Keith Bennett. 45 years on hillside properties across the Los Angeles basin. Property brainstorming, estate oversight, and contractor oversight — for homeowners who are too busy to manage a hillside property, and too smart to leave it unwatched.
A contractor for 45 years. A licensed property manager. Now neither — which is exactly why you’d call me. The person you call before the first shovel moves, with 45 years of both behind every word.
Most homeowners up here are highly competent people in their own world — and completely vulnerable in mine. They don’t know what order things get done. They don’t know which contractor is cutting corners. They don’t know what they’re paying for. That’s exactly where I come in.
I’m not here to sell you a project. I’m here to make sure the projects you’re already planning go right — in the right order, with the right people, at a fair price.
Which situation
sounds like yours?
Four types of homeowners end up calling me. Most of them waited longer than they should have.
“We’ve been meaning to deal with the drainage, the gate, the retaining wall — for two years. Bids come in, nothing feels right, we do nothing. The list keeps growing.”
- You don’t know what to fix first — and the order actually matters
- You’ve gotten bids that don’t make sense or don’t agree with each other
- You’ve talked to contractors who want to sell you a big project
- You want someone to walk the property and tell you what’s actually urgent
- You need a clear sequence, not ten more proposals
“We chose well — real land, real privacy. But we’ve never owned a hillside property. We’ve already had one contractor experience that went sideways. We need someone who actually knows how these properties work.”
- You want orientation — what you have, what it means, what to watch
- You need to know which trades are worth trusting in this area
- You want the first steps right so nothing gets torn out and redone
- You have improvement ideas but no idea how to sequence them
- You’d value an ongoing relationship with someone who knows the property
“There’s water where it shouldn’t be. A crack we didn’t notice before. A contractor we hired made things worse and walked off the job. We’re not panicking — but we need someone calm and knowledgeable, now.”
- You need a diagnosis before you do anything else — not another bid
- Water inside, under, or around the house after the last storm
- Doors sticking, cracks, movement you want interpreted
- A contractor situation that went wrong and needs triage
- You want someone with no financial stake to tell you the truth
“The kids are gone. Or we just inherited it. Or we’re thinking about selling in two or three years. We need to know what’s worth doing — and what isn’t.”
- Sale prep: what actually improves value vs. what’s wasted money
- Inherited property: “what now?” — a clear-eyed first read
- Planning a guest house, studio, ADU, or second structure
- Aging in place: safer access, smarter layout, less maintenance
- Whole-property repurposing — what’s possible, what’s the sequence
Eyes on the job.
Every day.
When you hire contractors to work on a property like this, someone needs to be watching. Not because contractors are dishonest — most aren’t. But because no one works as carefully when no one is watching. And on a $150,000 remodel, the difference between a good crew and a mediocre one is real money.
I watch via security camera — a dedicated feed to my office — and I drop in on-site regularly. I can tell within minutes whether a crew is quality or cutting corners. I know if they’re hiding work that should be inspected. I know if the pace is right for the price. I know if materials are going into the truck instead of your house.
We check in regularly — I show you what I’m seeing, tell you how the work is going, and flag anything that needs your attention. You stay fully informed without having to babysit a job site yourself.
You can retain me for a week, a month, or the length of a full project. You can end the arrangement at any time. No long-term lock-in.
- Daily camera monitoringDedicated feed from your job site to my 13-screen office. I see what’s happening every working day.
- Regular on-site presenceI drop in unannounced. Contractors who know they’re being watched work differently than those who aren’t.
- Weekly client briefingsPlain-English report on how things are going — what’s on track, what isn’t, what decisions are coming.
- Contractor quality readsIs this crew worth keeping? Are they priced right for what they’re delivering? I’ll tell you what I actually think.
- Sequencing & trade coordinationThe order work gets done matters. I make sure things don’t have to be torn out and redone.
“You’re paying a doctor’s salary to live on a property like this. You shouldn’t have to spend your weekends worrying about whether your contractor showed up — or whether they’re doing it right.”
Why this
feels different.
I spent 45 years designing, engineering, and managing hillside properties across the Los Angeles basin — La Habra Heights, Pasadena, Hollywood Hills, Brentwood, Bel Air, Malibu, Palos Verdes, and beyond. I know how permits work. I know how contractors bid, where they cut corners, and what a fair price looks like for every major trade.
I’m retired from the building world. I live up here. And I still help neighbors — doctors, attorneys, entrepreneurs, executives — get through projects without getting burned. I have nothing to sell you except clarity and honest eyes on your work.
- 45 years of hillside property experience
- Knows every major trade — pricing, quality, sequence
- Permit process, code requirements, inspection logic
- Fire zone compliance and practical hardening
- Drainage, grading, retaining wall assessment
- Contractor selection and performance evaluation
- Security, perimeter planning, gate systems
- ADU, guest house, and compound planning
Two ways
to begin.
Only if you want an in-person first meeting. A brief note or call is always free.
- Walk the property together — I tell you what I see, plainly
- Identify what’s urgent vs. what can safely wait
- Flag hidden risks, cost traps, and sequencing problems
- Answer “what would you do here?” for every situation we find
- Leave you with a clear first step — not a stack of proposals
Camera monitoring, regular site visits, weekly briefings, contractor evaluation, sequencing oversight. Retained by the week. Cancel anytime. Rate discussed based on project scope.
See what hillside work
actually looks like.
Slopes, drainage, structures, security, retaining walls, driveways, gates, outbuildings — this is what experienced hillside property oversight looks like on the ground.
Treetop observation deck — 18 ft above grade, wrapping three sides of the house. Views to Riverside County and Powder Canyon, above the avocado canopy that blocks every first-floor window. An addition most LHH homeowners never think to ask for.
Tile roof cleaning following a tile reset on 40-year-old concrete tile — part of an estate oversight program for busy property owners: physicians, executives, out-of-state owners. Professional eyes on your property, not just a caretaker.
Gabion baskets — river rock in welded wire cages. Beautiful as a garden screen. Engineered to hold back a hillside. Naturally draining, no waterproofing required, built to last generations.
La Habra Heights · Right Now
What your neighbors
are actually building.
Spas. Office sheds on concrete pads. Mini splits. Gabion walls. Coyote fencing. Whole-house water systems. A plain-English tour of what’s happening on LHH properties — and what to do first so it’s done right.
See What’s Being Built →
Is your property working
as hard as it could?
Some properties in these hills need more than a caretaker — they need a working partner. Vacant, underloved, in trust, or carrying more than the owner wants to manage alone. There is a page written specifically for that situation.
See what a partnership looks like →You don’t need
to figure this out alone.
One paragraph. Tell me what’s going on with your property. I’ll tell you whether I can help and what the first step looks like.
No charge to begin. $295 applies only if you choose an in-person visit.