In the British Virgin Islands, there's an island called Jost Van Dyke. There's not much on the island save a government building where you must check in when you pull up to the dock, some homes for the local residents, and a bar called Foxy's.
Ever since I laid eyes on the place it's this place that I fix in my mind on every time I hear Jimmy Buffet croon, "there's one particular harbor". The bar is really just a giant palapa. The two by fours that frame the palapa are covered with some pretty interesting things. You're likely to see driver's licenses from all 50 states, various intimate apparel (male and female), business cards from people in nearly every imaginable profession and lots of insurance licenses and real estate licenses stapled to the timbers. It's really quite a sight to see.
This has to be where Jimmy Buffet had his first cheeseburger in paradise. The floor of the bar is sand. The only thing between you and the bay are two perfect palm trees with the requisite hammock strung between them. There's a little scrap of lumber planted in the sand with a hand painted sign that simply says, "Foxy's". Foxy stops by occasionally to sing and play his guitar, but mostly, it's just people like my friend Lynda Eisenmann and I who come in by private boat or by ferry from the other islands.
Now what does all this have to do with the Orange County real estate market and home sales? Well, I got to thinking about our current real estate market and how it's really been fun to be able to actually do some marketing on our listings. I met with a couple today who are listing their condo with me. They had a pretty good take on what's going on in the area of real estate in their area of Orange County. The gentlemen summed it up like this, "The time is past for the agents who were only going after the low-hanging fruit. They're leaving the business in droves. Now is the time for professionals like yourself to shine." Wow, how good it was to be seen as a professional and actually set apart from the agents who just took orders and made money in spite of their inexperience and sloppy work ethics during the past couple of years.
On the way home from this uplifting appointment, I was thinking about what my client had said and started thinking about Foxy's in the Caribbean. I recalled sitting with our feet in the warm sand, enjoying our fruity libations as I wondered (out loud I'm afraid) if they ever took any of the myriad of things down that were stapled to the timbers. The bartender who was apparently gifted with supernatural hearing responded. "Every few years a hurricane blows through the place, clears most of it out and we just start over."
Tonight, I'm going to enjoy some Coconut Rum, prop my feet up, dream about Foxy's (and that one particular harbor) and think about how this hurricane of a real estate market is clearing out everything unnecessary and leaving behind what endures...Those who are professionals who are in this business for the duration, not just in it as a "fall back job" or just to make a fast buck. So I'm just looking at this mighty wind that's rushing through the world of real estate as just a great way of cleaning house.
For more fun photos of Foxy's and a fun way to get there click here
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Marlene Bridges, REALTOR® 800 777-1775
South Orange County Real Estate Website
Orange County Seniors Lifestyles Blog
SRES - Seniors Real Estate Specialist®
CRS-Certified Residential Specialist®
President - Laguna Hills/Laguna Woods Chamber of Commerce
Marlene is a highly experienced South Orange County CA REALTOR® specializing in residential Real Estate and the sale of Homes and Condos in South Orange County, California and Saddleback Valley cities of: Laguna Woods, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Beach, Rancho Santa Margarita, Lake Forest, Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente, Aliso Viejo, Mission Viejo.
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