Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Mendoza.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
The long version is that I was born in National City and raised by a grandmother who loved rasing children. My parents were not done being kids and making mistakes in life, so grandma was there to provide all the love and stability I needed. We later moved to Escondido to get away from the rougher area of National City at the time and get my sister and me into better schools. We lived in a home that my aunt and uncle bought in the early 2000’s while banks were giving out subprime loans. After the death of my grandfather and uncle around 2009, we lost the nice middle-class home where I primarily grew up in Escondido.
I ended up living with my parents, sister and 3 dogs in a two bedroom apartment. It wasn’t working. I was about 13 at the time and kept pushing my parents to get their act together and buy something from Zillow. They eventually listened, got preapproved, and went along for the ride while I scheduled appointments to tour houses. They purchased a 3 bed 2 bath 1,200 sf home in Escondido for only $217,000 after the crash (prices we’ll never see again). This allowed them to finally haave some financial security and a se,mblance of retirement possibility after such a late start getting established in life.
Because of their newfound financial security, my sister and I ended up being the first in our family to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree. I went to San Francisco State University after getting accepted to much better schools. I went for the thriving tech industry and the experience living in such an incredible and unique city–something that would not have been possible if my parents were still renting. I paid my own way through school instead of being another young person forced to help keep their own family afloat instead of investing in themselves.
After school, I came back to San Diego. I worked helping my long-time college job coffee shop in Solana Beach transition ownership with a deep knowledge of the craft and the community. I helped them get through the storm of COVID as well. Later, I ended up being the assistant to a very accomplished doctor and founding Medical Director of Rady’s Urgent Care program in all of San Diego. She became an invaluable mentor and great friend to this day. From there, I helped build a now thriving interior design studio, Dwell & Oak, operating in New York and the Bay Area in Northern California. Dwell & Oak’s founder and her family moved, so I only had part of my job I can do remotely. I supplemented the income starting manage another family-owned coffee shop in the Village of Rancho Santa Fe. At this point, I knew how to integrate into a community and was curious to see what opportunities would present themselves. It wasn’t long before I became good friends and tennis buddies with a 77 year old Realtor with 45+ years of experience in luxury real estate, Orva Harwood. She took me under her wing, and my journey in real estate began from there in 2024.
The mentorship of such a widely known and respected figure who has mentored some of the highest producing Realtors in the industry combined with my familiarity with the community of residents and Realtors that swarm the Village became an incredible start to a real estate career with high ambitions. I was a little fish among the whales of the industry, and was afforded opportunities even seasoned Realtors anywhere else could only dream of. I was given the chance to host open houses upwards of $2,000,000 from day one of being licensed under Berkshire Hathaway. After 7 months of chipping away at open houses every weekend, I made my first sale at an incredible property in Point Loma for $2.2 million which happened to close on Christmas Eve of 2024. I’ve only had a handful of transactions, but they have all been great. Every closed transaction to this day has some kind of view of the ocean, a streak I am very proud of.
It’s been an extremely challenging ride, especially in the beginning. Now I finally feel as though I’ve found my footing and am extremely grateful for all the opportunities, support and mentorship from some extraordinary people.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
The first year was extremely challenging. People don’t tell you just how much it costs to be a Realtor–closing sales or not. MLS/Association Dues, Errors & Omissions Insurance, business cards, open house signs, and SO MUCH GAS. All that easily costs upwards of $5,000. Plus the cost to live (in San Diego, no less) and figuring out how to pay those costs on tops of simply living felt impossible. You need to invest time into becoming a Realtor, so having a regular job paying the bills while you grow a real estate business is not realistic.
I had lots of odd jobs like managing a 6 acre property with cows, horses, donkeys, birds and more belonging to a tennis buddy’s parents. It was one of the most interesting jobs I’ve ever worked. I worked alone and drove a gas golf court around the grounds managing all kinds of issues that the parents could not due to their age. It was a fun creative outlet sometimes being tasked to beautify forgotten areas of the property.
The idea of a personal life flew out the window entirely. When I wasn’t working odd jobs, I was working towards building my real estate business. Thankfully, I have the best family and friends who were very understanding rather than giving me a hard time for not being present most of the time. And relationships? Felt impossible. Thankfully, I now feel that I have balance and all is looking up! Still very much so building a new business, but finally feel as though I’m not marching against the wind.
As you know, we’re big fans of REALTOR | Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
I pride myself in my understanding of how diverse we all live. I find if you’re trying to represent someone’s best interest and find them the perfect property, you have to understand the way they live. More importantly, you have to fundamentally understand that there are infite ways different people live. Some spend most of their time outdoors, some indoors. Are there kids in the pitcure? Will there be? Do you have aligned sleeping schedules as a couple? ER doctors may need a bedroom of their own apart from a spouse due to odd hours any time of day. Do you like to host family or friends? Do you hate hosting and want to eliminate the possibility of someone staying over? If you do not understand the diversity of how people, how do you properly represent them and their very best interest?
Another great strength is working with a person with creative vision. Sometimes, a property is one wall removal away from being extraordinary. Sometimes, a horrible paint color or wallpaper can deter a person from seeing a property’s real potential. Working for an interior design studio and throughout my life, I’ve found about 15-20% of people can envision something that doesn’t currently exist. Most are not visionaries in that sense, which gives a great advantage to visionaries when it comes to often overlooked properties.
Finally, mentorship from a widely respected real estate veteran with over 45 years in the luxury and coastal markets is invaluable. Our great strength as a species is our ability to impart our knowledge to the next generation. Having access to that kind of experience and wisom means I can actually compete and sometimes offer more experience than a Realtor with 20 years of experience. Bringing that kind of experience to the table in addition to a fresh, young perspective has been incredibly impactful.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I feel very strongly that luck plays a part in people’s success. Hard work plays a huge role and can be the difference between success and failure, but luck in who you cross paths with in life can make even more of a difference. I was incredibly lucky to find stellar mentors in almost every job I’ve had since starting work at Pacsun at 16 years old. Hard work and intelligence were the engine that took me further, but luck was finding the paths to drive down from the very start. Wisom to reject incompetent leadership and actively seek only the best leadership has helped. Luck played a part in my very first sale, after having open house guests end up calling me the next day asking for my representation in buying the property. Hard work kept me there every weekend religiously to meet those people, but luck played a part in their decision that day to follow my signs to their perfect property in the first place.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://coastandcovenant.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/coastandcovenant
