Sunday open houses in Mission Valley run from one to four, and that's the quietest Friars Road ever gets. Nobody's commuting. Snapdragon isn't letting out. The 163 on-ramp is a calm little slip road instead of a queue back to the car park. You see the flat at its best and the neighbourhood at its most misleading.
So here's what I ask every buyer to do before we write anything. Go back. Not with me, not with the listing agent. On your own, on a Tuesday, at about a quarter to six.
Park where you'd actually park. If it's one of the complexes off Rio San Diego Drive, that means the guest spots, and you'll find out quickly whether "ample guest parking" in the listing means four spaces for 200 units. Walk to the front door. Stand in the lounge with the windows open and listen. Friars Road at rush hour is a different animal from Friars Road at two on a Sunday, and some of the buildings along Camino de la Reina take the full brunt of it.
Then check the match schedule. San Diego FC and the Wave between them put something like thirty home matches a year on Snapdragon. If your building is anywhere near Mission Village Drive, a home match means you're not leaving for dinner until the second half starts. Some people don't mind that. Some people find out in July and are furious by September. I'd rather you find out before your deposit goes hard.
I spent years as a financial planner before I got into this, and the habit that stuck is stress-testing. You don't judge a portfolio on its best week. You don't judge a home on its best hour either.
Two more things. Ask the seller's agent, in writing, whether the unit has ever taken water. The January 2024 storm put parts of Camino de la Reina under it, and the flood maps in this valley are not a formality. And if the listing photos were taken at golden hour with every lamp on, assume that's the only time it looks like that.
Here's where I part ways with a lot of my colleagues. I don't think the second showing is a nice-to-have. It's the showing. The first one is a viewing. The second one is where you find out whether you can live there.
Go on a Tuesday. Bring a jacket, the wind comes down the river after five.