Shore Stopper

The future of Tahoe real estate is here. Meet Katherina Haug, the not-so-new-to the shore top-producing agent with an impressive book of established clients and savvy buyers dipping their toes into the lake. Sharp, witty, unfiltered, free, candid, wild, and competitive are just a few characteristics that define Haug, one half of Miller & Haug Real Estate Partners. We sit down with Ms. Haug to discuss all things Lake Tahoe, learn about the market, her ambitions and an unyielding drive to serve her clients. 

“We have close ties to the water, water rights, and focus on legacy lakefronts.”

First off, tell us about your road to real estate and how you wound up in this Lake Tahoe market.

I was working in marketing and sales for a sports company and traveling all the time for work. I’d still find time nearly every weekend to come up to Tahoe. I decided to make the move up here and merge personal and professional lives. I transitioned to marketing and transaction management for a local real estate firm but it didn’t take long for me to learn I wanted to work for myself in real estate. I got my license and hit the pavement, day-in and day-out. Snowstorm, rainstorm, sunny day, it didn’t matter: I was working. I hustled, I followed up, I did an open house every damn weekend. I told myself: “If this doesn’t work out, at least I can’t say I didn’t try!” It took me 13 months to sell my first house. But then the flood gates opened up and it hasn’t stopped.

Your focus really payed off, didn’t it?

“What you focus on, expands” is one of my current life mottos. Where positive energy flows, positive energy returns. I’m a people person, so I have always combined my passion of meeting people with the final result of making a real estate connection, but I’ve always said “Worst case scenario, I’ve met and had an incredible interaction with another person.” The sales and money come second to that personal connection.

“What you focus on, expands.”

You’re one half of a team. Tell us about your partnership with Craig Miller. 

I partnered with my business partner Craig Miller in 2017, and it’s been an incredibly rewarding relationship, both personally and professionally. We both bring something so different to the table, and I am constantly learning something new from him, and I’d like to think vice versa. We’ve found that building and working with our two different personalities and relativity basis has created a very dynamic and brilliant approach to our business and handling our client’s needs. We work off one another, it’s a constant sports game: I dribble an idea, volley it over to him, we dialogue, lob it out, constantly juggling between the two of us tag-teaming the business execution. We’re in constant communication, both with eyes and ears on our work, and we share responsibilities in perfect harmony, each taking on our respective fields of strength.

Sounds like a dream team.

Yes, we are a great team! Craig shares perspectives and advice on life and has helped me build into a bigger person professionally and personally. In our partnership, we continue to build a bigger and bigger business, and yet our respective qualities of life have never been better, and that is ultimately the goal: to live in happiness. 

Tell us about your market and what your team is focused on inventory-wise.

We specialize in the listing and acquisition of legacy lakefront properties on the west shore and north shores of Lake Tahoe, spanning across both California and Nevada, as well as historic old-Tahoe properties on the west shore from Tahoe City to Rubicon, including the neighborhoods of Sunnyside, Homewood and Meeks Bay, as well as the Dollar Point community, and the luxury concierge condominium communities of Fleur du Lac, Chambers Landing, Chinquapin, and Stillwater Cove. Craig and I have chosen to focus our energies on this relatively small sector of the real estate market. That said, this inventory segment has a large geographic area, is incredibly varied, and the particular market has a very unique set of considerations to property ownership, especially within the Lakefront sector. There are multiple agencies and entitlements to review and consider, and we take pride in helping our clients navigate that. Craig and I have close ties to water, water rights, and wanted our focus to be on said subject properties and client base.

What’s your ultimate value add? 

We are advisors, we are specialists in our field, and I take that role very responsibly. I’m not a good order taker, I am a brilliant project manager to achieve my clients’ successes.  I focus my work to run my business as efficiently and professionally as possible, but still retaining the human aspect that calls me to this profession. We only have so many hours in the day, and I strive to maintain a stately pace to my work.

How do you balance it all?

Over-committing oneself does not benefit anyone; the quality of work suffers, and my quality of being declines as well. We are not computers, and we can only do so much, however, I truly love all aspects of this business, and I reject the idea of delegating tasks out so that I may increase my volume. I like writing my ad copy, I like staging my listings, tidying things up, and taking ownership of the whole process. That is rewarding to me. 

In just seven years you’ve established a reputation for quality and service. How’d you manage that with all the competition?

Yes, we have. Craig and I have chosen to focus our business on quality over quantity. We interview our prospective clients, and make sure we are good fits on both sides: this is after all, a people business. We dig into who our clients are, what they are looking for in owning property at Lake Tahoe, and work on a personal level to find that perfect property from which our clients can create these dreams. A home in Lake Tahoe is a dream, and we are very fortunate to be a part of that with our clients. We take our book of business and know-how of the market to pair our clients with their goals on a personal level. 

Tell us about your clientele. Who’s buying and selling homes in your market?

My client base varies greatly in all walks of life, from young families looking for a home to foster memories with their children, to retirees looking to relax and enjoy the life they’ve worked so hard to create, and of course families selling their retreats for a large variety of reasons. They come to us for the professional and personal expertise we offer to help them achieve their lifestyle and estate planning goals.

Describe a dream client.

One that is a blast to work with, aligns well personality-wise, shares their knowledge and experience and desires to learn what I have to share with them and their life. 

What’s your next big goal? 

In 2017, I made it my goal to become the “#1 Lakefront Sales Agent in Lake Tahoe.” I’m working on it, and am on my way, which has been a very rewarding process. Rewarding of course monetarily, as money allows dreams to become tangible realities, however rewarding also because of the lifestyle and history that these properties represent, and the incredibly unique and brilliant people I get to meet through these transactions.

What advice can you give to buyers and sellers?

Call me.

www.MillerHaug.com

Katherina Haug
530.209.4980
katherina@katherinarealestate.com
CalDRE# 01979758
NV Lic# S.0181216