experienced breathtaking beauty and ate their way through Europe, South America and Asia. For both of them, it was much needed R&R, with Alexandra having recently completed her rigorous doctorate psychology studies and Michael finally getting a breather from spreadsheets.

While in Peru, Alexandra reached out to UCSF’s Student Health and Counseling Services about an open position. She began interviewing via Skype, and the rest is history... Now back in San Francisco, Michael lives with Alexandra and their daughter Elena May in Forest Knolls. He has also lived in Cole Valley (Frederick and Stanyan), Nob Hill (Gramercy Towers), Pacific Heights/Russian Hill (Broadway and Franklin), and Cathedral Hill/Tenderloin (Van Ness and Ellis).

Michael enjoys traveling, photography, golfing, hiking, running in Golden Gate Park and documenting family recipes.

Please Contact Me!