Meet The Aurich Family

Scott and Wanda Aurich, Coronado residents since 1987 have loved raising their son, Scotty in Coronado. The Coronado lifestyle, the schools, the residents, and the community they believe make it the best place in California to live. But how Scott found himself in Coronado was quite by chance. Scott and Wanda, originally from Houston Texas met in 1982 at the start of Scott’s real estate career. Scott who played football for first Baylor University and then Stephen F Austin University found himself in a position he never wanted to be in. With dreams of playing professional football, Scott had a careerending injury his senior year when he broke his neck.

While in recovery, in fact, while still in a brace, he stumbled quite accidentally into the real estate world. Through a contact of his mother, he became a site salesman for a condominium project. Having success there he briefly contemplated returning to school to study Architecture but decided to pursue selling real estate. Another serendipitous meeting occurred when he met his first big break, a Louisiana businessman who not only purchased a home from Scott but also needed some land. With that transaction, Scott now found himself introduced in the commercial real estate world. For about two years Scott specialized in land deals.

In 1984 Scott met one of the largest developers in Mexico City, Gaspar Rivera Torres. Over a handshake agreement, Gaspar and Scott built a subdivision with 4 model homes and 10 houses. Everything was going wonderful until the market crashed in 1986 which was the same year as Scott and Wanda had their son Scotty at 25 weeks.

Scotty was born a mere 1 pound and 6 ounces. Scotty spent the first four months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Once he left the hospital Scott and Wanda spent most of their attention on giving Scotty the best care. With so much attention focused on Scotty, real estate had understandably been on the back burner. By 1987 things were getting very tight and Scott was desperate to get back to making money. Gaspar then made a life-changing invitation, “Why don’t you come out to California and check out this new development I’m doing in Mexico?” Wanda and Scott deliberated. What did they have to lose?
 

Scott and Wanda boarded a plane and landed on a perfectly sunny, dry 72 -degree day. A friend had always told him he should visit Coronado so they stayed at the Hotel Del. Scott says, “We came in on a Thursday, went to Mexico on Friday and checked out the development, went to dinner Friday night and made another handshake deal with Gaspar that I would work for him with a draw against commissions” The next morning they found a house on G Avenue for rent and moved in two weeks later! The couple originally assumed they would eventually return to Texas. But the community of Coronado was special, the community embraced the Aurich family and the schools were fantastic. Scott was thankful for a career that allowed him to be involved in coaching youth sports, field trips, etc and still have great work. “I think this is the best place in California to raise a family. It’s perfect to raise a family, take a vacation or retire.” After working with Gaspar for two years and having rented a home the whole time, Gaspar offered to loan Scott and Wanda a sizeable down payment so they could be Coronado homeowners.

“I put a house under contract on Ponoma and ended up flipping it. I was fixing it up and getting ready to move in and a guy came by and wanted to buy it and we ended up making a nice gain.” This led to the next deal on Ocean Blvd which he was also able to flip. All of a sudden, the residential real estate market became very attractive. Scott and Wanda have lived in 17 homes together renovating many of them and building the last four from the ground up. Scott started the company Sun Isle Realty in 1989. Another big break came in 1990 when he landed his first “trophy” listing. Self admittedly his ego enjoyed being the guy who sold trophy houses and he began focusing on the bigger listings. After being told some people didn’t approach him with certain listings, Scott realized he was missing what he loved to do; which was selling Coronado regardless of the size or price point. In 2011 Scott joined Pacific Sotheby’s International Realty and has never looked back. “I don’t sell property. I sell the Coronado lifestyle. I help them understand it is not just a house it is a lifestyle. Coronado is one of the most expensive prices per square foot in San Diego County. People are hyper-involved in the local government. In addition, we have the most beautiful beach, we have golf, pickleball, a senior facility, and fantastic schools for the kids. All those things create a better value than Point Loma or La Jolla. I believe I am the best at sharing what makes Coronado such a special place and what a wonderful lifestyle we have here! I know it like the back of my hand and spend the resources to market the properties that I list assuring they get exposed to the world!

“ Scott has done over 700 deals and almost $2 billion in transactions. He is the number one agent in Coronado for gross sales. He ranks #214 in the United States out of nearly one million brokers nationwide. In 2022 he was recognized to be in the top 100 agents in Sotheby’s International Realty worldwide. Scott says, “I never could have done any of this without Wanda. She is my partner. We’re currently in our second forever home. Wanda loves the whole project of interior design. I have no sense of taste but a good sense of space. Wanda has no sense of space but fantastic taste, so we work well together. She loves taking on a new project.” Scott also attributes his success to his team, especially Shelly Klessinger who has been working with Scott since 2008 as his general manager, marketing director and transaction coordinator. “When Shelly retires that will probably be when I retire. It just wouldn’t be as fun without Shelly.”

Of all the things he and Wanda have acquired and built over the last nearly 40 years, Scott is especially grateful for Sunnyside Stables his son Scotty owns and manages. Scotty is a special needs teacher. He is a Coronado High School graduate who went on to Point Loma Nazarene University where he got a degree in child development. After spending some time teaching in surrounding schools he learned about Equine Therapy. Scotty trained at Ride Above Disability where he had an exceptional encounter with a young non-verbal girl. While riding, she said, “Look at me, Mommy!”. The mother said, “The only time she is verbal is when she is on her horse.” Inspired, Scotty wanted to take it to the next step and start a program himself.

The Aurichs acquired the Sunnyside Stock Farm in Bonita where they have horses and run a small therapy program. “There is a magic connection between the kids and the horses. The horses just light them up. Scotty loves it and it is his passion and he is very good at what he does. A lot of these kids don’t have an opportunity to be a part of team sports and develop that sense of pride and accomplishment, but they can feel that sense of accomplishment through riding.” Scotty lives on the ranch with his new bride Jennie. The couple recently married in March in a small ceremony at Sunnyside Stables followed by a reception at the Aurich family home.

Scott says, “Of all the things we’ve done seeing Scotty find a soulmate it’s the best. I am so happy about it. As a parent you want your kids to do well and find something they love and I am so happy Scotty has found that.” Scott never imagined living a life in California as a residential real estate agent. But, he is so grateful for the way his life turned out. His advice to young people getting started is, “First find something you are good at, where you have the skills to be successful. Your success will create passion and you will feel proud of what you do!” Scott says, “None of the success happens by yourself. My wife is my partner and collectively we couldn’t have done any of it without God. We are so grateful for the blessings we have.”