First Time Homebuyer: Buying in California with Three People (Interview) - 448
How to Buy a Home: The #1 First Time Home Buyer Podcast
David Sidoni
4.8 • 891 Ratings
🗓️ 9 February 2026
⏱️ 31 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
A first-time buyer shares how early planning, relocating for affordability, and buying with a family member helped three roommates become homeowners in California.
Eric, his partner, and their cousin Alex were priced out of San Jose and chose to explore Bakersfield after realizing it fit their budget and lifestyle goals. They spent time learning the city firsthand (including a smart Uber/Lyft approach that doubled as income and neighborhood research) while working through job changes and loan qualification. Eric explains how pre-planning with a mortgage pro reduced last-minute stress, and how they protected themselves by backing out of an escrow when a solar loan complication became too costly. The story ends with their team finding a better home quickly—one that met their must-haves—and a reminder that the process can be a stop-and-go emotional rollercoaster.
“My biggest tip was pro. It’s like starts as early as possible. Even if you don’t think you’re quite ready yet.” - Eric
Highlights
- How early should a first-time homebuyer talk to a mortgage broker and realtor to avoid last-minute stress?
- What’s the smartest way to “learn a new city” before buying—while also earning extra income?
- How can two people qualify for a mortgage even when a third household member isn’t ready to be on the loan yet?
- When should a buyer walk away from a deal in escrow—and how do you do it without losing your deposit?
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David Sidoni, the "How to Buy a Home Guy," is a seasoned real estate professional and consumer advocate with two decades of experience helping first-time homebuyers navigate the real estate market. His podcast, "How to Buy a Home," is a trusted resource for anyone looking to buy their first home. It offers expert advice, actionable tips, and inspiring stories from real first-time homebuyers. With a focus on making the home-buying process accessible and understandable, David breaks down complex topics into easy-to-follow steps, covering everything from budgeting and financing to finding the right home and making an offer.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.8 | Today's another interview episode, and we've got Eric who tells the story about him, |
| 0:05.8 | his partner, Dana, and their cousin, Alex, who all bought their first home together. |
| 0:10.7 | Now, they were roommates living in a very expensive part of the country, San Jose, California, |
| 0:15.7 | Silicon Valley, where they grew up. |
| 0:17.7 | That place, you can only buy a two-bedroom 600 square foot shack for $1.5 million, |
| 0:23.6 | and that was going to work out for them. The story is fantastic, and there are so many great |
| 0:28.8 | tips and tactics in this one. Eric talks about finding an affordable area outside your hometown. |
| 0:34.5 | How about buying with three people on the loan? That's an interesting topic. |
| 0:39.2 | Transferring jobs and still getting a loan approval without having to wait two years. |
| 0:44.4 | He also had this really cool tip. I couldn't believe it. It's one of the best ways I've ever |
| 0:49.5 | heard to learn about a new area. The kicker is you can earn money while you're doing it too. I'll leave that as a tease. You can figure it out later. He also shares his story about getting out of a deal. They were under contract for a home, and they realized that was not going to work out for them. It was going to cost him way too much. It was going to be drama. So he got out of the deal. |
| 1:11.4 | Or I should say they, all three of them, got out of the deal with no issues, no loss of money. |
| 1:16.4 | He explained how his real estate team pulled that off for him. And then how the team immediately |
| 1:21.5 | found them another home that was even better for them. And that was the home we did the interview |
| 1:26.9 | in. Check it out. How to was the home we did the interview in. |
| 1:28.1 | Check it out. |
| 1:32.8 | How to buy a home educates, protects, and connects first-time home buyers to qualified vetted realtors in their area. |
| 1:34.6 | Whether you're looking for DIY information or step-by-step guidance. |
| 1:38.1 | How to buy a home is the number one resource for first-time home buyers. |
| 1:43.2 | Hey, everybody. |
| 1:44.0 | We've got another successful homeowner here. I'm so excited. We just had our dogs together on screen. It was very exciting. Oh, no. Eric, your homeowner, what is it, a month now? Yeah, pretty much. We moved in October 1st, so it's been a month now. That is awesome. How is Halloween in your first house? It's pretty nice. You're not sure how many trick-or-treaters we're going to get. Not as many as in the house we were renting, but it was still a fun time. We really enjoyed it here. That's nice. It's a different thing when you're sitting king at your castle passing out candy, isn't it? |
| 2:18.3 | Yeah, definitely is. Yeah. |
... |
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