July 4, 2025 • 28 mins
Caroline Biesalski is joined by David Sidoni to explore the myths and realities of home buying. Caroline shares her personal home buying journey, offering insights into the challenges and triumphs she encountered. The discussion highlights the crucial role professionals play in the home buying process and provides practical tips for first-time buyers. David reflects on his influences and aspirations, emphasizing the significance of daily motivation in achieving goals. The episode concludes with Caroline expressing gratitude to the audience and outlining the next steps for listeners.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
You know, you get pregnant with twins andyou're in a one-bedroom place.
(00:03):
Oops.
Time to go.
But there are a lot of people that maybe asthey're just going through their life and
progressing, that they can start planning, andit might take a few years to do it.
The big thing that I'm trying to get first-timehomebuyers and people who are trying to buy a
home to understand is hire somebody to help youout and start working with those people early.
(00:28):
And that way, you can work with them for acouple of years to figure out what the best
plan is.
Welcome to Inspired Choice Today.
I'm your host, Caroline Biesalski, here tobring you authentic stories, surprising
lessons, and powerful takeaways to fuel yourjourney in business and life.
In each episode, I'll take you from oneinspiring guest to the next, blending their
(00:51):
experiences with my expertise to uncoverpractical strategies you can use right away.
Whether you're starting out or stepping up,stay tuned for insights and actionable tips
that make a difference.
And stick around until the end for a specialfreebie just for our listeners.
(01:12):
Hello, and welcome, inspired podcast community.
This is your new episode.
My name is Caroline, and my today's guest isDavid Sidoni, and I'm so happy that he said yes
to our interview.
How are you doing today?
I am doing wonderful.
Getting ready to feel inspired for another day.
(01:32):
Oh, yes.
I am inspired already by your presence, and Iwould like to introduce you to the audience, of
course.
You are North America's leading voice forfirst-time homebuyers.
You are on a mission to disrupt real estate byempowering buyers with insider knowledge.
(01:53):
As the host of the number one podcast How toBuy a Home, you have helped 1 million unlock
their dream of homeownership.
Welcome to the Inspired podcast, David Sidoni.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Yes.
You are welcome.
I'm happy to speak with you today about homesand other things, of course.
(02:17):
My first question is, what's the biggest mythabout buying a home that first-time buyers need
to stop believing right now?
Well, I think that's been the biggest part ofmy mission, is helping people figure out that
there's so much negativity with what peoplethink they can't do, and this is all over the
(02:40):
world.
I mean, I do this in North America.
I have friends who do this in Australia and inthe UK, and other parts of Europe.
But the problem is that when the people whowork in real estate, their goal is to sell the
big fancy homes.
(03:00):
So everybody keeps thinking about that goal,and they forget that, you know, there's a
ladder of the way things work.
And the people that need the most help, who'venever done it before, are the first-time
homebuyers.
So the biggest myth that they hear is that theyneed too much money to put for a down payment.
(03:22):
In America, they need a certain type of creditscore, or you need a certain type of job or a
certain type of income.
I found that pretty much all over the world,there's a lower bar.
There's less requirements than most peoplethink because they do a little bit of search
online.
They read one thing, they get discouraged, andthen they just stop looking for another year or
(03:46):
two.
Yes.
That's so true.
So when I look at my own story, of course, Ihave a story.
I first bought an apartment, and then I wasconvinced I will never get a loan again or a
mortgage.
I don't know how you call this there.
(04:06):
And then I watched, but I did the steps yourecommend.
So I started watching my credit score.
I'm in Germany, by the way.
It's the same form.
Yes.
Similar.
And I watched it for one year, two years.
I improved this credit score.
So this was one thing.
And the other thing was also I think there's adifference.
(04:28):
I don't know how you see it, if there's adifference between buying a house that's
already there or constructing a house?
Yeah.
It's new build versus resale.
So if you're buying someone's home that isalready there, now in the new build, there's a
couple well, there's multiple different ways.
(04:50):
There's custom new build.
There's buy land and build, and then there'sbuilders that go and they build, like, four or
five models, and they build, like, a hometract.
It really depends on the land and where youlive.
You know, some places in the United States havehuge land, and so you can build a custom home.
(05:11):
But some people I mean, that's the thing.
After World War II here in America, we inventedthe suburbs, and people love to come and live
in suburbia.
So those homes are already built.
So most of the time, if that's where you wannalive, you're buying somebody else's or what we
call a resale home.
Yes.
When you mentioned suburbia, so, of course, Ihave to mention the song, my favorite band.
(05:37):
So we can we
can Yes.
Yeah.
Because, yeah, I learned I learned English withsome lyrics, by the way, and that was at that
time.
So for you, you are focused on first-time homebuyers, so there's no difference.
You work with people or you talk with peoplewhether they build a house or they buy a house
(06:00):
that's already there.
Yes.
Yeah.
There are several different programs in NorthAmerica for the people who are building the
homes.
So I help educate and walk people through thatprocess.
And then for the people who are looking insuburbia, the main thing that I try to focus on
is baby steps.
(06:23):
Small, small things that people can do.
Like, I think too many people go, okay.
I'm gonna buy a house.
And then they wanna do their credit score,their debt, and their savings, and they try to
do it all in a week or two.
You know, taking your credit score, that takestime.
You know?
When you change something, your score doesn'tmagically switch in the next 24 hours.
(06:48):
So and there might be different tips that youdo that will take six months.
So I tell people all the time, no.
You're not gonna buy a home this weekend, butyou should do some steps right now even though
you're not gonna go look at houses for anothersix months or maybe even another year.
Yes.
I understand because I've been through this,and I was afraid of building a house.
(07:12):
So we were looking for old old houses or usedused I don't know how you call this.
But it took seven years.
Yes.
The the story was it took seven years to findto find to buy a house.
Yes.
To buy a house.
Seven years.
Wow.
Yeah.
It's everybody has Some people move for wantsand some people move for needs.
(07:37):
And I think trying to help people staymotivated.
That's why I was so excited when I saw yourpodcast.
It's it's as much psychological as it isfinancial.
You need to stay motivated and you need to stayinspired.
And the only way to do that is to sit down andgo over all of your goals.
(07:57):
Why why do I wanna move?
There's a lot of people that move because theyhave to.
You know, you get pregnant with twins, andyou're in a one-bedroom place.
Oops.
Time to go.
But there are a lot of people that maybe asthey're just going through their life and
progressing, that they can start planning, andit might take a few years to do it.
(08:19):
The big thing that I'm trying to get first-timehomebuyers and people who are trying to buy a
home to understand is hire somebody to help youout and start working with those people early.
And that way, you can work with them for acouple of years to figure out what the best
plan is.
Wow.
I love your answer, and I think this is alsowhat most people overlook.
(08:40):
So to say that they can ask for support in thebeginning and not when it's too late, so to say
when they are demotivated and because it isreally frustrating for us.
The case was, like, we were not—how can I say?
We were not chosen to buy the house, so otherpeople were faster or, you know, something like
(09:06):
that.
But you talked about mindset as well, or we canalso say, like, something like destiny.
It was not, the thing was that I'm now in mybuilt house or my self-constructed with my own
plans and in the rooms I want to have.
(09:27):
But I was—I had to grow into that person thataccepts the idea.
Yeah.
And doing that plan with another professionalwho can explain to you, oh, this is all the
things that happen when you build your house,and these are all the things that happen when
you buy somebody else's house.
(09:49):
When you understand all the details of that,then that helps you make your—you know?
Is that me ringing?
I don't think so.
Yes.
You ring.
There are clients calling, and they want tocelebrate with you.
They found their house.
I know how exciting this is.
(10:11):
I apologize for that.
I thought I had it on do not disturb, but, youknow, I've gotta be inspiring people all day
long, so it happens.
I love that, and this is why I created thepodcast.
I don't know what's happening.
You know?
And today, I already mixed up my questionsbecause so I for the other guests, there were
(10:35):
these were no questions.
These were like I don't know.
AI produced something weird.
So let's have a look at my next question foryou.
Maybe it helps.
Yeah.
I said, your podcast has helped millionsnavigate the complex home buying process.
What's the first insider secret you wish everybuyer knew before they start?
(10:59):
I think it has to go kinda with the myths.
I mean, there are myths about how much moneyyou need.
That's a big deal.
If you read one article and you say, okay.
I need for the house I want, I need to save,you know, $40,000 or euros or whatever.
(11:19):
If you just do that and it turns out there areother programs and you could have bought
something for 5 or 10,000, then understandinghow to beat those myths, that's probably the
biggest thing.
But the way to do that is in your first step isinstead of thinking so much about, okay, what
(11:42):
is my loan gonna be?
What is my interest rate gonna be?
And what is the house gonna be?
The first thing you wanna think about is whoare the professionals that I wanna bring into
this deal with me?
Who are the professionals that I'm going tohire that are going to know way more than I do?
The one thing I find in this age of conveniencewhere we have everything at our fingertips is
(12:06):
people end up trying to learn like, if you weregonna go get surgery, people try to learn how
to do the surgery as opposed to trying tofigure out who's the best doctor to help me
with this.
And then once you get in there, just lay on thetable and let them tell you how everything's
gonna go.
That's the best analogy.
(12:26):
Yes.
I remember people looking up because, nowadays,it exists.
You can watch YouTube videos about how thesurgery is going to be, and then it is awful.
You don't want to do this anymore.
No.
So lay on the table, I like this very much.
I actually had a doctor that listened to thepodcast and reached out to me for some advice.
(12:50):
And I gave him some advice, and I talked to himabout hiring the right team.
So he went out and hired the right team, but,of course, he'd been doing his own research for
years.
So at the second or third meeting with the realestate team, he had all these questions from
the Internet, and suddenly he stopped in themiddle of the question, and he told me this
(13:13):
story.
And he said, these are like my patients who goto WebMD and read about all their symptoms and
come in and tell me what's wrong.
And he goes, oh my gosh.
I'm turning into one of those people.
And the thing about WebMD that doctors willtell you all the time is, that's great.
(13:35):
You can learn a lot.
You can figure some things out.
But the 20 years of experience in the medicalfield will be able to take you from a potential
diagnosis to the actual treatment.
And that's what hiring the right team, both onthe estate side of finding the home and the
(13:56):
lending side for figuring out what are the bestfinances for you.
Wow.
It's so important what you just said because weonly think we know everything, but we know
nothing, of course.
And there are experts helping us, and this isexactly we cannot know what we don't know.
And in the beginning, you mentioned needsversus wants.
(14:18):
It's always like we sell the client what theywant, but we give them what they need.
Right?
Yes.
Yeah.
Well, that's the thing.
When I I mean, this was I'd been doing realestate for, you know, a couple of decades, and
I got to the point when I wanted to helppeople.
So I all I'm doing is giving away everythingfor free.
(14:41):
Now there are some people that listen to all myinformation, and they still try to do it on
their own.
And I understand that.
Well, there's a lot of people that are veryproactive, but I think that the industry has
gotten a little bit of a bummer reputation, andthat's fine.
So that means instead of thinking so hard aboutyou're gonna inspect the heck out of your home,
(15:07):
inspect the heck out of your real estate agentfirst.
And, you know, go ahead and interview five,six, seven people.
And then when you find that right person, it'ssuch—I mean, everything's better in life with a
collaboration, and you'll be able to feel likeyou're going through this in the correct way.
Yes.
That means you don't have to do it alone.
(15:30):
That's so true.
And what you said about find seven people ortalk to seven people, it is—I would say it's a
distraction.
I call it distraction, but you can also call itprocrastination.
It is like you are devi—not deviating.
It's something around the real—the real thingthat you have to do.
It's avoidant.
Right?
(15:50):
It's avoidant.
And then you end up—they end up with youanyways because you are the expert.
Yeah.
They cannot escape.
I have a lot of people that'll talk to me firstand then talk to a whole bunch of other people,
and then they'll come back to me and I'll say,oh, by the way, you're not in my area.
You're someplace else.
(16:11):
So I'm not even gonna be the person to help youwith this.
So now go interview people over here.
And, you know, I always say, though, I thinkthat people in other parts of the world are
better, have a leg up on Americans because mostAmericans only know one language.
And people who know multiple languages, that'sbetter because when you try to buy a house,
(16:33):
there's a whole bunch of words that aresupposed to be in your first language that
don't make any sense.
You have to learn a whole new vocabulary.
So I think having the right person with you whocan be an interpreter for you sometimes is
super important.
Yes.
Absolutely.
I agree.
And, of course, I have another question foryou.
(16:55):
Let me see what it is.
In a rapidly changing real estate market, whatstrategies can first-time buyers use to gain an
advantage and avoid costly mistakes?
Well, you talked about how when you wereputting in an offer, you originally didn't get
(17:16):
the offer at one point.
Understanding where the market is going isreally important.
Right now, like, in the United States, we're ina little bit of a slow time.
The forecast, the predictions are that comethis spring and the summer of 2025, there are
gonna be bidding wars.
So if for some people who feel like the worstthing they can do is lose their dream house,
(17:44):
not get the offer, the best thing you can do isactually practice.
Talk through all of the ways that you can makeyour offer look more attractive before you find
the house.
Sit down and go over the game plan.
You know?
Think of yourself like a sports team.
You don't just run out on the field and thenstart making up plays.
(18:05):
You do it ahead of time.
You know?
And then the biggest thing I think to avoid thecostly mistakes, like the people who end up
with something that ends up costing themthousands of dollars, is to understand your
area's inspection process.
You really have to, you know, you might fightlike crazy to get a home.
(18:26):
And then I mean, I'm often really blown awayhow many people will choose a home inspector
based on their price.
And I'm like, oh my goodness.
We're buying a $400,000 home, and you had threeinspectors, and you chose one because he was
$100 cheaper than the other one.
(18:46):
It's a $400,000 home.
Make sure that when you write your contract,you know how long you have before you fully
commit to the home.
Most contracts you get, you know, a looky-looperiod, a buyer beware period.
Understand that, and that's the biggest waythat you'll avoid mistakes.
(19:10):
Wow.
What a great answer.
Thank you so much.
It saves us time and worries as well workingwith someone like you.
And tell us, please, do you have coaches ormentors for yourself, and who was the best
coach you ever had?
I started with my coach in real estate before Ihad my real estate license, and it was the best
(19:35):
thing I ever did.
I was doing a training at the place where I wasgoing to work, and one of the big coaches just
happened to be coming to my town that day.
And it was a meeting for all the realtors inSouthern California.
And his name's Brian Buffini, and he has acoaching program in North America that is based
(19:59):
on not trying to go out there and put your nameon billboards, but to work so that the clients
love you and they want to refer you to otherpeople.
And I think having that heart of service fromthe beginning, that was something that helped
grow my career.
And then currently, I'm just listening topodcasts all the time.
(20:25):
I find other real estate guys.
I find other inspirational podcasts.
I mean, for motivation to self-help, to mentalhealth, to growth self-growth.
You know, I listen to marketing podcastsbecause I love using social media, but, man, it
gets crazy out there.
So, you know, I listen to all kinds of peoplebecause I find that each day I'm getting new
(20:48):
mentors and new coaches.
You know, I'll listen to everyone from GaryVaynerchuk to Social Media Marketing World, you
know, and I listen to, there's these there'sthese two guys, Brian and Mark, who have a
podcast that is like, hey.
Don't be mean.
That's their podcast.
They're realtors.
And they're like, stop doing it wrong.
(21:11):
Let's just be nice to people.
They're awesome.
So I love exploring every single day.
Oh, yes.
Me too.
Thank you so much.
And I love learning from podcasts as well, ofcourse.
I follow it since 2007 where they
Oh, you were early.
I'm a podcast addict, but it took me 17 yearsto start my own because I was labeled as shy,
(21:38):
and I accepted that label.
So now here I am, and I heard you talking aboutSouthern California.
This is where the podcast was created in SanDiego.
I received this intuition at 3 a.m., and sincethen, I'm unstoppable.
And I want to know from you, where can we findyou when people want to reach out to you after
(22:00):
listening to this episode?
Well, I'm not surprised that you found yourinspiration in San Diego.
That's a darn fine city.
It's about an hour and a half south for me.
Everything for me is at How to Buy a Home.
Spell it out.
H o w t o b y a home, h o m e.
(22:23):
How to buy a home dot com.
Everything's there.
Lots of free information.
It's a great way to get information withoutfeeling like you have to talk to someone.
And then when you listen to the podcast, afterthree or four episodes, you're gonna go, hey,
David keeps telling me to talk to someone, andthen you'll start hiring somebody.
(22:43):
Wow.
What a great message.
Again, thank you so much.
And I have to tell you, please reach out toDavid.
He's amazing.
He shares not only in his podcast, but when youhire him and when you work with him, it's
amazing.
So I wanted to share I already bought somehouses.
Let's say I have experience, but and here's thebut thing.
(23:04):
It was in Germany.
What if my intention is to buy my first homein, let's say, California.
Okay?
Let's say California in the U.S.
So you are my go-to person, and I see this.
I have new plans now.
Well, one of my favorite episodes, I interviewpeople who went through the process.
(23:28):
And one of my favorite episodes was an Americancitizen who's in the Air Force.
She was in Germany, and I recommended someoneto her.
I believe it was in Northern California.
I recommended some people for her to interview.
She bought the home while she was finishing upher time in the Air Force in Germany, bought
the home on video while she was in Germany.
Okay.
(23:48):
So I don't have to be there, but I love to bethere, of course.
You don't have to.
I'm saying we can get started.
You know?
We can start the process to kinda narrow thingsdown and then, you know, although you might you
might end up where I am in Orange County or wemight send you back down to beautiful San
Diego.
No.
I tell you my I I know this is on air, but Ican share my favorite city and my no.
(24:14):
It's it's really my intention.
It is Seal Beach.
Okay?
Who?
I grew up
in Los Alamitos.
I grew up in Los Alamitos, and I lived in SealBeach.
I went to high school there.
I'm I'm I'm 25 minutes south now, but SealBeach is the jewel of Southern California.
People don't realize it's a little tiny smallcommunity packed in between all I love Seal
(24:36):
Beach.
I used to live on Fifth Avenue and walk to allthe restaurants.
It's the best.
I spent three months, but we can talk later.
I spent three months in in that area in 2023,and I fell in love, of course.
And this is my you know, we and we can talkabout goal setting because this is my last
(24:59):
question to you.
Yes.
It's not about my goals, but you are one youknow, like a manifestation, and I know now
Yep.
Who what what is the word?
Who to turn to or where to turn to?
So you are a matter of fact person.
My yes.
Of course.
Thank you so much.
Now about your goals and intentions, do you setgoals, and what is one of your next projects?
(25:25):
One of the this started the How to Buy a Home.
It started as an educational extra piece to mybusiness of selling real estate.
It's now become a company.
And so my goal is to turn this into one of thelargest North American education companies for
(25:45):
a disrespected and ignored group of people,first-time homebuyers.
So for me, it's a matter of podcasts arewonderful.
So now I'm gonna look to expand other thingslike YouTube and social media and my website.
So it's gonna take a little time to develop allthose things.
We're, we're five years, almost six years intothe podcast now.
(26:07):
And what I found is podcast people arewonderful and loyal, but there's a whole lot of
people out there that aren't listening.
And they watch YouTube, and they look online.
So the goal is to grow that I can help as manypeople as possible achieve what they want and
break the myth that it's something that is notdoable.
(26:31):
Wow.
Because it is possible, and I'm also anevidence even though it's not in Southern
California yet.
But it's, we have dreams, and we have to dreambig, of course.
Thank you so much for our interview.
I forgot about the time.
It is flying.
And now it's time for your final thought to theaudience, please.
(26:55):
I believe that continuing education isimportant, but I believe the continued
motivation, finding daily snippets like thispodcast and other things out there that whether
it's a song or a podcast, every single day,make sure that you are inputting those things
into your life, and you'll be amazed at howmuch more energy you have.
(27:19):
So true.
Thank you so much, David Sidoni.
Thank you.
And see you in the next episode.
Thank you for listening to Inspired ChoiceToday.
I'm thrilled to have you on this journey ofgrowth and transformation.
Don't forget to hit follow or subscribe to stayconnected and never miss an episode.
And here's something special (27:41):
Grab your free 20-minute breakthrough session with me.
It's designed to help you kick-start or levelup your business.
Just check out the show notes for more.
Until next time, keep making those inspiredchoices.
See you in the next episode.
You know, you get pregnant with twins andyou're in a one-bedroom place.
(00:03):
Oops.
Time to go.
But there are a lot of people that maybe asthey're just going through their life and
progressing, that they can start planning, andit might take a few years to do it.
The big thing that I'm trying to get first-timehomebuyers and people who are trying to buy a
home to understand is hire somebody to help youout and start working with those people early.
(00:28):
And that way, you can work with them for acouple of years to figure out what the best
plan is.
Welcome to Inspired Choice Today.
I'm your host, Caroline Biesalski, here tobring you authentic stories, surprising
lessons, and powerful takeaways to fuel yourjourney in business and life.
In each episode, I'll take you from oneinspiring guest to the next, blending their
(00:51):
experiences with my expertise to uncoverpractical strategies you can use right away.
Whether you're starting out or stepping up,stay tuned for insights and actionable tips
that make a difference.
And stick around until the end for a specialfreebie just for our listeners.
(01:12):
Hello, and welcome, inspired podcast community.
This is your new episode.
My name is Caroline, and my today's guest isDavid Sidoni, and I'm so happy that he said yes
to our interview.
How are you doing today?
I am doing wonderful.
Getting ready to feel inspired for another day.
(01:32):
Oh, yes.
I am inspired already by your presence, and Iwould like to introduce you to the audience, of
course.
You are North America's leading voice forfirst-time homebuyers.
You are on a mission to disrupt real estate byempowering buyers with insider knowledge.
(01:53):
As the host of the number one podcast How toBuy a Home, you have helped 1 million unlock
their dream of homeownership.
Welcome to the Inspired podcast, David Sidoni.
Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Yes.
You are welcome.
I'm happy to speak with you today about homesand other things, of course.
(02:17):
My first question is, what's the biggest mythabout buying a home that first-time buyers need
to stop believing right now?
Well, I think that's been the biggest part ofmy mission, is helping people figure out that
there's so much negativity with what peoplethink they can't do, and this is all over the
(02:40):
world.
I mean, I do this in North America.
I have friends who do this in Australia and inthe UK, and other parts of Europe.
But the problem is that when the people whowork in real estate, their goal is to sell the
big fancy homes.
(03:00):
So everybody keeps thinking about that goal,and they forget that, you know, there's a
ladder of the way things work.
And the people that need the most help, who'venever done it before, are the first-time
homebuyers.
So the biggest myth that they hear is that theyneed too much money to put for a down payment.
(03:22):
In America, they need a certain type of creditscore, or you need a certain type of job or a
certain type of income.
I found that pretty much all over the world,there's a lower bar.
There's less requirements than most peoplethink because they do a little bit of search
online.
They read one thing, they get discouraged, andthen they just stop looking for another year or
(03:46):
two.
Yes.
That's so true.
So when I look at my own story, of course, Ihave a story.
I first bought an apartment, and then I wasconvinced I will never get a loan again or a
mortgage.
I don't know how you call this there.
(04:06):
And then I watched, but I did the steps yourecommend.
So I started watching my credit score.
I'm in Germany, by the way.
It's the same form.
Yes.
Similar.
And I watched it for one year, two years.
I improved this credit score.
So this was one thing.
And the other thing was also I think there's adifference.
(04:28):
I don't know how you see it, if there's adifference between buying a house that's
already there or constructing a house?
Yeah.
It's new build versus resale.
So if you're buying someone's home that isalready there, now in the new build, there's a
couple well, there's multiple different ways.
(04:50):
There's custom new build.
There's buy land and build, and then there'sbuilders that go and they build, like, four or
five models, and they build, like, a hometract.
It really depends on the land and where youlive.
You know, some places in the United States havehuge land, and so you can build a custom home.
(05:11):
But some people I mean, that's the thing.
After World War II here in America, we inventedthe suburbs, and people love to come and live
in suburbia.
So those homes are already built.
So most of the time, if that's where you wannalive, you're buying somebody else's or what we
call a resale home.
Yes.
When you mentioned suburbia, so, of course, Ihave to mention the song, my favorite band.
(05:37):
So we can we
can Yes.
Yeah.
Because, yeah, I learned I learned English withsome lyrics, by the way, and that was at that
time.
So for you, you are focused on first-time homebuyers, so there's no difference.
You work with people or you talk with peoplewhether they build a house or they buy a house
(06:00):
that's already there.
Yes.
Yeah.
There are several different programs in NorthAmerica for the people who are building the
homes.
So I help educate and walk people through thatprocess.
And then for the people who are looking insuburbia, the main thing that I try to focus on
is baby steps.
(06:23):
Small, small things that people can do.
Like, I think too many people go, okay.
I'm gonna buy a house.
And then they wanna do their credit score,their debt, and their savings, and they try to
do it all in a week or two.
You know, taking your credit score, that takestime.
You know?
When you change something, your score doesn'tmagically switch in the next 24 hours.
(06:48):
So and there might be different tips that youdo that will take six months.
So I tell people all the time, no.
You're not gonna buy a home this weekend, butyou should do some steps right now even though
you're not gonna go look at houses for anothersix months or maybe even another year.
Yes.
I understand because I've been through this,and I was afraid of building a house.
(07:12):
So we were looking for old old houses or usedused I don't know how you call this.
But it took seven years.
Yes.
The the story was it took seven years to findto find to buy a house.
Yes.
To buy a house.
Seven years.
Wow.
Yeah.
It's everybody has Some people move for wantsand some people move for needs.
(07:37):
And I think trying to help people staymotivated.
That's why I was so excited when I saw yourpodcast.
It's it's as much psychological as it isfinancial.
You need to stay motivated and you need to stayinspired.
And the only way to do that is to sit down andgo over all of your goals.
(07:57):
Why why do I wanna move?
There's a lot of people that move because theyhave to.
You know, you get pregnant with twins, andyou're in a one-bedroom place.
Oops.
Time to go.
But there are a lot of people that maybe asthey're just going through their life and
progressing, that they can start planning, andit might take a few years to do it.
(08:19):
The big thing that I'm trying to get first-timehomebuyers and people who are trying to buy a
home to understand is hire somebody to help youout and start working with those people early.
And that way, you can work with them for acouple of years to figure out what the best
plan is.
Wow.
I love your answer, and I think this is alsowhat most people overlook.
(08:40):
So to say that they can ask for support in thebeginning and not when it's too late, so to say
when they are demotivated and because it isreally frustrating for us.
The case was, like, we were not—how can I say?
We were not chosen to buy the house, so otherpeople were faster or, you know, something like
(09:06):
that.
But you talked about mindset as well, or we canalso say, like, something like destiny.
It was not, the thing was that I'm now in mybuilt house or my self-constructed with my own
plans and in the rooms I want to have.
(09:27):
But I was—I had to grow into that person thataccepts the idea.
Yeah.
And doing that plan with another professionalwho can explain to you, oh, this is all the
things that happen when you build your house,and these are all the things that happen when
you buy somebody else's house.
(09:49):
When you understand all the details of that,then that helps you make your—you know?
Is that me ringing?
I don't think so.
Yes.
You ring.
There are clients calling, and they want tocelebrate with you.
They found their house.
I know how exciting this is.
(10:11):
I apologize for that.
I thought I had it on do not disturb, but, youknow, I've gotta be inspiring people all day
long, so it happens.
I love that, and this is why I created thepodcast.
I don't know what's happening.
You know?
And today, I already mixed up my questionsbecause so I for the other guests, there were
(10:35):
these were no questions.
These were like I don't know.
AI produced something weird.
So let's have a look at my next question foryou.
Maybe it helps.
Yeah.
I said, your podcast has helped millionsnavigate the complex home buying process.
What's the first insider secret you wish everybuyer knew before they start?
(10:59):
I think it has to go kinda with the myths.
I mean, there are myths about how much moneyyou need.
That's a big deal.
If you read one article and you say, okay.
I need for the house I want, I need to save,you know, $40,000 or euros or whatever.
(11:19):
If you just do that and it turns out there areother programs and you could have bought
something for 5 or 10,000, then understandinghow to beat those myths, that's probably the
biggest thing.
But the way to do that is in your first step isinstead of thinking so much about, okay, what
(11:42):
is my loan gonna be?
What is my interest rate gonna be?
And what is the house gonna be?
The first thing you wanna think about is whoare the professionals that I wanna bring into
this deal with me?
Who are the professionals that I'm going tohire that are going to know way more than I do?
The one thing I find in this age of conveniencewhere we have everything at our fingertips is
(12:06):
people end up trying to learn like, if you weregonna go get surgery, people try to learn how
to do the surgery as opposed to trying tofigure out who's the best doctor to help me
with this.
And then once you get in there, just lay on thetable and let them tell you how everything's
gonna go.
That's the best analogy.
(12:26):
Yes.
I remember people looking up because, nowadays,it exists.
You can watch YouTube videos about how thesurgery is going to be, and then it is awful.
You don't want to do this anymore.
No.
So lay on the table, I like this very much.
I actually had a doctor that listened to thepodcast and reached out to me for some advice.
(12:50):
And I gave him some advice, and I talked to himabout hiring the right team.
So he went out and hired the right team, but,of course, he'd been doing his own research for
years.
So at the second or third meeting with the realestate team, he had all these questions from
the Internet, and suddenly he stopped in themiddle of the question, and he told me this
(13:13):
story.
And he said, these are like my patients who goto WebMD and read about all their symptoms and
come in and tell me what's wrong.
And he goes, oh my gosh.
I'm turning into one of those people.
And the thing about WebMD that doctors willtell you all the time is, that's great.
(13:35):
You can learn a lot.
You can figure some things out.
But the 20 years of experience in the medicalfield will be able to take you from a potential
diagnosis to the actual treatment.
And that's what hiring the right team, both onthe estate side of finding the home and the
(13:56):
lending side for figuring out what are the bestfinances for you.
Wow.
It's so important what you just said because weonly think we know everything, but we know
nothing, of course.
And there are experts helping us, and this isexactly we cannot know what we don't know.
And in the beginning, you mentioned needsversus wants.
(14:18):
It's always like we sell the client what theywant, but we give them what they need.
Right?
Yes.
Yeah.
Well, that's the thing.
When I I mean, this was I'd been doing realestate for, you know, a couple of decades, and
I got to the point when I wanted to helppeople.
So I all I'm doing is giving away everythingfor free.
(14:41):
Now there are some people that listen to all myinformation, and they still try to do it on
their own.
And I understand that.
Well, there's a lot of people that are veryproactive, but I think that the industry has
gotten a little bit of a bummer reputation, andthat's fine.
So that means instead of thinking so hard aboutyou're gonna inspect the heck out of your home,
(15:07):
inspect the heck out of your real estate agentfirst.
And, you know, go ahead and interview five,six, seven people.
And then when you find that right person, it'ssuch—I mean, everything's better in life with a
collaboration, and you'll be able to feel likeyou're going through this in the correct way.
Yes.
That means you don't have to do it alone.
(15:30):
That's so true.
And what you said about find seven people ortalk to seven people, it is—I would say it's a
distraction.
I call it distraction, but you can also call itprocrastination.
It is like you are devi—not deviating.
It's something around the real—the real thingthat you have to do.
It's avoidant.
Right?
(15:50):
It's avoidant.
And then you end up—they end up with youanyways because you are the expert.
Yeah.
They cannot escape.
I have a lot of people that'll talk to me firstand then talk to a whole bunch of other people,
and then they'll come back to me and I'll say,oh, by the way, you're not in my area.
You're someplace else.
(16:11):
So I'm not even gonna be the person to help youwith this.
So now go interview people over here.
And, you know, I always say, though, I thinkthat people in other parts of the world are
better, have a leg up on Americans because mostAmericans only know one language.
And people who know multiple languages, that'sbetter because when you try to buy a house,
(16:33):
there's a whole bunch of words that aresupposed to be in your first language that
don't make any sense.
You have to learn a whole new vocabulary.
So I think having the right person with you whocan be an interpreter for you sometimes is
super important.
Yes.
Absolutely.
I agree.
And, of course, I have another question foryou.
(16:55):
Let me see what it is.
In a rapidly changing real estate market, whatstrategies can first-time buyers use to gain an
advantage and avoid costly mistakes?
Well, you talked about how when you wereputting in an offer, you originally didn't get
(17:16):
the offer at one point.
Understanding where the market is going isreally important.
Right now, like, in the United States, we're ina little bit of a slow time.
The forecast, the predictions are that comethis spring and the summer of 2025, there are
gonna be bidding wars.
So if for some people who feel like the worstthing they can do is lose their dream house,
(17:44):
not get the offer, the best thing you can do isactually practice.
Talk through all of the ways that you can makeyour offer look more attractive before you find
the house.
Sit down and go over the game plan.
You know?
Think of yourself like a sports team.
You don't just run out on the field and thenstart making up plays.
(18:05):
You do it ahead of time.
You know?
And then the biggest thing I think to avoid thecostly mistakes, like the people who end up
with something that ends up costing themthousands of dollars, is to understand your
area's inspection process.
You really have to, you know, you might fightlike crazy to get a home.
(18:26):
And then I mean, I'm often really blown awayhow many people will choose a home inspector
based on their price.
And I'm like, oh my goodness.
We're buying a $400,000 home, and you had threeinspectors, and you chose one because he was
$100 cheaper than the other one.
(18:46):
It's a $400,000 home.
Make sure that when you write your contract,you know how long you have before you fully
commit to the home.
Most contracts you get, you know, a looky-looperiod, a buyer beware period.
Understand that, and that's the biggest waythat you'll avoid mistakes.
(19:10):
Wow.
What a great answer.
Thank you so much.
It saves us time and worries as well workingwith someone like you.
And tell us, please, do you have coaches ormentors for yourself, and who was the best
coach you ever had?
I started with my coach in real estate before Ihad my real estate license, and it was the best
(19:35):
thing I ever did.
I was doing a training at the place where I wasgoing to work, and one of the big coaches just
happened to be coming to my town that day.
And it was a meeting for all the realtors inSouthern California.
And his name's Brian Buffini, and he has acoaching program in North America that is based
(19:59):
on not trying to go out there and put your nameon billboards, but to work so that the clients
love you and they want to refer you to otherpeople.
And I think having that heart of service fromthe beginning, that was something that helped
grow my career.
And then currently, I'm just listening topodcasts all the time.
(20:25):
I find other real estate guys.
I find other inspirational podcasts.
I mean, for motivation to self-help, to mentalhealth, to growth self-growth.
You know, I listen to marketing podcastsbecause I love using social media, but, man, it
gets crazy out there.
So, you know, I listen to all kinds of peoplebecause I find that each day I'm getting new
(20:48):
mentors and new coaches.
You know, I'll listen to everyone from GaryVaynerchuk to Social Media Marketing World, you
know, and I listen to, there's these there'sthese two guys, Brian and Mark, who have a
podcast that is like, hey.
Don't be mean.
That's their podcast.
They're realtors.
And they're like, stop doing it wrong.
(21:11):
Let's just be nice to people.
They're awesome.
So I love exploring every single day.
Oh, yes.
Me too.
Thank you so much.
And I love learning from podcasts as well, ofcourse.
I follow it since 2007 where they
Oh, you were early.
I'm a podcast addict, but it took me 17 yearsto start my own because I was labeled as shy,
(21:38):
and I accepted that label.
So now here I am, and I heard you talking aboutSouthern California.
This is where the podcast was created in SanDiego.
I received this intuition at 3 a.m., and sincethen, I'm unstoppable.
And I want to know from you, where can we findyou when people want to reach out to you after
(22:00):
listening to this episode?
Well, I'm not surprised that you found yourinspiration in San Diego.
That's a darn fine city.
It's about an hour and a half south for me.
Everything for me is at How to Buy a Home.
Spell it out.
H o w t o b y a home, h o m e.
(22:23):
How to buy a home dot com.
Everything's there.
Lots of free information.
It's a great way to get information withoutfeeling like you have to talk to someone.
And then when you listen to the podcast, afterthree or four episodes, you're gonna go, hey,
David keeps telling me to talk to someone, andthen you'll start hiring somebody.
(22:43):
Wow.
What a great message.
Again, thank you so much.
And I have to tell you, please reach out toDavid.
He's amazing.
He shares not only in his podcast, but when youhire him and when you work with him, it's
amazing.
So I wanted to share I already bought somehouses.
Let's say I have experience, but and here's thebut thing.
(23:04):
It was in Germany.
What if my intention is to buy my first homein, let's say, California.
Okay?
Let's say California in the U.S.
So you are my go-to person, and I see this.
I have new plans now.
Well, one of my favorite episodes, I interviewpeople who went through the process.
(23:28):
And one of my favorite episodes was an Americancitizen who's in the Air Force.
She was in Germany, and I recommended someoneto her.
I believe it was in Northern California.
I recommended some people for her to interview.
She bought the home while she was finishing upher time in the Air Force in Germany, bought
the home on video while she was in Germany.
Okay.
(23:48):
So I don't have to be there, but I love to bethere, of course.
You don't have to.
I'm saying we can get started.
You know?
We can start the process to kinda narrow thingsdown and then, you know, although you might you
might end up where I am in Orange County or wemight send you back down to beautiful San
Diego.
No.
I tell you my I I know this is on air, but Ican share my favorite city and my no.
(24:14):
It's it's really my intention.
It is Seal Beach.
Okay?
Who?
I grew up
in Los Alamitos.
I grew up in Los Alamitos, and I lived in SealBeach.
I went to high school there.
I'm I'm I'm 25 minutes south now, but SealBeach is the jewel of Southern California.
People don't realize it's a little tiny smallcommunity packed in between all I love Seal
(24:36):
Beach.
I used to live on Fifth Avenue and walk to allthe restaurants.
It's the best.
I spent three months, but we can talk later.
I spent three months in in that area in 2023,and I fell in love, of course.
And this is my you know, we and we can talkabout goal setting because this is my last
(24:59):
question to you.
Yes.
It's not about my goals, but you are one youknow, like a manifestation, and I know now
Yep.
Who what what is the word?
Who to turn to or where to turn to?
So you are a matter of fact person.
My yes.
Of course.
Thank you so much.
Now about your goals and intentions, do you setgoals, and what is one of your next projects?
(25:25):
One of the this started the How to Buy a Home.
It started as an educational extra piece to mybusiness of selling real estate.
It's now become a company.
And so my goal is to turn this into one of thelargest North American education companies for
(25:45):
a disrespected and ignored group of people,first-time homebuyers.
So for me, it's a matter of podcasts arewonderful.
So now I'm gonna look to expand other thingslike YouTube and social media and my website.
So it's gonna take a little time to develop allthose things.
We're, we're five years, almost six years intothe podcast now.
(26:07):
And what I found is podcast people arewonderful and loyal, but there's a whole lot of
people out there that aren't listening.
And they watch YouTube, and they look online.
So the goal is to grow that I can help as manypeople as possible achieve what they want and
break the myth that it's something that is notdoable.
(26:31):
Wow.
Because it is possible, and I'm also anevidence even though it's not in Southern
California yet.
But it's, we have dreams, and we have to dreambig, of course.
Thank you so much for our interview.
I forgot about the time.
It is flying.
And now it's time for your final thought to theaudience, please.
(26:55):
I believe that continuing education isimportant, but I believe the continued
motivation, finding daily snippets like thispodcast and other things out there that whether
it's a song or a podcast, every single day,make sure that you are inputting those things
into your life, and you'll be amazed at howmuch more energy you have.
(27:19):
So true.
Thank you so much, David Sidoni.
Thank you.
And see you in the next episode.
Thank you for listening to Inspired ChoiceToday.
I'm thrilled to have you on this journey ofgrowth and transformation.
Don't forget to hit follow or subscribe to stayconnected and never miss an episode.
And here's something special (27:41):
Grab your free 20-minute breakthrough session with me.
It's designed to help you kick-start or levelup your business.
Just check out the show notes for more.
Until next time, keep making those inspiredchoices.
See you in the next episode.
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