We’re walking hand in hand, fingers entangled, along the sunny pavement in the crisp morning air toward the house Jake wants to buy. It’s almost a replica of the Carrero family home, yet instead of warm sandy brown roughing on the outside, it’s brilliant white with palm trees gracing the front of the manicured lawn in an arc. It’s beyond gorgeous and a postcard picture-perfect.

Two stories high with modern, clean lines and large windows under a sloped tiled roof. It looks much ...