We have known Jim & Donna Klinge for over a dozen years, having met them in Carlsbad where our children went to the same school. As long time North County residents, it was a no- brainer for us to have the Klinges be our eyes and ears for San Diego real estate in general and North County in particular. As my military career caused our family to move all over the country and overseas to Asia, Europe and the Pacific, we trusted Jim and Donna to help keep our house in Carlsbad rented with reliable and respectful tenants for over 10 years.
Naturally, when the time came to sell our beloved Carlsbad home to pursue a rural lifestyle in retirement out of California, we could think of no better team to represent us than Jim and Donna. They immediately went to work to update our house built in 2004 to current-day standards and trends — in 2 short months they transformed it into a literal modern-day masterpiece. We trusted their judgement implicitly and followed 100% of their recommended changes. When our house finally came on the market, there was a blizzard of serious interest, we had multiple offers by the third day and it sold in just 5 days after a frenzied bidding war for 20% above our asking price! The investment we made in upgrades recommended by Jim and Donna yielded a 4-fold return, in the process setting a new high water mark for a house sold in our community.
In our view, there are no better real estate professionals in all of San Diego than Jim and Donna Klinge. Buying or selling, you must run and beg Jim and Donna Klinge to represent you! Our family will never forget Jim, Donna, and their whole team at Compass — we are forever grateful to them.
OMG, the bathrooms! Your awesome sense of humor will be put to good use on Saturday. Good luck, Jim…
beeeeeeep .
Ah yes, the call of the REO-bird (the battery-challenged smoke-alarm). Good luck and OMG the toilets.
Nothing new I haven’t seen in my area before.
Sometimes you even get the moldy fridge at no extra charge!
709 seems pretty good to start.
…and another pick up on the Friday tip by CR too FYI…
No stink-o-meter reading. It broke the instrument. It’ll sell in a heartbeat after the work is done tho – unless someone sees this.
Worst. Parting. Gift. Ever.
And that purple room! Ouch! My eyes still burn!
I don’t get why they didn’t listen to you? Was your quote really high or something?
It just seems odd….I can’t think of a reason why they would do that (well maybe if it was too high, but I bet you have a good contractor) and the appointment only policy! I love what you did and good price.
Why BofA can’t just blow these out instead of insisting on all these little things that just hurt them…is beyond me.
Loved the Olivenhain one! What a fantastic setting.
Jim , with no water the gas from sewer connection is probably entering house . This is a cause for concern . Add water to bowls to create a seal and cover for showing. Good Luck…
So, how did the Saturday “By Appointment Only” open house go?
Why would you pay around $3,500 dollars a month for 30 years for something that will be worthless in around 20 years? The entire California housing market is all based on 8% to 10% house inflation and praying you find another sucker to pass the house and debt on to in around five years. The big problem is the time bomb of very poor contruction material that will not last any where near the length of the mortgage and the very real possibility that the price of the house will go down rather than up. Given the general economic situation of the US and California in particualar, you have to be crazy to sign up for this. The house is not worth more than $250,000. But why not factor in an extra $500,000 for “life style”.
Come on Jake, worthless?
You can’t ignore how strong the demand has been around Carmel Valley, it’s been bulletproof.
This is in response to Jake’s comment above: I currently rent in Del Mar. My real estate expertise is based in the midwest, where $250k gets you a nice 3 BR/2BA 1920s era home that’s been fixed up and in desirable central location. You can take your pick from these types of homes that also will rent at around $1800/month. The schools are far better than in CA and the economy is more stable than the roller coaster that is CA. The gov’t is also not faced w/ a $26 billion deficit. With all that I know about the midwest and all that I know about CA (I’ve lived here on and off for 20 years), I’d predict that the housing here is due for far greater correction. However, after closely watching home prices for the most desirable CA areas (92130, 92014, 92037, 92067), you continually get people who are not as affected (or not at all) by the greater economic forces and who want to live where its “nice.” They keep these area prices afloat where I don’t see a dramatic pullback from current prices, no matter what the econimist/pessimist in you says should be right.
@ Jim the Realtor
I was referring to the materials that make up today’s poorly built homes, not the demand for a particular upscale neighborhood. Please see:
http://www.bankrate.com/finance/real-estate/how-long-will-your-house-last-1.aspx
Home buyers in California’s high priced areas are paying a tremendous price for location. When one looks at renting or living in another part of the country, great care should be given to replacement and maintenance costs for a house. Many people overlook these costs in their calculations because it is difficult to see into the future in terms of deterioration instead of price inflation that may or may not happen. However, you can be assured that your jerry-built house will cost you a lot to maintain. Additionally, you never own your home free and clear as it is a permanent source of tax revenue for the state.
Carmel Valley and adjacent bedroom community areas (Scripps Ranch, Rancho PQ, Rancho Bernardo, Carmel Mountain) will continue to do well as long as the major local employer (Qualcomm) does well. As long as QCOM continues to hire in the Sorrento Valley area, local communities will continue to have sustained demand for housing.
The houses seem to be built decently for the mild San Diego climate. You do have to tent for drywood termites every decade or so. Not sure how they’ll fair in an Earthquake though.