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Are you looking to buy your dream home but aren’t sure if you can find the perfect place for your budget? In this video, we’re going to look at a case study example of how you can make a smart investment even in a competitive market. I’ll share how I made “Steve”’s dream of getting a single-family home in Hillcrest under $500,000 possible.

Steve’s Story

A few years ago, Steve said to me, “Chris, get me a single-family house in Hillcrest. My budget’s $500,000.” As if that was totally possible! But guess what? Today, he’s living in it.

One of the reasons I love being a realtor is because of stories like this. Steve wanted to buy his dream home in Hillcrest, but he was limited by a budget of $500,000. In this neighborhood, that is a tough budget. I get crazy requests from buyers all the time, and this one was right up there because Hillcrest is not an inexpensive neighborhood. I was pretty darn sure it was not going to happen for that budget. Fast forward to today and Steve is living in his dream home—all because we saw an opportunity and we took it.

Everybody in real estate wants to make a wise investment, and the ones who are truly successful take the time to learn and study the local real estate market they’re wanting to buy into. Or, they just work with a really good realtor who knows all of that for them. But even if I could find such a tall order as a single-family home under $500,000 in Hillcrest, I knew that we would have a lot of other competitive offers. If you’re familiar at all with the San Diego market in the last 5 years, you’re well aware that almost every home gets multiple offers.

I was getting prepared for this situation and also preparing Steve. Once we saw the right property come on the market, we jumped on the opportunity right away.

Getting The House

I knew that we had to fight to be the first ones on this property, as the price range in a very desirable neighborhood would cause fierce competition. We needed to be first and, if not first, at least in the first group of offers. Once we saw the property, we put in our offer immediately. As I suspected, though, we were one of four, other offers.

This means the property had a total of five offers within two days. I knew negotiation was going to be crucial, so I took a little time to research the agent in this case. I found some common ground, and I shared with him some really important credentials that we, as realtors, can get through our education. In the end, that’s what won the day.

The first thing I wanted to do was to build rapport, and as soon as you do that, you start building respect. And as soon as you get respect, you know that your offer is going to be taken seriously. In this particular case, the other agent and I completely hit it off, not only personally but professionally, in terms of our professional and educational experience and credentials.

The best part was our offer wasn’t even the highest price, but from the listing agent’s perspective, it had the highest chance of closing. He knew that I had what it took from his personal experience and education to make the deal happen. You see, in real estate, when you buy smart, you make money—and the story doesn’t end there.

A Wise Investment

A few years later, Steve did so well on his dream home that he was able to take some money out of it. He used that money as a down payment on an investment property, which a few years later in the same neighborhood, he sold to make an even greater profit. This allowed him to pay off his dad, who gave him the original loan for the single-family home in Hillcrest under $500,000.

It was such a huge series of wins for him, and that’s exactly how you should approach real estate. Not only can you find a great place to live and have the lifestyle you want, but it’s also something that’s going to make you money. That will help build your wealth in the future.

So, the next time someone tells you that real estate isn’t the best investment, take it with a grain of salt. I hope Steve’s story has given you a little hope. While we both didn’t have much hope in the beginning, working together and scouring the market allowed us to find him his dream home. Not only did we find him his dream home, but it made him a boatload of money that he was able to translate into an investment purchase years down the road. He was able to then sell and pay off loans that helped him buy the first place, and he still has a nice, six-figure equity.

If you would like any more information on how to become a smart investor—not only to find a home to buy, live in, and have the lifestyle you want but as an investment home as well—please give me a call. You can contact me at (619) 925-2322 and I’ll be happy to connect with you. And remember, make sure to subscribe to my channel so you never miss a future episode of All About San Diego Real Estate!