It takes a very secure mechanic to have an 8-pound guard dog!

Then again, this dog rides around in a Ford F150 & on the back of a Harley

When you pull up to your mechanic’s shop, you probably figure you’re going to be greeted by a snarling Doberman or a drooling German Shepherd. The kind of dog that tells you, you’re bringing your car to an auto shop filled with guys who know machines, guys covered with grease, guys with muscles, muscle cars, let’s face it, we’re talking testosterone.

Meet Preferred Auto's Guard Dog

If that’s what you’re looking for, be forewarned when you go to the Preferred Auto Center in Thousand Oaks. There are cars all over the place, macho guys, grease, tattoos – but the dog who rules the roost here is “The World Famous Bisou,” a fluffy white ball of fur who wears a pink rhinestone collar. And, go ahead, ask the mechanics what they think.

“We talk about whether or not Bisou is here on a good hair day or a bad hair day,” front man for Preferred Auto Anthony Dorado tells Off the 23.

And he’s not kidding.

This is a place where girls – at least one girl dog – get lots of respect.

Full disclosure: One member of The Robin Team has been a longtime client of Preferred Auto and – how many people can say this – she actually trusts her mechanic, owner Mark Miller, despite the numerous heart attacks car repairs always invoke.

With one car for every member of the family, and at one time, that included the family dog, this member of the Robin Team has spent more hours than most car owners at the Preferred Auto Center. It’s been a source of immense entertainment, frankly, to razz Mark about his guard dog.

The razzing, we admit, came to a head a few weeks ago when this Robin Team member pulled her Infiniti up to the Preferred Auto garage, moments before her radiator was about to explode. Anthony graciously offered to have one of the guys drive her home while they worked on her car.

Up pulls a Ford F150, a monster of a truck with every bell and whistle imaginable. The kind of truck you’d expect your mechanic to be driving. Said Robin Team member climbs into the truck and there in the back is a car seat. Not just an ordinary car seat, but a doggie car seat. And not just an ordinary doggie car seat. This one was lined with a fur wrap!

This discovery prompted a full-disclosure, in-your-face-tell-us-the-truth-60-Minutes-type interview. For years, Mark has deferred the razzing, maintaining that he was simply babysitting the dog for his wife of 34 years, Cathleen. Truth be told, Bisou – a 3-year-old Cotton de Tulear (really, we’re not making up the name of this breed!) — is as much his dog as it is his wife’s.

“Mark,” Off the 23 razzed. “You should be embarrassed. You’re a damn mechanic. You run a successful business. You drive a huge truck. Don’t you ride Harleys?”

On the Road with Mark & Bisou

“Sure I do,” Mark replied nonchalantly (probably wishing Off the 23 would just leave him alone). “My wife and I take Bisou with us, she rides in a little backpack. She loves the wind in her face.”

Off the 23 has only one thing to say. This is one very secure macho mechanic!

If you would like to jump on the razz-Mark-bandwagon, you’ll find him at the Preferred Auto Center, 3111 Thousand Oaks Boulevard, Unit 6, where Hampshire meets TO Blvd. And if you need him to look under your hood, give him a call at 805.373.1223. Tell him The Razzin’ Robin Team sent you!

To see more pictures of Bisou, friend us on facebook at The Robin Team.

How Do You Become A Business Superstar?

Learn How To Twirl A Baton!

That’s pretty much how it worked for Susan Solovic, CEO and Co-Founder of ItsYourBiz.com, author of a new book on building small businesses, lawyer, TV contributor, self-described “serial entrepreneur,” all-around over-achiever and soon-to-be-featured Thousand Oaks speaker.

Superstar Susan Solovic

As Susan told “Off the 23” in an interview from her home base of St. Louis, MO, business is in her blood. As a World War II war widow, Susan’s mom teamed up with her brother to open a furniture store, after remarrying, she teamed up with Susan’s dad to open a funeral home.

“My mom was an entrepreneur,” Susan said. “I grew up in a household where moms worked hard, they were equal partners. She instilled a strong work ethic in me. When I left that atmosphere and got out in the real world, I wasn’t ready for the bias I experienced.”

Needless to say, that bias didn’t stop her and she’s been spreading the small business message ever since, selling multiple books, appearing on ABC, CNBC and her own FOX News show called “It’s Your Biz with Susan Solovic.”

So why is she talking to “Off the 23?” Susan will be the guest speaker at the National Association of Women Business Owners of Ventura County’s October 27 meeting at the Los Robles Greens Golf Clubhouse (which really is “Off the 23!”).

“What differentiates me from other small business experts is I’ve actually lived and done what I talk about,” Susan says.

In fact, Susan started her first business at age 15 in Fredericktown, MO. Tired of waitressing, the young majorette got the inspirational idea of opening a baton-twirling studio. With 75 students paying her a dollar a pop – “cash!” – Susan’s business career was on the way.

There were ups and downs but her latest success is her latest book “It’s Your Biz: The Complete Guide to Becoming Your Own Boss,” a topic Susan believes it critical to economic survival in today’s world. “What we’re seeing now is a paradigm shift, not a cyclical change,” she says. “We’re going back to being an entrepreneurial economy.”

Asked what she thinks people will take away from her speech, Susan said, “I hope people will walk away inspired, with some real tangible tools that they can use in their business and life.”

For more information about Susan’s appearance in Thousand Oaks, please visit www.nawbovc.org where you can also register for the event. Networking begins at 5:30 p.m., the program and dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. Los Robles Greens is located at 299 Moorpark Road, just south of the 101 and, yes, “Off the 23!”

Who says you can’t buy a home these days!?!?!

Lenders are lending & there are some great deals out there!

Faithful readers of “Off the 23” have presumably noticed that we’ve been on something of a summer hiatus. We wish we could report that we’ve been sunning by the sea. Truth be told, we’ve been working hard!

Reports to the contrary, sellers are selling their homes, buyers are buying those homes and lenders are still lending money to make those deals happen – and there are deals out there!

This home could be yours!

Take this one! It’s a lovely home (yes, we realtors do use phrases like “lovely”) in Simi Valley, right across from the Simi Valley Post Office. Gated community, low HOA, three bedrooms, 2 ½ bathrooms, two-car garage with lots of storage. A perfect starter home! Click here for a sneak peek! Our lender can get a buyer into that home for under $12,000!

No, we’re not miracle workers, although we often think our lender – Scott Gilman at Prospect Mortgage – is. Actually, it’s simply a matter of knowing what kind of mortgages are out there. In this case, it’s an FHA loan. Of course the next question is, what’s an FHA loan?

First, a history lesson! During the 1930s Great Depression, ours was a nation of renters. With banks in trouble, it typically took a 50 percent down payment to buy a home and most home mortgages were only short-term, as little as three to five years. Construction workers were out of business and the government wanted to stimulate the housing market. (Sound familiar?)

So, Congress created the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) in 1934 to encourage home ownership. To this day, the FHA, which essentially works as a mortgage insurer, gives lenders more flexibility when deciding who should get a loan.

“The beauty of the FHA loan,” Scott tells “Off the 23,” “is that it allows buyers to put down as little as 3.5 percent on a home. It’s easier to qualify for the loan – we can be more flexible with credit scores – and the only requirement is that the buyer must occupy the home. It is a wonderful, wonderful loan!”

And, just in case you were interested, the FHA operates entirely on self-generated income.

If you want more information about FHA loans, please feel free to call Scott on his direct line, 805-367-3446, or his cell phone, 818-438-7719. And, if you know anyone who wants to buy a great starter home, please call the Robin Hagey at 805-338-1700 or Robin Martino at 818-519-2111.

————

As you know, we do love to talk about real estate but, even more important, we love to talk about what’s happening “Off the 23.” If you have an event or know of something or someone who you think would be interesting to our community, please feel free to contact us at therobins@therobinteam.com.

Happy Holidays! ‘Tis the Season! Ho-Ho-Ho!

So what if the weather outside is delightful?!?

At the risk of being politically (or religiously) incorrect, the food banks in our area would really like it if you would consider declaring the rest of the summer “Christmas in July (and August!).”

Well, they wouldn’t put it in those words (they are, for the most part, non-denominational) but they will tell you that food bank donations spike during the months of November and December. At the Manna Food Bank in Thousand Oaks, the holiday season accounts for 50 percent of their annual donations.

Manna's Mike Mathews

But, people need to eat year-round and, while the food bank stockpiles canned and non-perishable goods, the coffers start to thin about this time of year. With kids home from school, and no school lunches, it makes sense that the need is there. Not to mention the economy.

“During the holiday season, people are in the giving spirit,” Mike Mathews, executive director of Manna, tells Off the 23. “We get an amazing amount of food and financial donations. By about this time every year, we find that we have to buy more food to meet the demand.”

Manna regularly feeds about 600 families a month, all from its 750-square-foot home on Crescent Way, tucked behind the Valero gas station on Thousand Oaks Boulevard off Hampshire. The food bank serves families along the 101, from Calabasas to Camarillo – no questions asked.

“If someone is willing to stand in line for two hours to get food,” Mike says, “we know they really need it.”

So, what can you do to help? Pretend it’s the holiday season, sing a round of “Jingle Bells” and donate!! If you can’t get over to the food bank, let us know. We’ll pull our sleigh up to your house, load it with goodies and drop off your donations for you.

The top items on the “most wanted list?” Canned pasta, spaghetti sauce, tomato products and cereal. Oh, and toilet paper. You can’t buy that with food stamps. Traveling this summer? The food bank can always use those travel size soaps and shampoos. For more information on what to donate, click here.

And for our Off the 23 friends who live in Moorpark, please don’t forget the Catholic Charities of Moorpark on Fitch Avenue. Click here for their list of needs. And feel free to pass this blog onto anyone you know. Wouldn’t it be great if we could fill the food shelves before the holiday season?

Because nothing feels better than giving – any time of the year!

Kindle & Nook Users Beware!

Westlake’s Book Nook Kindles Hope ‘Cuz It’s A Real Nook for Real Books

OK, Off the 23 admits that the play on words is a stretch but it was just too irresistible. The point is, for those of us who refuse to cave to the e-reader trend – a trend one half of The Robin Team predicts will never last – there’s a great little place in Westlake that makes it worthwhile to stick with real books.

Martha Abbey Miller

You know the kind. They’re made of paper and you have to turn the pages. These books rarely cost more than a buck and the money you spend on them supports local library programs.

The Robin Team was introduced to this magical corner tucked next door to the Westlake Village Library on Agoura Road by Martha Abbey Miller, volunteer director of the Book Nook for the past three years. The Book Nook is officially supported by “Friends of the Library,” a non-profit organization.

Martha, a writer who has actually been spotted using a pen to compose her first drafts, oversees a volunteer staff that works Tuesday through Sunday, taking tax-deductible donations, sorting the books, stocking the shelves and, of course, selling.

“We have two equal objectives,” Martha tells Off the 23. “We want to generate funds for library programs and we want to circulate books within the community. Money is important but it is no more important than getting books back into the hands of people who will enjoy them.”

In fact, an afternoon visit to the Book Nook was another reminder of what our community is all about. A couple of people stopped by to drop off books, volunteers chatted with shoppers, the place felt homey and comfortable. The Nook is easy to find – it’s co-located with the Westlake Village City Hall on Agoura Road and Oak Crest, just east of Lakeview Canyon.

Books are priced at $1 for a hardcover, 50 cents for paperbacks and children’s hardcovers and 25 cents for children’s paperbacks. The Nook also accepts (and sells) DVDs, CDs, and VHS tapes. It also accepts magazines, which are given away for free.

“We don’t have a big storage area so we have no incentive to mark the books up,” Martha says. “It works really well!”

Clearly it does. While the exact amount the Nook raises for the library wasn’t available, Martha says sales have increased by 10 percent in each of the past few years with 100 percent of the proceeds going to library programs.

For more information about making donations or volunteering, please contact Martha at martha.a.miller@sbcglobal.net. Or click here for more information about location and hours of operation.

And, by the way, we’re pretty sure Kindle and Nook devotees are always welcome!

Don’t Sell Short Sales Short

If you’re under water, a short sale could keep you from drowning

In recent days a number people have asked me about short sales and – with all the information out there to help people who

Thousand Oaks Short Sale

are having trouble making their mortgage payments – I was surprised by some of their questions.

So, here is The Robin Team’s quick primer on why a short sale can be a lifesaver.

First, some background.

While real estate Off the 23 is not in as dire straits as it is in other parts of the country, everyone seems to know someone whose home is “under water” – the homeowner owes the lender more than the house is worth.

An informal search of homes for sale Off the 23 shows some 400 are short sales or foreclosures – ranging from a $99,000 condo in Simi Valley to an Agoura Hills home for $1,665,000.

There are a couple of options for homeowners who are under water – the most common are foreclosures or short sales. In a foreclosure, the homeowner simply walks away from the house, believing they’re making a quick clean break. With a short sale, the homeowner works with the bank to sell the house for the best possible price. It will be “short” of what the homeowner owns and it can be a cumbersome process.

So, why – in most cases – does a short sale make more sense than foreclosure? Here, according to the Distressed Property Institute (DPI), are a couple of excellent reasons:

Your credit score. A foreclosure will lower your score from 250 to more than 300 points and it will stay on your record for three years. With a short sale, your score will drop 50 points and stay on your record 12 to 18 months.

Your credit history. A foreclosure becomes part of your permanent public record and stays on your credit history for 10 or more years. A short sale is not reported on your credit history since the loan is typically recorded as “paid in full, settled.”

Future mortgages. Loan applications require you to answer the question, “Have you had property foreclosed upon or given title or deed in lieu thereof (love the legalese!) in the past seven years?” If you answer “yes,” as you must with a foreclosure, you may have to accept a higher interest rate. Since you are not required to report a short sale, there is no negative affect on the rate you are offered.

Future employment. Many employers require credit checks; others require security checks. The DPI says, “A foreclosure is one of the most detrimental credit items an applicant can have and in most cases it will challenge employment.” A short sale is not reported on the credit report so it should not affect your job application.

This is a basic explanation of how short sales stack up against foreclosures. If you, or someone you know, is “under water” please feel free to contact us. Just like the owners of the home pictured above did. We’re helping them sell their home, a single-story three-bedroom, two-bath in Thousand Oaks. It’s a short sale but, in the end, the owners will come out on top.

Stop Exercising — IMMEDIATELY!!

You’re Using Up Your Body Parts

For years, my Dad, who turns 84 in November, still practices medicine part-time and is right now on a cruise somewhere between Moscow and Leningrad, has bragged that the reason he looks young for his age is that he never exercised and, therefore, he never used up his body parts.

Faithful readers of this column know that a few months ago, I had a partial knee replacement. Upon learning that I needed this surgery, I insisted I was way too young for it. My doctor kindly disagreed. Turns out, not only am I not too young, I’m not alone and there’s actually a name for people like me.

As The Today Show reported the other day, I am officially a certified member of the “fix-me” generation, people between 45 and 64 who have undergone record numbers of knee replacement surgeries – not because we’re aging or obese. Rather, by exercising to stay fit, we are – and, there’s no other way to say this: We are using up our body parts.

This may also explain a trend we’re seeing in the real estate business. In fact, the “fix me” generation could also be called the “no-stairs-at-any-cost” generation. The same people who play tennis, walk an 18-hole golf course, jog and ski are asking us about single-story homes or, at the very least, homes with a full bedroom and full bathroom downstairs.

The National Association of Homebuilders reports that not only are we “Baby Boomers” (that is, after all, our original moniker) looking for single-story houses, we want smaller floor plans and amenities such as nonslip floors, larger medicine cabinets and lower kitchen cabinet – the better, one assumes, to preserve our aging body parts.

I cannot believe my Dad may actually be right. Maybe I should be investing in a new Barcalounger!

When A Sick Child Makes A Wish

Dreams Really Can Come True

Last week wasn’t a great week. Tragedies seem to come in waves and I was touched by more than my fair share. By Sunday, I was pretty drained. On my agenda for the afternoon? A fundraiser for The Make-A-Wish Foundation, sponsored by my favorite volunteer group, the Moorpark Women’s Fortnightly Club. Just what I need, I thought.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation, for those of you who don’t know, has been granting wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions for more than 30 years. I was late getting to the Moorpark Country Club, where the fundraiser was held. (For once I had a good reason for my tardiness – I was showing our listing.)

I arrived in time to hear a young lady named Charae Gibbs talk about her diagnosis at age 10 of acute myloid leukemia, an adult disease that rarely afflicts children. Charae – her name is the combination of her grandmothers’ names – described her painful treatments, being kept in isolation for two months at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles, of losing her hair – a horrifying experience for anyone, but especially so for a young child.

When Charae was finally released from the hospital, her friends and family threw a welcome-home parade, complete with a limo ride and yellow balloons that lined Tierra Rejada (Off the 23!) from the freeway to her home in Moorpark.

By the time I got to the fundraiser, the ballroom was filled with 255 guests and a sea of yellow balloons, a reminder of Charae’s homecoming. Sold at $20 a pop (I couldn’t resist the pun!), the MWFC raised $1700. With the sale of those balloon, ticket sales and the live and silent auctions, the MWFC raised enough money to grant three wishes to ailing children – about $15,000!!!!

As for Charae, she’s now 31, works at Amgen, loves to salsa dance and travel, and she has a great boyfriend, according to long-time family friend Carol Sanders, who helped organize the MWFC fundraiser. In her speech, Charae happily recalled her own wish all those years ago – a big thank you party for all the people who supported her and her family while she was ill.

Sadly, many of The Make-A-Wish kids do not survive to share their stories. Hearing from a young lady who did was exactly what I needed.

The Cowboys Are Coming!

Dare We Say It? Conejo Valley Days is Good ‘Ol Fashioned Fun

My list of reasons to live Off the 23 is a long one and the annual Conejo Valley Days would easily make my Top Ten! Why do I love it? It’s the best reminder that, even though the population Off the 23 has grown since I moved here 15 years ago, we still live in a small town.

Not to sound corny but Conejo Valley Days are a throwback to a different time. Heck, this is its 55^th year! How many events can make that claim? And, yes, I think that’s a great thing! You’ve got the rides, complete with Ferris Wheel, game booths, food booths, even cotton candy and a Midway. No matter when I go, and I’ve gone pretty much every year I’ve lived here, I always run into friends and neighbors. It’s almost as fun as shopping at Vons!

What many people probably don’t know is that the Conejo Valley Days food and game booths are run by school booster clubs and non-profit organizations. For many of them, it’s the biggest fundraiser of the year. (I should know! I spent three years grilling hot dogs for Westlake High School’s WIT – Westlake Information Technology – Academy. (And, not that it’s all about me, but someone recently sent me a picture of my husband and me — we’re the two in the middle — in our hot dog booth. Notice, we sold everything except one bag of chips!)

For those of you who have never been to Conejo Valley Days, mark your calendar for Wednesday, May 4, through Sunday, May 8. You and, especially, your kids will not want to miss it! Now, some of you may ask, “That’s a month away. Why is she reminding us now?”

Well, my Conejo Valley Days volunteer days apparently are not over. I’ve been asked to coordinate fundraising ticket sales. In just another way to help out local PTA/Booster Club/non-profits, Conejo Valley Days allows those groups to sell tickets in bulk, with part of the proceeds going back to the fundraising organization.

Here’s how it works: Any non-profit group can sell tickets for $25 a pop. For the first 200 tickets sold, your group gets $3 per ticket (an easy way to earn $600!). For tickets 201 to 500, your group gets $4 per ticket. More than 500 tickets sold, you get $5 per ticket. Do the math!

Since Conejo Valley Days has something for everyone, the selling possibilities are endless! So, if your organization is interested in selling Conejo Valley Days tickets, please feel free to contact me at robinhagey@therobinteam.com. I have almost 2,000 tickets and I want every single one of them sold!

For more information about Conejo Valley Days, please click here. Or, click here to see a YouTube video! And, by the way, the five-day event actually takes place as close to Off the 23 as you can get!

Sterile-ness is just fine & dandy

Sterile & Darn Proud Of It!

OK, I’m over The New Yorker sterile thing. Really. In fact, I’m embracing the whole concept. Sterile must be a good thing, I’ve decided because sterile, methinks, produces amazingly talented kids!

What leads me to this conclusion? A photo spread in another magazine, the less snobby People, which featured Hailee Steinfeld, the Thousand Oaks teenager who survived being raised in a sterile community to be nominated for an Academy Award, at the ripe ol’ age of 14, for her role in the movie “True Grit.” Hailee allowed the magazine to follow her while she was getting ready for the Oscars to benefit an Off the 23 charity – the National Charity League, Conejo Valley Chapter.

Which leads me to other talented youngsters who have thrived in their sterile environment. A good friend and her daughter, Amanda Feinberg, were extremely active in the Charity League while Amanda was in high school. Amanda and my daughter were on the competition cheer team at Westlake High School together almost four years ago. (First rule of rubbing elbows with the future famous is to explain the connection!)

Who knew that the sweet little girl who would flip and cartwheel her way through competitions would produce extraordinarily detailed pictures that prompted a UCLA publication to call her the “Salvador Dali” of her generation? Click here to read all about it. Check out www.amandafeinberg.com to see more of her pictures.

Then there’s the tow-headed boy who used to live across the street from us in our first home in Thousand Oaks. Nelson Wells and my son, Justin, were joined at the hip for years. When I saw the book Nelson just illustrated, “Around the World With Lilup,” I was blown away by his talent. “Mom,” Justin admonished me, “Don’t you remember, Nelson was always drawing something.” I confess I didn’t remember (not that that should be a shock!). 

In our brave new technology world, the only way to read Lilup is with an iPad but it is surely worth the price of about $3. Lilup is an interactive bedtime story that teaches kids to read. Click here for more info.

Of course, Amanda and Nelson aren’t the only talented kids who live Off the 23, in Westlake, Thousand Oaks, Moorpark and Simi Valley. We’ve got singers, dancers, musicians and actors – not to mention members of the math teams and debate teams, science clubs and Spanish clubs. Tell us about the extraordinary kids living in your neighborhood!

So, not only am I over the sterile thing, I’ve embraced it. Thanks to The New Yorker, The Robin Team has a new slogan: “Off the 23! Sterile and darn proud of it!”

Moorpark Women Help Make-A-Wish

It goes without saying that one of the best reasons to live Off the 23 is the many wonderful people who are dedicated to helping others. One of my personal favorites is the Moorpark Women’s Fortnightly Club, which is getting ready for its annual Spring Tea, although this year it will be a spring luncheon.

Proceeds from the luncheon and Silent Auction will go to the Make-A-Wish Foundation. The event takes place at the Moorpark Country Club on May 15, beginning at 11 a.m. Tickets are $35 each.

MWFC is collecting items to be included in its silent auction baskets. The Robin Team is donating a “First Baby, First Home” basket, complete with handmade baby blanket and helpful hints for first-time homebuyers. If you’d like to make a contribution to the MWFC, either by sponsoring a basket or making a monetary donation, please contact them at MPfortnightly@yahoo.com.