About

Growing up in the central valley of California, Jim was instilled at a young age with a can-do attitude and a strong work ethic. Jim moved to San Diego in 2006, and began his real estate career in 2007 as a realtor in the commercial sector focusing on selling properties leased to the federal government. In 2010, Jim obtained his real estate Broker’s license and transitioned over to residential real estate as a distressed real estate analyst with PGI Investments. Jim’s contributions to PGI were outstanding as year after year he led the acquisition team in volume, and helped the company flip over 100 homes during his tenure. In 2014, Jim realized that he was ready for new challenges and felt confident that he could run his own operation. Jim partnered up with a business associate and formed Apollo Realty Investments.

Jim experienced great success and growth during his ownership of Apollo with almost 250 flipped homes sold during his tenure. From 2014-2016 he grew the company from zero to eight employees and sold over $34 million in 2016 alone. With over 1,800 home flips managed, Jim has acquired very unique and valuable experiences. He has a talent and perspective that not many real estate investors possess. Jim is driven and passionate about his craft but more importantly, he seeks opportunities to learn and improve his business every day. In addition to his career, Jim is dedicated to his family life and community. Jim will often mentor newer fix and flip investors, volunteer at his children’s school, and has served as a Board Member for the Rancho Penasquitos YMCA.

Kristina Krutop is a San Diego, CA native and grew up with a love for real estate.  She began her career in public accounting after receiving her Bachelors of Science in Business Administration, Accounting from California State University San Marcos in 2010. Kristina’s accounting experience is unique in that she has worked in both the tax and audit field as well as the private sector. Her tax and audit work includes private companies, non-profits, and trusts.

In 2014, Kristina co-founded Hawthorn & Albatross with the intention of building an organization that treats residential "flipping" as an art. Kristina is an extremely driven, strong, and passionate individual. In addition to her career, Kristina is an active participant in her local community volunteering hundreds of hours each year to local charitable organizations. She serves as President on the Board of Directors for the National Charity League, Inc. Surf Cities Chapter and is an active volunteer in both her children's schools.

Matt Crusco has been with Hawthorn & Albatross for 5+ years in various roles and has worked for the company since he first moved to San Diego in 2017. He started his career as a consultant for Ernst & Young in the Washington D.C. area after graduating from James Madison University in 2013. In 2016, Matt left his consulting career to bicycle across the United States from Yorktown, VA to San Diego, CA. During this trip, Matt’s interest in real estate investing peaked while listening to various real estate podcasts and audiobooks. He ultimately decided to switch career paths and cities after this cross-country adventure, joining Kristina and Jim as the first employee at Hawthorn & Albatross.

He is a positive, thoughtful and determined individual with lofty real estate goals. Recently Matt got married and became the COO at Hawthorn & Albatross! Outside of work, Matt spends his time playing golf, hitting the beach, and hanging with his wife Moriah and two dogs Taz & Grizzly.

Brook Treas is a Southern California native who enjoys all that there is to offer here from the beaches to the mountains. He is an avid surfer, spear-fisherman and snowboarder when not spending quality time with his wife and two young children. Brook has over 15 years of real estate knowledge primarily focused on the distressed debt, REO and short sales markets. Prior to coming aboard with Hawthorn and Albatross, he was the REO Portfolio Manager for a fund that purchased distressed REO properties with the intent to rehab and revitalize blighted neighborhoods. Prior to Portfolio Management, Brook oversaw an Asset Management team that was continually recognized as “Best in Class” among all mid-source vendors.

Prior to that, Brook was a top performer for Chase Bank as an Asset Manager and responsible for creating marketing campaigns to assist communication between real estate agents and homeowners of distressed properties. His experience with borrower outreach is essential in executing timely Short Sales and negotiating amicable solutions between the banks and distressed homeowners. Brook is committed to breathing new life into aged properties as well as assisting defaulted homeowners in gracefully exiting out from under financially burdensome properties. 

Ellen holds a bachelor's degree from Cal State Long Beach, and has over a decade of progressive administrative experience working in fields that include non-profit, healthcare, and music. With a natural appetite for learning new things and troubleshooting issues, she is always challenging herself to pick up new skills and applying them to innovative projects. At Hawthorn & Albatross she provides marketing and administrative support for all stages of the flipping business. In her spare time she likes to unwind through music making, crafting, baking and hikes.

VP OF PROJECT MANAGEment

Bob White

Bob White was born in Long Beach Calif. He has been living in North San Diego since 2010. He started his construction career in the Air Force, as a Carpenter Specialist in the Civil Engineering Squadron. Since then he has been involved in many facets of construction , from hands on to management, in both commercial and residential. In his spare time he enjoys surfing , golfing, and spending time with his family.

Jake Waltemire was born and raised on the eastern shore in Middletown, Delaware. At the age of 11 he and his brother started a landscape company which they grew into a full service company by the end of high school. While doing this Jake’s passion for real estate grew. After owning the company for 10 years it was decided to sell the company so the brothers could pursue other dreams. At this time Jake decided to move to Breckenridge, Colorado to further his backcountry snowboarding passion and learn the HVAC trade. Here he would spend four days a week working and three active days on the mountain.

After a few years living the Colorado dream jake met his beautiful girlfriend Rachael. After several months of back and forth visits to California the decision was made to move to CA where they have been living with their dog, Waya, in the North Park neighborhood of San Diego for a year and a half. Jake has a deep passion for real estate and is eagerly expanding his knowledge of the industry daily. His long term goal is to invest in large multifamily properties.

SENIOR CORPORATE ACCOUNTANT

Renu Maheshwari

Renu Maheshwari was born and raised in India. She moved to United States to pursue a Bachelors in Business Administration. She worked for a small CPA firm in Reno after receiving her Bachelors. She returned to academia to pursue her Masters in Accountancy from Missouri State University. Following her Masters, she worked for Cisco Systems as a Business Analyst. 

She left Cisco when her first child was born, to raise her children. After her second child became two and a half, she returned to the workforce and joined Hawthorn and Albatross. She enjoys volunteering at her kid's school and traveling to different places with her husband.