01 — First home
Buying your first place
Pre-approval, offer strategy, and inspection clarity — without the jargon. We meet weekly until you have keys in hand.
- Lender intros
- Neighborhood tours
- Offer coaching
Buy · Sell · Invest
A calmer way to move home in today’s market.
For first-time buyers, families navigating a contingent sale, and investors building long-term wealth — a single brokerage that meets you where you are.
Joshua Heraldez
Your trusted advisor · First Team · LPI
- 8yr
- In market
- $50M+
- Closed volume
- 98%
- List-to-sale
Southern California, reimagined.
Now showingFirstTeam® Preferred Buyer Program
A white-glove path from search to keys.
FirstTeam®'s Preferred Buyer Program is our commitment to guide you seamlessly through the home-buying process — leveraging our skills, trusted relationships, and Southern California expertise to protect you every step of the way.
Buy on your terms.
We work on your schedule and won't pressure you to buy before you're ready. Whether you're moving now or next year, our off-market program quietly searches for you in the background.
Exclusive off-market access
Sneak Preview inventory — Southern California's largest off-market network — before homes hit the apps.
Personalized CMA
A custom Comparative Market Analysis so you understand true pricing in every neighborhood you're considering.
Home Finding Promise
We commit to a target date and proactively hunt — including off-market — so you're not left scrolling apps alone.
Custom RealScout portal
Your own home-shopping portal tuned to your criteria, with showings on your schedule.
Skilled negotiation
Nearly 50 years representing more buyers than any other brokerage in So-Cal. We negotiate price, credits, repairs, and rate buydowns.
"As good as cash" lending
Bullet-proof approvals within 48 hours through HOMEOWNERS FIRST — lenders compete for your rate so you don't have to shop.
Dedicated Transaction Coordinator
500+ pages of paperwork managed in Skyslope so nothing slips through the cracks.
Free home warranty
If we can't negotiate the seller to cover it, we buy your first-year home warranty ourselves — a $650+ value.
Curated vendor list
Pre-vetted inspectors, contractors, painters, flooring, cleaning, and design — with real savings when you bundle.
Concierge & move-in
Professional move-in cleaning, moving resources, housewarming catering, and pet resources to land softly.
Love it or List it Assurance
Not satisfied within 12 months? We'll re-list it with no listing fee when you buy your next home with us.
Hassle-free cancellation
A simple written 30-day cancellation clause — you stay because you want to, not because you're stuck.
You're never obligated to purchase a property. Full program terms and conditions provided at consultation. Lic# 01008773.
Three paths
Whatever chapter you’re in, we’ve walked it before.
02 — Move up
Sell yours, buy the next
We choreograph a contingent sale so you don't carry two mortgages — or move twice. Bridge loans, rent-backs, and timing built around your family.
- Sale + search synced
- Bridge financing options
- Rent-back negotiation
03 — Invest
Build a portfolio
Cash-flow analysis, market-rent comps, and 1031 strategy. Whether it's your first duplex or your tenth door, we underwrite every deal like our own.
- Deal underwriting
- 1031 exchange
- Off-market access
The process
Four steps. Zero surprises.
The same playbook whether you’re buying a starter, juggling a contingent sale, or closing on a fourplex.
- 01
Discovery call
A 30-minute conversation about your timeline, finances, and what 'home' means to you.
- 02
Strategy plan
A written plan — pricing, financing, contingencies, market windows — tailored to your situation.
- 03
Execute together
We handle showings, offers, inspections, and negotiations while keeping you in the loop.
- 04
Keys & beyond
Closing day is a beginning. We stay on call for trades, refinance timing, and the next move.
Today’s market
Rates are noisy. Strategy isn’t.
Buy-down structures
We negotiate seller credits and 2-1 buy-downs that quietly save tens of thousands over the first years.
Bridge & HELOC
Move into the new place before closing the old one — we know the lenders who actually fund quickly.
Cash-flow models
Every investment property comes with a 5-year pro forma. No vibes, just math.
1031 exchanges
Defer capital gains and roll equity into the next door. We handle the timeline.
Client stories
I had been renting for nearly a decade and convinced myself owning a home in Southern California just wasn't in the cards for me. Joshua walked me through every single number, found a lender who structured a 2-1 buydown that brought my payment under my old rent, and we closed in 28 days with $9,000 in seller credits. He texted back at 10pm on a Saturday — twice. I'm a homeowner because of him.
We had a kid on the way, a house we'd outgrown, and zero idea how to buy and sell at the same time without ending up in a hotel. Joshua mapped the whole contingent sale on a whiteboard, pre-negotiated a rent-back, and got both deals to close 22 days apart. Our listing went pending in 6 days over asking, and the home we bought came with a $14k credit toward the new roof. Calm, surgical, and a little bit fun.
I'd been hunting for my first small multifamily for almost a year and kept losing to cash. Joshua underwrote a duplex with me on a Tuesday afternoon, had me in contract Friday, and used a rate buydown plus a 1031-friendly structure so the numbers actually penciled at today's rates. I'm now four doors in and we're already scouting number five. He treats my money like it's his own.
I'm a single buyer, first-time, and honestly a little terrified of the whole process. Joshua never once made me feel like a small commission check. He toured 14 homes with me, talked me out of two that looked perfect on paper, and found the one where I actually cried walking in. Closing day he showed up with flowers and a binder of every warranty and vendor I'd ever need. Five stars is not enough.
Meet your agent
Joshua Heraldez
First Team Real Estate · Luxury Portfolio International
Eight years in the market. $50M+ in closed volume. A 98% list-to-sale ratio. But the numbers only tell part of the story — what matters is how fiercely I advocate for every client at every stage.
- Respond to every buyer inquiry within 5 minutes whenever possible
- Preview homes weekly and know the inventory better than the competition
- Negotiate aggressively on price, credits, repairs, and rate buydowns
- Provide off-market and coming-soon opportunities before buyers find them elsewhere
- Educate buyers on neighborhoods, schools, commute times, and future value
- Build a trusted team of lenders, inspectors, contractors, and escrow professionals
- Deliver a white-glove experience with constant communication, guidance, and advocacy from search to closing
The right move starts with a conversation.
Tell us where you are — first home, juggling a sale, eyeing a duplex — and we’ll send back a plan within two business days.