Review: 2011 Honda Odyssey

Technology Time Capsule

Want an x-ray snapshot of where technology is headed?

Juxtapose an earlier version of a time-tested product used by millions -- in this case, Honda's best-selling minivan, the Odyssey -- and compare it with the new-and-improved version, the just-released 2011 model.

Evolutionary, not Revolutionary

Faced with an increasingly long list of deferred maintenance on our warhorse six-year old Odyssey, my wife and I made the fateful -- and expensive -- decision to instead plow money into a new model.

A month into driving it, I can report that the changes seem to be mostly incremental, and that the theme(s) seem to be (even) more technology, plus added comfort.

Shades of "Wall-E"

So, now there are not only built-in cup holders everywhere -- but they all have Styrofoam-like petals that stabilize your beverage.

Which is actually brilliant, because Honda's designers have no way of knowing the diameter of your beverage.

The solution?

Make the cupholder big enough to accommodate the largest imaginable drink, but then add flexible Styrofoam to stabilize smaller drinks.

Similarly, the armrests not only adjust, but now they have intermediate settings, for added comfort and customization.

It all sort of reminds me of the Pixar movie "Wall-E," where humans of the future have morphed into sedentary couch potatoes with atrophied appendages, who move about on mechanized barca-loungers with built-in . . . everything.

Safety & Design

The most functional of the upgrades is actually quite useful: a backup camera that now superimposes, NFL-style, a grid of yellow lines to provide perspective.

The previous version showed you what was in back of you, but it was much harder to judge distances.

Meanwhile, the new headrests in the third row are conspicuously taller, narrower and set further apart -- presumably to improve rear view visibility.

However, the effect is a bit like looking through field goal uprights in football.

Carnivorous Grille

Finally, Honda's designers apparently felt the need to kick up the new model's "testosterone factor"; the result is a more aggressive-looking car, full of angles and a front grille that looks like it could bite you.

All of which fools . . . exactly no one.

Honda's minivan was -- and is --a very functional, family car that's well-built and very reliable.

Which is just fine by us.

"Last Chance to Buy This House Before the Price Drops Dramatically!"

Houses on the Verge
(of Foreclosure)

As sales pitches go, it's not quite as lame as the infamous National Lampoon cover at right ("If You Don't Buy This Magazine, We'll Kill This Dog").

Still, you wouldn't exactly label as "enticing" a house that sought to attract Buyers with this hook: "Hurry! Act now before the home goes back to the bank!"

That's because homes that go into foreclosure typically fall dramatically in price, usually after an interval of 6-8 months off the market (and the same period of neglect).

Other disincentives: homes about to be foreclosed on frequently already suffer from neglect (who's got money for maintenance?); and, by definition, homes usually get foreclosed on when they're saddled with a too-big mortgage -- an issue that *foreclosure at least resolves.

Most Buyers, rationally, tend to run from -- not towards -- such "opportunities."

*In theory, short sales are the other way that debt-burdened homes can be relieved of some of that debt. In practice, however, banks haven't been willing to do that . . . and something like 75% of all would-be short sales progress to foreclosure.

"Ready! Fire! Aim!"

Biting the Bullet BEFORE Listing

It's certainly possible to put a home on the market -- like the one I showed clients this weekend -- with a roof that's clearly past its useful life.

But I wouldn't recommend it.

There are two reasons why:

One. The cost of the new roof is guaranteed to come straight off the selling price.

In fact, the eventual Buyers will likely tack another 20% - 40% onto the replacement cost, just as insurance for any surprises, and to compensate for the hassle of dealing with it.

Two. Of course, that presumes prospective Buyers will be able to see past the defective roof.

Many Buyers -- mine included -- subscribe to the "there's never just one cockroach" theory of home repair.

If the homeowner let their roof go, what other deferred maintenance lays in store for the next owner?

Rather than wait around to find out, many prospective Buyers -- including mine last weekend -- just move on to the next home . . .

The Contractor's Kids Always Go Barefoot??

Factor #2: Lots of In-Process Projects

The original version of the above quote, of course, is "the cobbler's kids always go barefoot."

The idea is that they're so busy attending to their client's needs that they neglect their own -- or their kids.'

But I've also observed that a lot of the contractors I know live in homes that are, shall we say, less than showcases.

A part of that is that they always seem to have a couple projects in progress, making things look especially disheveled.

But I think another piece of that is that, when you can fix it yourself -- schedule allowing -- what I'll call "deferred maintenance" isn't so scary.

For run-of-the-mill homeowners (like me!), I don't recommend it.

Fixing Things on the Way Out (The Door)

"No Time Like the Present"
for Home Repairs

One of the things I've repeatedly seen over the years is Sellers, in preparation for going on the market, finally tackle all the projects they put off while they lived in the home.

Like replacing an especially stained Living Room carpet; refinishing that horribly scratched hardwood floor in the Dining Room; and getting a handyman to fix all the broken sashes in the double-hung windows.

No sooner than all those projects are complete, than the owners will invariably: a) remark how much more pleasant their home is to live in; and b) kick themselves for not having done it earlier, for themselves, rather than for the benefit of the next owners.

So, if you happen to be in this category, here's my advice: fix it -- and enjoy it -- now!

Foreclosures: 50 Cents on the Dollar

Valuing Foreclosures in 3 Easy Steps

Based on showing dozens (hundreds?) of foreclosed properties to clients the last year or so, I've developed the following, "ball park" formula for pricing them:

Step 1: determine their peak value (usually, sometime in mid-2006).

Step 2: Subtract 50%.

Step 3: Add or subtract 10% for above or below average condition.

The only caveat in applying step 3 is that "average condition" for a foreclosure isn't the same thing as "average condition" for a traditional (non-bank owned) home.

With the former, you can expect to find damaged and/or dirty floor coverings, deferred maintenance (interior and exterior), and 2-3 small plumbing "projects."

On a $150k foreclosed home, addressing those items could cost anywhere from $5k to $15k.