Archive for November, 2007

Robert Is Still There At ‘Robert Is Here’

November 5th, 2007 Categories: Entertainment, Homestead, South Florida Living

Living in the Redland I have plenty of fruit trees in my yard. Try as I might, I cant have all the fruit thats out there though. We sometimes go elsewhere to get our fruit fix!

I drove over to Robert Is Here yesterday afternoon. The kids been wanting to try a dragonfruit and we figured theyd have it. We were right.

Robert Is Here has been there for about 47 years now. The story goes that when Robert was a boy and trying to sell cucumbers on the corner no one stopped at his stand. Roberts father decided he needed to be more visible and made two big signs to put on either side of Roberts table each proclaiming in big red letters œRobert Is Here.

The signs were marketing genius and by noon the next day Robert had sold out all his cucumbers. The rest, as they say, is history.

Today Roberts stand is much bigger and widely known. It sits on the corner of 344^th Street and 192^nd Avenue and there are always plenty of people stopping for fruit, herbs, honey, snacks, touristy items or one of their incredible milkshakes. Some people consider this the Redland but the address is technically Homestead. It doesnt matter. Just head South and West and youll be glad you did.

There was live music yesterday and people sitting at the tables enjoying it. My kid did find the dragonfruit and I convinced her to buy the half of one for $3.00 instead of buying a whole fruit. Thanks for giving us choices Robert! The truth is that we didnt like the way it tasted. It was something like unflavored Jell-O. Not too appetizing, but it sure was pretty!

Roberts has lots of different fruits that you wont find easily at your local grocer. There are lots of different honeys and a honey tasting station too. we shared some laughs with other patrons while sampling the different flavors.

If youre driving to the Keys, leave a little early and take a detour over to Robert Is Here. You might even get lucky and have Robert himself wait on you!

• Robert Is Here
• 19200 SW 344 Street
• Homestead, FL 33034
• 305“246“1592
• Open 7 Days a Week
• Closed September “ October

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Send In The Clowns

November 3rd, 2007 Categories: Real Estate Chatter

Picture it… 11 homes listed in this subdivision. It’s a beautiful community made up of 92 gorgeous homes. The community is brand new. The developer closings on the first house took place a year ago and the more recent ones were finished 6 months ago. As a matter of fact, the builder still has 3 properties for sale (not listed on the MLS). They’re finished, but sitting vacant. In addition there’s also a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) fighting for attention from would-be buyers. The homes are mostly 2-story beauties with many upgrades. Even the smaller models are eye-catching.

The listings range in prices from $320K to $480K. That high end of the range is pushing it quite a bit as it really should be listed at around $435K tops. The one at $320K is a pre-foreclosure, priced to sell at exactly what the owner paid 11 months ago and it’s been on the market exactly 2 months today without going pending yet. Nothing is moving!

Then along comes Bozo and lists his phenomenal house at $589,000! No that’s not a typo. He (or his Seller) actually thinks someone out there is going to be umm… shall we say stupid enough to pay a full $125,000 more than the other one just like it that’s listed (and has sat for 3 months without selling)? Let me repeat that, $125,000. One hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars. Does anyone other than myself realize how much money that is? At the federal minimum wage of $5.15 it would take a person 11.66 years to earn that kind of money! And that’s a bad comparison since the person is expected to actually spend the earnings to live. Have we lost our senses? And get this, the owner bought the house almost 6 months ago at $435k! Does he not realize they will use his own house as a comp on the appraisal? HELLO?? Anybody home?? To add further insult to injury it’s been 2 weeks and there are no pictures. This home is so stunning that pictures wouldn’t do it justice, I guess (that’s sarcasm, in case you didn’t catch it).

For those of us who might want to offer the benefit of the doubt and say…

• But Maggie, maybe his house is better. It isn’t. Don’t argue with me. The builder made them pretty much the same. Upgrades were extras such as a second sink in the master bath for an extra $550.00. How many sinks could he have gotten? Even an Octopus family wouldn’t need that many sinks!
• But Maggie, maybe he improved it. What can you possibly do to a brand new house that’s already got vaulted ceilings, high-hats, granite counters, cherry wood cabinets, keystone pavers in the driveway, 20 x 20 ceramic tile, etc? OK let’s say he did want to make improvements, I still need to interject this, we’re in Dade County; where a contractor who shows up when he says he will is as good to have as the very best neurosurgeon. He would have had barely enough time to pull his permits in the 6 months since he bought.
• But Maggie, maybe the agent is just using this listing to get buyer calls. Aha! I knew you would go that route. Wrong again! There are no signs allowed in this community. A 12×12 inch sign may be placed inside the window. How much exposure is that going to provide to anyone? My riders are bigger than that!
• But Maggie, maybe the house really is worth that much money. I’m shaking my head now. If I have a buyer who can afford to spend that kind of money, I would advise him to go where the average home is worth $600K and buy the cheapest home there. Better ROI in anyone’s book.

My take on this is pure and simple. The seller is greedy and the agent is clueless. He needs to add a curly red wig and a rubber nose to his business attire. I’m disgusted with these people.

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