Matthew Haines had the good fortune to buy two brownstones in Harlem a few years ago. He renovated them, installed tenants, and quickly learned that the life of a smalltime landlord can be pretty uneventful.
And so three years ago he created the Web site that has since become PropertyShark.com. Ever since then his life has been one continuous blur of bug fixes, upgrades and new feature releases
Prior to moving to Harlem, Haines was a senior manager at Deloitte & Touche, where his primary client was American Express. In a previous life he worked as a researcher in an artificial intelligence lab at USC and as a translator of computer manuals for Fujitsu America.
Haines will speak during Real Estate Connect in New York City, Jan. 11-13, 2006.
Here are his answers to a set of questions posed by Inman News:
Panel or session at Connect: Housing Analytics.
What style of home do you live in today and when did you buy it?
Brownstone in Harlem, purchased September 2001.
Describe your dream home:
It would be wider than 15′ 7″, would have off-street parking, and it would not involve living with my tenants.
What is your favorite technology device or service?
Netflix. When I’m rich, I’m going to upgrade to the “8 movies at a time” plan.
What would your second career choice be after real estate?
Founder of second-wave dot-com startup — hopefully a successful one!
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