During a recent interview with Frequency 5 FM, Santos shared how Heading Home came to be! Watch the replay at: https://www.facebook.com/frequency5fm/videos/2199171230323939/
For Santos Garcia, real estate investor, the business of helping put customers in their own homes is personal.
The 35-year-old father of two, who arrived in Canada nearly a decade ago, reflects on how a lack of access to secure housing has affected his family back in South America. “We wanted to keep the house,” he recalls of his brother’s residence in Buenos Aires, Argentina. “But we couldn’t. We couldn’t keep up the payments. It was very upsetting”. He looks sad as he remembers the foreclosure which forced his brother back into renting, and living temporarily wherever he could. “I wish I could have helped him.” Santos relates that, though his original motivation for signing up to do RE investing was to help his own siblings, he’s seen along the way that he can help other families acheive more security and financial traction.
“It was amazing when I heard my instructor say it: real estate investment is about helping people. You’re solving a problem so that’s why you are getting paid. I thought, yes, that’s what I want to do!” Garcia recalls of his first investment class.
He and his wife Erica (who attended the class with him and was 7 months pregnant with their second child at the time) were excited to realize that their own home and RRSPs could be converted into investments that launched their real estate investment journey. Working with a mentor and a community of realtors, real estate brokers, credit specialists and other professionals, Santos has navigated the initial stages and founded Heading Home real estate. In addition to the mentorship and connections has has through his courses, he has more than a decade of experience maintaining properties and managing rental units. He attends Toastmasters once per week to sharpen his skills speaking in English, plays soccer and works out in his home gym to keep his energy up.
“I chose Lease Options as my primary strategy because it has the most visible benefit to my clients. Many who can’t get a mortgage through traditional means can qualify with us. With our Rent-to-Own program, I work with them to get them get into their very own house. Meeting them where they are and understanding their situation is the first step. They become a tenant buyer, and we walk them through the steps to become home owners. It’s like a training program; they repair their credit, build up their savings, reset their finances, or do whatever else they need to do to move forward. They learn in the process, and improve their mindset. We support them because we believe in people and we love to see them acheive their goals.”
Even those who don’t qualify for my program can benefit from the education we provide. To me that’s very important because we want to see them make the necessary changes to improve their lives. I know by the time people reach out to me they have already heard no a lot. We make an effort not to say no but rather, hey, here’s what you need to do. Follow these steps and get back to me in 6 months. There are some simple financial tools they fill in with us which are part of our qualifying process, that generate some personalized advice for them. They can improve their situation right away.”
And due to Garcia’s deep roots in the automotive repair community, he can also offer money-saving referrals and car inspection tips for his clients. His knowledge of many makes and models of car means that he can help avoid unexpected breakdowns that are much more costly in the long run. It doesn’t really have to do with home ownership, says Garcia, but it is just another way to watch out for people’s financial stability and help them avoid big setbacks. In Canada people can spend so much on their cars! he notes, with a smile. The country is so big that people drive everywhere, so their cars are very important. Garcia began working on cars when he was 17, living in Buenos Aires, and found it much more satisfying than the odd jobs he had been doing. Now a few decades later living in Canada he has made another transition: from mechanic into a real estate investor putting together creative financial options. But he hasn’t forgotten where he came from, and how valuable that first opportunity can be.
His best advice? Find a job you like, in a good environment. Have a plan and be around good people. Read good books to keep your mind strong. Keep working hard and you will get there. Keep your mind and body healthy and try to find something to be thankful for every day. For me, watching people succeed is the real reward.
Santos can be found at http://heading-home.ca
