For those who are considering the latest in backyard improvements, here are some ideas:
Jim Klinge
Klinge Realty Group
Broker-Associate, Compass
Are you looking for an experienced agent to help you buy or sell a home?
Contact Jim the Realtor!
- 682 S. Coast Hwy 101, Suite #110
Encinitas, CA 92024 - (858) 997-3801 call or text
- klingerealty@gmail.com
CA DRE #01527365, CA DRE #00873197
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House prices rose 19.8% Y/Y in August- same as the previous month & the first time the Y/Y gain hasn’t increased since early 2020. House price growth will likely slow as rising rates cut into affordability, but don't expect price declines b/c the supply-demand imbalance persists.
EXCELLENT Based on 10 reviews.
gary t moyer
2021-03-01
Jim the Realtor is legit - I interviewed three brokers; he said list price should be $100,000 higher than the other two brokers; listed it with him and had all cash (no financing) offer in two days, five day contingency period, closing in two weeks - and it closed at his recommended list price. I could not recommend anyone more than I recommend Jim the Realtor.
drp2drp
2020-12-30
When we moved to San Diego in 2005 we rented a big house on Mt. Soledad (La Jolla) with 180 degree ocean views for the same payment as a mortgage on a dump in Chula Vista. Clearly something was wrong. Yet, the media was full of the usual happy-talk nonsense, so I was glad to find Jim's blog. I've followed his honest assessments and data since.
We decided to sell and move to AZ at Thanksgiving. Dec. 1st we met with Jim to sell our home. We closed today (29 days later). Jim orchestrated a feeding frenzy -- we had 25 showings in 2-1/2 days, multiple offers, and sold for well over asking price. I'd say he earned his commission! We have owned and sold homes in 5 different States always using experienced, productive, full-time realtors. Jim outshines them all.
You don't decide to sell and close 29 days later over Christmas (with COVID lockdown) without some miracles. Donna was amazing at performing lots of those miracles and ensuring that everything was done right and on time. They are a terrific team with a very responsive and professional network.
AmberleePiercy
2020-10-21
Where do we begin..2020 has been a year for everyone. When COVID hit and shut down both my husband and my businesses, we were left with a mortgage and very little income coming in. We were stressed, scared and felt stuck. We made the hard decision to sell our home and move out of state. We contacted the Klinges' and spent a good hour going over what we hoped we could accomplish. Jim and Donna came over with comps in hand and suggestions on improvements to get our house ready for the market. It was overwhelming to think about, but Donna was there and one step ahead in every scenario. Basically we just approved what they suggested and Donna handled literally everything. We placed our house on the market and within the first day we had multiple offers well above asking price! We couldn't believe it. We were overjoyed! Jim countered the offers to weed through them, and everyone came back with way more. It was amazing, and we are ?? sure it was because of the staging and repairs the Klinges suggested we do.
Due to unforeseen dishonesty from the buyers lender, we hit a big hurdle when trying to close. We had already moved out of state and were shocked when three days before closing the lender dropped a bombshell on the buyers and us. However, Jim and Donna handled it like veterans, not afraid to play hard ball and represent their clients. After a few phone calls with us, and several between Donna and the lender, they had a plan B-Z to make sure we were taken care of. In the end we closed with even more money than we ever thought possible and with very little work from us. The Klinges handled this entire "2020" worthy event with the utmost professionalism and did everything in their power to not only make this as smooth as possible for us, but we also walked away with more money from the sale of the house than we ever hoped for. After working with Jim and Donna, you don't ever use anyone else. They are hands down the best team to represent you in any scenario.
Cecilia Acevedo
2020-10-01
Working with Klinge Realty Group was a great experience! They are very responsive, professional and knowledgable about the real estate market! I would definitely recommend Klinge Realty Group.
WAH08
2020-10-01
Jim and Donna Klinge made the sale of our condo extraordinarily easy. They know the market and gave us sound advice backed by details and very considerable experience, reflected both in the initial pricing and subsequent negotiations. They work together as a team and are always available to talk. We had a few challenges with our property and they were able to coordinate the resolution to everything, including items that I would not think would ordinarily be their responsibility to handle. They made the whole process effortless on our part. They are folks with high integrity and we cannot recommend them highly enough.
bethamunce
2019-09-26
Review for Member: Donna Klinge
I cannot believe there are no reviews of Donna yet, ugh!! She is the secret sauce of the Jim Klinge/Donna Klinge combo! I will touch on Jim here, but Donna is why I'm so totally loyal to these two (no offense to Jim :)).
I consider myself a rather savvy buyer/seller. I've bought/sold 7 times in about 15 years. On the buy side, Jim is the PERFECT combo of: completely digitally savvy (he will pull data all day long until you feel comfortable with your chosen house, area, school district, anticipated appreciation rate...anything!), he's super well respected and known in the area by other agents, an amazingly cool but strategic negotiator, is totally devoid of desperation for a sale/commission, and more.
Then once you get into contract phase, Donna literally handles every last and final detail in a concierge-like manner -- totally shielding you from the daily back and forth, noodling and annoyances of the buyer's requests. She solves it ALL; it's miraculous what that woman accomplishes over and above what is even expected in a buy/sell transaction.
On the sell side, Jim and Donna do the same, but even moreso. Donna in particular truly takes everything off your plate: she'll manage getting the house painted, the carpets replaced, she'll go on site (as she Jim both did for me when selling our rental properties) to work with the renters and make sure the house is ready to show -- freeing me to have to take time off of work to do so. They work with A+ integrity, too, so you know you are serving all parties fairly and lawfully throughout.
A home purchase/sale is the most considered you'll ever make. HIRE A SAVVY AGENT, not a friend!, and get what you need out of the transaction. Jim and Donna are our agents for life.
Ann Romanello
2019-04-06
Jim and Donna Klinge are by far the most professional, personable and responsive realtors I have ever worked with. They provide VIP concierge level service in every area of the process of selling your home. My home was marketed so successfully that we received an offer the day after our first and only open house. Thanks to Jim's pricing and negotiating, our house is now the highest sold in our community. Jim's vast experience means he has worked with several realtors and knows the market all over north county. Donna is AMAZING in processing everything in the transaction. She scheduled trades people to work on the house in preparation for the sale as well as the repairs needed before closing. She communicated clearly every step of the way about what would be happening. She took the weight off my shoulders for the whole process. I will always use Jim and Donna for my future real estate needs and I whole heartedly recommend them to anyone buying or selling a home.
zuser20160915180743456
2018-07-03
Jim and the team at Klinge Reality are without a doubt the best in the business! Not only was Jim helpful and extremely knowledgeable, he was patient and determined to help me find my first home. Jim and his team have been in the business for many years, and it shows. Jim is a wealth of knowledge and was my biggest proponent despite the temperature of the competitive market. I ended up getting the perfect property in my dream neighborhood all thanks to Jim. From the day my offer was accepted, Donna was a real lifesaver. She was extremely helpful, responsive, and knowledgeable when it came to every minute detail, and held my hand through the process. As a first time home buyer I had no idea what the process would entail, but Donna curtailed every concern I came across and made the escrow process feel seamless. Jim and Donna provided me the best home buying experience, and I am very grateful for all they did for me. It was truly a pleasure to work with Jim and Donna and I am already looking forward to the next time we work together!
melanielogue
2018-04-30
Review for Member: Richard Morgan
Richard is an amazing realtor! He has high integrity and genuinely cares about his clients and their needs. Richard paid close attention to what I was seeking in a home and was very patient in our search to find it. I would highly recommend Richard and will use him for future transactions. Truly a different kind of realtor experience!
shaunccornell
2018-03-28
Could not be happier with my experience with Jim and his team. He helped me sell a very unique and challenging property. Throughout the entire process he was always available, honest, transparent, trustworthy, and always put my interests as a seller first. A (rare) true professional! During close of escrow Jim went above and beyond to complete the deal. It would not have been possible without his experience, fantastic team, and pure dedication. Highly recommended!
Thanks Jim and Donna Klinge!
Happy fathers day to all you dads.I’m going to hit the bbq today and hang with dad.Might watch the race from sonoma later.Going to drink some good wine too.
What?!? All those fishes, and NO POOL?!? Not even a hot tub? Or a pond? Just a lot of dry rocks and a fire pit? Who ever thought this would work?
Nope! Rejected! Next house please! 🙂
How silly. I wonder how much money that cost?
LAME. Someone spent a lot of money to devalue their house. Good call on the “no grass” observation, Jim. Since when is it cool to have no lawn and a massive jungle in the backyard? Probably the only defense to keep neighbors from looking in, I guess.
Jeez. Some of you people are way harsh and have zero imagination. Hell, I’d buy that house JUST FOR the stonework. Although, I do agree…no hot tub or pond?? WTF? And Blur, I’m in the process of ripping out all of the grass in my backyard and putting in jungle — why would adults need grass? What I want out of my backyard is additional living space (this is California, after all, and indoor/outdoor living is precisely why a lot of us are here.) I want seating, entertainment and great places to hang out. Lawns are for front curb appeal….
So anyone have any ideas of the cost to rip out all the fishes, remorter and stone the wall to clean it up, fill the hole with concrete and try and match the flagstone? Plus, how about demo’ing the fire pit and creating a more simplistic fireplace or demoing the bbq as well and relocating the bbq to the firpit area since the gas line is already there? The fish are bad, the firepit is rediculous and the bbq takes up way too much room. Any guesstimates?
Jim you missed the dog shite behind the firepit and the inside has been striped of all crown modling and baseboards ( i went through this friday). 499 is overpriced this with avg ppsqft oin comps in the 170-180 range.
Man oh man! I can just see some of you guys standing out front, waving your cane at the neighborhood kids and screaming “keep offen my lawn”! Heh. 🙂
OK it’s not to my personal taste but it’s interesting, different, and mostly nicely done. Let’s hear it for something different in a uniform sea of blandness.
Another JtR classic! Jim, I vote for you including this video in 2009’s Best at the end of the year.
Whooo,hooo! What’s wrong with a jaunty nautical theme?! Needs a mermaid to really make the faux-mosaic piscatine classic retro throwback work. Or, was this art therapy? So many homes, so little time. We splash onward . . .
oh boy. looks like the owner bought the place for $400k back in 2002.
Jim, is this a serial refi’er? looks like he really went down with his fishes.
The nice thing about stone is it doesn’t have to be watered, mowed, trimmed, pruned or fertilized. This guy must have wanted his yard to look like a Rosarito bar but some how he blew it because it looks like crap.
Refreshing!
“Lobbie?” No way. That’s a Squiddly Diddly. If I were a stone this is where I’d like to go when I die.
Seriously, the hardscaping is nice but out of scale. Balance balance balance.
Amazingly detailed work, which means somebody had the skills and way too much time on their hands. Wouldn’t mind hiring that kind of craftsmanship, properly directed of course.
I’m going to be the weirdo here. I actually LIKE the fish work. It’s eccentric and unique, but colorful, so it gets a thumbs-up from me. (Of note: My living room is decorated with Romero Britto paintings. http://britto.com/ )
Of course, I wouldn’t pay $499K for a tract home in SEH. But those fish things are cool.
-Erica
Art Eclectic,
In retrospect I guess yard vs. jungle is more of a personal taste thing. I just really like the idea of an open yard and space for dogs, kids, etc. The home I rent has a tiny “backyard” of patio and thick jungle that makes me feel cramped, so I’m probably jaded. No lawn seems pretty common these days so people must like it.
As for the fish . . . well, I gotta stand by my previous comments.
I don’t know who the guy who did it is, but he should check in here. Looks like he can do nice work. I would guess it’s more than a little expensive, and that he took it off his taxes because he could use it as a showroom for his work. :.
Only thing missing is Big Mouth Billy Bass singing “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!”
Erica,
We’re big Lassen & Wyland fans here — can’t get enough ocean / whales /dolphins, etc.
So, I guess now that you’re all inspired, Jim did a little upgradin’ this weekend? 😉
Actually, I’m with ArtEclectic& Dawg, the stone work itself is nicely done and there is definitely some great entertaining space, but man! balance is surely missing.
And the fish would be the first things to go for me.
I’m with Francois. No Pool? That stonework isn’t really my thing, but it wouldn’t be terrible if you had a nice pool complex in the back. All that build up with the fish to have no pool is Alamo disappointing.
TJ,
You’ll be interested to know we own museum print 46/50 of Wyland’s “Killer Whales (A-5 Pod)” 1987.
DWIP, How refreshing to hear a positive comment! Agree with you 100 percent.
Hey Jim and others,
Thanks for the Father’s Day wishes! Right back at ya. 🙂
Not every buyer has kids and a dog 😉
I look at that back area and can imagine a nice outdoor dining set, a couple bottles of good Shiraz, steaks coming off the grill, and the sun setting as a bunch of cool lighting comes on. Add in a water feature for ambient noise and a jacuzzi for two hidden in the back…heavenly. A perfect playground for grown-ups.
If it were me, instead of an awning I would have put in a pergola running all across the back and retractable sun shade on the underside.
Flood the back yard with 4″ of water and there is your ankle deep water feature. Drop in two beach chairs with a table in between for your drinks and you are good to go. Don’t forget the cocktail umbrella 😀
It’s nothing I would pay to have, but I’d definitely take that over dirt & dying grass & faded brokedown Big Wheels. I’ve seen far worse decorative stonework on multimillion dollar homes.
I pity people who are afraid to customize their house because it might affect resale value. I want to live in my home now, not in some theoretical house I might own in the future.
If this guy was a flipper who thought he’d make a mint with this kind of work, then we’d be justified in laughing. But this was somebody’s home.
The backyard is 20 feet deep from the house. And on the side of the house that Jim began the tour on is a Jacuzzi master control box, so it seems that hole was the pool or jacuzzi. I wish he showed the inside – almost every room had nice thick crown and baseboards and the residents ripped them out..
Corp owned – wonder if someone was fired, got pissed and drunk and ripped out the stuff he or she liked.