Many years ago, we purchased a home in Carlsbad, using a realtor that was recommended to us - Jim Klinge. Fast forward to 2025, we recently had the privilege of selling 2 homes in Carlsbad, CA and didn't hesitate to reach out to Jim and Donna Klinge of Klinge Realty Group to guide us through the sales. The transactions were very different, each with its own unique situation, opportunities and challenges. From start to finish, Donna and Jim helped navigate the pre-sale preparation, the listing, showing of the house, buyer negotiations, the final close and all of the paperwork and decisions in between. What stands out with both transactions is the professionalism of Jim and Donna (and their team), wonderful communication (timely, relevant, concise), their deep understanding of market dynamics (setting realistic expectations), their access to top-notch contractors, and last, their ability to guide us across the finish line successfully. We wouldn't hesitate to use Jim and Donna in the future and highly recommend them for anyone looking to buy or sell a property in North San Diego County.
Hi,JtR:
I am far from anything inside. I have been to Poway area only twice. And I am not a professional in the trade.
My “failed auction” guess came about because of the huge gap between “potential opening bid” and what the area market might be able to bear.
In this case, it may take 2 or 3 round of auction attempts before the owner finally gives in to much lower opening bid.
Just my wild guess.
George
Come on George, you’re a man of mystery. Don’t you at least drive an Italian sports car? Don’t let us down!
If they don’t auction this off on April 25th, they will probably rent it and take their chances. It’s what everyone else does.
We all know the story. He wants 10 mil + and there aren’t any takers. If you open the bidding and there are no bids, is it really an auction?
Until we get to a point where sellers will commit to a reasonable opening bid with no reserve, auctions will remain a gimmick or a small refuge of the uber-houses. Problem is the opening bid needs to be below ‘perceived’ market value to generate the buzz and most sellers aren’t willing to do that.
The whole auction thing in general is blatantly stupid when applying to real estate. Yes to get rid of foreclosed homes to investors, but this ain’t that.
The whole auction thing in general is blatantly stupid when applying to real estate.
It probably seems like it, but it beats what we have now – if prefer to use a logical, predictable, and dependable process.
The way resale homes are sold now doesn’t follow a logical, predictable, dependable process in every case. Instead, it’s whatever the listing agent feels like doing, which is wrought with fraud and deceit to the detriment of their own sellers. Many times it is inadvertent – the agent doesn’t know any better.
Why do you think buyers rush over to every new listing? It’s because they get burned so many times that they just want to secure something quick before anything else goes wrong.
If every house was sold with any predictable process – auctions being the most obvious available – I could sell twice as many homes.
You are absolutely right Jim. But, your entire theory hinges on agents and brokers and sellers following the rules that are put into place to provide the ‘predictability’.
Yes, and we’d have to wash out the entire realtor body and start over with new agents, or a new process, to have it be different. We, as an industry, have proven that we will tout the ‘strict Code of Ethics’, and then do everything but be ethical.
I was just thinking, and I’ve had coffee, so beware…
What if someone put a house up for sale via a lottery sales model?
You pay some predetermined amount for your ticket, and if enough tickets are bought to cover the asking price, you get the house. If the number of tickets fall short of the asking price, the lottery judges pick three winning tickets, dole out the money, and try again–or not. Everyone who buys in will have a fair chance to win, if not the house, then a nice wad of cash. The seller has the chance for a nice payday, and if not, at least he’s not getting lowballed.
Everyone has an equal chance, depending on how many tickets they buy, to do well on the deal, and it’s entertaining for everyone… yet safe. Winners are happy, and nothing significantly bad happens to the losers. If streamlined, it could sure dispose of a lot of crap involved with the buying process of a luxury home, or even a common home.
Entire cities have been built on the lottery model, going back hundreds of years, btw.