From California Weekenders to Deer Valley Locals:
How One Family Turned Ski Trips into a Legacy Investment
For years, the Martins were “those people” on the Los Angeles freeways in December—SUV packed to the roof, skis and boards strapped on top, kids wedged between duffel bags and snacks, 6 a.m. departure timed perfectly to make their evening check-in in Park City.
They’d discovered Park City and Deer Valley the way many California families do: almost by accident.
A friend had invited them on a spring ski trip years earlier. They expected “another ski town,” a quick long weekend, and then back to life in Southern California. Instead, they found something that would quietly reshape their family’s future.
They just didn’t know it yet.
The First Trip: More Than Just a Ski Vacation
On that first visit, everything felt like an upgrade from what they were used to.
They loved that they could fly into Salt Lake City, grab their bags, and be in Park City in under an hour—nothing like the long, unpredictable drives to Tahoe. The kids noticed how the snow felt softer, drier, easier to learn on. The parents noticed something else: everyone actually seemed… relaxed.
They spent mornings on the slopes, afternoons wandering Main Street, and evenings around the fire, cheeks still pink from the cold. No phones. No school carpools. No endless sports practices. Just time together.
On the flight home, the conversation started.
“We should come back next year.”
“Not just next year—every year.”
And so they did.
Return Trips, Growing Kids, and a Familiar Mountain
Over the next decade, Park City and Deer Valley became a recurring chapter in the family story.
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When the kids were small, Mom and Dad traded off time in the ski school drop-off line, watching tiny helmets wobble down the bunny hill.
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As they got older, the kids graduated to blacks and bowls, ducking into glades and bragging about the runs they’d conquered.
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Eventually, they knew the trail map by heart and had favorite runs, favorite lunch stops, even favorite lift operators they recognized year after year.
With each trip, a subtle shift happened.
Deer Valley and Park City stopped feeling like “vacation spots” and started feeling like a second home—just one they didn’t own yet.
They’d fly back to California and slip quickly into life again—traffic, school, work, sports—but something about Utah lingered. The kids would ask, “When are we going back?” The parents would catch themselves scrolling real estate photos late at night, half-dreaming, half-researching.
The idea quietly evolved from “We love going there” to “What if we actually lived a little piece of this?”
The Conversation That Changed Everything
It was on a bluebird March afternoon, sitting on a sunny patio at Silver Lake, that the conversation finally got serious.
They’d just finished skiing as a family. The kids were old enough to roam the mountain on their own. No one was arguing. No one was glued to a screen. Everyone was present—and having fun together.
Dad glanced around at the slopes and said the thing they’d both been thinking for years:
“What if this wasn’t just a place we visit? What if this was ours?”
They weren’t naive. They lived in California. They understood real estate values, market cycles, and the fear that often comes with buying a second home.
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Is it really worth it?
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Will we use it enough?
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Is now even a good time to buy?
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Where do we start when we’re hundreds of miles away?
That night, back at their rental, they decided to stop scrolling and start asking real questions.
Enter Mark Rodeheaver: Making Sense of the Dream
Like most people, they started online—Googling neighborhoods, browsing listings, looking at photos of ski-in/ski-out homes they weren’t sure were real or just cleverly lit.
Over and over, one name kept showing up attached to Deer Valley and Park City: Mark Rodeheaver.
They saw his listings, his neighborhood breakdowns, his videos explaining new developments and ski-in/ski-out pockets that don’t show up clearly on a map. They got the sense he wasn’t just selling houses—he was translating the mountain lifestyle into something that actually made financial sense.
So they reached out.
From the first conversation, something clicked. Mark didn’t jump straight into sales mode. Instead, he started with three simple questions:
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“Tell me how you actually like to spend your days here.”
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“What will this home need to do for you—lifestyle-wise and financially?”
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“Where do you see your family five, ten years from now?”
No one had asked them that last question before. Not a lender, not a friend, not another agent.
It shifted the conversation.
This wasn’t just about buying a property. It was about building a basecamp for their next chapter of life.
Turning Questions into a Plan
Mark helped them break down what felt overwhelming into something simple and logical:
1. Location: The Right Part of Deer Valley
They thought they wanted “anything ski-in/ski-out.” Mark helped refine that.
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Were they okay catching a shuttle… or did they want to walk to the lifts?
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Did they want a quieter, more tucked-away feel—or to be closer to restaurants and après?
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Did rental potential matter, or was this purely a family retreat?
Based on how they actually used the mountain—and the fact that they did care about rental income—Mark focused on a few prime pockets in Deer Valley where lifestyle and investment potential overlapped.
2. Lifestyle vs. Investment
They were candid:
“We want this to be a place where our kids keep coming back, even when they’re adults. But we’d also like this to be a smart financial move.”
Mark walked them through:
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Historic appreciation in the Deer Valley area
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How short-term rental demand worked
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The difference between purely lifestyle properties and those with strong year-round appeal
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The realities of owning in a resort market—HOAs, management, maintenance, and exit strategies
It was the first time the numbers and the dream sat comfortably at the same table.
3. The Short List
Instead of blasting them with every listing on the market, Mark curated a small group of properties that matched what they’d described:
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Easy access to the slopes
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Spaces that felt like “home” rather than just “rental product”
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Strong rental history and/or clear upside based on development and future plans in the area
They flew out for one focused weekend, toured the short list, and were surprised by what they felt.
They didn’t fall in love with the biggest, most dramatic property.
They chose the one that felt like them.
The Home They Chose
The home they ultimately bought wasn’t the flashiest in the portfolio, but it was perfect for their family:
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A warm, inviting great room where everyone could gather at the end of the day
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Enough bedrooms to host friends and extended family
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Views that reminded them why they fell in love with Deer Valley in the first place
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A layout that made sense for both personal use and future rental
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Access to the mountain that let the kids come and go as they pleased
Mark guided them through every step:
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Lining up local lenders who understood resort property financing
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Evaluating rental projections vs. real historical performance
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Helping them negotiate not just on price, but on terms and timing
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Introducing them to trusted property managers and local service providers
What had once felt intimidating now felt… doable.
More Than a Property: How the Home Changed Their Family
The first winter in their new Deer Valley home, something subtle but powerful shifted for the Martins.
They no longer had to “plan a big trip.” There was no pressure to make every day perfect or squeeze in every activity.
Instead, they found a new rhythm:
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Long weekends where they’d fly in on a Thursday night and ski through Sunday
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Random summer trips where they’d hike, mountain bike, fish, and wander Main Street without the crowds
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Thanksgiving dinners where extended family joined them, discovering Utah for the first time
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Spring break weeks where the kids brought college friends back to “our place in Deer Valley”
The house became the backdrop for milestones:
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A first run down a black diamond
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A Christmas where it snowed all day and no one wanted to leave the living room
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A family photo on the deck that quickly became the default picture on everyone’s phone lock screen
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Late night conversations by the fire where big life decisions were talked through slowly, without the distraction of everyday noise
As the years passed, it wasn’t just a second home.
It became the place where the family re-centered themselves.
Watching the Investment Grow
While the emotional return was obvious, the financial one didn’t take long to show up either.
With Mark’s guidance, they:
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Selected a property in a highly desirable part of Deer Valley
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Chose a home with strong rental appeal for weeks they weren’t using it
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Positioned themselves in a market with limited supply and growing demand
Over time:
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Values in their area rose
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New development and infrastructure improvements increased the visibility and desirability of the region
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Their equity grew—quietly in the background, while they were busy making memories
What had started as a dream purchase slowly became one of the most solid pieces of their long-term financial picture.
They’d done what many people talk about but few execute well:
They aligned lifestyle, family, and investment in one smart move.
“We Thought We Were Buying a House. We Were Buying Time Together.”
Looking back, the Martins are the first to admit:
“We thought we were buying a place to ski.
What we actually bought was time together we never would have had otherwise.”
Because the home was there, they used it:
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When the kids were in high school, they’d escape for quick weekends before exams and sports seasons.
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When the kids started college, they came back to Deer Valley on their breaks—by choice, not obligation.
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Eventually, as careers and relationships evolved, the house remained the constant everyone returned to.
A simple real estate decision became a multi-generational anchor.
The Role of the Right Guide
The Martins will tell you they couldn’t have navigated any of this without someone who understood both the emotional and financial sides of the decision.
For them, that person was Mark Rodeheaver.
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He translated the maze of neighborhoods, lifts, and future development plans into something they could understand.
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He respected that they were buying more than walls and square footage—they were buying a lifestyle and a legacy.
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He gave honest advice, not just easy answers, helping them choose a home that fit their family and their financial goals.
In their words:
“Mark didn’t push us toward the most expensive option.
He guided us to the right one.”
If You’ve Ever Thought, “Maybe Someday”…
If you’ve ever flown home from a ski trip to Park City or Deer Valley and caught yourself thinking:
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“What if we owned here?”
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“What if our kids had a place like this to come back to?”
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“What if this wasn’t just a trip, but a foundation for our family for years to come?”
You’re not alone.
The Martins were there once too—driving back from a rental, scrolling listings on their phones, wondering if it was realistic or just a daydream.
What made the difference for them was simple:
They had a clear conversation, found the right guide, and took the next step.
