Windermere Homes & Estates Welcomes Kirk Effinger
As a San Diego native, Kirk spent his childhood in Southern California, growing up in Orange County and Long Beach where he attended high school and eventually met his wife.
As a youth, Kirk divided his time between school, work, and sailing. His first job was as a “paper boy” where he delivered newspapers and sold subscriptions. In doing so, Kirk ultimately learned the value of customer service.
In his down time Kirk enjoyed sailing or “racing” for sport. His competitive streak, which he inherited from his father, led him to race competitively up and down the coast of California, and occasionally, internationally. Dennis Connor of America’s Cup fame was one of his frequent foes.
Following a four-year enlistment in the United States Air Force, Kirk began a career in the housing industry that started with selling lumber wholesale to large contractors. Within a few years, he had segued into the supervision of construction and over a period of years, as a superintendent and a project manager, oversaw the construction of hundreds of homes from Los Angeles to San Diego.
Kirk eventually ended up working as a loan officer for what was, at the time, the largest mortgage banking company in the nation, and went on for the next 25-plus years to have a career as a loan officer, branch manager, and vice-president for several different companies.
In the mid-1990s, Kirk also started writing newspaper columns for the North County Times, and continued to do so for several decades with a brief hiatus while he ran (unsuccessfully) for mayor of San Marcos, and another from 2006-2010 when he and his daughter founded and ran a small magazine publishing business. Kirk’s columns also appeared in the San Diego Union-Tribune when they acquired the NCT, until they shut down the North County Edition, and still occasionally appear in local publications.
As a licensed Realtor since the early 1980s, choosing a career in real estate wasn’t really much of a leap of faith. Kirk quite literally grew up in the business as his father was a general contractor, real estate broker and developer. Even at age 87, Kirk’s father still dabbles in the business.
Kirk and his wife currently live in Escondido, where they purchased a condominium in the downtown area after living the previous thirty years in San Marcos. After both of their children moved from home, they decided it was time to downsize and try settling down in a more “walkable” environment.
“Kirk likes to stay active. He’s out in the community, meeting people and getting involved, rarely standing still. So Kirk knows what’s going on, not only in his industry but also in his community. Pair that with his experience in construction and as a loan officer and it makes him extremely valuable to his clients. We couldn’t be happier that he’s chosen to work in our Escondido office,” says Rich Johnson, co-owner of Windermere Homes & Estates.
To find out more about Kirk and his progress at Windermere, you can reach him direct at: 619-200-3387
About Windermere Real Estate
Southern California-based Windermere Homes & Estates is the fastest growing real estate brokerage in California in 2015, according to industry magazine First Tuesday Journal. In just over 4 years, co-owners Rich Johnson and Brian Gooding have opened 19 offices and have had over 550 agents join their team. Their newest achievement, 2016 Brokerage Achievement of Excellence, was awarded to them by the San Diego Association of Realtors® (SDAR). Windermere Homes & Estates was honored to be the first recipient of the new annual SDAR Award given for standard of ethics, commitment to compliance and high regards for running their business.
Windermere Real Estate is ranked the largest regional real estate company in the Western U.S. with over 300 offices and 6,000 agents serving communities in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Mexico. Last year, Windermere closed over 86,000 sides for more than $31.7 billion in dollar volume. The Windermere family has a proud heritage of serving our neighbors via the Windermere Foundation which funds services for low-income and homeless families. Since 1989, the Windermere Foundation has contributed more than 35 million dollars towards improving lives in the communities where we live and work. For more information, visit www.windermere.com.