01
Contractor vetting & bids
I help you find licensed, insured contractors, gather comparable bids, and level them line-by-line so you know exactly what you're buying.
Chula Vista · San Diego · South Bay
Your renovation,
managed.
I'm Martha Russell — a bilingual renovation project manager and owner's representative. Your contractor works for the project. I work for you: bids, budget, schedule, and quality, in English and Spanish, so nothing gets lost in translation.
- 20+ years managing renovation crews
- English / Español
- South Bay local
Why homeowners call me
A renovation is a full-time job. You already have one.
Most renovation horror stories aren't about bad people — they're about nobody being in charge of the homeowner's side. That's the job I do.
- ✕Bids that can't be compared apples-to-apples
- ✕Surprise change orders halfway through
- ✕Weeks of silence, then a schedule slip
- ✕Instructions lost between English and Spanish on site
- ✕Paying for work before it's been checked
What I handle
Everything between you and your contractors
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Budget & payment oversight
A clear budget before work starts, and no payment released until the work behind it is done and checked.
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Schedule management
A realistic timeline, weekly progress updates, and early warnings — not surprises — when something moves.
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Quality walkthroughs
Regular site visits with 20 years of trained eyes. Problems get caught while they're still cheap to fix.
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Permits & paperwork
Contracts, permits, HOA approvals, and lien releases — organized, explained in plain language, and on file.
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Bilingual communication
I speak the crew's language and yours. Expectations, changes, and punch lists survive the translation — both ways.
How it works
Four phases, one point of contact
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Discovery
We walk your project, define scope and budget, and set what success looks like.
02
Planning
Contractor search, bid leveling, contract review, permits, and a schedule you approve.
03
Execution
Site visits, budget tracking, payment approvals, and weekly updates you can actually read.
04
Closeout
Punch list, final walkthrough, lien releases, warranties, and a clean handoff.
Se habla español
Nothing gets lost in translation.
Much of San Diego's best construction talent works primarily in Spanish. Most homeowners can't communicate with their own crew — and misunderstandings turn into change orders. I'm fully bilingual, and it changes everything:
- Straight answers on price, schedule, and scope — no telephone game
- Spanish-speaking homeowners get every contract explained in their language
- Crews do better work for someone who speaks theirs
MR
Martha Russell
Owner's Representative
About Martha
Twenty years of managing crews. Now on your side of the table.
I spent more than 20 years in property management, supervising renovation and maintenance crews across hundreds of projects — drywall, flooring, kitchens, baths, roofs, and everything in between. I've read thousands of bids and I know what fair looks like.
Now I put that experience to work for homeowners. When you hire me, you get someone who has sat on the other side of the table — and knows exactly which questions to ask.
Common questions
What homeowners ask me
+What does an owner's representative actually do?
I represent your interests on your renovation: vetting contractors, leveling bids, reviewing contracts, tracking budget and schedule, checking quality, and handling problems — so decisions get made with someone knowledgeable in your corner.
+Isn't that what my general contractor does?
Your GC runs the crews and owns the build. But the GC's incentives aren't always yours — every change order is revenue for them and a cost to you. I'm the person in your corner: independent oversight, answering only to you.
+What does it cost?
A flat fee scoped to your project, agreed before we start. On most projects, catching one bad bid or one unjustified change order covers my fee on its own. The consultation is free.
+Do I need this for a small project?
For a simple one-trade job, probably not — and I'll tell you so in the free consult. For kitchens, baths, ADUs, additions, or any project with multiple trades and real money at stake, oversight pays for itself.
Talk to Martha before you sign anything.
The free consultation takes 30 minutes. Bring your bids, your plans, or just your idea — and leave knowing your next step.
Call or text: (619) 250-0537 · Email: hello@renovationrep.com