ABOUT

Managing Principal: RJ Hernandez

Since 2003, RJ Hernandez has established himself as a leader in the residential real estate development and construction industry. Throughout his career, RJ has worked with Fortune 500 real estate investment firms and he is the Best Selling Author of the Land Planner's & Developers Guidebook.

Today, when not negotiating deals or designing homes, he dedicates time to mentoring youth and advocating for education reform. His vision is a better world for everyone, made up of self-empowerment, kindness and respect. He lives with his two daughters in Newport Beach, CA.

Smiling man with styled black hair in a suit.

Curriculum Vitae

Award-winning, results-driven expert in residential real estate developments with 20+ years. Experience & technical knowledge spans entitlements, acquisitions, land development & building construction for thousands of residential units, subdivisions, & amenities (Single Family & Multi-Family Homes). Through the years, has consistently secured Planning/Engineering/Building Dept. approvals within 2–3 review cycles through own direct, methodical quality control review of plans/comments, budget stewardship of budgets ranging from $4MM–$20MM, and management of approx. 20 complex projects at a time. The track record is proven in building agency trust, de risking projects, establishing standards & project trackers, and AI-integrations to drive cadence, speed, communication, strategy, & management toward business plan metrics.

Career built on intentional cross training, seeking mentors, & enjoyment of solving entitlement puzzles, standardizing product, & aligning stakeholders to move deals and projects forward. Operating philosophy: adopt best practices, solidify & outwork expectations, and build positive working relationships.

Forward Planning & Entitlements: CEQA compliance; tentative maps; specific plans; conditions of approval; plan check coordination; final map approval; plotting; public hearing presentations

Land Development & Construction: Oversight of horizontal improvements & offsite improvements; dry/wet utility coordination; points of connection verification; inspector coordination; bond exoneration

Acquisitions & Due Diligence: Site feasibility; entitlements risk identification/mitigation; underwriting inputs; schedule & budget creation; municipal & seller engagement; corporate investment presentations

Project Operations: Multi‑project portfolio management of up to 20 at a time; Project sizes have ranged from 55-1045 lots (avg. 250 lots); Established & enforced Standard Operating Procedures, including architectural, landscape & improvement plan standards, toward consistency & efficiency

Project Controls: Created project/priority tracking systems managing toward business plan metrics & communicative reporting; Management of regular Division staff meetings

Product & Site Design Leadership: Site planning, comprehensive reviews of architectural designs, civil engineering improvement plans & landscape architecture to value engineer, constructability review, conflict avoidance, & align elements with the market & the City

Special Districts & Financing: CFD formation & annexations; SCIP coordination; agency negotiations

Procurement & Vendor Management: Scopes of work; RFPs/solicitation; bid analysis; contracting/award; scheduling/managing: civil & soils engineers, landscape architects, LD subcontractors, vendors

Government, Stakeholder & Community Relations: City/county/state/federal agency coordination; school districts & utilities; HOA interactions

Regulatory & Legal Documentation: DRE approvals; public report & disclosure packages; CC&Rs; conditions tracking from start to project closeout

Relationships: Established trusted relationships with governing agencies and municipalities, including the Cities of Menifee, Riverside, Wildomar, Jurupa Valley, San Jacinto and more.

SKILLS & EXPERIENCE

$1.1B+ in residential assets capitalized, advised, developed.
20+ years focused on land, entitlements, and ground‑up housing development.
Entitlement timelines averaging ~38.7% faster than local jurisdictional baselines.
Most projects approved within 2–3 plan‑check cycles, through methodical quality control.
Project scale from 8-922 units per community, across suburban, infill, and master‑planned sites.
Experience across for‑sale, build‑for‑rent, and affordable housing strategies.
Learned directly from leaders at Centex, K. Hov, KB, Richmond American, LGI, Century, from some of the industry's best operators.

EDUCATION

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE

BACHELORS OF ARTS, SOCIOLOGY

Commencement Speaker

Alpha Lambda Delta Honor Society

UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX, ENGLAND

Entitlements & Land Planning

Designs entitlement strategies that align land plans, political realities, and capital constraints.
Leads pre‑application, staff, and public hearing processes with cities, agencies, & communities.
Coordinates full consultant teams to keep submittals clean and defensible.
Navigates zoning changes, plan amendments, and overlays to unlock highest and best use.
Negotiates conditions of approval to protect the project.

Development & Construction

Translates entitlement packages into horizontal and vertical development plans.
Builds realistic pre‑con budgets and schedules tied to absorption, capital requirements.
Runs GC/CM selection, bid processes, and contract negotiations with clear scopes.
Drives value engineering without compromising core positioning.
Manages RFIs & submittals to hold schedule and budget.

Land Acquisition & Feasibility

Sources and screens land opportunities through brokers, principals, and off‑market relationships.
Underwrites deals with a strict entitlement, construction, and capital formation lens.
Leads due diligence across title, environmental, soils, utilities, traffic, and political risk.
Structures JV, debt, and preferred equity to align land risk with capital expectations.