Best Homes Blog - What's Up? by Best Homes Team

Should I Worry?!?!

Hola Friends & Neighbors, I found this cartoon pasted to my refrigerator this past week. Only my wife could have placed it there. Should I be worried about this?!?!?

Who Let the Dogs Out!!!

It is early Monday morning; still dark, yet I’m awake. My wife & kids are fast asleep upstairs as I attempt to put my thoughts into words here to be posted for anyone who is interested in the subject matter of... Soccer!!! Not just ‘soccer’, but rather 8 year old girls’ soccer. Mighty Dogs Soccer!!! I was awakened this morning after a dream slipped through my mind. As I slumbered, somehow an image of a game schedule crossed over my subconscious brain. I was convinced that, somehow, I’d misread the original schedule and the girls’ soccer team I coach had another month of games remaining, leading right up to Christmas Day. I must say I was overjoyed. Now I am awake, caught in (semi)cognizant thought. I realize, of course, that the season has ended and there are no more games. It was only a dream, conjured in the id and now a fleeting memory. Yet how I wish it ..(read more)

The Perfect Storm of Real Estate - not a crash - a correction!

In the last few weeks I met someone who called the market downturn of the last 2 ½ years “The Perfect Storm of Real Estate.” I’d never really looked at it that way, but the analogy made ‘perfect’ sense. If you saw the “Perfect Storm” movie, you’ll recall the weather forecasters as they hovered over the satellite maps and gasped at the oncoming weather systems approaching one another to form the massive tempest that would wreak havoc on the eastern seaboard. When the forecast maps of the market conditions were laid out in front of us all, we, unlike our comrades in the movie, missed seeing the oncoming ominous fronts on the map of the economy as they approached. Beginning in 2001, our profession began to see interest rates falling. We also began to see a notable decrease in the inventory of homes available for sale. With cheaper money and limited inventory of housing for sale, we all saw ..(read more)

Area Kids Swap Uniforms & Fields!!!

Season Wrap Up & Season Start Up If you’ve noticed, the sun is rising a bit earlier in the morning and days are getting longer. Birds are seen flying carrying twigs and bits of debris with which to construct their nests. Lizards are out of hibernation and there have even been a few snake sightings in the hills around our homes. This weekend, the thermometer is predicted to be in the mid-80’s. Yep - Spring is in the air in San Diego County. Enjoy the sun now folks; the May-Gray & June-Gloom is just around the corner. For a few days though, the high pressure will dominate and the sun will shine. The grass is green, the sun is shining, flowers are blooming, birds are singing, and baseballs are filling our local skies! That’s right - baseballs! While it seems as though I just took the Christmas lights down, recently I found myself standing on the center-field grass of the Fletcher Hills Little ..(read more)

When an Agent & Seller Work as a TEAM Homes Sell!

OK, so you’ve heard the catchy buzz words and phrases—“staged,” “market-ready,” “move-in perfect,” and more—like a broken record from realtors. The goal is to give a buyer no excuse to NOT out in an offer. Although the "little" things are easy to fix, when they aren't prior to going into escrow it tells the buyer that this home hasn't been well-maintained, true or not. For the realtors who really work with their Sellers to make these ideas real these catch phrases equal $$$$$DOLLAR$$$$$ signs. Recently we took on the project of selling 1913 Estela Drive, a unique home with both upgrades & views located in a great neighborhood. While Estela Drive was gorgeous as is, it was not quite market ready. In this case the seller's had done a remarkable job with upgrading & decorating the home so we suggested a few adjustments that were ..(read more)

Market Slow... Time to BUY?!?!?!

While there are varied opinions & widespread speculation about what is going on in the real estate markets locally & nationally right now, there are a few things that are indisputable: 1.) Interest Rates are DOWN --The Fannie Mae 30 Day Yield (basically an overall average of interest rates offered) had the interest rate on a 30 Year Fixed at 5.67% or about 5.79 APR for January 2008 which is actually lower than the awesome rates offered back at the peak of the market in January of 2006. January of 2006 had interest rates at 6.11% or about 6.29 APR--nearly .5% higher than today. At $0 down & a purchase price of $417K your payments on a 30 year fixed would only be about $2,400 per month, versus $2,525 per month in 2006. Taking into consideration the price drop of roughly 17% according to Case-Schiller & DataQuick indexes (See #3) the same home that cost $417,000 in 2006 will likely cost $346,000 today. So, the cost ..(read more)

Best Homes Team/Rob Northrup Sale #2 for 2008!

Rob Northrup Sale #2 for 2008! Cosmetic Fixer Needing $100K Upgrades & Listed 2 TIMES BEFORE, Sold by Best Homes Team for $760K... 1308 Hacienda Drive, Fletcher Hills! Not even one month into January 2008 & the Best Homes Team has already closed on its second sale of the year! 1308 Hacienda Drive had been listed twice before with other “area experts” without selling. Despite needing roughly $100K in cosmetic upgrades we were able to successfully sell Hacienda in 3 months! Now we at the Best Homes Team believe that all homes are saleable if they’re marketed right. Unfortunately for the seller of Hacienda her home had not been marketed well enough with the two previous listing agents & subsequently lost a lot of money as the market fell & her home continued to sit on the market. While the photographs & efforts put forth by her previous agents were “OK” they weren’t ..(read more)

Another Best Homes Team Success Story--9554 Alto Drive on Mount Helix

The Best Homes Team has been around for quite awhile with Rob at the helm as our fearless leader. The question that we are most asked is "How do you do it? How do you continue to sell homes even in this slow market???" So we thought we might just lift the curtain & share with you how we do make sales & the stories behind our recent successful sales. We'll be posting the stories of our successful sales of 2008, so please continue checking in to see how we do it & how we can help YOU! Within the first week of 2008 we have closed our first sale of the year--9554 Alto Drive--for a whopping $1,140,000 within 5 days of coming onto the market! No small feat in this market!! This home is a beauty--a stunning Spanish hacienda with endless views, great floorplan with all the contemporary custom upgrades that are in style right now & much more! Unfortunately with it being harder for buyers to secure a loan & ..(read more)

Rob & Suzy's 10th - Installment Next

What day is it? Not sure - I could click the icon in the lower corner & find out, but who cares, really. What time is it? Don't know - the watch came off a few days ago too. Tropical storm Olga is now well west of us. It is extremely sad that as I wrote of weathering her fury, she was leaving devastation and death on the islands to the west. 10 dead last time I checked. We really don't feel the carnage of things back home, but as we're in the midst of it the world's disasters feel more real. The islanders here have been asking about our terrible fires that they'd heard so much about... Just another reminder that no matter where you are, mother nature is waiting to let us know how little control we actually have over everything. Suzy is sitting next to me, talking continually of Jake, Ashley, and Blazer. A sure sign that she's getting homesick. The beauty of where we are has resurfaced after Olga cut her path through with ..(read more)

Rob & Suzy's 10th Anniversary Trip Installment 3

If you read installment 2, you know by now that we've been experiencing a bit of weather. I have never claimed to be a great seafarer, yet I have spent some time on the ocean. Our sail into Cane Garden Bay on Monday afternoon was rather harrowing. I had the genoa sail (a large jib to you landlubbers) cranked in to about 1/3 of full, and we were still mildly overpowered in our little boat. I'd estimated the winds at about 30 knots, but upon review of the wind-speed loops they were well into the 40's. Why were the knuckles holding so tightly on the wheel? It turns out we were unknowingly sailing through a tropical storm! After the official end of the Hurricane season, a tropical depression formed to the east of the Virgin Islands and blew through, smack-dab in the center of our sailing route. Just more to add to our experiences on this trip - sailing through Tropical Storm Olga. Below is a tracking of her route. We are sitting under the ..(read more)

Rob & Suzy's 10th Aniversary Trip Installment 2

"The women and water are in short supply - there's not enough dope for us all to get high, but I hear it gets better, at least that's what they say, as soon as we sail into Cane Garden Bay." The words of immortal Jimmy Buffett, from the tune Manana. Those words have never felt more true than yesterday, as Suzy and I steered the "Chablis" into the harbor at Cane Garden Bay on the north side of Tortola. For those of you who've traveled with me, you know that I enjoy an element of adventure in my vacations and pastimes. Exploring new spots, braving the elements, and even taking some risk in relation to reward is mandatory for my pastimes. If a destination can be reached on a major commercial airliner with jet engines, it is not likely a place I'd prefer to go. A walk across an open air tarmac with a small propeller-driven plane sitting on a short runway behind me stimulates the senses like nothing else. Pre-processed fun is not for ..(read more)

Rob & Suzy's 10th Anniversary

Hola to all friends & clients of Rob & Suzy! As many of you know, we are celebrating our 10th Anniversary. We left San Diego in pouring rain yesterday morning, flew ALL day - 12+ hours in airports & on planes - to reach the British Virgin Islands at 10:30 PM. Our cab driver, Godfrey, delivered us safely to the Hummingbird House where we felt more at home than anywhere we've ever stopped. We sat under the stars by the pool until 1 AM, our travel-weary bodies caressed by the tropical breezes as we enjoyed a few cold drinks poured at the owner - Yvonne's - honor bar. I strongly recommend the Hummingbird House to anyone traveling to Tortola - it is lovely. Here's the view from our room. We pick up our boat for 7 days of sailing at the dock below us in 1.5 hours. Weather - 81 degrees, moderate tropical breezes, intermittent squalls, and fun in the forecast. Here's the dock: We'll keep you posted on things as we have service or the ..(read more)

The Big Game!!! Cowgirls vs. Pink Power rematch!

Well, as many of you who know us are aware, I have taken an interest in my kid's sports/recreational activities. I've spent many hours as a coach, assistant coach, shoe-tie guy, and equipment manager. It's fun. And rewarding. I get to see the growth of not only my own kids, but the other little rascals as well. I have the opportunity to observe their development on the field as individuals and as teams. These kids on the squads I've coached are friends of my own children and children of my friends. It is a special thing to see their personalities develop. Presently I'm coaching a group of 2nd grade girls who've chosen the name of "Cowgirls" as their team moniker. I've coached a few teams thus far in my brief stint at kids' sports leadership; last year I had the pleasure of leading my son's team to an undefeated season. Yet even with that success last year, coaching this Cowgirls team has been one of the most ..(read more)

Firestorm 2007 - San Diegans come together in times of crisis!

On Sunday, October 21st I met with the soccer team I coach (7 year old girls) at 10:00 AM to take our team photo. One of the parents and a friend of mine, Chris Sovay, is a San Diego firefighter. He was considering playing in a benefit golf tournament with me that day, but had to bow out. He mentioned casually, "We're expecting there might be fires with the Santa Ana winds. I'm on call to go in to work." "Might be fires..." would be the understatement of 2007, and perhaps this decade. The golf tournament went on, without Chris. At tee time, 1 PM, we had heard nothing of fires. By the time we finished at 6, we understood that there were fires burning. When the dinner was over at 8:30 PM, we were aware that evacuations were well under way and many homes were in peril. How quickly things change... From an October morning that the Chamber of Commerce might feature in a brochure to the onset of the worst ..(read more)

Oktoberfest! A Best Homes Team Tradition Coming to an End?

Hola to all our friends and clients! Well, as things go, changes have come and for the first time in at least 14 (and maybe 17) years we will not be at the La Mesa Oktoberfest. Yep - if you wander past our location that has been a fixture at the corner of Pine and Allison (thank god the City didn't change the name of this street that honors a founding father of the City), you will not find us there handing out balloons to all kids and real estate flyers to those interested in properties. It seems decades ago that we started the tradition of being on the boulevard with our flyers and brochures. My wife Suzy and I tired to think about when we got started there - we've been together 13 years (10 married) and I had put in 3-4 years B.S. (before Suzy). We've always been innovators in the field of real estate marketing and sales, and I was indeed the first real estate broker to have a presence at the Oktoberfest. It was a new and exciting concept to ..(read more)