For those who are looking for home-building ideas, or for those who just like pretty pictures, click here to see the WSJ’s featured homes from around the country.
They include stories about the homeowners, and why they are selling – the justifications are very creative, and, you guessed it, nobody is giving it away.
A gallery of outrageousness!
Jim Klinge
Klinge Realty Group
Are you looking for an experienced agent to help you buy or sell a home?
Contact Jim the Realtor!
CA DRE #01527365, CA DRE #00873197
Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. A+ thank youTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. 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.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We sold a home with Jim and Donna and from beginning to end they were consummate professionals. Their initial walk through the property resulted in a list of items to be repaired or updated. They supplied a list of vendors and job quotes to do the repairs and updates. We originally wanted to sell ‘as is’ and just get it over with. They gave us a selling price for ‘as is’ and options for doing a few updates/repairs to doing it all with the selling price for each option. We agreed to do all they suggested and we sold for the exact price they predicted. For every dollar spent we got back more than $2 back in the selling price. And they got that price in a rising interest rate environment! Donna and Jim are extremely detailed and guide you through ever aspect of the sale. There were no surprises thanks to their guidance. We couldn’t be more pleased with their representation. Thank you Donna and Jim, Jerry and MaryTrustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. 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.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. WeI had the pleasure of working with Klinge Realty Group to sell our home in Carmel Valley, and I cannot recommend them highly enough! Jim and Donna demonstrated exceptional professionalism, offering expert guidance on market conditions and pricing strategy, which resulted in a quick and successful sale. Communication was prompt and we were well-informed throughout the entire process. For anyone looking for a dedicated and knowledgeable real estate team, look no further! ---Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Donna and Jim Klinge of Klinge Realty Group have our highest possible recommendation. From Donna and Jim’s first visit to our house through closing their advice and counsel was candid and honest in all dealings. They kept us fully informed throughout the process. The house sold less than three days after listing with a two-week closing. My wife and I have sold several houses during our lives. This was by far the best experience. Klinge Reality is a premium service realtor. You can’t make a better choice for someone to sell your home fast and for top dollar.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Donna and Jim provided exceptional support and professionalism throughout the entire process. We couldn't have been happier with their efforts. They made our house shine, and thanks to their expertise, it sold above the listing price in the very first weekend! Truly a fantastic experience from start to finish.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. This year has been difficult on our family, mainly due to having to sell our home. Thankfully we knew God had a plan for us and working with the Klinge team was a key part of it. It was an obvious decision to work with them again after such an amazing experience when purchasing the same home we needed to sell. The challenge was, how will we do this in so little time with so much going on? Jim and Donna held our hand every step of the way. Whenever an unexpected issue arose they found and provided a solution. Never once did we feel pressured to make a decision and the Klinges were always reassuring after providing the information that the decision was ours to make. Despite the curve balls, they never panicked and exemplified the “can do” attitude, making us feel optimistic and taken care of. Their expertise and professionalism was superb. But of all the reasons to work with the Klinges, the most impactful and valuable is their compassion and genuine care for their clients. We pray that we can one day purchase our forever home and you better believe that Jim and Donna will be representing us - as long as they will have us of course. Thank you again Klinge team! Your execution, experience, and care are unmatched.Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. Jim and Donna were fantastic! Jim understanding my needs, recommending potential places, pointing out the pros and cons of each property was invaluable. Then when the offer was accepted Donna’s organized guidance through the inspections, paperwork etc made the whole process seem effortless. So grateful that I had them on my side!Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. We first found Jim through his blog at bubbleinfo.com, which really showcased his knowledge of SoCal real estate. Since then we've done three transactions with Jim and Donna, and they are an incredible full service agency, with Jim's deep market insight and Donna's deft contract and project management. We trust them implicitly in their analysis and strategy, which is based on years of experience. They're always available and on top of things, and we strongly recommend them to anyone.Load more
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is selling some seized homes in the Cleveland area for as little as $100.
HUD announced an agreement last week with an Ohio nonprofit in which the department will sell hundreds of homes to stabilize neighborhoods hit hard by the foreclosure crisis.
HUD will first inspect newly acquired foreclosed properties in its inventory and give the Cuyahoga County Land Reutilization Corp. the opportunity to buy the homes at deep discounts. Homes valued at $20,001 to $100,000 will be sold at a 30% discount for an initial five-day period. After 60 days, the homes will be sold at a 50% discount. Homes worth less than $20,000 will be sold for $100, HUD said.
The nonprofit, which was set up by the state, received a $41 million grant from HUD this year to purchase and redevelop foreclosed or abandoned properties.
I imagine any house worth less than $100 is a total fixer in a bad neighborhood.
Errr…less than $20k, sold for $100. Whatever.
I love the story about Montana Ranch Auction home, Jim. Some tidbits from the article:
1. 10,000 sf/ 9 bedroom/2 bath
2. The owners are selling so they can move out of state.
3. 400-ton stone hearth fireplace in main area.
4. The listing agent says she has had the listing for about TWO years with an UNCHANGED asking price of $13.9 million.
5. The owners have now decided to try an auction (July 7).
6. There is a published reserve price of $4.5 million. (guaranteed to sell once bidding hits that price).
And I just love this quote by the lady at the auction company: “They just haven’t been able to generate the price that they wanted, and they want to sell by a certain date”…
I’d love to hear if they sold it yesterday and for what price! The $4.5 million reserve price is a 67% decline from the price they held onto for two years…
According to information provided to HousingWire by Ginnie Mae, total guaranteed MBS issuance is up to $306.9bn in the first three quarters of fiscal year (FY) 2010.
This builds on growing issuance at Ginnie, to $418.9bn in FY 2009, from $220.6bn in FY 2008 and $85.1bn in FY 2007.
(looks about the same as last year)
From the NY Times:”Biggest Defaulters on Mortgages Are the Rich – Wealthy See Loss of Home As One Bad Investment and Walk Away”.
Full article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38158763/ns/business-real_estate
Nine bedrooms and only two baths? WTF?
Two baths? Fewer toilets for the undocumented workers to clean.
I thought that article Susie provided a link to sounded interesting, but the journalists didn’t do their job. All those off the cuff statements without any pretense of checking the facts!
The actual statement is that “more than one in seven homeowners with loans in excess of a million dollars is seriously delinquent.” It’s a jump to speculate that those people must be “rich”. Maybe they are, or maybe they were just buying far outside their supportable means.
Another entirely plausible theory is that the more value a home has lost, then the more likely the owner is to walk away. For equal-percentage drops, you’d see people with high-value mortgages walking away much more than people with cheap-value mortgages.
They could have proved their point if they found an association between the owner’s net worth (exclusive of the property in question) and the rate of mortgage delinquency. It would have been too much work to figure that out though.