sbux

I bought my house nearly five years ago, in a neighborhood that seemed charming but was utterly devoid of coffee shops. One day, on a lark, I Mapquested the four nearest coffeehouses and found none within 1.2 miles. I was downtrodden. That afternoon it rained, and I put my two-year-old in the stroller and we walked to the two kilometers. The barista was bad-tempered and upset at my child for playing with an antique toy she had set on a low table. I walked home, soaked to the bone and angry, and thought dark thoughts about moving. Or opening a coffee shop ...

And then came the bright day when I discovered that a local developer famous for his close relationship with Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) had purchased the property on the nearest busy corner, only two blocks away. Ground was broken six months later, and suddenly my property value doubled. That's right. Doubled.

Starbucks wasn't the only caffeine available in my neighborhood four years later; there's the Starbucks on one corner, an independent coffee shop about three blocks the other direction. There's the newbie a bit further up a side street; the coffee shop / tapas market about a half mile away. Another funky indy place went in by the local elementary school four months ago. But that groundbreaking with the smell of Starbucks in the future made it all possible.

Now everyone wants to sell their home, and indeed, we've seen dozens of new neighbors recently. I feel smug though, because I accidentally discovered (and benefited from) the smartest real estate strategy ever, that I'll share with you: buy, immediately, in a neighborhood where a Starbucks is planned. Just walk down my street and look at those fliers at the base of the "for sale" signs. "Near Starbucks, shopping," the real estate agents have written on them brightly. "Walk to coffee!"

Ok, ok, Sarah, you're saying, brilliant! You're amazing. But how the heck do I know where Starbucks is buying?

Simple really. I'll tell you all my secrets! And just think, I'm not even charging $699 for an email course in this. Or selling it on late-night TV (although I did, if you must know, type this up late at night). If I was Jim Cramer I'd ring a bell, or say something like "Boo-yeah!"

It's as easy as your neighborhood association.

I joined my neighborhood board a few months before Peter Perrin (the Friend Of Starbucks) bought Kupie Corner. It turns out that most developers talk to their local neighborhood associations in order to keep the pickets to a minimum and to ensure that, you know, no firebombing. [I kid you not. Peter Perrin himself, well, the Starbucks in his development, was actually firebombed.]

Now. Go out there and find a neighborhood you like, a couple of 'em, without much in the way of Starbucks, or cute little neighborhood restaurants, or whatever is your favorite fast food chain. Chat with the neighborhood gliterati. And when you hear tale of a Starbucks moving in? Call your real estate agent and have her show you that house just a block or two away.

And, when the Starbucks moves in and the little black numbers on Zillow start ticking up, up, up, well, why don't you buy a few shares of stock in Starbucks? Consider it a thank you for their excellent demographic analysis.