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.
If the zero lot line designs are done right, it makes better use of land than the typical 5′ setback with a fence that is unusable and wasted space. It’s a good idea just not perfected yet.
The easement is probably more about allowing windows or openings that would otherwise be prohibited by the building code.
Is it just me? I can’t stand the tangerine/orange walls in the first home. I’ve seen them in a few model homes. The wall colors in the 2nd home are much more soothing.
And the mellos roos @$371/month is $4,452/year? Ten years pencils out at over $44K. Do people really just ignore that “chunk of change”? Just askin…
How ridiculous.
I would strongly encourage anyone looking to buy a brand new home to use a realtor, especially one as savvy as you Jim. It doesn’t cost anything (builder pays realtor, won’t discount price to you if you don’t use one) and it helps to have advice as to what is possible, what are worthwhile options vs. a waste of money, possible options not listed on the sheets (you can request and pay $100 fee to see what they would cost), and ways you can customize your home (different sinks, appliances, etc.) for no extra money. Also to get advice on flooring and landscape contractors so you don’t waste your money.
Doesn’t the overhang run right up to the property line, or so close it doesn’t matter? That would make the easement just for the area under the eaves.
Thank you Anonymous!
I’ll add to your list of what I can do to assist with a new-home purchase:
1. Insist that an independent home inspector conduct a thorough inspection, and get builder to repair prior to close. It’s not a given that a builder’s customer service staff will fix everything you want after it closes.
2. Buyers get stuck with the builder’s lender – I make sure they don’t rip you off.
3. The builder’s agent owes you nothing – they don’t represent you in the purchase, and don’t have to be proactive in looking for problems. I will be proactive.